Discover everything about Jenson Button’s remarkable journey — from his fairy-tale victory as the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion to insights into his impressive net worth and enduring legacy in the world of motorsport.

Jenson Button is one of Formula 1’s most recognisable characters after winning the 2009 world championship in dramatic fashion, so here is everything you need to know about the Briton.

The Briton was successful in karts before cars, becoming British Cadet Karting Champion in 1991 and later winning the British Open Karting title on three occasions.

Button would later become the youngest ever winner of the European Super A category of karts and won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup in 1997, before making the switch to cars at 18 years old.

In 1998, he won the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch ahead of eventual two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon.

His success at junior level single seaters earned him the 1998 BRDC Young Driver of the Year award, which earned him a test with the McLaren F1 team the following year.

Racing in Formula 3 for Promatecme, he won three races and finished the season as the top rookie. He would later finish fifth in the F3 Masters at Zandvoort and then runner-up in the Macau Formula 3 race.

Button would later earn a rare opportunity with Williams, when Alex Zinardi cut short his contract two years early after an unsuccessful campaign in 1999.

25 Aug 2000: Jenson Button of Williams and England in the Williams FW22 BMW during free practice before the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Spa, Belgium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Thompson/ALLSPORT

Jenson Button earns his first F1 drive with Williams in 2000

After Button was pitted against Bruno Junquiera in a shootout test, Frank Williams chose the Briton to partner Ralf Schumacher.

Button became F1’s youngest points scorer at the 2000 Brazilian GP just two races into his career, then followed up with impressive performances at Hockenheim and Spa Francorchamps.

Despite finishing the season eighth overall, Williams would replace him with IndyCar hotshot Juan Pablo Montoya for the following year, with Button finding refuge at Benetton.

Button struggled during its transition to the Renault works outfit alongside Giancarlo Fisichella, with Flavio Briatore blaming his playboy lifestyle for the lack of results.

He would pair Jarno Trulli for the 2002 season when he beat his teammate in F1 for the first time to seventh overall in the championship. Even though it was an impressive year, Briatore would replace him with Fernando Alonso, whom he managed, for the 2003 season.

Jenson Button’s first win in F1 came in 2006 with Honda

Button moved to BAR Honda for the following year to replace Jacques Villeneuve, and despite sitting out the Monaco GP due to injury in qualifying, he capped off a fairly decent year regularly in the points.

The following season in 2004 would prove to be stronger for Button, with him earning his back-to-back F1 podiums at the Malaysian GP and Bahrain GP in the first three rounds.

Honda were the closest rival to Ferrari and Michael Schumacher at the time, with Button finishing third overall in the championship.

The following year would prove to be difficult to follow up on for Button, after Honda was found to be using an illegal fuel bladder and banned for two races in Spain and Monaco midway through the season.

A contract dispute also arose for Button in which he was trying to get out of a deal with Williams, after Honda outright bought BAR. A ninth place overall was a disappointing result for the Briton, considering how strong he was in 2004.

2006 would prove to be better for Button, with the Briton winning his first race at the Hungarian GP in changing conditions from 14th on the grid. Button scored more points than any driver in the final six rounds, moving up to sixth overall.

The 2007 and 2008 seasons would effectively be a write-off for Honda after they shifted focus to the new regulation opportunity in 2009. Button would regularly finish at the back of the pack with teammate Rubens Barrichello, but little did they know that the best was yet to come.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Jenson Button takes fairytale F1 world championship in 2009 with Brawn GP

Honda pulled out of F1 at the end of 2008, citing the global financial crisis, putting the team up for sale. Ross Brawn took over the outfit and Brawn GP emerged from the ashes.

The BGP 001 debuted at F1 testing, now sporting a Mercedes engine, and was a hit from the first laps it put in with Button behind the wheel. At the opening round in Melbourne, Button took pole and won comfortably.

The BGP 001 had employed a ‘genius’ diffuser design that came under dispute from rival teams, but after it was ruled to be legal, everyone set about making their own.

Button would win the next five out of the first seven Grands Prix at the start of the season before teams started to converge. Button started to struggle in qualifying and teammate Barrichello would catch up on points.

It would come down to a brilliant performance in Brazil where, despite being outqualified by Barrichello in wet conditions, Button started from 14th and raced to fifth to clinch the title.

It was one of the great fairytale stories of F1, a team on the brink of collapse takes on the might of Ferrari and McLaren to win both titles. Button would leave at the end of the season to join McLaren.

Jenson Button moves to McLaren in 2010

Things got off well for Button at McLaren, taking an impressive early victory at the Australian GP having chosen to pit early for dry tyres on the wet track.

Paired against Lewis Hamilton, he would go on to challenge for the title before being ruled out in the final races. For the following season in 2011, Button would produce a better season.

Button knew how to extract the most out of the new Pirelli tyres and could drive the blown diffuser better than Hamilton, who struggled. Button produced one of the all-time great wins in Canada in 2011 in mixed conditions, then followed up with a victory in Hungary in similar conditions.

In 2012, Button struggled to extract the best out of the new Pirelli tyres and could only take three race wins throughout the season. His victory at the 2012 Brazilian GP would prove to be his last win and proper podium in F1 before a downward spiral with McLaren.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Jenson Button’s downward F1 spiral and McLaren’s decline

Button would be paired with Sergio Perez for a season in 2013 after Hamilton switched to Mercedes, and it proved to be a difficult affair.

Not only was the car off the pace, but there were a few close on-track moments between Button and the Mexican, including the Bahrain and Monaco Grands Prix.

Button didn’t score a podium all season, and in 2014, the team suffered even more. Their car proved to be uncompetitive, with Button only achieving a sole podium on paper after the disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo at the Australian GP.

The switch to Honda engines in 2015 took McLaren from bad to worse, with numerous engine component failures resulting in regular grid penalties for both Button and new teammate Fernando Alonso.

Button chose to retire at the end of the 2016 season and although he came back for a one-off event in 2017 at Monaco, after Alonso chose to compete in the Indy 500, that would be it for the Briton.

What happened to Jenson Button after his F1 career?

Button would continue racing after F1 for a couple of years, taking part in the 2018 Super GT championship in Japan and winning it.

He would later launch his own Extreme E team, having competed in the opening round before handing over to a rotating group of drivers. JBXE would compete in all three seasons before the championship folded in 2024.

Button competed in NASCAR for three rounds in 2023, and later the FIA World Endurance Championship with Jota Racing Porsche in 2024.

A career in F1 punditry and sportscar racing beckoned, with him now regularly managing the two professions alongside being a father and husband living in America.

How old is Jenson Button? Where was he born?

At the time of writing, Jenson Button is 45 years old. He was born in the United Kingdom in Frome, Somerset, on 19th January 1980.

Jenson Button’s net worth

Jenson Button has an estimated net worth of $150 million (£111,200), according to The Sun, having bought and sold luxury cars during his time as an F1 driver.