Formula 1
The downside of Formula One for Button
Twenty-two-year old Jenson Button doesn't have the average life of a lad his age; driving a race-car for a living is a far cry from what most young men would expect. "The best thing about my job," Button told the BAR website, "is that you get to ...
Published: May 1, 2003, 8:48 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Twenty-two-year old Jenson Button doesn't have the average life of a lad his age; driving a race-car for a living is a far cry from what most young men would expect. "The best thing about my job," Button told the BAR website, "is that you get to drive these mega Formula One cars and race against the best drivers in the world. I'm so lucky. I really enjoy my job."
Jenson Button.
Photo by British American Racing.
Aside from the racing, there's the cars, the houses and the large salary that go with the lifestyle. But there's one thing Button isn't keen on; he spends too much time flying in aeroplanes rather than flying around a race-track.
"Apart from the obvious intrusions into your life, which you have to accept as part of the job, the worst thing about F1 is all the flying around." Button said. "It's not just seventeen races a year but all the promotional work and testing too."
"I guess I get on an aeroplane about three times a week and it gets so boring after a while. I spend a fortune on magazines, but I still run out of things to read! That's probably the worst bit of my job. And doing interviews, of course!"
The fast-paced life style has other drawbacks and while Button hopes it hasn't changed him too much, he admits he finds it difficult to keep himself occupied when he's not racing. "I don't think so," he said when asked if it had all gone to his head. "I certainly hope it hasn't."
"I've definitely changed in some ways though. I've got a shorter temper and I get bored very easily now. I just can't do anything without losing attention! I mean, I go to the movies with my girlfriend and I can't watch a film -- I get bored after twenty minutes and need to do something else, which isn't good really as she gets quite annoyed with me!"
"I suppose it's because of the excitement and buzz you get when you are at the circuit driving F1 cars. Nothing comes close to that. It sounds strange, and my girlfriend will hate me for saying it, but it's very difficult to find something that really interests me away from the track."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Only a matter of time for Alonso
Next article Spanish GP: Jordan preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jenson Button
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Formula 1
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Fernando Alonso earns Michael Schumacher comparison from Jenson Button
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
More from
British American Racing
AJ Foyt Racing officially names Sato as driver for 2013
IndyCar
IndyCar
AJ Foyt Racing officially names Sato as driver for 2013
Force India stays with McLaren Applied Technologies
Formula 1
Formula 1
Force India stays with McLaren Applied Technologies
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Indy 500 sponsor news 2010-03-02
IndyCar
IndyCar
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Indy 500 sponsor news 2010-03-02
Latest news
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
10 min
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
56 min
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Dakar Rally moves 2027 event out of Saudi Arabia; new location to be announced
Dakar
DAKR Dakar 1 h
Dakar Rally moves 2027 event out of Saudi Arabia; new location to be announced
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe