LEGENDS: Jenson Button’s first F1 win

0:0220 years ago, Jenson Button joined an elite club. They said he might never win a Grand Prix. He's done it! Jenson Button wins the Hungarian Grand Prix. Get in there! I remember the laps before the finish. You know, before you win your first race, the last few laps go on forever, that's what they say. For me, I didn't want it to end. It was the best feeling, you know, leading a race by, I think it was 30 seconds. I loved every moment. I remember those laps vividly because it meant so much. You know, I was just about to achieve something that I set out to do at eight years old.

0:53Hello and welcome to F1 Beyond the Grid. I'm Tom Clarkson and my guest this week is the 2009 world champion Jenson Button. We're speaking 20 years on from his first F1 race win in Hungary with Honda in 2006. Jensen recalls his memories before, during and after the race, describing the emotions, the celebrations and how that first win changed him as a racer. That last point leads us on to a very interesting chat about when Jensen was at his best in Formula One and the insecurities that all drivers feel.

1:39jb great to have you on the show again how are you good thank you yeah it's been a few years it has now talking of years we all love an anniversary right uh it's 20 years would you believe it since that first win hungary 2006 look when you think of that weekend let's start with this what is the overriding memory oh their emotions yeah I mean it went from qualifying force getting a 10 place good penalty because we had an engine failure starting near the back so in 14th with Fernando with Michael because they both got penalties in qualifying for overtaking under a yellow flag so we're all at the back and fighting our way through so did I think it was going to end up with a victory no definitely not from where we were but um it had everything that race you know a lot of action started wet it dried out i made a move on michael into turn one which kind of was a win for me anyway before i actually got the victory anytime you could put one over on michael schumacher was impressive and uh i enjoyed it very much um and yeah so so much emotion and And relief also because, you know, it'd been 113 races that I've had in Formula One.

2:55And hadn't won yet. Can we start with the background, right? I mean, on the subjects of not winning, you'd come close. You had a stack of podiums, 10 in 2004 alone. Had you got to the point where you're thinking, is this ever going to happen? Yeah, definitely. I was at that point. You know, 2004 was an amazing year, as you said, 10 podiums. The first one came and then it's like I couldn't do anything wrong that year. I was always on the podium. Pole position in Imola in front of Michael in the Ferrari, which is pretty special. But yeah, the elusive win just wasn't there. And 2005, obviously, we had our own issues with missing a few races.

3:37But yeah, it was getting a little bit painful because the team were great. But to challenge Ferrari at that time was really difficult. And then Renault appeared from nowhere. competitive with Fernando Alonso. And those two were fighting. We were like the team behind. You know, we were the team in third in the constructors. And it was getting a little bit frustrating. So that win kind of opened up a little bit for the whole team. From that point onwards until the end of the season, I scored more points than any other driver. 35. I was going to say that. On the topic of Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello had come to BAL, Honda as it was that year.

4:12Just what did Rubens bring the team that it hadn't had before? or had it felt like a one car team before and suddenly it became two? It's funny, I've been asked this question many times in terms of who's the driver that you feel was the best at engineering. And by far, it was Rubens. At working with a team, developing a car, understanding what a car is doing out on track and feeding that information back, but also just understanding what to do with the car, not just letting the engineer get on with it. And that's what he was really impressive at. And I understand why Michael wanted him as a teammate for so many years.

4:53And I was lucky enough to have that when we started racing together and I could really see the skill set that he had that I never knew existed. And a winner's mentality. I mean, did he explain why Ferrari had been so successful? And were you able to make changes within the team? I wouldn't say so much in, you know, a winning mentality. I mean, we all want to win. we're all doing as much as we can to win you know it's these aren't amateur teams going up against Ferrari you know this is hundreds of people and with a lot of experience in the sport so I think the mentality was always there to be winning it's just we didn't quite have the package to do that but I think having feedback from two drivers with experience was really important and obviously you know they're going to listen to Rubens quite a lot because he's come from Ferrari and he's worked alongside Michael.

5:41Okay so that's the background let's talk about the track now the hungara ring you actually won there twice in your career quirky little track feels like a sort of overgrown kart track uh was it a track you liked racing on it was a tough track to race on if the conditions were dry overtaking was was quite difficult um it was like a monaco without the barriers you know so you could take more risks you could make mistakes and get away with it unlike Monaco but um I really enjoyed it you know it was a fun track to drive in mixed conditions it was awesome you know because you could put it around the outside at turn two um other places like turn five you could drive around the outside in the wet of people so it was a real mixed up race if it rained and lots of opportunities in those conditions we were also on on Michelin tires at the time and the Ferraris were on Bridgestones which definitely helped us in those in those wet conditions.

6:37What did you need from your car to be quick? Because actually the RA106 had been a little bit inconsistent at the opening of the 2006 season. Was it good in tight and twisty or did it prefer quicker corners? Quicker corners. Yeah, and you needed a car that was good in quicker corners in Hungary. I mean, it sounds strange, right? Because it looks so slow, but it's not. You're still unbelievably quick in most corners in Budapest. And, you know, the last sector especially, You know, you needed a good front end. It was never my strong point to have a car that had too much of a pointy front end because I didn't like oversteer that much.

7:14But it was a car that you could, as you added steering lock, it was like the dream. You got more front grip. Whereas a lot of racing cars, you get to a point and it washes out. So it was a really nice car to drive. The last corner, I just remember being frustrating in that car because it wasn't quite quick enough for the aero to be working well. So you'd always just go in there and throw in on loads of steering lock and understeer. So that's where we lost time. But most of the track, we were pretty strong. Well, you hit the ground running, actually. Anthony Davidson, the third driver, reserve driver.

7:47I can't even remember. But we had the Friday drivers in those days. He was, what, P2 on Friday morning in first practice. And then you and Rubens lock out the second row of the grid in qualifying before the grid penalty that you mentioned. So the car felt good from the moment you put it on track that weekend? Yeah. and you know when you look back now it's it's hilarious because it was just the norm you know the way the cars looked sounded but you know that v10 when i watch videos back um just blows my mind those the scream of it how does an engine produce that noise it was uh it was pretty phenomenal and uh you know to have raced in that era i feel very very lucky very privileged but um yeah from the war go it felt good and then it didn't because we we had an engine failure i remember it was after turn four the quick left-hander I had to pull over to the left and smoke billowing out the back of the car and that was it I was like 10 grid place penalty done but tell us what you were thinking on race morning you rip open the curtains it's the first wet Hungarian Grand Prix ever did you start to believe at that point no no not starting 14th it never happened you know I'd never won a race before and I'd started on pole so no definitely you even started on pole earlier in the year in Australia as well.

9:00Yeah, yeah. And then stopped just before the line with the same issue as we had in testing at Hungary. But no, I definitely didn't. But I knew it was going to be more interesting. And the exciting thing for me was that we had the two championship rivals starting behind me or around me at that time. So I knew it was going to be a big fight through the field. And it definitely, definitely was that. You know, when I watch it back and I see the fight between Michael and Fernando as well, it was an awesome race. talk about the decision about what tires to start on because you started on inters from people and your teammate rubens is on full wets from third on the grid the briefing before the race i mean why why so so different i i don't remember why rubens was on wets uh i mean most of the time in in f1 as we've experienced you don't ever want to be on a wet tire the only reason why you'd be on a wet tire is because it's too wet to drive on the track you know so you'd be behind the safety car.

9:55As soon as the safety car comes in, you want to be on an inter because they just, they get eaten up so quickly, a wet tyre, and the blocks move around so much. Whereas the inter tyre, it just worked in those conditions. It wasn't a lot of standing water. Enough to be wet, but not rivers where you needed a wet tyre. Quick word on the tyre war. You already mentioned that that race weekend was, you wanted to be on the Michelins and not the Bridgestones. But did you enjoy the tire war era of Formula One? I did. I did. And, you know, I experienced that later on in my career in Super GT as well. It's such a, for me, it's such an exciting part of racing because it's tire manufacturers going at it as well.

10:36And they're obviously trying to produce not just a safe tire like we have in Formula One now, but also they were pushing the boundaries a lot more with trying to be better than the other tire supplier. You know, what we have now is great because we have the different levels of softness that we have and we can play around with them all around the world for different types of tracks. But back then, it was like they would bring whatever they thought would work for that track and the lap times were extraordinary. And then 2005 happened and we, well, sorry, the year before 2005, where we used one tire for the whole race and we did it.

11:13It was a problem if you locked up. And they were grooved. And they were grooved and they worked. It was just amazing. But yeah, so I really enjoyed the tire war. But, you know, all good things come to an end, you know, and I respect the way that we have it now in Formula 1 as well. What about refueling? It was a refueling era as well, wasn't it? I loved that part of it, you know, because you could have different strategies. You could run different strategies on fuel. You could even start the race on half tanks if you wanted to, to have a lightning first stint. And you'd never be at full tanks because you could do a three-stop race, two-stop race, and you're never at full tanks.

