Jenson Button won the 2009 Drivers World Championship, the tenth British driver to reach the pinnacle of motor sport, and his story of achievement after years of disappointment is fascinating not just to F1 fans but to all interested in triumph over adversity. The thing to remember about Jenson is that he is a thoroughly decent man, who endured the difficult years with great fortitude, and when given a fast car in 2009 was able to triumph. The pressures and expectations on a reigning champion are intense and it would surprise few that Jenson acted impeccably throughout his time as champion even as a few continued question his status and credentials.
 

For the 2010 season, Button surprised some by moving from Brawn (now Mercedes GP) to McLaren to race alongside Lewis Hamilton (drivers' world champion 08). It illustrates well the inner confidence of a driver, whose skills are often compared unfavourably with the talented younger Hamilton, but ignore the quality cars that both have had to race.

For many years, Jenson was an enigma, clearly talented with all the attributes of what a racing driver should be: good looking, cool, confident and charming. He was a throwback to the romantic age of motor racing, a playboy exterior but with a core of integrity and decency. He lacked just one thing, a winning record. The statistics illustrate the point well, with 169 starts Jenson Button had made the second-highest number of race starts before becoming World Champion. Only Nigel Mansell (with 176 starts, at the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix) had competed in more races than Button before winning the World Championship, however Mansell had a considerable better race record that Button prior to winning the championship, including finishing the season in second place in three years.
 

Jenson like many F1 drivers started young in motor sport, driving Karts. Jenson was a prodigious talent, winning with a regularity that attracted many to speculate a very bright future for the young Brit. Further successful seasons in the British Formula Ford Championship and Formula three in 1998 and 1999 presented Button with the opportunity in F1 with Williams.

Formula 1 racing is not just about the relative skills of a driver, the performance of the car is critical. A great driver in a slow car is most unlikely to win. Thus, many look to the comparison in results of team mates to assess the quality of a driver. In his first season in 2000 racing for Williams, Jenson had moderate success, but was out performed over the course of the season by his team mate Ralf Schumacher.  Moving to Benetton for the 2001 season (but still under contract with Williams) he had a terrible season, finishing a lowly seventeenth in the drivers' championship, and was generally out-qualified by his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. The 2002 season was better; the team renamed Renault, had produced a better car, and despite Jenson still struggling in qualifying compared to his new team mate Jarno Trulli, he outperformed him in the race. Two forth place finishes during the season and a seventh place in the drivers' championship, and beating his team mate. However,  Button was dropped by Renault at the end of the season, to be replaced by Fernando Alonso.  

Button joined British American Racing (BAR) for the 2003 season; he regularly out qualified and out finished his team mate, former world champion Jacques Vileneurve, but the car lacked pace. He finished ninth in the Drivers' Championship. The 2004 season illustrated what many believed, if Jenson had a competitive car, he would shine.  BAR had developed a fast and reliable car enabling Button to score his first ever podium finish with a third place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, and added 9 more podiums throughout the season. Button and BAR's first pole position came in April at the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix, in which he finished second. He ended the season third overall, a then career-best, and only behind the two dominant Ferrari drivers. BAR finished second in the Constructors' Championship.

Jenson's 2005 season was embroiled in a contractual dispute, he had signed with Williams for the next two seasons but BAR objected. The FIA ruled in BAR's favour, and Button stayed at BAR. On track much of the progress that had been made in 2004 was lost; finishing the season in ninth place in the championship.  

Honda fully purchased BAR for the 2006 season, and 2006 was notable for Button for his first race win in Hungary. Incredibly Button's first win had taken 113th Grand Prix starts; Jenson started the race from14th and some great driving in the rain and retirements of front running drivers certainly helped his cause, but a win is a win, and the season ended for Button in a creditable six place, just ahead of his more experienced team mate Rubens Barrichello.

The 2007 and 2008 seasons were once again terrible for Button, the car lacked pace, and both Button and Barrichello struggled to make an impression on the front runners. Many questioned Button's chances of becoming world Champion; he seemed to always be in the wrong team to give him a chance to break through. Finishing 2007 in 15th place and 2008 in 18th was perhaps especially difficult because both season's featured large, Lewis Hamilton, the incredible British talent whose amazing results brought into sharper focus Jenson's career disappointments.   

