FILE: Jenson Button waits 113 Grands Prix races before taking his first win

Jenson Button won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday (August 6) to end one of the longest waits for a Formula One win. After 113 starts, the 26-year-old Honda driver stepped up to the top of the podium at the same circuit that witnessed championship-winning compatriot Damon Hill's first win in 1993 and Nigel Mansell's title the previous year. Only Italian Jarno Trulli (with 117 starts) and Button's Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello (124) had gone longer before their first victories. His debut in Formula One came after driving in karts and working his way up to Formula Three cars. In January 2000 he was announced as a race driver for the BMW-Williams team after a "shoot-out" series of tests against Brazil's Bruno Junqueira. Button only learned shortly before the announcement that he had won the seat. The prize was to drive for the season with Ralf Schumacher as team mate. Next season he moved on to Benetton-Renault and stayed with Renault in 2003 before moving to BAR-Honda for 2004. During the 2004 season he had a fine year, with four second places including Monaco where he attempted to overtake eventual winner Jarno Trulli. He also finished the championship in third place. In 2005 Button suffered more problems and finished ninth in the championship with two third places as his highlights. During the first half of the 2006 season Honda seemed to have lost their way completely with Button qualifying right at the back of the grid on occasion but in recent races Button has run well in races, culminating in a hard-earned first win in Hungary.

ITN Source | August 7, 2006

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