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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren Honda in the garage during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
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SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren Honda in the garage during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Jenson Button may have left the sport of F1, but that doesn’t mean his motorsport career is over just yet. The 40-year-old revealed that he had plans to drive in the IndyCar series for 2021 with Arrow McLaren SP.
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However, before entering the series, Button wished to test with the McLaren-owned team last year. However, that plan was scuppered due to COVID, and his IndyCar career has been on ice ever since.
Speaking to (translated via Google) Motorsport.com, Button said, “There was an opportunity to compete in IndyCar in 2021, but nothing happened due to the coronavirus.
“It was thought that I would do a few tests with McLaren. I couldn’t attend the first tests because of Covid-19, and the second test took place between Austrian Formula 1 races.”
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Jenson Button, Grand Prix of Monaco, Circuit de Monaco, 28 May 2017. (Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images)
Jenson Button discusses his track preferences for IndyCar
The Briton said, “I personally want to race on regular tracks.
“I was ready to race not in the ovals, but on European-style tracks. But it didn’t happen. Probably anything would be possible without the pandemic. Of course many people can say the same thing.”
This setback didn’t leave Button dejected. Instead, the former F1 world champion decided to ply his trade in Japan. He competed in the Super GT series with Team Kunimitsu and finished eighth in the championship with 37 points and two podiums to his name.
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 20: Jenson Button of Great Britain and McLaren prepares to take his place for a team photograph during previews ahead of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Button also participated as a guest driver in two races for the same team in the German series DTM. He also drove a one-off race in the British GT Championship with his very own team.
In F1, Button won the 2009 world championship driving for Brawn GP. The very same team would go on to become Mercedes F1 the next year. Button would move to McLaren in 2010 and stayed there until his final full F1 season in 2016.
The Briton was one of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s best teammates. In his second season at McLaren, he would go on to become the runner up in the championship, beating Hamilton by 43 points that season.
His last two years at McLaren were rather uneventful as the team saw a big dip in performance. He ended his F1 with 15 GP wins and 50 podiums to his name. It remains to be seen what Button plans for the 2021 season.
