Jenson Button reveals whether F1 world champions get to keep the iconic trophy
· Yahoo Sports
Jenson Button won his one and only Formula 1 world championship in remarkable circumstances in 2009.
Button and his Brawn-GP team barely made it onto the grid after forerunners Honda withdrew from F1 at the end of 2008. But despite scant resources relative to McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, Brawn pulled off one of the sport’s great upsets.
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The Brackley-based team, which was later bought by Mercedes, found a loophole in the rules that allowed them to generate enormous amounts of extra downforce through a double diffuser.
Button took six victories in the first seven races as rivals scrambled to catch up, and while he didn’t win any of the last 10, he was able to hold off Sebastian Vettel to win the title.
Jenson Button had to ‘give back’ his F1 trophy when he lost the title
In a recent Q&A on the Sky Sports F1 YouTube channel, Button was asked whether F1 world champions are allowed to keep the trophy.
Designed in 1995, the silver trophy features the signature of every title winner, starting with Giuseppe Farina (1950). It is designed to have enough space for the first 100 seasons of the championship.
However, drivers are only allowed to keep it for as long as they are the title holder, then they have to hand it over to the new champion. Vettel dethroned Button in 2010 and wasn’t beaten until 2014.
“The answer is no [you don’t get to keep it], which amazed me,” said Button.
“I got this trophy for the year when I won the world championship. You get to look at it. If you don’t win it the next year, you have to give it back! That’s the one trophy that travels to the current world champion.”
Michael Schumacher holds the record for the longest title streak in history, having reigned from 2000 to 2004 during his pomp at Ferrari.
How much Jenson Button’s replica world championship trophy costs
In order to fill the gap in his trophy cabinet, Button was told he had to buy a replica. The Briton, who signed for McLaren before the 2010 season, refused.
Fortunately, his manager stepped in, shelling out around £35k to ensure Button still had the silverware.
“I had to buy a world championship replica trophy,” he explained. “I was like, ‘I’m not doing that! I’ve just spent a whole year working on winning that trophy, so my manager was kind enough to buy it for me.
“I think the replica was about £35k, so it’s a lot of cash to fork out for something you’ve won already! It was a lovely gift from my manager.”
Last December, Lando Norris became Britain’s first new champion since Button and the 11th overall. He begins the defence of the trophy, literally and metaphorically, in Australia on 8 March.