Jenson Button says he “can’t wait” for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, and the chance to explore life outside F1.
Button has just three races to go before he calls time on his career and moves into an advisor ambassador role at McLaren.
“I can’t wait!” he said. “I am sort of counting them off. I wish they were back to back to back, basically.”
Button denied that anticipating his last race so strongly is a strange feeling.
“No it’s not, not strange at all. I love driving the car, that’s fun. Not as fun as it used to be, that’s not because I’ve been doing it so long, it’s because of the way the sport is at the moment. But you still enjoy it, when you stand on the grid in Austin, facing the national anthem, the atmosphere is unbelievable.
“And it will be here as well, which is great. Actually it will be in the next few races, and then Abu Dhabi is the last one, it’s very special, I’ll have friends and family there as well. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
Jenson insisted that his thoughts on a possible return in 2018 have not changed since it was announced in Monza that the door might still be open for him.
“No, because my aim is not to be racing next year. My aim is not to be racing again. But in six months I might want to go racing again. The idea of speaking to Ron in Spa, and he changed my mind to stay.”
He insisted that the possible exit of Ron Dennis – with whom he agreed his exit – will not have any impact.
“It’s all rumors, and whether there’s any truth in it, we’ll see. An exit deal is never done with one individual. The board has to say yes or no.”
Asked if the beach is calling, he said: “No, the beach isn’t calling, lots of other stuff is though. I don’t do beaches, unless it’s running over them to get to the sea! It’s very exciting, next year.”
