Button: The highs and lows of my F1 career

Hard to believe that it's 17 years, almost to the day, since I had my first one-to-one with Jenson Button. It was a nervy moment for us both as we sat down in the bland office of the insurance company who were sponsoring Williams and discussed his debut season in F1.

I'd got off on the wrong foot at the start of the year by mildly questioning Jenson's qualifications (in F3) for a drive with a top team (an observation that John Button would cheerfully remind me of when his boy went on to qualify superbly at Spa and Suzuka). Our meeting that day was soothed by the quelling of doubts on both sides; a realisation on his part that I was not about to stick the boot in after a tricky season, and considerable relief on my side that the interview was not being stilted by a gangling 20-year-old bearing a grudge.

As we meet again in the more relaxed surroundings of a coffee shop in a smart London hotel, the passage of time and more than 300 grands prix is clearly marked. Instead of a slightly diffident lad with an anxious look, I'm greeted, with the usual firm handshake, by a tall besuited sports personality exuding the confidence that comes from having picked up 15 race victories and a world championship.

I've been fortunate to witness all of that first hand. But as a journalist in this business you only get to know half the story. The other half - or most of it - is in his book, which I found both enlightening and touching.

F1 Racing: Good to see you. You must be all talked out! How's the book launch tour been?

Jenson Button: Busy! But I'm enjoying it, even though we keep running out of time. You're supposed to sign a book every 30 seconds, or something like that. Of course, it doesn't work out that way because people have been queuing - some for hours - and you can't just sign the book and say "Next!" Everyone wants a quick chat, and that's fine. But it meant we ran out of time in places and some people will have been disappointed. That's a bit upsetting.

F1R: At least there's something for everyone in the book, because you cover your entire life.

JB: Exactly. But it means there will be different views about the book. Some people will be into Formula 1 and only interested in those chapters. For others, it will be all about the karting or something else. Have you read it all?

F1R: Every word! For me, it really got going in the second half; I really enjoyed that.

JB: There you are. Different bits will appeal to different people.

F1R: Maybe I'm giving the wrong impression because there were certain aspects of, for example, your karting career that I found interesting. You say, for instance, that karting technique is the 'fundamental of all racing'. I presume that's with reference to being precise, something that you've applied right through your career?

JB: For me, being precise was always key in a kart. A lot of that came from the Old Boy standing out on the circuit, telling me where to brake and commenting on what I was doing. I'd got to a point where I was scrubbing off a lot of speed because I was being so aggressive on entry, which meant I didn't really know where I was going to end up on the exit. I learned always to use the smallest inputs possible to keep everything calm and not to scrub off speed because the engines in the first karting formula are only 60cc. You've got to keep the revs up. It was about being as smooth as possible.

F1R: Is it fair to say that sometimes worked against you in F1?

JB: Yeah, in some ways it hurt me. For instance, if tyre temperature was an issue, I struggled more than most because I was trying not to be aggressive and as gentle as possible on the tyres. I'm not keen on oversteer and that comes from never putting a kart in that position.

It helps me in certain situations. I can feel the circuit very well - particularly wet-dry conditions - through my butt as well as my hands. But, at other times, like when I was team-mates with Lewis, if the car was a bit tricky to drive, he could always get more out of it because he was more aggressive. It's just a different way of driving. Every driving style has its positives and its negatives.

F1R: You learned to use kerbs through karting because, as you say in the book, there's time to be found there. But you can also lose time. You have to work out which kerbs you can use and which you can't.

JB: Exactly. Sebastian Vettel is really big on using kerbs. He could do things that most of us couldn't do because the Red Bulls were amazing over kerbs. If you can make that work, the circuit becomes wider and you can carry more speed through the apex. That also carries through from karting; using as much of the track as possible to minimise the steering angle.

F1R: That comes across very well in the book.

JB: Shall I tell you why? The guy I wrote the book with, Andrew Holmes, knows zero about motor racing. I had to explain every single detail. It took forever and at times it was quite frustrating. But I think the book is better for it because it's explaining detail to readers who might not know a great deal about motorsport.

F1R: You also mention 'enjoyment' and its importance in your racing - and your life. Did that feeling still apply when you gave up the latter stages of your education and decided racing was your future? Surely there must have been a pressure to succeed that wiped out a lot of the fun element?

JB: No, because at 16 I didn't really think about that too much. You go after your dreams. You're so excited about possibilities. I know what you mean because, when I look at it now, I think: madness! Absolute madness! At 16, if it had gone wrong, what the hell would I have done? Luckily, I was too silly to think about that. You have this dream and you hope that everything falls into place. Now, more than ever, you need backing. Back then, it was difficult to get money but you could still get yourself noticed. These days, they're spending as much going karting as we did in F3. It's crazy.

