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Jenson Button

Jenson Button is a Formula One driver currently in the employ of the BAR team. Though until 2004 he had not met with significant success, he scored five podium finishes in the first seven races of the 2004 season, and became the press's immediate up-and-coming favorite. Button, now in a solid third place in the championship, is undoubtedly an immediate challenger (along with both Renault drivers) to the dominance of Ferrari ace Michael Schumacher.

Button was born on January 19th, 1980, in Frome, Somerset, England. He became involved with karting at age eight, generally dominating every race in which he took part. In 1991, he won the British Cadet Kart Championship, taking first place in all 34 races. In 1997, he became the youngest ever to win the European Super A Championship. He switched from karts to cars in 1998, winning the British Formula Ford Championship that same year for Haywood Racing. Jenson entered Formula Three in 1999, winning two races and placing third in the British Championship.

McLaren awarded Button their Young Driver Award in 1999. He began testing in F1 in 2000, switching teams a bit, and beating the Prost team's regular driver Jean Alesi's times in testing at Barcelona. This amazingly auspicious debut caught the attention of Sir Frank Williams, of Williams F1 fame, who wanted Button as his testing driver; however, Button quickly began outpacing Williams's second man, Bruno Junqueira, and signed on as the team's junior driver. He finished eighth in the 2000 drivers championship and proved that he was genuinely fast by outscoring his teammate (the more experienced Ralf Schumacher) on many occasions. His best races of the season were a fifth place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix and a fourth at the German Grand Prix.

In 2001, although still under contract with Williams, Button drove for Benetton, but he had quite a dismal season; the car, which was constantly under development, was never fast that year, nor was Jenson. He did, however, place fifth at the German Grand Prix, but fell to a disappointing seventeenth in the drivers championship that year.

In 2002, Benetton was purchased by, and renamed as, Renault, and Button proved to the world that 2001 was just bad luck. Though his teammate Jarno Trulli routinely outpaced him in qualifying, Button had the superior race pace. He barely missed third place (and his first podium) at the Malaysian Grand Prix, being passed by Michael Schumacher in the last lap due to a suspension failure in his BAR, and instead finished the race fourth. The Brazilian Grand Prix gave him another fourth place. He would finish seventh in that year's drivers championship.

In 2003, Button joined the BAR team alongside former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. A bit of bad blood arose between them when Villeneuve spoilt a points-finish for Button in the first race of the year (at the Australian Grand Prix) by coming into the pits when it was Button's turn. However, as the season progressed, Button's times were consistently better than Villeneuve's, his best result being a fourth place in Austria. Button crashed heavily during practice at Monaco, missing the race and the following testing session at Monza. He finished ninth in the drivers championship that year with 17 points (11 points more than teammate Villeneuve).

In 2004, Button and BAR made a surprise jump to the top of the heap (beneath the ubiquitous Michael Schumacher and Ferrari). He finished the first race (Australian Grand Prix) in sixth place after a brilliant qualifying session, and in Malaysia Button landed his first podium with a third place, which he reprised at the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix. His (and BAR's) first pole position came in April at the San Marino Grand Prix, in which he finished second behind Schumacher, confirming his position as the main non-Ferrari challenger of the 2004 season. Button needs only 6 more points in 2004 to lock up third place in the drivers championship.

On August 5, 2004 Button announced that he had signed a two-year contract to return to Williams from the start of the 2005 season; an apparent loophole in his BAR contract permitted him to leave if Honda's commitment to the team was in any doubt. BAR boss David Richards promptly vowed to fight to keep his driver, though Sir Frank Williams maintained that the switch was entirely legal. The F1 Contract Recognition Board (CRB) announced that a hearing to determine Jenson's 2005 status wil be held on October 16 in Milan, Italy.

Button is currently engaged to Fame Academy's Louise Griffiths. Like most Formula One drivers, Jenson resides in the principality of Monaco.

Constructors and drivers currently competing in the Formula One championship:
Ferrari	Williams	McLaren	Renault	BAR	Sauber	Jaguar	Toyota	Jordan	Minardi
1 M Schumacher 2 Barrichello	3 Montoya 4 R Schumacher	5 Coulthard 6 Räikkönen	7 Villeneuve 8 Alonso	9 Button 10 Sato	11 Fisichella 12 Massa	14 Webber 15 Klien	16 Zonta 17 Panis	18 Heidfeld 19 Glock	20 Bruni 21 Baumgartner