Jenson Button: “Honda will come good, it always does”

It’s hard to find a more authoritative voice on British motorsport, Honda’s highs and lows, or Fernando Alonso’s impact on a race team than Jenson Button. The 46‑year‑old Brit, the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, earned his first Grand Prix win with Honda (Hungary 2006) and later lived through McLaren’s painful decline starting in 2015 with the Japanese power unit—sharing the garage with Alonso during that turbulent stretch. Since 2026, Button has served as an ambassador for Aston Martin, and in that role he sat down with AS to talk about the team’s rough start to the season.

Why did you agree to become an Aston Martin ambassador? Was it for the company car? “Exactly!” he laughs. “There are a lot of reasons. Aston Martin has always been an exciting brand for me since I was a kid. I love all kinds of cars, classic or modern, and Aston is as British as it gets. And of course, James Bond driving an Aston Martin doesn’t hurt. But more than the road cars, it’s the racing team’s philosophy and where they’re heading.”

You drove for several teams across 18 F1 seasons, but never for the Silverstone outfit that’s now Aston Martin… “Never, even though I was good friends with Eddie Jordan. I never had any real connection with the team. But I understand where they were, where they are now, and where they’re going—and that makes me want to be part of it. There’s strong leadership, major investment, and now a partnership with Honda, a company I know extremely well. I’ve shared incredible moments with them in F1, Super GT, and IMSA. And then there’s Adrian Newey. I never worked with him before or drove one of his cars. Watching him operate is fascinating, and it’s exciting for the future. Sure, this isn’t an easy moment, but good things are coming. I hope I can contribute in some small way.”

—What’s the atmosphere like in the hospitality area—shaking hands with guests and sponsors while the car is running last? “Everyone involved understands where we are right now. They know the foundation is in place and we’ll be competitive. This sport is brutally demanding. Mercedes and Ferrari are operating at the highest level and have been with the same engine partners for years. Aston Martin and Honda are a brand‑new pairing, and Newey is new as well. There are a lot of pieces that need to come together, and that doesn’t happen overnight. But everyone knows what this team can become. This is the team that can break into the top four in the future. This one.”

“Everyone is aware of what this team can do in the future; they can break into the Top 4.”

Jenson Button

And when will that happen? “It’s hard to put numbers on it, and I’m not the right person to answer that. I don’t know the exact details. It won’t happen in three races, but time moves fast. When it clicks, it’ll feel like it happened overnight.”

Why are you so confident Honda will figure it out? “I worked with them in 2003 with the V10, then the V8, then the hybrid V6, plus Super GT… I’ve seen a huge range of Honda engines, and most of them were beautiful pieces of engineering. The drivability, the power delivery, the feel—and above all, Honda’s passion for racing. They build road cars so they can go racing. Competition defines them. When I won my first race with them in 2006, I saw grown men crying. That’s how much it meant. The passion and the hard work are still the same. The performance isn’t there yet, but it will be. They grind every single day. Every day is a learning day at Honda.”

What makes Honda different from other manufacturers? “It’s interesting. If you start working at Honda and you do well, you basically have a job for life. People dedicate their entire careers to Honda. They’re passionate about working for such a prestigious brand, and they give everything to the team. I’m not sure I should say this, but I know there’s a tatami‑floor room in Sakura where employees can sleep during heavy work weeks. They stay overnight at the factory to lose as little time as possible and get right back to work. That’s the level of dedication.”

Is there even the slightest chance Honda won’t get there? “No. I’m one hundred percent sure. It’s just a matter of time. They always get there. Always.”

You lived through something similar with Alonso during the McLaren‑Honda years. How do you see him now? “I’ve known Fernando since 2001—we started racing together. We had great battles. I remember a pretty special race at Hockenheim in 2004, side‑by‑side the whole time. I have great memories of racing against him and also being his teammate for two seasons. Those were tough years, especially the first one. The second year was more competitive, but it was an interesting period of my life because I worked alongside Fernando every day. We had a great fight between us in qualifying and in races. We didn’t score many points, but beating each other was fun. I saw how he works, how he is off camera, how he dedicates everything to racing. He’s the ultimate competitor—smart, tough, but respectful. Beating Fernando in the same car is incredible. It doesn’t happen often, so when it does, it feels fantastic.”

And how do you see him in this difficult 2026 season? “I can’t speak for him. But as a driver, I can say it’s tough to start a season and not be competitive. He believes in this team. He knows what it can become. And it’s the first time Fernando has a Newey‑designed car, which is exciting because Adrian works very differently from other designers. He’s old‑school—still uses pen and paper.”

“I thought Alonso and I would leave and have some fun outside of F1.”

Jenson Button

—Did you expect Alonso to have such a long career after your time together at McLaren‑Honda from 2015 to 2017? “No, I thought we’d both leave and have fun outside F1—and we did for a while. He left a year later and we raced in WEC. Fernando was with Toyota, who were untouchable, but it was great sharing the paddock and the track with him at Le Mans. I think he enjoyed it. Then he realized the pinnacle of motorsport will always be F1, and he came back.”

—Do you still have any ambitions left in racing? “No, I retired from professional competition last year. Now I go to races but nobody pays me,” he jokes. “I get to choose what I race, which is great. Mostly historic cars. I need help finding a good Aston Martin DB4 GT race car because right now all I have are Jaguars. I love my classics. I’ve got a few GT cars I’ll race this year, and I’m in a great place with my family and the partners I work with. I’m enjoying it a lot.”

—There is life after F1… “It’s incredible, but yes, there is. It’s a breath of fresh air. I finally live somewhere I’m truly happy—Los Angeles. It’s where I want to spend my life with my kids. It took a bit of searching after F1 to find my place, but I’ve found it.”

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