Jenson Button: Life to the Limit: My Autobiography

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The book combines stories of growing up along with his racing career, right from his karting days and through Formula One, and goes deep into his relationship with his father. Some things that his fans would have liked to know have been left out or glossed over. How and why for example, was he labelled as a ‘playboy’? Why did he want to leave British American Racing (BAR) for Williams in 2004 even as he was enjoying his best season to date? Was the contract misread by his management team or was it BAR’s signing of the contract with Honda to supply the car engines.

As with all the Formula 1 books I’ve read, this one was also as eye-opening. The stuff you don’t hear about at the time all comes to light in autobiographies when enough time has passed that nobody will care anymore (hopefully) and I learnt a lot about what went on within his teams, with his teammates and especially with his team managers. Naming no names, some of them were complete arseholes, to a young man who was working hard and just trying to make his dream a reality, for God’s sake. Igazából nem nagoyn szeretem ezt a műfajt, mert többnyire úgyis szellemírók írják meg több-kevesebb ügyességgel, ami részben elhitelteleníti a művet, részben pedig érdektelen sztorikkal fújják fel. Akkor már inkább Forma-1 kapcsán is olvasom a külső nézőpontos könyveket, mint például Christopher Hilton klasszikusait a különböző pilótákról.Pedig sosem voltam igazából Button-szurkoló. Először megjegyeztem a nevét, mint egy fiatal tehetségét, aki aztán beleszürkült a mezőnybe. A váratlanul megnyert 2009-es világbajnokság után azt gondoltam, hogy ilyen gyenge világbajnokból sem akadt túl sok, de azóta azért Button megmutatta, hogy össze lehet mérni a legjobbakkal. If you know me at all, you will know that there’s two things I absolutely adore. Books and Formula 1. Books and reading have been a life-long love of mine, ever since I was too young to remember. Formula 1 is a relatively new crush, having only been introduced to it really within the last 3 years but 3 years could easily be 33 because I have enveloped myself in Formula 1 ever since my boyfriend introduced me to it and I’ve wanted to watch and learn and read everything I can about it. Now, I never miss a race, I could tell you the World Champion each year for the last 50 years more or less and I love a good Formula 1 documentary. But a Formula 1 book? That’s what I’m here for. I learnt a shit ton of new things like the fact that Lewis Hamilton won a championship off one of Jenson's dad's engines and that Jenson was temporary teammates with Max Verstappen's mother. Mais enfait non. Button est visiblement un des pilotes ayant du le plus d'expérience et une des carrières les plus riches de l'histoire, ayant combattu auprès des plus forts et les ayant battu d'ailleurs (même F.Alonso ça me fait mal de l'admettre). What's ironic is that I got an art scholarship on my colour ability and I'm much more a pattern-maker than anything else. I like glass and light and colour. So did K. What a combination, a shared love of art (but he could afford to commission it) and cars, and it went nowhere because he was the protypical rich racing car playboy. He was livin' the dream. His anyway.

I've been studying NASCAR, loads of links I'm still following. I really want to understand how it all works. This book was an enjoyable read, it was interesting reading about Jason Button's racing life. He writes almost as well as he drives! The one obvious omission is the manoeuvring to get him out of the Williams contract, dealt with in a couple of paragraphs, which is the one thing that I would have liked to have seen expanded. I've always appreciated Jenson's sarcastic witty British humor. This book exposed so much stuff you don't hear about at the time and I learnt a lot about what went on within his teams, with his teammates (Jenson really spilled the tea when it came to Lewis) and especially with his team managers. Some of them were complete a-holes, to a young man who was working hard and just trying to make his dream a reality. Prime example is Flavio Briatore, director of Benetton at the time told the press that he thought Jenson was a lazy playboy and he looked as though he was driving around Monaco looking for an apartment to buy. THE VIOLATION IS IT NECESSARY??? NO While he is very open about his relationship with his dad, several other relationships are glossed over. He’s obviously decided that this will be a racing autobiography, which is his decision, but it does seem to close off him as a person slightly. Saying that his relationships within F1 do get some attention. His time with Villeneuve and Hamilton comes in for some criticism, and I think it’s fair to say that Flavio won’t be getting Christmas cards from him, however he’s also open enough to admit where he’s at fault. The chapter with him talking about his dad's death was truly heartwarming and brought tears to my eyes.Often referred to by commentators in the past as an Ambassador for Formula I, one time world champion, Jenson Button reveals to the ardent fans a little of what goes on behind the scenes - the rivalry between team mates, the unrealistic expectations of rookie drivers who come in believing that speed is enough, the complexities of the car and changes that have occurred over the past couple of decades since Button first took the F1 car's wheel. In a relaxed conversational style, he talks about his personal drive, his father, his fatherhood to be, the ongoing love for motor sports and 'growing up'. For any F1 fan, this book is a fascinating insight into that racing world. Not to be too dramatic but F1 is my true love, my passion, my joie de vivre, if you will, and so I would say I have a fairly decent knowledge of the sport. As a result, there were parts of the book where JB explains the basics of F1 that anyone who's watched a couple of races will already be fairly familiar with, which I found a tad dry. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for the book, and would make it a brilliant introduction for new fans, but just be warned that if you do already know a thing or two about motorsports, there might be sections which aren't particularly interesting. Although with that said, there certainly are enough little anecdotes sprinkled through that I hadn't heard before to keep the book engaging.