The situation for Button seemed to be going from terrible to catastrophic at the end of 2008 when Honda announced they were leaving F1. This meant that Button's only chance of a drive in 2009 was dependent on the team finding a buyer, not an easy task after two years of poor performance and a global economic crisis.

The team was purchased through a management buyout lead by Ross Brawn, the newly branded team, Brawn GP had secured engines from Mercedes, but few thought they would be a front running team in 2009.

Remarkably, for the first time since 1954, a team, -Brawn, scored a 1-2 on their debut race at the Australian GP, Jenson winning from pole, Barrichello second. Button won the next race in Malaysia, (also pole and fastest lap). Only half points were awarded because the race was stopped for heavy rain with less than 75% of the race completed. At the Chinese GP Button finished third, but he won again in Bahrain and again at Barcelona.    

At the iconic Monaco Grand Prix, Button got his fourth pole position of the season, and went on to record his fifth win out of six races, Barrichello came in second  for Brawn's third 1-2 of the season to date. Button won again at the Turkish GP, six wins from seven starts.

Button's sixth at the British GP and fifth at the German GP was not what his fans had hoped for and opened the door for Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel to close the point gap to 21. At the Hungarian GP, mechanical issues resulted in a delay in Button's participation in Q3, and a poor eighth on the grid and a seventh in the race.

Following another poor qualifying season at the Belgium GP, Button was involved in a four car crash, leading to his first and only retirement of the season and reducing the point's gap to 16. A strong second to team mate Barrichello at Monza maintained a sense that the championship was Button's if he could just maintain consistent form, but that others were gaining.
In Singapore, once again poor qualifying resulted in Button starting in 11th; Barrichello had suffered a five place penalty and started ninth. Button's strategy of heavy fuel paid dividends and he finished in fifth to Barrachello's sixth. The points lead was 15, with three races to go.

The Japanese GP did nothing to settle nerves or the destination of the title; Jenson finished in eighth, just one place behind Barrachello.

Button was much criticised for his seeming inability to close out the title. The Brazilian GP answered all his detractors, with a phenomenal performance, again qualifying poorly in fourteenth position, he made up five places on the first lap, he finished in fifth, earning enough points to win the 2009 world driver's championship with one race to spare. Brawn also won the constructions championship.

The post race celebrations were notable not just for Jenson's euphoria, but also the pleasure others in the paddock took in his win. He really was the champion that all had predicted and expected years ago, and when it did not happen many had written him off as very nice guy who did not have that little extra. All seemed delighted to be proved wrong.  

At the final race of the season, in Abu Dhabi, Button qualified fifth, behind his team-mate once again, but during the race, aided by the retirement of Lewis Hamilton, Button was able to achieve a podium by coming third.

Much speculation surrounded Jenson's move from Brawn (now Mercedes) to McLaren, money was often said to be the motivation, but Jenson  told the BBC he moved to McLaren because he was looking for a new challenge, insisting Brawn were offering more money but that he wanted the motivation and challenge from competing head-to-head with Hamilton. To move to a big team with an established star (even if you are the World Champion) is potentially fraught with problems. Often two World champions in the same team has caused great and destructive tension. Button and Hamilton seemed to get on well, and throughout the season, both seemed content to respect and praise their teammate.

Button's first race with McLaren was the 2010 Bahrain GP, (the only dull race of 2010 season), his disappointing seventh place was quickly forgotten when he won the next race in Australia and following a eighth place finish in Malaysia, won again  in China. In both his wins, Button did not have the fastest car but employed the best strategy in changing conditions. After four races Jenson was leading the Drivers' Championship, (and  McLaren the Constructors'). A fifth in Spain and a retirement in Monaco was followed by a one two finish for McLaren in Turkey, (Button 2nd). Button had a further second in Canada, and a third in Europe. However, the good form was interrupted by more modest results including a DNF in Belgium. A second place in Monza and a third in Abu Dhabi were highlights in the remaining season. Despite the only really poor result, a twelfth in Korea, the Championship ebbed away with the fifth place finish in Brazil. Jenson accumulated 214 points to finish in fifth place in the Championship, 26 points behind his teammate.

Jenson was not over-shadowed by Lewis Hamilton in 2010, and he once again illustrated his fantastically smooth driving techniques, that preserve the tyres on the tricky circuits. The 2010 McLaren was more suited to Hamilton's driving style, but Button will be hoping that his performance in 2010 will have encouraged the team to build a car more matched to him.
  

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