F1R: You talk about the dream. How did that stand up when your friend Danny Spence was killed? You were 14 and he was nine. That must have been a shocking reality check.

JB: It was the first time I'd ever dealt with death, especially in someone so young. It was really difficult. You feel invincible when you're that age. You don't want to crash, but you don't think anyone can get killed. Then you have to ask why would somebody make a sport that's so dangerous for a nine-year old. It didn't make sense. It was a horrible experience.

I remember going to the funeral and I've never seen so many people crying. At a funeral for one of your parents or a relative, it's horrible - but they've lived a life. Whereas Danny was nine. It was so emotional for everyone, but we had to be there. The best thing to do was jump straight back in a kart as soon as possible, otherwise you're going to struggle, or your parents are going to struggle putting you back in a kart.

"Strangely enough, in the last few years of F1, I didn't have fun after races. It was: 'Get me out of here. I want to go home.' It had become just work by that stage" Jenson Button

F1R: In a way, though, it's a process any racer has to go through because it will happen at some point in your career.

JB: It is. I've watched footage of the first televised event I did, the Clay Pigeon SuperPrix, and there are four of us racing: me, Anthony Davidson, Justin Wilson and Dan Wheldon. And you realise two have gone. You don't think of that these days, but it still is a dangerous sport. Formula 1 may be way ahead of other sports in terms of safety and yet, no matter how safe it gets, the danger will always be there.

F1R: Talking about names from your racing past, and going back to karting, I was interested to read how highly you regarded Giorgio Pantano - and yet he never made it. What conclusions can you draw from that?

JB: He had unbelievable talent. But it's about adapting to certain situations. I remember watching him when he drove for a short time with Jordan in F1. He had quite an aggressive style and drove it like a kart. Your driving style will always be similar, but you have to adapt. That's something I needed to do, particularly with Benetton in 2001. I was driving it like a lower formula car. I'd brake, carry speed through a corner and get on the power. I ended up with massive understeer at the apex and lost time. I had to work out how to brake later, transfer the weight, turn the car and then get on the power.

F1R: Talking about adapting, it was a massive step when you made your Formula 1 debut in 2000. You talk about your very first lap in Melbourne as being the best feeling of your career. I can understand that, but I would have thought there have been even more memorable moments?

JB: Crossing the line in Brazil to win the championship was obviously amazing. But driving onto the circuit in Melbourne behind Michael Schumacher - a two-time world champion at that time - was just the most surreal moment. Albert Park is a beautiful place anyway, but when you have the leaves swirling from behind a Ferrari with a V10 lump in it and Michael Schumacher driving it, for a lad from Somerset it was such a special experience. I clearly remember that moment.

F1R: So instead of letting that situation pile the pressure on you, you were actually feeding off it?

JB: Yeah, I had the biggest smile on my face. The biggest grin. I never felt pressure that year at Williams. I was very lucky with Frank Williams and Patrick Head; they were very relaxed.

F1R: Which is unusual because they can be quite tough. Patrick in particular doesn't suffer fools gladly.

JB: He only had a go at me once - I've described the moment when I threw it off in the pitlane in Hockenheim. They knew I was inexperienced. It was a good way to start my F1 career but, on the other hand, it probably hurt my next year at Benetton because they weren't so easy on me. It was a baptism of fire going in with Flavio Briatore and a difficult car.

F1R: And yet, despite all this, you somehow continued to have fun. Was it a deliberate policy, or is that just the way you are?

JB: That's the way I like to be but, strangely enough, in the last few years of F1, I didn't have fun after races. It was: 'Get me out of here. I want to go home.' It had become just work by that stage. But through most of my career, especially on a good day, you had to enjoy the moment because you didn't know how many more moments like that you were going to have.

I always celebrated hard; tried to get as many drivers involved as possible. And I had such a good crew of people around me. It just needed to be the five of us, drinking and talking shit basically! I thought it was very important after a race to always have a blow-out - including the Old Boy, of course. He'd be there, even if he was falling asleep in the corner; he wouldn't want to miss anything!

F1R: Talking about celebrations, there's an interesting juxtaposition of characters in your book. One minute, you're talking about [Sir Richard] Branson making such a prat of himself one evening and, the next, you're talking about Prince Albert and what a lovely guy he is; the way you persuaded him to come and party with you after your win in Monaco. You didn't mean to make a comparison between the two - it's just the way the stories fall in your book. But it illustrates the very different ways people deal with life,
given the position they're in.

"When I won in Canada and the camera flicked to the Old Boy as Sebastian made his mistake on the last lap...that gets me more emotional than looking at the results or the move itself"

JB: I spent quite a bit of time with Prince Albert; I haven't chosen to spend time with Branson. The bit about him is a small part in the book, but I didn't want to leave anything out. That's one of the reasons I've done this book, because it's my life in my words. The media have reported me as saying in the book that Lewis is 'weird'. I said 'weird' and 'Lewis' in the same sentence but in reference to something Lewis did, which I thought was weird. It's not 'Lewis is weird'.

