Button realistic about future: 'No fuel engine in F1 in ten years time'

A new electric racing class is planned for next year. The Extreme E is a racing series in which ten teams compete with each other in off-road electric cars. The SUVs will drive through areas where climate change plays a major role, to ultimately draw attention to these problems. Jenson Button is the third big name to establish a team, along with two other World-Champions.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are also joining the 2009 World Champion. "Nico and Lewis both have their own teams and together with me there are three former World Champions, one of them a reigning world champion, who have a team in this sport. In addition, world champions from other classes such as rally, rallycross and the Dakar will also participate," Button explained in conversation with the BBC.

Formula 1 electric too?

Button sees that electric cars are the future and that racing classes like Extreme E will have a part in that. "Normal cars that run on petrol you're not going to be able to buy in ten years' time," he said.

"They will be obsolete. So racing in Formula 1 with an internal combustion engine will ook be completely useless. So the future will always be in electricity, in any form of motorsport. When you first step on the accelerator, you feel That speed and then all thoughts of a V8 engine go away, because of that feeling you get in an electric car," Button concluded.