2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button has claimed his appearance in the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year, in which he stood in to allow Fernando Alonso to race at Indianapolis, only reaffirmed his decision to retire at the end of 2016.
When the Briton retired after 17 seasons, he would become an ambassador for the McLaren team, with his presence this weekend in Japan coming in that role, however, it was also thought should the British team need a new driver for 2018, Button could step back in.
As it is, Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso, though not official, are set to stay on but even if one of them hadn’t, the 37-year-old admitted he wouldn’t have been an option revealing he is enjoying his time as a retired racing driver.
“It has been lovely and it has been necessary as well,” Button said at a media session at Suzuka on Friday. “Lots of things have happened in my career that I have not had time to think about at the moment in time.
“I’ve needed this year to sit down and have a little chat to myself about what has happened. It has been good. Obviously I did the race in Monaco, the race we can forget about, but qualifying I loved. Driving these monsters in Monaco…and the other race that really stands out is this one, driving a 2017 car must be pretty special. But do I miss F1? No.”
In fact, now Button believes he may have overstayed his welcome on the grid, adding: “I miss racing. I’ve sort of fallen out of love a little bit with motorsport. I think that maybe I left it a year too long racing in F1.”
Commenting on his feelings after his appearance in Monaco, where he crashed out after colliding with Pascal Wehrlein at Portier, he claimed it made it clear what side of the barrier it was now time for him to be on.
“It was nice to have another taste of it and have a taste of these cars but it also made me realise that… I mean Monaco is a crazy weekend anyway, it’s very different to anything else but I knew that when I finished that weekend that I was not going to be back,” he said.