Finger on the Button

CARSIFU had a rare opportunity to meet with Jenson Alexander Lyons Button, McLaren-Honda Formula One Team’s driver from England, a 36-year-old who still has his boyish good looks. He was 2009 F1 world champion and has a fixation on triathlons.

JENSON Button appeared magnanimous with his comedic personality prior to the interview as we exchanged a few jokes before hand.

His smile says it all, showcasing a level of confidence that’s worth a million dollars (although he’s worth much more than that), but ultimately he looked ready to take on the tough weekend ahead of him as he lines up on the grid for the 300th time.

But with Button’s recent announcement that he’ll be taking a sabbatical from Formula One next year (2017), and the end of the F1 season coming to a close by the end of this month, we can only imagine the real excitement deep within him.

What’s going to happen next year?

Well, I won’t be racing next year and my aim was to have a year out of the sport. I might still be at a couple of races or doing stuff on the simulator. Whatever it is, I’m always there to help develop the car and the team as a whole, but I’ll mainly be away having fun, living my life by my schedule and training hard.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do once the season ends?

I’m definitely going to spend time with my family and that includes my friends. I spend so much time away from home, I probably get to see them five or six times a year and four of those times are at races. But I’m not the same person when I’m at a race because I’ll be very focused - in a way selfish. Last year was the first time in five years I got to spend Christmas with them so it’ll be quite nice to spend my time with them next year.

With more time on your hands, what are your plans?

I would definitely be looking for my next race in a triathlon, I really love the sport. For me it’s something I’ve done for the last eight years and it was something that I could really sink my teeth into by training for and be competitive in. So the aim for next year will be to up my game and qualify for the world championships, which I’ve done a couple of times, but this time I can hopefully get to go as well.

What about racing in your free time?

I might also still go racing, I’m not too sure just yet. Maybe in rally cross, Super GT or even karting, but whatever the case may be, I’ll only do it if I think it’s going to be fun.

What’s your fixation on competing in a triathlon?

It’s mentally very tough. It’s not just a physical thing and I think it prepared me very well for Formula One. It also took my mind off the bad races I had previously. But more importantly it’s the competition. People always say beating your own time is the most important thing, but for me it’s not. It’s beating everyone else (laughter).

Which part of a triathlon do you enjoy the most?

It changes all the time, but the bit I enjoy the most would be cycling and I’ve trained a lot with other racing drivers, MotoGP riders, pro-cyclists in Monaco where I live, like Alex Wurz for instance. It’s a good group of people with lots of stories that we have of each other and it also keeps you fit at the same time.

And just like that, our ten minutes with the Briton were up. Button finished ninth place in the 2016 Formula 1 Malaysia Grand Prix, collecting two points while his team mate Fernando Alonso managed to secure seventh place, adding six points to the tally.

Button currently holds 15 points, placing him in 15th place within the driver’s standings, while the team resides in sixth place within the constructors’ championship with 62 points.