He might be a former world champion and very experienced, yet Jenson Button is currently not one of the hot names in the Formula One paddock, being considered a solid Number Two.
Which, on the bright side, comes pretty handy for teams such as McLaren that have sufficient financial resources and don’t resort to pay drivers.
However, Button could leave Woking after a long stint and move to Grove. Talks with Williams are said to be in the preliminary stages and nothing is certain yet. Among other options Williams is reportedly considering is Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver has been on the F1 grid since 2011, when he made his debut with Sauber. He switched to McLaren in 2013 and then to Force India, with which he has been racing these past three seasons.
Perez has taken seven podium finishes thus far in his career, but has other advantages and a from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who’s one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Button is the more proven talent, however. He’s been on the grid since 2000, driving for Benetton (now Renault), Honda (now Mercedes) and his current team McLaren. He won the world championship in 2009 with the Brawn GP team during its transition from Honda to Mercedes ownership, but started his career at Williams – and could foreseeably end it there as well. At 36, he’s one of the oldest drivers currently competing in F1.
Williams is one of the oldest and most accomplished teams in the sport. It won a string of seven drivers’ and nine constructors’ titles in the 1980s and ’90s, and while its performance dropped off dramatically in the decades since, it has recently begun returning to form, finishing the last two seasons in third place. Its current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa have been with the team since 2013 and 2014, respectively.
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