The coronavirus pandemic robbed us of much last year. It is a crisis that affects almost everyone, including the drivers. For example, former world champion Jenson Button had serious plans to return to racing at a high level, but COVID-19 prevented that from happening.
He says in an interview with Motorsport News that he had the chance to drive IndyCar in 2020. McLaren has entered into a partnership with Schmidt Peterson Motorsport and Button still maintains good ties with his former employer.
No ovals for Button
“I was supposed to do a couple of tests with McLaren. First one I couldn’t do because of COVID, it was cancelled, and the second one was between the two Austrian GPs. So I missed out on doing that which is a shame because my aim was to do the road circuits, not ovals, I wouldn’t do ovals but to do all the road courses, but it just didn’t happen."
It is not entirely clear whether McLaren Arrow SP would have used a third car for him. With Patricio O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, they have two good regular drivers, so they will also have to put in a third car for Button if he wants a chance to drive this year.