Button: Remaining with JOTA in 2025 ‘Definitely the Best Option’

Photo: Marius Hecker/DPPI

Jenson Button said remaining with JOTA Sport next year in the FIA World Endurance Championship would ‘definitely be the best option’ amid the team’s expected takeover of the factory Cadillac Hypercar class program.

Button, who is embarking on his first WEC season in the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963, has brought star power to the privateer British squad, which claimed victory in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with its sister No. 12 entry.

Speaking with Sportscar365 at Interlagos, site of this weekend’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, Button stressed that he’s likely to remain on the WEC grid next year if the 44-year-old Briton elects to continue racing full-time.

“If I’m racing in motorsport next year, it would definitely be here,” he said. “It’s making sure that it all works with having enough time for it.”

He said that his proposed 2025 program would involve more testing commitments, hinting to a manufacturer effort, although not acknowledging the Cadillac-JOTA link-up that’s understood to be announced later this summer.

“In WEC next year, I’d probably be busier than I am this year, which is a good thing because more time in the car is always a positive thing,” said Button. “It’s just making sure the balance is correct.

“Basically we go from race to race with three drivers in the car and four hours of [practice], you don’t actually get that much of driving time.

“It would be good but it takes up a lot more of my schedule, which is quite busy anyway.

“If I could do it, and be 100 percent, because there’s no point racing unless I’m 100 percent, I would definitely be racing next year.”

Button reiterated that JOTA would be his first choice if he was given an option in the ever-changing driver market.

“I would really want to stay with this team,” he said. “That’s definitely the best option. It’s like a family here; I know a lot of the team, I’ve known them for years… decades even.

“It’s like one big family. Going racing is exciting in itself but doing it with those guys, it really makes it extra special.”

JOTA’s earmarked two-car Cadillac V-Series.R program would likely be comprised of three Cadillac-contracted drivers and three pilots tied to the British squad.

With Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn set to continue on the Cadillac front, longtime JOTA pilot Antonio Felix da Costa is now set to remain with Porsche in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship despite initial explorations with JOTA-Cadillac, leaving at least one seat open.

Another candidate in addition to Button is Callum Ilott, although the 25-year-old is understood to have an option in the NTT IndyCar Series, despite Arrow McLaren having firmed up its 2025 lineup.

Sportscar365 understands that Nico Mueller had also been in discussions with JOTA but is understood to no longer be an option.

Button Returning to Site of F1 World Championship Title This Weekend

The 2009 Formula 1 world champion is making his return to the Interlagos circuit for the first time in eight years this weekend, hoping to add to his list of accomplishments at the famed Brazilian venue.

Button told reporters: “There’s so many memories, not just people saying, ‘You wont the world championship here.’ My last victory in F1 was here. But also my first point I ever scored in F1 was here back in 2000, my second race in F1.

“There’s loads of great memories and I’ve raced during all sorts of different conditions: hot, cold, wet, torrential rain. It’s been an experience.

“My last race here was eight years ago, a long time ago. So this is not like new again but it’s a new experience driving a Hypercar around here.

“I look forward to learning the car on the track, but also because I have so much experience here, I can relay that to my teammates, the team. I think we’ll have a good base with the car as soon as we drive out, with the information we’ve shared.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John