During a recent interview, McLaren-Honda driver Jenson Button said he thinks of himself as being the “full package”, both on and off the track.
The 36-year old British driver told Sky Sports F1 that in order to be the best you can be and have a long career, you have to be able to separate who you are off the track and who you are when you’re behind the wheel of your race car.
“If you can’t be a different person out of the car, that’s a weakness,” said the 2009 world champion. “I personally feel that when you get in the car you are a certain type of person. You give it your all, you give it your maximum and I feel that there’s no one better than me at doing that through a race weekend.”
Even though Button hasn’t challenged anybody for a title in a very long time, hearing him think of himself as a full/complete package doesn’t come as a surprise. Formula 1 drivers are supposed to be confident, and unless you can think of yourself as the best or at least good enough to be the best on any given day, you’re probably never going to climb the ladder in terms of championship points.
“When you’re out of the car, you have to be a different personality or else the sponsors don’t want to work with you, the partners don’t want to work with you and your career is very short, however good you are on track. You need to be the full package and that’s something you work over time and that’s something the new kids will have to learn very quickly with the way the business this is.”
Button also said that “it’s not the easiest place to find sponsors and partners in the sport for teams. They need drivers that are not only quick on the circuit but are publicly very good, very confident and someone they can relate to.”
The business aspects of Formula 1 indeed shouldn’t go over any drivers head, because their long-term success does indeed hinge on their ability to inspire their team, their fans and their sponsors.
Of course, putting a show on the track can never be understated. Even Button needed a strong start to his F1 career 16 years ago as a young driver for Williams-BMW. Despite failing to finish the race in his debut in Australia, Button finished P6 in his second Grand Prix in Brazil, making him the youngest driver ever to score a point, at that time.
While discussing his partnership with Fernando Alonso at McLaren, the British driver said that both he and his teammate have been lucky to be able to grow as professionals the way they did throughout the years.
“It’s why we’ve been around for so long and why teams still want us to race for them even though we’re old at 35 and 36. The important thing is to stay on top of your fitness and stay on top of every aspect – then there’s no reason to stop.”
It sounds to us like he’s got no intention of hanging up his racing gloves any time soon.
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