Photo: Hertz Racing Gold
F1 champion Jenson Button announces retirement
Former Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button has announced that this weekend’s 8 Hours of Bahrain will be his final professional race, bringing an end to a remarkable motorsport career that has spanned over two decades.
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Jenson Button has confirmed that the upcoming 8 Hours of Bahrain will mark the conclusion of his professional racing career. The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion will bow out after his current campaign in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Jota, choosing not to continue into 2026.
Button’s decision closes a big chapter in modern motorsport history. The Briton made his Formula 1 debut in 2000 with Williams at just 20 years old, quickly establishing himself as one of the most talented and consistent drivers of his generation. Over the next 17 seasons, he competed in 306 Grands Prix, becoming the sixth most experienced driver in F1 history, and collecting 15 victories, 50 podiums, and eight pole positions.
His defining moment came in 2009 with Brawn GP, a team born from the ashes of Honda’s F1 operation, where he stunned the racing world by claiming both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in a single, fairy-tale season.
After leaving Formula 1 at the end of 2017, Button remained active in motorsport, racing in a variety of categories including Super GT, IMSA, Extreme E and the World Endurance Championship. However, the growing demands of his personal life have led him to step away from full-time competition.
“I've really enjoyed my time with Jota in WEC, but my life has got way too busy and it's not fair on the team or on myself to go into 2026 and think that I'm going to have enough time for it,” Button told BBC Radio Somerset.
“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. I feel like I've missed a lot the last couple of years, which has been fine because I knew that would happen, but I'm not willing to do that again for another season.”
Although he will no longer compete professionally, Button intends to continue racing purely for enjoyment, particularly in his collection of classic cars.
“I've got classic cars I love to race and for me that's exciting because it's mine – a car that I own – and I love the mechanical aspect,” he said. “It's very different to the cars I race in WEC and F1, you're really connected to it which I love, having to heel and toe, getting the gear shift just right, no aero, it's all mechanical.”
