Jenson Button: 'Get rid of your ego'
The former F1 World Champion speaks to Country Life about retirement, his career, and what the future holds.
Palm trees, 34ºC, a circuit and roaring V12s. This is a petrolhead’s dream, but I wasn’t in the Middle East to fantasise about becoming a World Endurance Championship (WEC) racing driver; I had seven interviews to work through over eight hours.
Could I complain? Absolutely not, as I’ve had worse office views than Bahrain’s 3.4-mile International Circuit. The track, located roughly 30 minutes' drive from Bahrain’s centre, sits in the middle of the Sakhir Desert, a barren landscape filled with oil extractors, sandy dunes, and camels.
Organised by the FIA, the 2025 WEC consisted of eight manufacturers and 36 cars split over two classes: 18 Hypercars and 18 LMGT3 cars.
The 2025 season started in Qatar in February, before heading to Imola, Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, São Paulo, Lone Star Le Mans, Fuji, and ending in the desert. Bahrain is an eight-hour battle of wits, skill, and experience, something that pushes the bounds of friendship, teamwork, and strategy.
Many drivers already have experience under their belts through F1, such as Robert Kubica, Mick Schumacher, and Sebastian Buemi, but one driver said goodbye at the end of the season, a driver that many F1 and WEC fans adore — Jenson Button. But what does one do after such a successful career in motorsport?
I found Jenson hidden out of the sun behind the race circuit in the Jota Cadillac team villa. Greeting me with a smile and a firm handshake, we sat down for a brief chat about the WEC, his career, his retirement and future plans.
Jota secured fourth position in the WEC manufacturers’ standings in 2025, securing 158 points.
After such an incredible career, how do you feel about retirement?
‘It’s a funny one. Most people are saying to me, “it’s emotional. What will you do with your time, and what will it be like after?” In honesty, I don’t know because I’m not there yet, but I’m happy about it in a way.’
‘I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of years in WEC. To see out my professional career with Jota is awesome; this place feels like a big family, and I really feel part of it. I’m always excited to see what comes next. For me, it’s spending a lot more time with family. My kids are four and six, and I miss them when travelling.’
Will you continue to race?
‘It’ll be more like jumping in a historic car and doing something like the Rolex Reunion or Goodwood’.
‘It’s not going to be a professional year because this takes a lot of your time. The cars in WEC are so complicated, and the time we’ve spent in engineering meetings and simulations is far more than what we had in F1.
Can we still expect to see you as a spectator?
‘Definitely not. I think many drivers feel the same. When we leave something, we don’t want to watch because it makes us want to go back into the car. I’ll still work as an F1 presenter and an ambassador. So, I’ll likely be at 8 to 10 races next year.’
Looking back at your career, what’s the most memorable moment?
‘There’s been so many. The first time I won the Formula Super A karting championship. That was such a big deal for me because I knew how competitive that category was, and you had to be invited to race in it.
‘The next one was walking into Frank Williams’ office in Barcelona during testing; we were just about to announce the driver line-up. He turned to me and said, “JB, you’re going to be an F1 driver.” That was special.’
Starting his career with Williams in 2000, Jenson Button became the youngest British F1 driver and the youngest driver to score a point when he finished in sixth place at Interlagos. He had drives with Benetton, Renault, BAR/Honda/Brawn, and McLaren, in a career spanning 17 years. In 2009, he won his first and only World Driver's Championship with Brawn.
What about the F1 World Championship?
‘It’s such a funny one. Everyone thinks nothing comes close to winning F1, and of course not, because it’s the pinnacle of the sport, but every time you win a championship, the emotion and adrenaline are still the same. Therefore, winning the Super GT [the top level of sports-car racing in Japan] back in 2018 really meant a lot.’
How important is it to have a good team strategy in the competition, and what is a winning strategy?
‘Having everyone on board is very important. It’s very different to F1, where the driver must be selfish to succeed; it's all about how the car feels and what direction you take the set-up in. You’re all compromising, but working as a team. This team works very hard, long hours, but they do it because they're so passionate.’
What made this the right moment to step away?
‘I did before over the past couple of years. I raced in F1, then in Super GT, and a few races in WEC. We had our two kids through Covid, so I wanted to be at home as much as possible. Then I did some races here and there, like Nascar and Le Mans, and I thought I’d never quite get the best out of myself just jumping in a car with minimal practice. That's when I reached out to Jota.’
Having enjoyed the last two years with Jota, Button realised around six months ago that he couldn’t do it for another season.
‘It’s not fair on me and it’s not fair on the team, because they need someone who's 100% focused.’
The iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium hosts the WEC from May 7–9 this year.
What advice would you give to young drivers entering WEC for the first time?
‘Get rid of your ego. Some drivers aren’t made for endurance racing because they are too selfish, and I get that because you need to be selfish in single-seater cars. I think it’s realising it's a team game, and it’s not normally the route for young drivers to want to be in a Hypercar or LM. But it's interesting to see so much interest from youngsters and seeing them being put into the cars, because there’s a lot to learn.’
Jack Aitken will step in as Button’s replacement, joining Jota Cadillac’s line-up for WEC 2026.