11:51So if your car didn't work as a heavy car with the fuel moving, you just run a lower fuel level and just do more stops. Also, in qualifying then, we had fuel on board. You remember? So it was declared after qualifying how much fuel we had on board for the race. We were sort of guessing, weren't we? Oh, how much? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it was fun. I enjoyed that and it left more it was more opportunity for for people that weren't in the best car I think right back to the race okay we get underway you immediately start flying actually that first stint was great yeah I think you overtook Masa Fisichella Schumacher in the space of two laps yeah it was good so you immediately got a tune out of the car i've asked you this before i'm going to ask you again at what point in the race did you start to think something special might be on definitely i would say towards the end of that stint i think we went to dry tires on this on the first stop it was around that time because the pace was really good on the wets on the Inters and I could see myself coming through the field and they were giving me lap times of Fernando as well.

13:15And I was like, we're quicker, we're quicker, this is great. And then when we put the dry tyres on, the pace was really strong. And at that moment, I thought, yeah, this is... I actually thought it was on before it was on. You know what I mean? At that moment, I was like, we're going to win this. I didn't realise the offset that we had with Fernando with pit stops. I thought it was a walk in the park. and then I was like, oh no, actually Fernando's in front and then he had his wheel nut fall off in turn two and life was made a lot easier for me, I didn't have to challenge him. He's off, Fernando Alonso is off the world championship leader has stopped and Jenson Button not only leads, but he leads by 22 seconds.

13:55Is it too soon to start talking about the first Grand Prix victory of Jenson Button? Do you think you had the pace to pass him if he kept going? Passing him, I don't know. But we had the pace to catch him. But passing is another thing always in the NF1. And with the way the track was, you know, drying track, it's always difficult to put it on the wet patches to overtake. So you've got force and error from the guy in front. How did your race engineer, Andrew Shovlin, break the news that Fernando was out? Was he very calm or was he like, JB, you're not going to believe this? It wouldn't have been calm.

14:29It would have been unbelievably excited. you know when you've never achieved something and you think you might be able to everything changes you know and even though we're British and we don't like showing too much emotion Shovas did and I really love that about him and that's why we work so well together yeah I mean it would have been proper excited definitely I didn't even know that I was racing Fernando at that point so I thought I was in the lead anyway let's hope the floodgates now open for jensen button as they did for nigel mansell and for damon hill before him because here in his 113th grand prix start he's proved the critics wrong they said he might never win a grand prix he's done it jensen button wins the hungarian grand prix get in there you crossed the line you've won your first race 20 years on how vividly do you remember the emotions?

15:30I remember the laps before the finish. You know, before you win your first race, the last few laps go on forever. That's what they say. You hear different things and worried that you're going to have a failure. For me, I didn't want it to end. It was the best feeling. You know, leading a race by, I think it was 30 seconds. I asked the team, is everything okay? You know, a couple of times with the car, they're like, yep, just keep doing what you're doing. and I loved every moment. I remember those laps vividly because it meant so much. I was just about to achieve something that I set out to do at eight years old.

16:06And then I caught the Honda Junior team, which was super aguri. I remember that on the last lap I called up to them. I was like, oh, this would be nice. We can cross the line together when they're a lap down or two laps down. But that would be nice for Honda, but you couldn't keep up. And you weren't slowing down. I wasn't slowing down. I want you know at that moment you start backing off your concentration goes you don't want to be messing with that you got to keep focused you might not be 100 but it's 99 and JB it was an incredible podium of firsts actually so your first win it was the team's first win it was De La Rosa's first podium Heidfeld had given BMW Sauber their first podium as well can you remember what was said or when in that moment is it just all about you no there was a lot of emotion on the podium i noticed it more from pedro um we there's a lot of photos of us hugging a lot and staring into each other's eyes uh it was his first podium and it was his last in formula one it was his one and only so i actually i spoke to him yesterday about it actually and uh as it's the anniversary and he he was like you don't understand how emotional it was for me as well being up there given this opportunity to go and race for McLaren after Juan Pablo was moved aside.

17:22So yeah, it was a lot of emotion up there. And I think for the first win to be Hungaroring with that beautiful trophy, I think that means a little bit more. I know it's the first win, but I think because of the trophy and the effort and dedication that goes into designing that trophy and building it, it means an extra bit more. How did you celebrate? Yeah, I had to go straight to China. because I had a sponsor event in China. I should remember that, yeah. So yeah, I had a couple of beers at the track, jumped on a private plane, which took us to a bigger airport, which then I flew to China and did an event.

