Jenson Button: Life to the Limit: My Autobiography

by Jenson Button

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018

Jenson Button is one of the greatest racing drivers of his generation. His seventeen years in Formula 1 have seen him experience everything the sport has to offer, from nursing underpowered cars around the track to winning World Championships and everything in between.

Here, Jenson tells his full story for the first time in his own honest, intelligent and eloquent style. From growing up as part of a motor-racing-mad family under the guidance of his father, John, to arriving at Williams as a fresh-faced 20 year-old, to being written off by some as a playboy and his fight back to the very pinnacle of his sport. Jenson's World Championship victory for the unsponsored and unfancied Brawn GP team is one of the most extraordinary against-the-odds sports stories of the century.

Jenson's book lifts the lid on the gilded and often hidden world of Formula 1. He reveals his relationships with some of the biggest names in Formula 1- Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso as well some of the most colourful characters like Flavio Briatore, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and serial winner Ross Brawn. Above all, he puts you right inside the cockpit, in the driving seat, travelling at over 200 miles per hour, battling the fear of death, showing you what happens when it goes wrong at high speed and allowing you to experience the euphoria of crossing the line first.

• ISBN10: 1911600346
• ISBN13: 9781911600343
• Publish Date: 19 October 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
• Imprint: BLINK Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

My GoodReads folks may not know this, but I am a massive Formula 1 fan. I have been watching since mid-2005, and despite the fact Fernando Alonso hasn't won a thing for what seems like donkeys years, and I hate the fact only one team seems to win at the moment (or one driver *side eyes at Bottas*), I still watch it. There's something about the sport that keeps me coming back, even when I get furious and say I'm never going to watch another race, ever. Rest assured, I will watch the next race.

One of the drivers I've always admired is Jenson Button. I remember his first race win (Fernando was leading until his car broke), I remember the Brawn-era. But most of all I remember John Button, Jenson's dad. He was at all the races, you couldn't see one without the other being somewhere nearby (except when Jenson was ACTUALLY racing, and John was obviously in the garage). And while Life to the Limits may well be Jenson Button's story, it's mostly about John Button. Everything about Jenson and John's relationship shines through each and every page, when F1 was but a pipe dream for the Buttons. Even I still miss seeing John at races, so I totally understand why, after his death, Jenson just didn't have the heart for it.

Life to the Limits, in Jenson's own words, isn't just about his F1 glory days - it's about the trials and tribulations it took to get there. I knew a lot of his F1 stuff - from 2005-onwards, his Championship winning year, the McLaren years, because I've been there, seen that. It's the before I knew nothing of - how much blood, sweat and tears went into getting Jenson where he is today. It's such a fascinating read and it helped build up my admiration for Jenson more. He truly does seem to be the nice guy of F1 - it's not an act, it's just who he is, how he was brought up.

This is the perfect read for any F1 fan. I personally loved it. It's just made me love Jenson Button even more than I did, and I can't wait to see what comes next for him not that his Formula One journey is over.