F1R: The ways of the media must have started to come across to you when you reached F1?

JB: It did - but not with you guys who write about F1 all the time. The biggest issue was with the guys digging the dirt. When it comes to racing and someone says I didn't drive well or made a mistake, that's fine. I understand that you're there to have an opinion. But it hurts when you're hit with stories about your private life. You take a step back and shut down, which means we don't give as much to you guys as we should.

We become robots because we don't want to say anything that gets wrongly interpreted and hurts us, or our families, or the team. But then you reach the stage where you've achieved something and can say what you want. That's why interviews have been a lot more fun for me over the past few years.

F1R: When you talk about having achieved, you're obviously referring to the championship in 2009. And that more relaxed approach led to the move from Brawn to McLaren, purely to take on the challenge of racing with Lewis. It's clear from the book that you really relished your time together.

JB: Yeah, we had some awesome races together; some great fights. There were times when he'd blow me away; there were times that I blew him away, like Spa 2012. Lewis was a tough guy to race against; it was an emotional roller coaster. He was a great team-mate to have because, when you beat him, you knew you'd done a mega job.

F1R: You mention watching the recordings of winning races, just to see the reaction of your family and mates. That must be emotional for you now, seeing your dad in the middle of it all?

JB: It is. The thing is not me crossing the finishing line, it's seeing everyone's reactions. Like when I won in Canada and the camera flicked to the Old Boy as Sebastian made his mistake on the last lap; that reaction of complete disbelief from dad and the whole team around him. That's very special and gets me more emotional than looking at the results or the move itself.

F1R: I was lucky enough in 2009 to be standing by parc ferme at Interlagos. Your dad was right in front of me, waiting to greet you. I saw it all. That has surely got to be one of the greatest moments you've ever had?

JB: It was. First of all, it was a tough weekend anyway because the fans were being very difficult and booing me the whole time. But when I actually won the championship and climbed out of the car, they all cheered - and that was lovely. It's then that you realise they just love this sport, they are supportive and obviously they had wanted their guy [Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, Jenson's team-mate] to win.

And then to see the Old Boy and give him a hug. I was holding him because I knew the cameras were there and I could feel he was crying because he was shaking up and down; his shoulders were going. So I held onto him for a bit, so he wasn't too embarrassed. It was an absolutely incredible moment - for us both.

F1R: Your close relationship with him really comes across in the book - and it's lovely.

JB: I've got to keep it light-hearted, or I get a bit emotional. Yesterday, during an interview, the presenter asked if I would read the dedication at the start of the book. I said: "No chance; that's not happening." So she started to read it. It was live TV and she started crying. I was, like: 'Oh, my God. I'm going to start too...'

F1R: Now that the book is done, do you get a lot of pleasure from seeing the thoughts about your father in print?

JB: I do. A lot of the interviews over the last few days have been largely about him. I'm sure some people might say everyone loses someone close at some point and I'm talking about him too much. He was my father and, yes, everyone goes through the horrible moment of a loved one passing away. But he was more than just a family member; he was the guy that made it all happen. I wouldn't be here talking to you if it wasn't for him. This is not just a book about motorsport; it's also about the relationship between a father and son.

F1R: Life moves on and you've been busying yourself with triathlon. 'Autonomy' is a word you use a lot when describing triathlon. Is that because there's no machinery - well, there is, but not like in a racing car.

JB: You can fine-tune your bike, you can fine-tune other things - but it's more the fitness and the mental side that helps you win. It's bloody tough. I did the world championship and I actually retired. I got cramp; I had overtrained. But in May, when I was at my fittest, I won my age group in Ironman. That, for me, was almost like a victory in F1 because it doesn't matter what you do: if it's a competitive field and you've worked your arse off, a win means a lot. It was pretty special.

There are still little victories that I will have in my life away from motorsport. That's the sort of thing I love. I will race in cars again in 2018, so I won't take triathlon as seriously. But I will have a go one day at the world championship for the full Ironman distance. That's the aim for the future. The good thing is you can do it at any age. In fact, as you get older, your fast-twitch muscle fibres go, but you become better at longer distances and endurance.

F1R: Tell me about the Jenson Button Trust and what that is all about...

JB: Every year, we have the Trust Triathlon, involving charities. This year, we chose Barnardos because we had a children's triathlon, which was amazing. The adults' triathlon is 500 people; children's triathlon we limit to 200. In a week, it was sold out. The kids would do it with their parents; it was inspirational.

There were some kids with disabilities; some struggled to walk, but they were able to do it. I'm in the privileged position where I can help by just using my name. It's the easiest thing; everyone in my position can do it and raise a lot of money for charity while having a lot of fun with a real family atmosphere.