Product Description

On 4 December 2008, just a few months before the new season was due to start, the Honda Racing F1 team, which Jenson Button had been driving for since 2006, pulled the plug on their involvement in Formula One. The media at the time reported that it was likely that the factory would be forced to shut, and it was unlikely that Jenson would be able to secure a drive at a top team at this late stage.

Yet incredibly, in October 2009, Jenson Button was crowned World Champion, and the new team that had risen from the ashes of the Honda Racing F1 team - Brawn GP - secured the constructors' championship in their first season, a feat never before achieved. If this were a movie script you wouldn't believe it possible, so how did it happen?

MY CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR tells Jenson's incredible story of the 2009 season, from being written off pre-season to winning six of the first seven races, and finally securing the championship in brilliant style at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Jenson's personal commentary on the races is combined with notes on strategy, on-board radio exchanges, quotes from the team and even text messages to recreate the atmosphere of each race weekend. With a foreword by Ross Brawn, it is a fascinating account of an extraordinary grand prix year, and shows just what it takes to become world champion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22853 in Books
• Published on: 2009-11-19
• Released on: 2009-11-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author
Jenson Button was born on 19 January 1980 in Frome, Somerset, and made his Grand Prix debut at the age of 20. In 2009, in his tenth season and driving for the newly-formed Brawn GP team, he became the Formula 1 world champion after a stunning drive in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, intimate story of Button's amazing season
Brilliant! Diaries of a season are too often bland accounts, but Jenson's story of his championship winning season is intimate, insightful and a fascinating 'time-capsule' account of what has turned out to be a historic one-off year for a small independent team, Brawn GP, prior to its buy-out by Mercedes.

The opening section, detailing Jenson's dismay at Honda's withdrawal and the prospect that he may never fulfill his Formula One dreams, is a real page-turner. You get a real sense of what he's like: driven, emotional, a dedicated athlete. The race-by-race chapters make you feel like part of Jenson's gang. He relates what he does off the track as well as in the car, and includes text messages from friends and family. I was amazed by how cool he is, even when the pressure turned up. With technical updates and strategy summaries for the petrolheads, this is a brilliant, meaty read and a great Christmas present for Formula One fans of all ages. Highly recommended.

Right on the Button
While everyone was losing their heads as Jenson Button's lead in the 2009 world championship was slowly eaten away, the man at the wheel was keeping his. There was little doubt in his mind that after six wins in the first seven races he would make it to the finish line - and land the title. Button's race-by-race diary of the greatest season of his life allows us to see things from his perspective. If we'd known what he was thinking at the time we wouldn't have been so jittery!

The book charts the unlikely rise from the ashes of the Brawn team through the eyes of the man destined to be world champion. With the technical stuff for the real petrolheads, alongside personal messages of support from friends and family, a superb array of photographs, plus Button's fascinating insight, it is a book that will appeal to anyone interested in life in the fast lane.

Excellent book chronicling the ups and downs and final high of Jenson's season
I was some what sceptical that this would be a very rushed book cashing in on Jenson's success at winning the F1 Driver's Championship in 2009.

I was pleasantly surprised. It is almost a diary of an incredible year, but it gets well into the tensions and emotions of an amazing year for Brawn GP and JB. I would have liked a bit more detail on some of the updates that were bought to the car throughout the year, and probably fewer copies of the text messages Jenson received before and after each race, but this book captures the thoughts of Jenson, the team, Ross Brawn, the Bridgestone tyre people and many of Jenson's friends and supporters as they prepare and go through each race weekend, practice, qualifying & the race.

A lively tale of an amazing season. Makes you want to get onto the next race as quickly as possible.