18:02It's not a gondola, but it was like a gondola on the water. And I was like, this is so random. It's quite random. Yeah, yeah. And then obviously got the call from Big Bossy at Honda. You've just won our first race in 40 years. can you come to japan i'm like oh all right here we go while you're in the region yeah here it goes uh but uh i arrived in japan and went to the r &d honda r &d center i remember walking in and the corridor it's a completely open plan office and the corridor is it feels like it's half a kilometer long it feels like it's 500 meters long i'm sure it's not but every single worker there came and stood by the middle corridor to clap me down and uh it lasted like 20 minutes walking down there and it was pretty awesome you know there was so much emotion they'd put so much into into the team and it'd been a long time since honda won as a manufacturer uh so a lot of tears and uh that added to my emotion as well so it was actually the best way to kind of celebrate and that cemented your relationship with Honda, who you're still working with today, right?

19:11Exactly. Yeah. It's, you know, I've raced for Honda, obviously 2003 through to 2008, 15 and 16, and then 17, 18, 19 in Super GT. And then I raced for them in the Daytona 24, where we got a podium. Did you approach Turkey, the next race, any differently? You know, they talk about the confidence you get from your first win. did you feel any of that? I think I was more relaxed. I was less tense. Monkey off your back. Yeah, I think that's the feeling that you have. You know, it's less tense. I'm not going to win the world championship. So it's, let's go out and do as well as we can. I've won that race.

19:50I can take a few more risks now, you know. And it was probably some of the best races of my career. One, because I was so relaxed, you know. People talk about the Braun season being my best year in the NF1. It wasn't. I don't think. When were you at your best, JB? I think 2006 was a really good year for me, the second part of the season. And 2011, I would say, in McLaren. The two years you won in Hungary. They are the two years I won in Hungary, yes. My 114th Grand Prix and my 200th Grand Prix, I remember. 2007 and 2008 were quite quiet years. Difficult years. Difficult years. Really difficult.

20:32Remember the earth car and things like that. When did the foundations for 2009 start getting laid? When you look back, did it start in 2006 with that win in Hungary? I would say maybe with Honda, but in terms of the UK-based, no. I mean, we expected so much out of 2007 and it just was a disaster. It really was. You know, our junior team, Superguri, had our 2006 car. So they were beating us. That car had won a race. And we were driving something that couldn't even get into the points with. So that was a tough year. And then it was more when Ross turned up at the end of 2007. That was the moment that, you know, it was like, oh, this is going to turn around.

21:18And you felt the mood shift. A team that had won a race suddenly was so bad in 2007. I think it needed that kickstart again. What did Ross bring? I think just his presence first of all just him walking into the room was enough you know I remember it was like assembly we had the whole whole factory in one room and nobody really knew that Ross was coming and that's when it was announced and he walked down the middle aisle and there he was at the front and he was our savior he was the person that was going to come in and save us from the disastrous 2007. JV I'd love to look can we explore this a bit more what did Ross bring other than his presence was it a confidence was it a direction well yeah I hadn't got to that be yeah I wasn't just his presence but that was already a kickstart you know that was a good kickstart for the team but yeah his leadership uh his understanding of how a team needs to work together getting rid of blame culture within a team letting people be a bit more free within a team and you know come up with crazy ideas and sometimes they don't work but they've got to take risks otherwise you're never going to get to the front so it was a really good atmosphere when Ross was there 2008 was made very difficult because we knew we were just concentrating on 2009 so 2008 was kind of like there you go there you go have that and uh and it was wasn't great it was pretty bad and I'd sort of mentally switched off at that point because I knew this the year was going to be a disaster I feel that Rubens probably did a better job in that situation than I did 2008 I was more already looking at 2009 and I was just going through the motions on race weekends because once you'd won it felt what am I doing here you know fighting for 13th 14th on the grid and it's not what I set out to do so it was tough and I think I gave up a bit too early that season when I look back now did Ross make you a better racing driver uh I think his calm attitude was great you know on tough days i don't think that anyone can make you a better racing driver it's down to yourself to sort out your demons you know i think people can listen and i think that's what you need to do as a leader listen to your driver's problems but don't be too opinionated uh you know as drivers we're flawed we are insecure and i'll go for any driver you You know, when I hear Lewis Hamilton on the radio last year in the Ferrari, when he asks a question, they don't come back to him.

