Jenson Button pinpoints the moment he knew he had to retire from Formula 1

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Few Formula 1 drivers get to choose when to walk away from the sport with that decision typically made for them.

Jenson Button had more than 15 years of F1 experience when he stepped away from his McLaren seat at the end of the 2016 season.

The British driver was highly regarded on his way up through the junior ranks, winning the British Formula Ford Championship and coming 3^rd on his British F3 debut before being promoted into a race seat with Williams in 2000.

Spells at Benetton – who became Renault – and BAR followed and his 3^rd-place finish in the championship in 2004 showcased his potential.

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Brawn GP is where Button’s career changed forever after winning the championship during the team’s only season on the grid.

Button could have been joined by Bruno Senna at Brawn but instead, it was he and Rubens Barrichello that won an unlikely title.

Speaking on the Missed Apex Podcast, Button has now outlined what followed during his long spell with McLaren and why he decided to retire from the sport.

When Brawn became Mercedes the following year, McLaren poached Button and partnered him with rising star Lewis Hamilton.

Button had several teammates during his time with the British team but his final battle was with Fernando Alonso and although they weren’t challenging for points, they had one of the strongest intra-team battles on the grid.

Jenson Button explains why he had to retire from Formula 1 at McLaren

Talking about his difficult final spell with McLaren, Button said: “That was okay because I had Fernando Alonso as a teammate, so we had our own little battle, which was great.

“We’re fighting for 12th, 14th place, but at least if I beat Fernando I knew I did a good job.

“I’d won races, I’d won the World Championship at that point. It did get a bit tiresome to be finishing outside the top 10 and that’s why I retired.

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“I was like, you know what, this is going to go on for a couple more years. I’m not having fun. I want to go and do other stuff that’s fun in racing.

“We had a good time, it was very competitive, lots that went on behind the scenes. It was like we were fighting for a win with Fernando.”

Jenson Button denied F1 retirement despite walking away from race seat

Button and Alonso finished 15^th and 10^th respectively in the Drivers’ Championship in 2016 before the Brit decided to step back into a development role at McLaren with the car in a poor state and no signs that it was going to get better.

In September 2016, Button denied he was about to step away from the sport despite losing his race seat to Stoffel Vandoorne, saying via the Formula 1 website: “I love McLaren-Honda – I firmly believe it’s made up of the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked with – and I have no intention of ever driving for another Formula 1 team.

“Specifically, I’m looking forward to becoming even more deeply involved in the team’s efforts to bring about the success we’ve all been striving to deliver.

“To be clear, I’m very definitely not retiring. I’m contracted for both 2017 and 2018, I intend to work hard on car development, and I’m sure I’ll get behind the wheel of the new car at some point.”

How Jenson Button’s final F1 race ended in Monaco 2017

That wasn’t the final time that Button raced in Formula 1 with McLaren having to appease Alonso to convince him to stay with the team.

In 2017, Alonso participated in the Indy 500, opening up his seat to Button at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Button qualified 9^th ahead of Vandoorne’s McLaren although the Belgian didn’t set a time in Q3 and Button was handed a penalty that saw him start from the pit lane anyway.

He didn’t finish the race, colliding with Pascal Wehrlein at Portier as he tried to overtake the Sauber.

Their wheels tangled and the German ended up stranded on his side.

Button never raced in F1 again, but if does make a surprise return, he still has a three-place grid penalty hanging over his head.