There is obviously a desire to show the reader how close the well-publicised relationship between Jenson and his father was. I think this comes across well - you can see how involved his father was and what a central figure he was to almost all of Jenson's adventures. But he makes a good job of detailing his successes in his racing career and the role his father played in it. The requirements of fitness needed to be a Formula One driver and the trials and tribulations (often with the trademark Button wit) that he went through to achieve what he has are very well put. On the podium at Abu Dhabi in 2010 when he'd won the Championship and thus taken it off me, he said, "I'm really happy to be standing up here with you, it really means a lot," which was a very cool moment, because the previous year we'd been on that same podium and I was world champion and he was the guy who has been fighting me for it. So, yes, we've always had a good relationship. Button opens up about the realities of life on the Formula One circuit which looks fabulous and glamorous from the outside. He outlines nicely the sacrifices he had to make from childhood to achieve what he did.This book doesn’t go into too much of the nitty gritty details of things (something I’m sure his other two biographies might do more), and just reading it certainly won’t make you F1 driver ready (you’ll still need the years of karting, junior formula and tens of millions of pounds spent for that), but it is a lot of fun and gives an interesting insight into “formulaoneville”. The writing is very accessible and easy to read - it’s almost conversational in reading. Where How To Be An F1 Driver scores is in opening up an understanding just how much work ethic is involved in ever getting established in the elite sport. Despite the use of humour and an element of tongue frequently planted cheekside, the underlying message is one of application and cooperation... and not making too many mistakes. The author highlights this early in the book. Retired, but still a contracted driver, he was called in for one last race at Monaco. Frustrated at being in last place and faster than the car ahead, he attempted a passing move that saw the other car tipped over on its side, its driver's head against the armco barriers (but thankfully unhurt). I’ve recently read and reviewed Mark Webber‘s autobiography and Damon Hill‘s and I loved both of them. So when I heard that Jenson’s was coming out, it went straight to the top of my Christmas list. And as it happens, Santa popped it under my tree and before the Boxing Day turkey curry had even been cooked, I’d already started it. I’ve always liked Jenson, he’s very intelligent and great to listen to. He’s fun and likable and I was certainly a bit sad to see him leave Formula 1. But this book captures JB in the most literal sense. It’s so very “Jenson”. Honda’s decision to withdraw from Formula One in 2008 left Button wondering what he would do for the subsequent season if the team didn’t find a buyer. The team management led by the team principal and serial winner Ross Brawn bought the team from Honda for a nominal sum and named the team Brawn GP. With this team in 2009 Button won six of the first seven races and ultimately went on to claim his first and only Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. Brawn GP also won the Constructors Championship. Button shares some interesting observations on Formula One bosses like Frank Williams, Bernie Eccelstone, Ross Brawn and above all Flavio Briatore who once called him a ‘lazy playboy’. He candidly discusses his relationship with the legends of his time like his compatriot Lewis Hamilton, McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, and even his frosty relationship with Jacques Villeneuve.