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Jenson Button

Team: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
F1 Debut: 2000 - Australian Grand Prix

Jenson Button is a British Formula 1 driver currently racing for McLaren Mercedes.

He came in to Formula One for the 2000 season, driving for Williams along side Ralf Schumacher. Since then he has driven for Benetton, which then rebranded to Renault F1, British American Racing, which then re-branded to Honda, then to Brawn GP but is now a McLaren Mercedes driver.

It took Jenson Button 113 races to win in Formula One. It came at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006 during a wet and frantic race. His fortunes didn't turn from there however.

2007 and 2008 can only be classed as immense character building years. His works Honda F1 team spent money, and got little back from it, producing 2 absolute dogs to drive cars. Many thought Jenson Button's career may have been over after these two dismal years and that became even more possible when Honda announced their withdrawal from F1 racing due to the economic down turn in the car selling market.

Jenson Button spent the whole 2008 into 2009 winter season unsure if a buyer would be found for Honda. Whilst all the other F1 teams were testing throughout Europe ahead of the 2009 season, Button was giving motivational speeches at the factory to try and keep the team and mechanics together.

Up stepped Ross Brawn, the team principle of Honda at the time, with a buy out plan to create effectively his own racing team. Brawn GP was born.

Jenson Button has became the Formula 1 World Champion in 2009 and likened his season to a Hollywood movie. From having no team or a drive at the start of the year, to winning the world title was an incredible achievement however you looked at.

Despite Jenson taking the world title, speculation about him leaving Brawn GP, which is now Mercedes Grand Prix increased after contract negotiations went on for months without a conclusion. Days after visiting the McLaren factory in Woking, Jenson signed up to partner Lewis Hamilton in 2010.

This has turned McLaren into an all British team, and with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher driving for the new Mercedes outfit, an all German Grand Prix team has also been born.

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