Jenson: “There’s a true belief that Williams Racing will succeed”

2009 Formula 1 World Champion and Williams Racing Brand Ambassador Jenson Button joined us at our Miami pop-up last week, answering questions, signing autographs and posing for photos.

Along with the fans, we caught up with him in South Florida on a range of topics, from his thoughts on James Vowles to his hopes for Williams Racing.

Read on to learn everything that JB said.

I was here last year for the first F1 race in Miami and it’s lovely to be back and see so many people!

The fan zone is cool, I was in Austin for the race last year and I went to the one there - it was massive - but this is actually really cool, it’s a really nice space.

If I was a driver right now, I’d be saying it’s really tough, feel sorry for me - the time differences and the air miles, it’s such a stressful life - but I’d be lying because it’s the best job in the world.

Trust me, when I left F1 I thought, ‘I’m gonna relax, it’ll be great’, but life is a lot more stressful now especially because I have children!

An F1 driver has the easiest job in the world, they really do but, on a serious note, it is stressful with the travel and, because you have to be at peak performance the whole time, the jet lag really hurts you.

But, as drivers, we’re pretty good at getting into a new timezone. Baku to Miami is a tough one though - I think it’s eight hours - and you only have a few days to get back in the timezone here.

They said it normally takes an hour a day to get into the timezone. But they’ve got their physios and nutritionists, who will be telling them when to sleep, when to eat etc.

So, it’s all planned out for them. They’ll be training as well, but not really intense training, they’ll make sure they get off the flight and immediately put on their running shoes and get out for a run, just to get the blood flowing and the muscles working again after a long flight.

I’ve known James for many years. When I won the Championship back in 2009 - which was a long time ago - he was our Strategist. I actually started working with James in 2003, at BAR Honda which turned into Honda, then Brawn, and now Mercedes.

So, he was there for a very long time gaining a lot of experience, not just in strategy but engineering too, also working underneath Toto Wolff.

I’m really happy James joined Williams Racing. He’s a great guy, he’s a hard worker and he has self-confidence, which is something you really need in his role in a team.

He’s been around and seen the good, the bad and the ugly. He knows how to win races and to be part of such a great team like Mercedes, he understands the structure that we need here at Williams Racing so he’s a great addition.

I also love his post-race chats, where he talks about how the weekend went - you don’t see any other Team Principals doing that.

I think it’s a really useful thing for the whole team to hear his input but also for the fans of the sport and the fans of Williams Racing to really understand what happened.

Especially as sometimes it’s difficult for the commentators to explain exactly what happened to that one team over a race weekend.

It’s a funny time in F1 at the moment because we have the budget cap and you immediately think the smaller teams should be there with the top teams, but it takes time.

I think over the next couple of years, you’ll see a difference with the running order of the F1 grid. I think you’ll see teams like Williams closer to the front. I’m not going to put a time on it, but we’ll see a lot of progress over the next two years, a lot of positive change in-house, but nothing too much to disrupt the atmosphere too much here.

There’s a lot that’s moving forward with the team. The funding is there, but again, they understand the issues, and now they’re putting things right within the team where needed - especially with the aerodynamics of the car and the wind tunnel. I think there have been some good improvements, but there’s still a lot to come over the next few years.

The big thing with a Formula 1 team, especially when you’ve not been running near the front, is atmosphere and happiness within the team and if you’re not happy in your job in F1, you don’t want to be there - it’s such long hours for everyone.

The drivers of course work hard, but the mechanics are non-stop. When they’re at the factory they’re non-stop, and when they come away they’re away from their family. If they’re not enjoying it, they’re not going to do their best, so having a happy team is so important and I think that there’s a true belief within the team that Williams Racing will succeed now, which makes a big difference.