http://www.racecar.co.uk/jensonbutton/
Born on 19th January 1980 at Frome Victoria Hospital in Somerset.
Single
CAREER HISTORY:
Karting:
1989 - 1994
Won 7 British Championships. The only Cadet Champion
to date, to move up to Juniors and win the Junior British Championship at the
first attempt, (in 1992).
1991
Jenson competed in 34 races and won them all,
and is to date, the only person to achieve this. All of those 34 races were
big meetings with absolutely full grids, with a minimum of 24 starters!
1995
Winner of the Senior ICA Italian Championship.
World Championship ICA: qualified on pole, went
up on two wheels and off whilst leading the final comfortably.
He caught the attention of many specialists that
season, amongst them the President of the FIA/CIK, Mr. Buser, who granted him
an International A License in order for Jenson to take part as the youngest
ever in the World Championship for Formula A in France
Jenson won his semi-final, led every lap in the
final except the last one when his tyres were worn out and finished 2nd - as
the Youngest Ever Vice-Champion at 15.
1996
European Formula A Championship: 5th
American Championship at Charlotte: 3rd
Jenson missed testing and went straight into
qualifying on this very difficult and technical track, and put it on pole in
his 5th flying lap!
World Cup (Suzuka, Japan): 3rd
Jenson had a huge accident in the semi-final
and was knocked unconscious and taken to the medical unit. He came back to the
track, had to be lifted (leg injuries) into his spare kart and had to start
at the back of the field in 34th position. Jenson fought his way through to
finish in 3rd. When the chequered flag dropped he was catching the two leaders
quickly, but sadly the race was one or two laps too short! That race, driven
in pain, is one of his biggest achievements and certainly a sign of great determination.
1997
Works driver for Team GKS-Tecno Rotax Bridgestone.
Winter Cup (warm-up for the European Championship)
2nd.
European Super A Championship: European Champion
- Youngest winner ever at 17, and the first person to win it in his maiden season
in the category.
World Championship: - Jenson and Manetti (bumper
to bumper) had pulled away from the rest of the field in the final when sadly,
Jenson's engine seized.
World Cup (Suzuka, Japan): Whilst fighting for
the lead in the final, Jenson was forced to retire when his chain snapped. In
the semi-final he had already fought through from 18th place on the grid to
second. As a token of the impression that the British driver's determination
had made on the crowd, the president of the FIA/CIK, Mr. Ernest Buser, presented
him with the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup, awarded to the best driver at the meeting.
"With his smooth style and ability to pass anywhere," stated Mr. Buser to the
press, Jenson reminds me so much of Senna".
Formula Ford:
In 1998 Jenson Button made his debut in racing cars with the Formula Ford Haywood Racing team, after making the step up from karts to cars at the age of just eighteen years old.
Haywood Racing team boss, Jim Warren had seen many talents come and go over the years, but had never come across a talent such as Jenson's. He described his abilities as quite literally, "amazing". He continues, "Jenson possesses the capability of learning a track within ten laps, something I have never seen before. This ability, coupled with an insatiable will to win, makes him the most exciting British prospect to come out of Karting in years."
Jenson went on to win many times in 1998, making a total of fifteen podium appearances, with nine of those being a race win for the teenage sensation from Somerset. Jenson added eleven pole positions and ten fastest laps to his catalogue of successes in 1998, winning the British Formula Ford Championship and finishing as Vice-Champion in the European Championship. Jenson's performance at the rain drenched Hockenheim circuit in October 1998 was truly astounding, as he left his rivals in their tracks with his sheer speed and car control in the wet. Jenson took the chequered flag in his Haywood Racing Mygale with fifteen seconds to spare between him and second place. Those who didn't already know about rising star Jenson Button, certainly did by the end of that weekend.
The last race of 1998 for Jenson was the world famous Formula Ford Festival held at Brands Hatch. Jenson dominated the field in his heats and clinched first place in the finals after a sensational race between himself and Australian Marcos Ambrose.
1998 came to an end on a high with Jenson winning the coveted title of the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award on Sunday December 4th. McLaren team boss, Ron Dennis, presented Jenson with his award, a cheque for £50,000.00 and the promise of a test with the McLaren Mercedes F1 team. Dennis made a prediction that Jenson would make it to Formula One by 2002. Three years seemed feasible in the eyes of many, but who would have believed that Jenson's F1 debut was to be in just over one year?
