--- title: "Jenson Button: The early years" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/11/22/jenson-button-early-years/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Bethonie Waring" section: "F1 News" published: "2016-11-22T11:30:21Z" modified: "2016-11-22T11:40:34Z" --- # Jenson Button: The early years Back in the 1990s, kart team owner Paul Lemmens was asked for the names of the three best karters he has ever seen. His reply? “Not three. Two. Ayrton Senna and Jenson Button.” Looking at his early career, it’s easy to see why Button was likened to the Brazilian, even if he always said he wouldn’t be the next Senna. Button started what would be a long motor racing career in karts. At the age of eight, he took part in his first karting race, a wet affair that saw Button climb through the field after starting at the back of the grid. The Frome-based driver took the race win, before going on to take the British Cadet Kart championship aged only 10. With multiple karting titles to his name, including the 1997 Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup, Button took the step up to single seater racing in 1998, entering the British Formula Ford championship with Haywood Racing. Making the step from karts to cars doesn’t come easy, and you’ll often find drivers taking a “settling in year” as they learn the tracks and machinery, before truly showing what they can do the following year. As a rookie, Button wasn’t expecting too much. The Brit expected to be fast and at the sharp end of the field but he didn’t know the drivers he was competing against, or the tactics they would be using. ![Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2016/11/1024688.jpg) Right from the first race of the championship at Silverstone, Button was unimpressed by the way his competitors tried to impede him in qualifying. “It’s quite nice when you see people slowing down so they can sit behind you,” Button told reporters at the time. “But it gets a bit annoying, especially when they do it purposely so on your flying lap they slow you down, and then on the next one they get behind you and try to do a fast lap.” The rookie found a way around their tactics, though, pulling into the pits until the final few minutes of qualifying before going out and putting his car on pole position. Later on that day, he took his first win in cars. Over the course of the 15 race season, Button took seven race wins, nine pole positions, and 12 podiums. He took a total of 133 points, 15 more than any other driver he was competing against. That success wasn’t exactly mimicked on the international stage just yet though. Button’s next adventure saw him compete in the four round European Formula Ford season, again with Haywood Racing. His teammate, Derek Hayes, would take that title, but Button did finish second, and later won the World Championship of Formula Ford, a single race competition held at Brands Hatch. All that success had caught the attention of more than his former karting team owner. Button was shortlisted for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award, a competition that still rewards young drivers who they expect will make an impact in the motorsports world. Six drivers were shortlisted for the award, the most notable besides Button being Justin Wilson. The Brit was announced as the winner in December 1998, earning himself trophies, a check for £50,000, and a test drive in a McLaren Formula One car. > YouTube: Jenson Button – McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner 1998 “The outlook for 1999 is hopefully Formula Three in England,” Button said as he accepted the award. “But this title helps very much.” Some things never change though and, no matter how much you dominate a series, funding is always going to be needed to help you progress in your motorsport career. Funding for British drivers wasn’t easy to come by at the time, but Button had proven he was talented enough, and managed to take a seat with Promatecme UK for the 1999 British Formula 3 season. The domination Button had seen in Formula Ford was hard to replicate in Formula 3. The Brit took a second place in the opening race of the season, before finishing eighth in race two at Silverstone. Button managed to plant his Dallara Renault on the front row of the grid at Thruxton, though, the third race of the championship, alongside fellow rookie Andrew Kirkaldy. During the race, Button managed to get ahead of Kirkaldy to take his first race win of the season. In the 16 round championship, Button only took three wins, but managed to take nearly nine rookie wins throughout the season, including at Spa, the only non-British round on the calendar. The overall title may have gone the way of Marc Hynes by the time the chequered flag was brought out at the final race in October, but it would be Button going onto bigger things. The 19-year-old was already testing for Prost F1 team before the year was up and, in early 2000, it was announced he would be the then youngest driver to enter Formula One. The rest is history.