One last race: Jenson Button hangs up his helmet
- Kavi Khandelwal
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Kavi Khandelwal, Edited by Meghana Sree
On 8th November 2025, the completion of the 8 hours of Bahrain will not only see the ending of the World Endurance Championship season, but also the end of an era for a globally celebrated driver, Jenson Button.
Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula One World Champion and one of the most beloved and respected drivers of his generation, is calling time on his professional racing career.
His decision was clear and rooted in a simple, relatable truth.
“This will be my last race,” he said as he announced his retirement. “My kids are four and six, and you’re away for a week and you miss so much… you don’t get this time back.”
This departure closes a remarkable chapter in motorsport, highlighting the British driver’s journey from a karting prodigy in Somerset to the absolute pinnacle of global racing.
To pay tribute to his racing career, DIVEBOMB takes a look at the defining stages of Button’s journey in motorsport through the ages.
Promising origins
Born in Frome, Somerset, Button was destined for racing. His late father, John Button, was a successful rallycross driver in the 1970s and remained a guiding force and supporter of his son’s racing career. The pair were an inseparable, popular fixture in the paddock for decades.
In 1991, at just 11 years old, the young Button became the British Cadet Kart Champion after winning all 34 races. His total dominance was just a sign of what was to come.
Button idolised Alain Prost and began to craft his own driving style in the Prost mold from the early days. Impossibly smooth, intelligent and having a delicate feel for the car – just like Prost – would serve him well for his entire career.
Forging a legacy in Formula One
His 17-seasons long F1 career was an epic of resilience. After getting a race seat with Williams in 2000, he endured a difficult early season with a ‘lazy playboy’ tag attached to his name.
However, he patiently built his reputation. His persistence culminated in a masterful first victory at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, a chaotic wet race that Button won from 14th on the grid.
His career was defined by the 2009 season. Honda’s shock withdrawal left him without a drive, and team principal Ross Brawn made a last-minute management buyout.
The resulting Brawn GP team, running on a shoestring budget, was a “fairy tale” rocket. Button seized the opportunity by winning six of the first seven races and built a lead that he defended till the very end. In a heartfelt, dramatic race in Brazil, the British driver clinched the 2009 World Drivers’ Championship.
He cemented his legacy as a “gentleman racer” and a master of tricky conditions after moving to McLaren.
There, he was not a simple number two driver. In fact, he became the first teammate to ever out-score Lewis Hamilton over a full season in 2011.
His legendary 2011 Canadian Grand Prix is considered one of F1’s greatest drives. With six pit stops, two collisions and even running dead last at one point, Button charged through the field in the damp to overtake Sebastian Vettel on the final lap and win the Grand Prix.
This drive truly captured his smooth, intelligent style.
A global career in motorsport
In 2016, Button proved his versatility as an elite, all-around driver. He didn’t just participate in other categories; he conquered them.
A new champion in Japan: Conquering Super GT
For his rookie season in Super GT in 2018, Button partnered with Naoki Yamamoto for Team Kunimitsu in a Honda NSX-GT. They secured their first victory at Sportsland Sugo and the pair entered the final race at Motegi in a dead-heat for the title.
The tense finale came to an end as the pair finished third and secured the 2018 Super GT GT500 Championship by three points. This made the British driver the first series rookie to win the title in 13 years.
The American adventure: NASCAR and Le Mans
In 2023, Button participated in the NASCAR Garage 56 entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was teammates with NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson and Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller. They drove a modified Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Button proved his adaptability in Le Mans too, also securing three official NASCAR Cup Series road course races in 2023 for Rick Ware Racing.
His debut at the Circuit of the Americas was a brutal trial by fire. He finished 18th despite suffering from severe heat exhaustion, demonstrating his commitment to mastering an alien form of motorsport.
The Endurance specialist
The F1 World Champion was a formidable competitor in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), in the premier Hypercar category.
He had his final professional drive with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in a full-time campaign against the world’s best sports car drivers, securing multiple podium finishes — a fitting capstone to the end of his career.
The last hurrah as the undisputed gentleman racer
At the final race in Bahrain, Button’s career will come full circle. He will be remembered for far more than his 15 F1 wins and his 2009 Drivers’ Championship.
His legacy will be of profound resilience, the “playboy” who became a champion. He lost his team and he won a title. A master of chaos, he conquered the world of motorsports.
Above all, he will be remembered as the “gentleman racer”. His fairness, smooth style and positive demeanour earned the respect of every fan, team and rival he ever encountered.
