Former Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has announced his departure from Cadillac and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Brit has decided not to compete in a full season of the racing series in 2026. However, Button is not entirely saying goodbye to motorsport.
Jenson Button was a full-time driver in Formula 1 from 2000 to 2016, securing his first and only world title in 2009. Since leaving the premier class, Button has competed several times in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Brit had a two-year contract with the British team Jota, which is partnering with Cadillac in the WEC this season. Button’s contract expires at the end of the year, and the driver has decided not to renew it.
Button cited growing family commitments and an overloaded personal schedule as two reasons for his decision to hang up his WEC helmet. Yet, the 45-year-old driver is not entirely bidding farewell to motorsport. “My life has become so busy with so many different things. I have a very busy schedule,” Button told Motorsport.com about his decision. “It’s time for me to start thinking more about the future, and I also want to spend more time with my family. It would also have been unfair to the team: I probably don’t have enough time to give it my all.”
Return to NASCAR?
Although Button’s WEC career is now coming to an end, the Brit is not planning to retire completely. “I will still be racing next year, but not a full season,” Button explains. Whether it will be a return to NASCAR – Button made a foray into the American racing series in 2023 – the driver is not making any statements about that yet. “Maybe, we’ll see.”
