• Latest
  • Trending

Button reveals how close he came to joining Ferrari

January 10, 2021

Cormac Buchanan battles through tough Misano weekend in Moto3 rookie season

September 16, 2025

Ryan Yardley and David Musial Jr. claim victory in Porsche Endurance Challenge at Road Atlanta

September 15, 2025

Tough weekend at the Bend for Giltrap and Osborne in Porsche Carrera Cup

September 15, 2025

Scott McLaughlin secures historic podium for JMR at Suzuka 1000km

September 15, 2025

Kiwis – Born to Fly 3. First trailer drops and final phases of shooting commence.

September 15, 2025

Kostecki and Hazelwood win The Bend 500 as Payne delivers podium for Kiwis in Enduro Cup opener

September 14, 2025

Christopher Bell wins as Van Gisbergen’s playoff dream ends at Bristol night race

September 14, 2025

Feeney Earns Pole, Wood and Payne Starting in Top 10 at The Bend

September 13, 2025

Wood leads the way in final practice at The Bend

September 13, 2025

Drama at The Bend: Whincup runs into Pye during safety car simulation, Moffatt fastest

September 13, 2025

Triple Eight lead the way, strong kiwi showings in The Bend Practice 3

September 12, 2025
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
VelocityNews
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time updates on Kiwi drivers, events and much more!
Subscribe to New Alerts
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Button reveals how close he came to joining Ferrari

by Zane Shackleton
January 10, 2021
in Formula 1, International, News
0

Jenson Button has revealed how close he came to making a switch to Ferrari in 2013, which progressed as far as contracts being drafted up.

Button had joined McLaren in 2010 on a two-year deal, and had enjoyed some level of success with the squad.

However, there was growing speculation that the 2009 world champion was pushing for a move to Ferrari for the 2013 season.

Nothing eventuated and Button remained with McLaren for another year. Though he was then talked about as a likely candidate to replace Felipe Massa for 2014.

All had been nothing more than a rumour, until now when Button revealed in an interview with Motorsport News that the possibility of a Ferrari drive had moved as far as contracts being drawn up.

“Every driver would love to race for Ferrari at some point,” Button said.

“There’s just something about that team, even this year [2020] it’s tough for them and tough for motorsport fans to see them where they are, but maybe they needed this to come back stronger.

“But I would love to have raced for Ferrari, and there was a good possibility sort of eight years ago, but it just didn’t materialise at the end.

“Pretty much contracts were ready to go and it almost happened, but for many different reasons it did and, to be fair, I was probably better off where I was any way at McLaren.”

Button went on to race with McLaren for seven seasons, making 136 Grand Prix starts. He had also agreed to a long-term deal with the team for beyond 2013, which ties in with the time he opted to pull out of his talks with Ferrari.

However, after 2012, McLaren begun its winless streak, which extends as far as today.

Perhaps a glorious move it would have been for Button with Ferrari returning to their winning ways in 2015. Its new driver Sebastian Vettel then took the fight for the title to Mercedes in both 2017 and 2018.

A move to Ferrari would have also triggered some interesting action on the driver market, with McLaren faced with having to also replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season.

Button isn’t the only big-name driver to have been in discussion with Ferrari during the early 2010s.

Robert Kubica said in 2018 that he had inked a deal with Ferrari for 2012 before his crash in the 2011 Ronde di Andora rally that kept him out of F1 for eight seasons.

Moreover, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber were linked to a move to the Scuderia for 2013, but both opted to stay with their respective teams.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

error:
No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.