British driver Jenson Button to retire after weekend’s Abu Dhabi GP

Former world champion Jenson Button announced Thursday that Sunday’s season- closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be his last race in the sport.

The 36- year- old Briton, who has raced in more than 300 Grands Prix and won the 2009 World Championship with Brawn, had already announced he will take up an ambassadorial role with his current team McLaren next year.

“I go into this weekend thinking it’s my last race,” Button said at the press conference ahead of the race.

“At this moment in time I don’t want to be racing in F1 beyond this race.”

McLaren previously announced that highly rated reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will replace Button as Fernando Alonso’s partner in 2017.

There is an option for Button to return to McLaren’s race setup in 2018, but that is thought to be an insurance policy in case that Alonso leaves the British team.

“The whole point of this [ contract] was if in three months’ time I had eaten myself stupid and I changed my mind,” Button said.

Button started his F1 career with Williams, lining up in his first race at the 2000 Australian Grand Prix.

Following a spell with Benetton, he joined BAR in 2004 and won his first race with the team, now renamed Honda, at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

After Ross Brawn took over at Honda and renamed the team, Button surged to glory in the 2009 World Championship, with six early- season wins carrying him to victory above Sebastian Vettel.

He subsequently joined McLaren in 2010, finishing second in 2011, and has been with the British team ever since.

“It’s been a long journey since 8 years old until now,” Button said.

“You get to F1 with many dreams and hopefully you leave the sport with memories – some amazing memories, some life- changing, some good, some bad.

“And also to walk away with the world championship is very special, too. Over 300 Grands Prix. I will definitely step away from F1 happy with what I’ve achieved and definitely my life starts now.”