Jenson Button

British Formula One driver currently driving for McLaren. He is the 2009 Formula One World Champion, driving for Brawn GP. He is the fourth child of South African Simone Lyons and former Rallycross driver John Button, who was well known in the UK during most of the 1970s for his so-called Colorado Beetle Volkswagen, before switching to a VW Golf Mk1 in 1978. Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British Formula 3 Championship. He first drove in Formula One with Williams F1 for the 2000 season. The following year he switched to Benetton, which in 2002 became Renault, and then for the 2003 season he moved to BAR. In 2004 he finished 3rd in the World Drivers' Championship, with only the two Ferraris ahead of him. BAR was subsequently renamed Honda for the 2006 season, during which Button won his first Grand Prix in Hungary, after 113 races. Following the withdrawal of Honda from the sport in December 2008, he was left without a drive for the 2009 season, until Ross Brawn led a management buyout of the team in February 2009, and Button suddenly found himself in a highly competitive, Mercedes-engined car. He went on to win a record-equalling six of the first seven races of the 2009 season, securing the World Drivers' Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix, having led on points all season; his success also helped Brawn GP to secure the World Constructors' Championship. For 2010, he moved to McLaren, partnering fellow British racer and former World Champion Lewis Hamilton. After finishing fifth for the team in 2010, Button finished the 2011 season as runner-up. In 2012 he took his first pole for McLaren at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. He spent a fifth season with the McLaren team in 2014, his 15th in Formula One. From the 295 races that Button has started he has won 15, with a total of 50 podium finishes. Button resides in the principality of Monaco. He was engaged to the actress and singer Louise Griffiths before ending their five-year relationship in May 2005. In 2009, Button began dating model Jessica Michibata. The two married in Hawaii in December 2014. In December 2015, Button announced they had split. Button is involved in charitable work through the creation of The Jenson Button Trust. Established in March 2010, the Trust provides donations to a number of charitable causes. Each year the Trust will select and nominate charitable beneficiaries to which the funds will be distributed. Link to Wikipedia biography