Ex-F1 World Champion Jenson Button returns to WEC with Porsche

2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button retired from the pinnacle of motorsport in 2017, but has continued to impress in other racing categories.

Ex-F1 World Champion Jenson Button returns to WEC with Porsche

Jenson Button (via Sky Sports F1)

2009 World Champion Jenson Button is set to join Jota’s formidable Hypercar lineup, confirming the much-discussed move after a period of intense speculation. The Briton has had an illustrious career following his retirement from F1, and this move has sparked further advancement in his racing career.

Throughout the lead-up to his sportscar comeback at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Button expressed an unmistakable desire to take on the challenge of racing a prototype car. This ambition came to fruition when he took the wheel of Hendrick Motorsport’s Garage 56 entry, a modified Chevrolet Camaro LS1 NASCAR Cup car, alongside Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller.

I would like to race there in a Hypercar: I still have the hunger, I still have the fitness, the reactions and when you have that, why not?
Jenson Button said, as reported by autosport.com.

Reflecting on the experience, Button deemed it “a great way to return to Le Mans,” marking a significant moment in his career. Notably, this return follows his previous participation in the race back in 2018 with SMP Racing’s BR Engineering-AER BR1.

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Jenson Button poised to make a mark in IMSA racing

Jenson Button has signed to drive in the hypercar class of WEC for 2024 with Jota racing, where he will return to prototype racing after making his debut with IMSA in October this year.

Jenson Button
Jenson Button at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (via PlanetF1)

His second IMSA appearance is at the upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona, where he’ll serve as the fourth driver in Andretti’s WEC team, preceding the kickoff of his WEC campaign in Qatar at the beginning of March.

Amidst speculation, Button has been associated with a potential Jota ‘superteam,’ envisioned to include fellow F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica. However, recent updates suggest that negotiations between Vettel and Jota have hit a snag, and Kubica is set to take the helm of the customer Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar, piloted as a satellite entry alongside the two factory cars by AF Corse.

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