Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, competes in potentially his last race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this month. The McLaren driver has announced a sabbatical from the sport, which means the Briton, who made his debut in 2000 and has raced in 304 grand prix, will be absent from the grid when the 2017 season begins in Australia next March.
Here is a look at five of the best races of his career.
Hungarian Grand Prix (2006)
Button’s first of 15 race wins came in mixed conditions in Budapest. He started down the order in 14th due to a grid penalty, but he overtook a number of cars in the rain in the opening laps, and then maintained his pace in the dry to give Honda a surprise victory.
Brazilian Grand Prix (2009)
Button won his lone world championship in exciting fashion when, after qualifying only 14th in wet conditions, he held his nerve to thread his way up the order in his Brawn-GP during the race at Interlagos. He crossed the line fifth to become champion, before singing a rendition of Queen’s We are the Champions on his pit radio.
Canadian Grand Prix (2011)
It is not often that a driver can make six pit stops, be in last position at one point, have two collisions and have a drive-through penalty, and still win a race. But that is exactly what Button did in Montreal. His charging drive was rewarded when his pressure led to Sebastian Vettel running wide on the final lap in his Red Bull to allow Button to take the lead.
Belgian Grand Prix (2012)
Button won 15 races in his career without dominate many of them. But he was absolutely supreme in Spa-Francorchamps for McLaren in 2012. He was almost a second faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying and then led all 44 laps to enjoy a perfect weekend.
Austrian Grand Prix (2016)
Recent seasons have been slim pickings for Button due to McLaren’s decline, but he shone at the Red Bull Ring, running as high as second early on a track. Given its long straights, he really should not have been up there given the lack of power in the Honda engine, but he drove a strong race and sixth was an excellent result.
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