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Will Buxton is making waves for quitting F1 and joining IndyCar as a play-by-play commentator for 2025 and beyond. During his 7-year stint with F1, he became one of the most recognizable presenters. After all, he joined the Formula One Group as their first digital reporter in 2018.
However, outside of F1, fans still know very little about Buxton's illustrious 23-year journalism career and his unexpected racing career, during which he raced against 4-time F1 champ Max Verstappen. So let's get to know the Briton and dive into his lesser-known stories.
How Ayrton Senna's death inspired 13-year-old Will Buxton to pursue journalism
3-time F1 champion Ayrton Senna died after a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy on May 1. His death sent the motorsport world into mourning. Will Buxton, who was 13 years old then, couldn't believe that his 'superhuman' idol was no more.
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In April 2024, he opened up about how the journalists who wrote about Senna's death and legacy then left a lasting impact on him, inspiring him to pursue a career in writing about F1.
"It set me on this path of wanting to write about Formula 1 because the journalists who'd written about it, around his death, had made me feel some sort of solace and understanding," Buxton said on the Red Flags podcast. [9:11 onwards]
He also explained how his friends, who only followed football, couldn't understand his grief. But the F1 journalists did.
"It was those journalists that me feel connected to the sport and I was like 'That's what I want to do,'" he added.
Thereon, he studied the sport and eventually cracked his way into his first job as a writer for the official Formula 1 magazine.
Will Buxton's atypical rise through F1's media ladder
During his time studying politics at the University of Leeds, Buxton wrote a thesis on the politics of F1. Though his professors found it subpar, he sent it to renowned motorsport journalist David Tremayne, who hired him as a staff writer for the F1 magazine in 2002.
However, the Worcestershire native found himself without work when the magazine shut operations in 2004. After a year of living in his camper van and going to races, he was offered a press officer role for the inaugural GP2 (now F2) series in 2005. There, Buxton's paths crossed with 7-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and 2016 champion Nico Rosberg, who were in their junior years back then.
A few years later, an unexpected commentary role for a GP2 race landed in his lap, which he agreed to. After a full season commentating on the 2009 GP2 series, FOX Sports contacted him to work for their channel, Speed, as an F1 pit-lane reporter from 2010.
Will Buxton, who had never dreamt of working in TV, found himself in the thick of it. In 2013, when F1 handed the broadcasting rights to NBC, he switched companies to continue his role. While at NBC, he also covered IndyCar till 2017. On the last day of his job, the Briton was gifted a 1901 Culver Block Brick, millions of which lined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Buxton competed against Max Verstappen; beat Nicholas Latifi in a race
In 2014, the Head of Communications and Marketing at Ferrari pushed then-33-year-old Will Buxton into their junior academy for a winter training program. In his first practice session, he was around 17 seconds off the pace.
When he participated in the races, now-Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll was his teammate, and then-16-year-old Max Verstappen and Nicholas Latifi were two of his competitors. Though Buxton couldn't beat the Dutchman, he once beat to-be Williams driver Latifi in a wet race.
2018 to 2024: Personal life blossoms and F1 career takes off
In 2018, Will Buxton got engaged to his girlfriend of three years, Victoria Helyar, and married in June 2022 in Hvar Island, Croatia. Victoria worked for Force India, which rebranded to Racing Point in 2018, and Aston Martin in 2021, when she departed the sport.
He also has a daughter, Sophie, from his first marriage, the details of which he has kept private. For Buxton, the year of the engagement with Victoria was also an important year professionally. He became F1's first digital reporter.
Buxton also became a staple in F1's Netflix Series 'Drive to Survive' which debuted its first season in 2019. He appeared in all six seasons since then and is expected to do so in the yet-to-be-released seventh season as well.
In 2025, the 43-year-old will be joined in FOX's IndyCar broadcast booth by ex-IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. The media giant that gave him his first pit-lane reporter role in 2010 has given him his next big shot in IndyCar and Will Buxton's career has come full circle.
