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The Formula 1 driver market was very quiet last season, but the highest-profile move between two teams might have just happened off the grid.
Ahead of the 2026 F1 campaign starting, Aston Martin have announced the signing of Jenson Button as an ambassador on a multi-year deal.
Button was previously part of the team at Williams last year, having made his F1 debut with the Grove-based team in 2000.
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However, it appears as though the investment from Lawrence Stroll in Aston Martin now extends to bringing in one of the sport’s most popular drivers as a representative.
It means Button is reunited with Fernando Alonso, as the pair were teammates for two seasons at McLaren between 2015 and 2016.
It was a tricky time in McLaren’s history, as they finished ninth and sixth in the championship, respectively, but Button has now outlined how he plans to help Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll get the most out of an important campaign for Adrian Newey’s outfit.
READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Jenson Button planning to take pressure off Fernando Alonso at race weekends at Aston Martin
In an interview with The Athletic, Button described what his new role at Aston Martin would entail.
He explained: “I won’t be telling [Alonso and Stroll] how to drive. They know how to do that bit.
“But I think over race weekends, I’ll be spending a lot of time with sponsors, partners, and probably lifting the load a little bit from the guys that really need to concentrate on driving.
“This year is going to be an intense season with everything being new within the team, and getting to grips with how to drive this car.
“The power unit is very different, with the power output, but also how it produces power and also when the batteries run out of charge. It’s something very different.
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“Basically, the drivers have to think on their feet a little bit more, rather than just knowing what’s going to happen. It’s living in the moment, which is really exciting.”
On top of this, Button has been impressed by ‘how serious’ Aston Martin are about succeeding in F1, and continued: “It is a great time to really show what you can do.
“I don’t think it’s a one-year thing here at Aston Martin. It’s definitely going to be over the next few years, but the fight back to the front is definitely there and alive.
“With having Honda as partners in the team, as the works team, I see no reason that that won’t happen.”
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2
Why ‘sorry’ Flavio Briatore decided to replace Jenson Button with Fernando Alonso
Button made his debut the year before Alonso, racing for Williams for a season before joining Flavio Briatore’s Benetton team,
However, Alonso’s debut campaign with Minardi in 2001 was seriously impressive, and Briatore quickly knew he had to get the Spaniard back under his wing.
Midway through the 2002 campaign, Briatore announced that Button would be replaced by Alonso, and said, via Autosport, that he was, ‘sorry to see Jenson go, as he has done a superb job for us this season.’
Button landed on his feet at BAR and finished third in the drivers’ championship in 2004, only to watch Alonso become a two-time world champion in the next two seasons in the seat he previously occupied.
Alonso has since named Button as the best teammate he’s had in Formula 1 following their difficult time at McLaren together.
So much so that when Alonso went to drive in the Indy500, Button was the man who replaced him at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, only to cause a collision and pick up a penalty that still hangs over his head today.
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