Jenson Button questions F1’s growth with more races and complex engines
Photo: Race Pictures
Ben Hunt is an award-winning motorsport journalist with over two decades of experience in Formula 1 and international media. As a former editor-in-chief and bestselling author, he delivers in-depth analysis and strategic insight from the highest level of the sport.
Jenson Button believes Formula 1 should resist expanding its calendar beyond 24 races, warning that the demands on mechanics and other team personnel are very different from those facing drivers.
F1’s increasing popularity has made hosting a grand prix an attractive prospect. But Button believes the championship must consider the people responsible for keeping the show on the road before adding more events.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore, ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, the 2009 world champion highlighted the contrast between a driver’s departure after a race and the work still facing the rest of the team.
“24 races around the world is really, really tough. So I wouldn’t want to see any more,” Button said. “For the drivers, it’s fine. They finish the race, they get on a private jet and go home.
“But for the mechanics and everyone else that’s working within the team, the pack-up is insane. They also don’t leave the track and go on holiday. They go back to the factory and start working again.
“But for the mechanics and everyone else that’s working within the team, the pack-up is insane. They also don’t leave the track and go on holiday. They go back to the factory and start working again.
“The people that are in F1 are obviously passionate about it because they wouldn’t be doing it otherwise. It’s so much time away from your family. So I hope there aren’t more races.”
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A simpler engine future?
Button also expressed reservations about the complexity of F1’s current power units, arguing that fans need to understand the technology to connect with it.
“It’s very complicated at the moment,” he said of how F1’s power units work. “I know that we’re pushing technology, but also there needs to be some understanding for the fans to really get behind it.
“I love that we have different ideas in terms of technology for road cars. We have electric, we have hydrogen, we have hybrids, we have combustion engines and it’s great that we have all these different ideas.
“Personally, I’d like to see [F1] come back to combustion engines and running sustainable fuel.
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“For me, it’s the best way. But that’s just my opinion because I love the sound of a combustion engine and it adds to the excitement of a race car.
“I even did a race in the UK [at Goodwood] driving 1950s, 1960s race cars and even those cars now are running on sustainable fuel. So it’s really good to see the progress.”
“I even did a race in the UK [at Goodwood] driving 1950s, 1960s race cars and even those cars now are running on sustainable fuel. So it’s really good to see the progress.”
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