Jenson Button to Leave Full-Time Racing After 2025 Season.
Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button has announced that he will step away from full-time racing at the end of the 2025 season. The 2009 F1 titleholder has been competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the Jota team, having joined on a two-year contract that began in 2024.
Recently, Button achieved a strong second-place finish at the 6 Hours of São Paulo alongside his teammates in the No. 38 Cadillac Jota entry. The race was especially significant for the team, as Jota’s No. 12 car secured Cadillac’s first-ever win at the Interlagos circuit.
Despite the success, Button, now 45, confirmed that he will not extend his deal with Jota beyond the current season and has opted against another year of full-time competition. Citing a hectic personal and professional life, the British driver emphasized that his decision was driven by the need to prioritize family and other commitments.
“Life is very full at the moment,” Button explained. “There’s a lot going on, and I think it’s time I start planning for the future more seriously. I want to spend more time with my family. It’s also not fair to the team if I can’t give them the full attention they deserve — especially looking ahead to next year.”
While Button won’t be on the grid for the full WEC season in 2026, he did hint at returning to racing in some capacity, saying, “I’ll be racing in something next year, but it won’t be a full-time commitment.”
In addition to his racing endeavors, Button has remained active as a pundit for Sky Sports F1 and is based in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife Brittny Ward and their two children, Hendrix and Lenny. The move away from full-time motorsport will allow him to be more present at home and focus on his growing media career.
When asked about a possible return to NASCAR — a series he briefly competed in during 2023 with Rick Ware Racing — Button left the door open: “Maybe, we’ll see.”
Jota team principal Sam Hignett has not yet named a replacement for Button for the 2026 season but confirmed that the rest of the team’s current driver lineup will remain unchanged.
