Williams: Jenson Button a “Sounding Board for Ideas and Sharing His Experience”

Jenson Button, who made his Formula 1 debut in 2000 and retired in 2017, is set to make his comeback this season, albeit in a non-driving role. Williams F1 Racing announced this January that the Briton will take up a senior advisory role in the coming seasons.

The new Williams F1 advisor has not met the team yet due to travel restrictions. However, the team principal, Simon Roberts, explained how the former champion will contribute significantly once the season begins.

“He’s kind of supported us in many ways, just from an overall F1 business point of view and supporting the board and the senior management team. But once we get racing and he gets a little bit of time off, he’ll come and help.”

“One of his ex-race engineers is with us, so there is a really good relationship. We’re really looking forward to getting him in the garage, getting him in some of the detail and just doing what he does best: talking to us, being a sounding board for ideas and sharing his experience,” he said.

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Jenson Button will bring immense value to Williams, claims Capito

Jenson Button will be a key mentor to George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, and the juniors from the Williams academy. His championship-winning experience is will help guide the team in the right direction in their pursuit of being a championship contender once again.

Jost Capito, Williams F1’s CEO, shares his thought on Button coming on board with the team. “Simon and I worked with Jenson in the past, we developed a very good relationship with him and he became a friend of ours, really.”

“It’s great to have him onboard. We were all supportive to the board to get Jenson in. I had a couple of phone calls and video calls with him already, and it’s great to have somebody of his calibre to share what we find. It is great to have a sparring partner like him, not only for me, for all of us,” shared Capito.

Jenson Button is coming on board with experiences from multiple racing series. It will be a confidence boost for everyone on the team. Hopefully, we will see the effect on the championship standing as well.

Do you think Button’s arrival, combined with the new ownership, is going to help Williams this season?