Perhaps lost a bit in all the kerfuffle with Ferrari at Monaco, last weekend was noteworthy for what was almost certainly our last time seeing Jenson Button in an F1 car.
Barring Fernando Alonso taking off midseason again to race tricycles or the 24 Hours of LeMons, Button’s contractual obligation to drive for McLaren is unlikely to be called on again. Button suggested as much during the weekend, and his admission afterwards that his appetite has not been whet for any more, followed by the announcement of plans to compete in the Japanese Super GT series in August only lends further credence to the notion, despite rumours he could be driving for the team in 2018.
Yet if this does turn out to be the last we see of Button, it’s unfortunate it came under such ignominious circumstances. An impressive P9 in qualifying aside, Button’s weekend was farcical. First Button had to endure a 15-place grid penalty for a new MGU-H and Turbocharger, then a pit-lane start on the Sunday, and spent most of the race dead last behind the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein, which he managed to flip on its side in a race-ending incident.
Admitting he had struggled for confidence in his brief time in the MCL32, Button didn’t help his chances by electing not to test the car after the Bahrain Grand Prix in April. Clearly, his heart was never in it to begin with, and the race itself did nothing to change his mind.
As such, Button leaves the sport about as far from a race-winning opportunity as he has been at any point in his career – an ignominious end, albeit one that does nothing to take away from a remarkable career.
You could easily make the case that in the history of F1, no driver’s career unfolded in such a fairytale-esque fashion – from his rejection by Williams and Renault, to years slumming it with BAR/Honda culminating in an 18th place season in 2009, only to pull off the miracle that was his 2009 driver’s championship.
His second-act with McLaren may have ended in less-than-optimal circumstances, but the good memories will persist far longer, including arguably the greatest race win of all time at Montreal 2012, and his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton that saw him out-point the three-time world champion 672-657.
Even if his results might not put him in the pantheon of all-time great F1 drivers, he remains one of the most well liked drivers to occupy an F1 seat in recent memory, and wherever he goes next, his legions of fans are sure to follow.
Thanks for the memories JB, and all the best for the future.
Inside Line Opinion by Ben Stevens
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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