Sky Sports F1’s Jenson Button confirms he will end his motorsport career after the 8 Hours of Bahrain, as the iconic racer makes a major decision based around the future of his family.

The 45-year-old is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the hypercar series, where he is placed ninth overall with a podium at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Partnered with Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais, who previously raced in F1 and the IndyCar Series, it has been a challenging year in WEC as the trio have placed 16th, 16th, sixth, seventh, second, sixth and 13th.

Sky Sports’ Jenson Button [left] and Martin Brundle speak to Christian Horner before the 2019 Spanish GP | Mark Thompson/Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Now as they head into the season finale at the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion has decided to call time for good on his racing ventures – nine years after stepping back from the top class of motorsport.

Sky Sports F1’s Button confirms his retirement from his racing career in a major decision over his future, as he looks to prioritise his family instead of his own personal successes.

“This will be my last race,” Button confirmed to BBC Radio Somerset. “I’ve always liked Bahrain, I think it’s a fun track, and I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can because this will be the end of my professional racing career.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time with Jota in WEC but my life has got way too busy and it’s not fair on the team or on myself to go into 2026 and think that I’m going to have enough time for it.

“My kids are four and six and you’re away for a week and you miss so much, you don’t get this time back.

“I feel like I’ve missed a lot the last couple of years, which has been fine because I knew that would happen, but I’m not willing to do that again for another season.”

Sky Sports F1’s Jenson Button quits: Is modern racing too much?

Button has been married to Brittny Ward since 2022 and shares a son and daughter with the American model. Hendrix is the eldest, with the boy being born in July 2019 whilst they welcomed Lenny Monrow sometime around December 2020.

His complaint about the demands of modern motor-racing will resonate with many drivers on the grid such as Sauber‘s Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whilst Kevin Magnussen also used to welcome his daughter into the paddock.

Time competing at the professional level full-time takes moments away from family life and adds stress to partners, who have to run households on their own for much of the year.

Verstappen, the defending four-time world champion, has suggested he could even quit F1 if the demands of the calendar become so great that he misses out on making memories with his family. He welcomed his first daughter in June 2025.

“I feel like I’m already missing out so much on just being with my family,” Verstappen said to The Athletic. “I spend holidays with them.

“But I really miss the moments of just casually rocking up for a weekend or just hanging out on the couch, sitting together on a lazy day, or just after a normal work day.

“We live quite far apart now, so these kinds of moments are not possible with my life. I hope one day that it can go back to that.”

He also told Standard Sport: “There’s more things to life than just Formula  1.”