23:48And he's like, have I done something wrong? It's like, you're a seven-time world champion. You know, the confidence you should have is out of this world. But, you know, insecurities creep in. So I think being, you know, listening to drivers and their issues is a big thing, I think, for leaders. Insecurities drive you on, I suppose, as well, right? Yeah, I mean, you forget what you've achieved. And you just think about that last session. You're like, I'm not good enough. you know I was two tenths from a teammate it's crazy and the pressure you put yourself under it's enormous and that's why you see so many drivers fail in the sport even though they have the talent mentally they're just in a really dark place and I've heard it from many drivers and we think of it as a weakness so we don't talk about it and that's what amazed me with Lando you know the way he's been outspoken over the last couple of years of mental health really really good and I think that gives you a lot of strength do you think Michael Schumacher had those insecurities?

24:45Yes, I do. Because certainly the public persona was one of great confidence. Yeah. You know, when there's certain drivers, riders in MotoGP that I've thought he comes across as a bit arrogant, but it's not. They just don't want to let anyone in. You know, they know they have insecurities and they don't want to let people in, which is the biggest issue because then you never get over those insecurities. Yeah. So JB, your career, you experienced every emotion under the sun, didn't you really? Yes. Highs and lows. So when you look at 2026, and we just end on the current year, who do you look at this year and go, they're like me.

25:27I can relate to that driver. He drives like me. His attitude is like me. If all the ducks align, he can win the world championship, even if he hasn't already. Who's that person? it's a difficult difficult question to ask you know we're all built so differently and i'm not inside any of the drivers heads i think in my younger years i would say probably oscar he's driving you were you were chilled yeah jb because i remember being at the showdown in where were we january 2000 it was you and bruno junkie era now i know this sort of innocence of youth what you don't know what you don't know but i was bowled over at barcelona then just thinking how can jb be so relaxed his entire future rests on what we're doing now yeah you know you go from oscar-esque i suppose from being a kid that likes racing cars to an f1 driver your world changes not just your career but everything else in your world changes so but very oscar-esque i think yeah i think so and the racing was what i was all about you know i i wasn't bad at doing media and and sponsor events but it wasn't what i enjoyed it was just the driving that I loved.

26:37And also, you know, in moments in my career, I wasn't there mentally, you know, I wasn't strong enough at certain moments. And I don't want to put that on Oscar. But you know, when you look at last year, there were moments in time that I felt that he wasn't able to get the best out of himself. And sometimes you do tighten up. And that was a weakness of mine. So in 2009, it was in plain sight. And I don't mind talking about it because it's something that I worked on. So yeah, I think probably Oscar and it's lovely to see him and his dedication and his focus and he just wants to go racing. Very like Max as well.

27:17No, I'm not like Max in terms of I'm nowhere near as good as him. But and also the way that he races is very different. Do you think Max has the insecurity as well? Yes, I still think there's an insecurity there. Maybe that applies to all professional sports. I think it does. And it comes down to you lose more than you win. You know, I spoke to Roger Federer last year about sport and the mental side of it. And he said, yeah, well, you got to think, I'm the most successful tennis player ever. And I lost 75 % of my matches. And that's a great record. You know, in F1, I raced 300 Grand Prix. I won 15.

27:5715. So I lost 285 races. hang on 50 podiums or whatever it was yeah yeah but talking about victory so lewis hamilton extraordinary what he's achieved but he's still lost a lot more than he's won and that is mentally why it's tough uh in any sport because you lose more than you win jb it's been such a joy to chat to you again and to relive that hungry race thank you so much for your time cheers

28:32That was a brilliant chat. Thank you, Jensen, for your time and for your memories from 20 years ago. You remembered so much from your first win, and why wouldn't you? I hope everyone involved in that win, especially Andrew Shovlin, your race engineer, will enjoy reminiscing as much as we did. Well, that's almost it for this week. Before I go, a few parish notices for you. On the latest episode of F1 Nation, I'm joined by Jolian Palmer and James Hinchcliffe to talk about the greatest teammate rivalries in F1 history. And this week's F1 Explains is all about press officers with former McLaren communications director Sophie Og.

29:11That will be on the F1 Nation feed on Friday. Thanks very much for listening. I will, of course, be back next week with another iconic name from the pinnacle of motorsport. F1 Beyond the Grid is produced by Formula One and Audioboom Studios. Until next time, keep it flat out. Thank you.