Jenson Button won’t proceed within the World Endurance Championship with the Jota Cadillac staff subsequent season.
The 2009 Formulation 1 world champion has opted towards endeavor a full programme of racing in 2026, however has insisted that he’s not retiring.
Button, who has a two-year contract with Jota protecting the 2024 and ’25 seasons, listed his busy work schedule, which incorporates appearing as a pundit on Sky TV’s F1 protection, and household causes for stepping down from full-time competitors.
“Life has received too busy with so many various issues occurring – it’s a very busy schedule I’ve,” stated Button.
“It’s about time I begin fascinated by the longer term somewhat bit extra, and I need to spend extra time with my household.
“It’s unfair as nicely to the staff: I in all probability don’t have sufficient time to provide to it, particularly subsequent yr.”
#38 Cadillac Hertz Crew Jota Cadillac V-Sequence.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button
Photograph by: FIAWEC – DPPI
Button pressured that he intends to race in 2026: “I might be racing in one thing subsequent yr, however not a full season.”
Requested if that would contain a return to the NASCAR Cup Sequence by which he undertook three races in 2023, he was non-committal. “Possibly, we’ll see,” he stated.
Button’s post-F1 profession has included appearances in numerous collection, along with two stints within the WEC, beginning with 4 races in 2018-19 driving one in every of SMP Racing’s AER-engined BR1 Engineering LMP1s.
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The cope with Jota to drive one in every of its buyer Porsche 963 LMDhs within the WEC final yr represented his first full programme since a two-year stint within the Tremendous GT Sequence with the Crew Kunimitsu Honda squad in 2018 and ’19, which yielded the title with Naoki Yamamato in yr one.
There have additionally been outings for Button within the British GT Championship and Excessive E driving for his personal groups, in addition to the IMSA SportsCar Championship and Nitro Rallycross Championship.
Jota boss Sam Hignett, whose staff gave Cadillac a maiden WEC victory at Interlagos final weekend, made a candid reference to Button’s departure when discussing the driving force line-up for Cadillac’s manufacturing facility WEC squad subsequent yr.
“There might be one change; one driver has been very public about what his future is,” he stated. “Aside from that everybody else would be the similar.”
When requested a few alternative for the departing driver, Hignett refused to be drawn and acknowledged that there can be no announcement previous to the WEC season finale in Bahrain in November.
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