$150mn worth former McLaren driver opens up on reality check for F1 drivers after retirement

Former McLaren F1 driver Jenson Button recently talked about the differences a retired racing driver feels between F1's world and the outside world. He talked about engineers' relationship with drivers and how it changes after the latter retires.

Though Button still races in NASCAR and WEC (World Endurance Championship), he has been retired from F1 for a long time. The last year he raced in the top single-seater series was in 2016 with McLaren, where he finished 15th in the drivers' championship table.

Speaking to British GQ during the GQ Heroes event, the $150,000,000-worth (celebritynetworth.com) ex-F1 driver explained how racers and their engineers talk about aerodynamics and other aspects of the car. He shared that racing drivers are spoilt by their team engineers always agreeing with them.

He then also shared that when drivers retire and work outside the world of F1 or any other motorsport, they feel a sudden change.

"As drivers we think we know what we are doing when it comes to aerodynamics and we see a racing car in slow mo, we go, 'Look, that's flexing too much. That's well over three centimeters.' And the engineers are like, 'Yes Jenson of course it is. Yes.' We are so spoilt as racing drivers. The engineers just agree with everything we say," Button said.

"You retire from Formula 1 and you realize the outside world is very different to this world that we live in," he added.

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Jenson Button shares his views on McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull's Max Verstappen's Austrian GP tussle

Jenson Button recently shared his views on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' on-track battle during the 2024 F1 Austrian GP. The former McLaren driver talked about Verstappen's level of aggression in his driving.

Both drivers were in an intense wheel-to-wheel battle at the Red Bull Ring. Norris was catching Verstappen with fresh medium tires while the latter was defending the lead. Eventually their cars collided with each other, resulting in punctures to both.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Jenson Button recalled Verstappen's aggression towards Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 F1 season. He believes that the Dutchman has not shown the same level of hard driving style against McLaren's Norris just yet.

"I think Max, in the past, has been a bit overaggressive, especially against Lewis. I don't feel that it's the same way with Lando at the moment. Obviously, if they went a step further it would be," Button said.

After the clash between Norris and Verstappen at the Austrian GP, the former had to retire from the race due to damage. The Red Bull driver changed his tires and managed to finish P5.