So ended the stunning season
of 1998 for Jenson Button
Formula 3:
1999 - where Formula Three beckoned with a sponsored ride in the Promatecme Renault F3 team. In the past this has always been a privilege reserved only for drivers emerging from the ranks of Formula Renault.
Jenson certainly made his mark
in the British Formula Three Championship, and after clocking up three victories,
seven podiums, five fastest laps and three pole positions, Jenson claimed third
place in the championship behind Luciano Burti and Marc Hynes.
A burst of podium finishes in the latter part
of the season helped Jenson to win the title of Avon Rookie of the Year. He
achieved all this despite the fact that the Renault engine was not able to match
the power of the Mugen-Honda's used by the championship leaders.
Jenson's superior car control and ability shone through at the Macau and Korean International Formula Three Grand Prix's. He dominated the performance of fellow rookies in his ability to get up to speed on the narrow street circuits and finished a superb second in both races.
Jenson's career has moved in
leaps and bounds since the end of the 1999 Formula Three season. Progressing
quickly from F3000 tests to Formula One tests, to where we find him today, driving
for the Benetton team after a initial year with Williams.
Formula 1:
2000 - Signs for BMW Williams F1 team
Stats for forst F1 season-
ROUND 17: MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
22ND OCTOBER 2000
Race Distance: 56 Laps
Qualifying Position: 16th
Position when Retired: 10th
Total Championship points 12
ROUND 16: JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
8TH OCTOBER 2000
Race Distance: 53 Laps
Qualifying Position: 5th
Finished: 5th
Total Championship points 12
ROUND 15: USA GRAND PRIX 24TH
SEPTEMBER 2000
Race Distance: 53 Laps
Qualifying Position: 6th
Retired:
Total Championship points 10
ROUND 14: ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
10TH SEPTEMBER 2000
Race Distance: 53 Laps
Qualifying Position: 12th
Position when retired: 6th
Total Championship points 10
ROUND 13: BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
27TH AUGUST 2000
Race Distance: 44 Laps
Qualifying Position: 3rd
Finished: 5th
Total Championship points 10
ROUND 12: HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
13TH AUGUST 2000
Race Distance: 77 Laps
Qualifying Position: 8th
Finished: 9th
Total Championship points 8
ROUND 11: GERMAN GRAND PRIX
30TH JULY 2000
Race Distance: 45 Laps
Qualifying Position: 18th
Finished: 4th
Total Championship points 8
ROUND 10: AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
16TH JULY 2000
Race Distance: 71 Laps
Qualifying Position: 18th
Finished: 5th
Total Championship points 5
ROUND 9: FRENCH GRAND PRIX 2ND
JULY 2000
Race Distance: 72 Laps
Qualifying Position: 10th
Finished: 8th
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 8: CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
18TH JUNE 2000
Race Distance: 69 Laps
Qualifying Position: 18th
Finished: 11th
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 7: MONACO GRAND PRIX 4TH
JUNE 2000
Race Distance: 78 Laps
Qualifying Position: 14th
Highest position in race: 19TH
Retired 19th
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 6: EUROPEAN, NURBURGRING
21ST MAY 2000
Race Distance: 67 Laps
Qualifying Position: 11th
Highest position in race: 3rd
Retired but classified: 10th
Fastest Lap: 1:23.688
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 5: SPAIN, BARCELONA 7TH
MAY 2000
Race Distance: 65 Laps
Qualifying Position: 11th
Highest position in race: 4th
Position when retired: 6th
Fastest Lap: 1:24.729
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 4: BRITAIN, SILVERSTONE
23RD APRIL 2000
Race Distance: 60 Laps
Qualifying Position: 6th
Finished: 5th
Fastest Lap: 1:27.631
Championship points 2
Total Championship points 3
ROUND 3: SAN MARINO, IMOLA 9th
APRIL 2000
Race Distance: 62 Laps
Qualifying Position: 18th
Highest position in race: 16th
Position when retired: Lap 5
Fastest Lap: 1:31.912
Championship Points: 0
ROUND 2: BRAZIL, INTERLAGOS
26th MARCH 2000
Race Distance: 71 Laps
Qualifying Position: 9th
Highest position in race: 7th
Position: Finished 6th
Fastest Lap: 1:16.379
Championship Points: 1
ROUND 1: AUSTRALIA, ALBERT PARK
12th MARCH 2000
Race Distance: 58 Laps
Qualifying Position: 21st, 1:33.828
Highest position in race: 4th
Position when retired: 6th
Fastest Lap: 1:33.351
Championship Points: 0
2001 - signs for Benetton f1