How Jenson Button's F1 dream went to the dogs

The dream for Jenson Button began before he was ten. The young British driver's debut of note at the 1991 Cadet Kart Championship saw him winning all the races - and the title, too. He contested the British Open Kart championship before moving towards the European Super Championships – beginning his career as a top-level driver.

In 1998 he won the British Formula Ford title. The next two years he established himself as a driver for the future, competing in the Formula Ford Festival, the British Formula Three championship, and various other Grand Prix and Super Prix. He was a consistent figure on the podium during this time.

In 2000, he had just completed a test drive at Silverstone with Mercedes, a prize for his previous year’s competitions, when he attracted the attention of Frank Williams, and won a contentious seat with the Williams team. He finished a credible eighth in his first season as a driver in the world’s top racing league – but made numerous rookie mistakes including crashing when under Safety Car conditions.

Button played second fiddle to Ralf Schumacher and he almost had his first podium in 2002 in Malaysia but was overtaken by the then F1 dominator, Michael Schumacher.