Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion, has announced his plans to return to full-time racing in 2024. Button’s racing exploits have been sporadic across different racing series since his Super GT season in 2019. However, he is now ready to commit to a full-time programme next year, targeting either a return to the World Endurance Championship or a maiden campaign in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Button’s Racing Career
Buoyed by his efforts behind the wheel of NASCAR’s Garage 56 Le Mans 24 Hours Chevrolet Camaro, and a part-time road and street course schedule in NASCAR Cup with Rick Ware Racing’s Ford Mustang, Button revealed that he’s now ready to commit to a full-time programme next year for the first time since his Super GT season in 2019.
Speaking ahead of next weekend’s NASCAR Cup Chicago Street Race, Button revealed that he was targeting either a return to the World Endurance Championship or a maiden campaign in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Button ran four races in the top class of the WEC in 2018 in SMP Racing’s BR Engineering LMP1 car, which included an overall podium finish at Shanghai.
Button’s Plans for 2024
Button says he’s enjoyed his irregular racing activities but is now ready to expand his exploits in 2024. “I have jumped around doing lots of different things over the years, basically because I wanted to race in those series, and I’ve been very lucky to be able to jump into certain cars and race,” he said.
“I feel I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve won the world championship in F1, I achieved what I set out to do. Now I’m going racing because I love racing. I love learning new things, and the challenges are what keeps me going, otherwise I wouldn’t be racing anymore.”
IMSA’s GTP Class
When asked by Autosport if he’d been keen on racing in IMSA’s GTP class, Button replied: “Yeah, I would. Who knows what could happen in the future, whether it’s WEC, IMSA or some more NASCAR races in the future. But I’ll definitely be leaning on Jim [France] a little for that.”
Button says time spent with NASCAR president and Grand-Am founder France (Grand-Am is now merged with IMSA, while France retains a keen interest and owns the Action Express Cadillac team) has created a bond between them, thanks to the huge interest that the Garage 56 project brought to NASCAR.
Conclusion
Button is looking forward to returning to full-time racing in 2024. He is targeting either a return to the World Endurance Championship or a maiden campaign in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Button has enjoyed his irregular racing activities but is now ready to expand his exploits. He says he loves racing and learning new things, and the challenges are what keeps him going.
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