The drives that defined Jenson Button: career highlights of the F1 champion

For most of the race, he trailed Marcos Ambrose while under attack from Dan Wheldon, displaying both patience and increasing aggression.

The turning point came on lap 18: Ambrose left a daring gap at the Surtees corner, and Button seized the opportunity, diving inside as Ambrose moved to close the door.

The resulting contact sent Ambrose off, but Button remained unflustered, controlling the lead to the chequered flag in one of the closest finals in Festival history.

The victory, soon followed by the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, marked Button as a star in the making.

1999 British Formula 3
Thruxton

By 1999, Button had graduated to British Formula 3 with Promatecme. While his season was marked by flashes of raw speed, it was at Thruxton where his potential stood out.

Starting from second on the grid, Button had a strong start, quickly overtaking pole-sitter Andrew Kirkaldy to take the lead.

During the 20-lap contest, Button pushed his Dallara F399-Renault to the limit, holding off fierce competition from Kirkaldy and Marc Hynes.

Managing the slipstream battles down Thruxton’s flat-out stretches, Button drove with the poise of a veteran.

He soaked up pressure lap after lap before pulling clear to claim a commanding victory, his first in F3.

The win was one of three victories he secured during the 1999 British F3 season, highlighting his status as the top rookie and finishing third overall in the championship.

2000 British GP
Silverstone

Button’s first home grand prix was a coming-of-age performance that transformed him from a precocious debutant into a genuine Formula 1 contender.

Barely four months into his rookie season with Williams, 20-year-old Button arrived at Silverstone still finding his footing.

The cool, changeable conditions suited his natural smoothness, and Button delivered a drive that showcased his maturity.

Having qualified sixth, he made a solid start, holding his own in the early laps against far more seasoned rivals.

While others struggled with balance and tyre degradation, Button’s trademark finesse allowed him to maintain a consistent pace around the fast, flowing corners of Silverstone.

Button finished fifth – his second points finish – becoming the youngest driver ever to do so at that point.

2004 San Marino GP
Imola

For all of Button’s trademark race-day finesse, it was on a single qualifying lap at Imola in 2004 that he truly arrived as a frontrunner.

In only his third race with BAR–Honda, Button produced a performance that silenced any lingering doubts about his credentials as a top-tier driver.

In the final moments of qualifying, he delivered a sensational lap, extracting speed without ever seeming to fight the car.

He was fully committed through the Variante Alta, clipping kerbs with millimetric accuracy.

When the stopwatch stopped, he’d beaten Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari – at Imola, no less – to secure his first Formula 1 pole position.

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungaroring

Few drives encapsulate Button’s genius quite like his first Formula 1 victory, forged in the chaos of a wet–dry afternoon at the Hungaroring in 2006.

Starting from 14th on the grid after an engine penalty, his prospects looked slim, but as dark clouds rolled over Budapest and the race began on a soaked track, Button produced a performance of stunning control and intuition.

Button picked his way through the field with clinical patience, dispatching rivals one by one.

When many gambled on the wrong tyres as the circuit began to dry, Button’s judgement was immaculate; his timing to switch to slicks was faultless.

Once in the lead, he simply disappeared, managing the pace with total serenity while chaos unfolded behind him and crossing the line over 30 seconds clear.

After 113 starts, Button had his first F1 win.

2009 Brazilian GP
Interlagos

Button’s charge through the field at Interlagos in 2009 wasn’t just a great drive, but also one of the defining performances of his career.

With the world championship within touching distance, Button produced a composed drive that sealed his title in style.

Starting a lowly 14th on the grid after a chaotic wet qualifying session, he knew that a cautious approach could prove a mistake, so what followed was 71 laps of controlled aggression.

From the moment the lights went out, Button went on the attack. He sliced through the midfield with brave moves into Descida do Lago and the Senna S, his Brawn GP car dancing over the bumps as he worked his way into the points, screaming “Let’s go, let’s go” as he overtook the Toyota of Timo Glock.

Every pass carried the urgency of a man who didn’t want to wait for the final race to clinch the title.

By the flag, fifth place was enough to make Button world champion.

2010 Australian GP
Melbourne

Like Hungary in 2006, the 2010 Australian GP was another perfect example that captured Button’s instinctive feel for conditions and uncanny race sense.

In only his second outing for McLaren, he delivered a strategic masterstroke that turned an uncertain afternoon into a statement victory on a chaotic Sunday.

The race began on a damp but drying Albert Park circuit, with chaos erupting almost immediately as cars skated off on slicks and intermediates alike.

Button, starting fourth, lost ground early after a first-lap excursion, but instead of panicking, he read the conditions better than anyone.

On lap six, while most persisted with intermediates, Button made a bold call to pit for slicks — a decision that looked rash at first as he slid wide on his out-lap.

But within minutes, it became clear he had read the track perfectly. As rivals scrambled to follow suit, Button’s composure paid off: he leapt up the order, managed his tyres beautifully, and never relinquished control of the race.

It was a quintessential Button victory: intelligent, instinctive, and executed almost flawlessly.

2011 Canadian GP
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Button’s victory in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix remains one of Formula 1’s most remarkable comebacks, another race that displayed the British driver’s instinctive feel to adapt to the conditions and emerge on top against the odds.

After four hours of chaos, six safety cars, torrential rain, and endless drama, Button went from disaster to victory in one of the best drives of his career.

His afternoon began disastrously: an early collision with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, a puncture, and a drive-through penalty left him last, twice. Button, however, never lost composure.

As the rain intensified and visibility vanished, he found his stride, timing his transitions between wet, intermediate, and slick tyres perfectly.

Lap after lap, he carved through the field and then, on the very last lap, came his crowning moment.

Chasing Sebastian Vettel, Button forced the championship leader into a rare error at Turn 6 and swept past to win from the very back of the pack.

2018 Super GT
Sugo

By 2018, Button had long since shown everything there was to prove in Formula 1, yet his racecraft found new expression in Japan’s super competitive Super GT series.

Competing for Team Kunimitsu alongside Naoki Yamamoto in the Honda NSX-GT, Button had been steadily adjusting to the tactical complexity of Japan’s GT500 series.

At Sugo, having qualified on pole, Yamamoto completed the first stint but lost the lead of the race to Jann Mardenborough.

When Button took over, he wasted no time and quickly made a decisive pass on Daiki Sasaki’s Nissan to retake the lead.

Even as a late safety-car restart bunched up the field and Tomoki Nojiri’s ARTA Honda loomed large in his mirrors, Button refused to yield, taking victory by just half a second.

The win was his first in Super GT and laid the foundation for a championship-winning season.