F1 News: Jenson Button Reveals Plans To Return To Full-Time Racing
Jenson Button saw his last Formula 1 race in 2017 at Monaco but his experience doesn't end there. The former 2009 champion has an impressive resume for a racing driver, including Super GT, DTM, World Endurance Championship, Le Mans, and NASCAR. Now though, he looks forward to getting behind the wheel again.
Button is planning his debut in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, racing for JDC-Miller MotorSports in the 26th Motul Petit Le Mans staging on October 14. According to the IMSA website, Button is being prepared for a beefed-up version of the endurance schedule that is to come in the future.
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The report suggests that the former F1 driver is looking for a full-time position in the World Endurance Championship for 2024 with the expectation of it stretching to 2025 while he would add to his schedule with IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup outings.
Revealing his plans, Button said:
“There are a few very good options.
"Endurance is the place I want to be. Multiclass racing throws something else into the mix with traffic. There’s always a lot more action because of it.
"The way IMSA is run, you don’t know who is going to win until after the last safety car, basically. Endurance racing is where it’s at.”
However, given the 43-year-old's age, returning to full-time racing had its own share of challenges. But, he insists that he "still feels like a 20-year-old" in a racing car and that, he would continue racing until he's lost the edge completely.
"It never leaves you as a racing driver, that want for competition. As long as I still want to race and am still healthy and fit and my reactions are still there, there’s no reason to stop racing.
"When I get to a point where I’ve lost my edge, I won’t be doing so much serious racing. But for now, wow! I feel like I’ve got a lot of years ahead. I still feel like a 20-year-old when it comes to racing.
"I will race as long as I can.”