2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button officially quits racing

The 2009 Formula 1 world champion, who has spent the past two years competing in the WEC with Team Jota, has officially announced he will hang up his helmet for good.

"This will be my last race, I've always liked Bahrain, I think it's a fun track, and I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can because this will be the end of my professional racing career," the Brit told BBC Radio Somerset.

The reason behind Button’s decision lies in his desire to focus more on his family and his two young children: "I've really enjoyed my time with Jota in WEC but my life has got way too busy and it's not fair on the team or on myself to go into 2026 and think that I'm going to have enough time for it."

Although he will no longer compete as a driver, the Briton admitted he will still remain closely involved in the world of motorsport: "I've got classic cars I love to race and for me that's exciting because it's mine - a car that I own - and I love the mechanical aspect."

After making his way through the junior categories, Jenson Button made his Formula 1 debut in 2000 with Williams, at just 20 years old — becoming the youngest British driver in the team’s history.

His real breakthrough came with BAR Honda in 2003, and the following year he delivered an outstanding campaign with 10 podium finishes and third place in the championship, in a season otherwise dominated by Ferrari.

Button claimed his first career victory at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, mastering the wet conditions to take a sensational win.

Then came the opportunity of a lifetime in 2009: after Honda’s withdrawal from F1, Ross Brawn took over the team and rebranded it Brawn GP. The car, featuring technical innovations that would later be banned, proved unbeatable early on. Button won six of the first seven races, building a commanding lead that ultimately secured him the World Championship in Brazil, ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

From 2010 to 2016, Button raced for McLaren, scoring eight wins and finishing runner-up in the 2011 World Championship — a season highlighted by his legendary victory in Canada, the longest race in Formula 1 history, run in torrential rain.

He retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2016, though he made one final appearance at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix as a stand-in for Fernando Alonso.

In the years that followed, Button competed in Japan’s Super GT, where he won the title in 2018, and in the World Endurance Championship with Jota, including an appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside his racing activities, he also began a successful career as a pundit for Sky Sports F1, remaining a familiar face in the paddock.