21/09/2015
NEWS STORY
The British media is awash with stories this morning claiming that Jenson Button is to announce his retirement from F1.
A number of broadsheets and tabloids claim that following the breakdown of talks with Ron Dennis, the Briton will announce his retirement from F1 over the course of the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
A lifelong fan of Japan, having raced with Honda, and married Jessica Michibata who is Japanese-Argentine, Button even has a discreet tattoo on his ankle which reads Ichi ban ('Number One' in Japanese), though this was done before he won the title in 2009, and is also the name of his triathlon team. Since mid-2010, he has also sported the characters on his helmet. (Don’t go there)
While neither Button or McLaren is commenting on the speculation, the Briton was clearly exasperated following another retirement yesterday. His mood will not have been helped by the fact that Lotus subsequently announced that it has retained Pastor Maldonado, Button having referred to the Venezuelan as "mental" following an incident during yesterday's race.