Button unveils special helmet design for final race

Jenson Button has unveiled a special helmet design for what is likely to be his final race in F1, with echoes of his 2009 title-winning colours.

The Briton will take a break from racing in F1 next season, and admits he is unlikely to return to a race seat in future despite having an option at McLaren for 2018. Ahead of this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Button has revealed a special helmet design which he will run at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The helmet is predominantly yellow to reflect the colours of the design he used in 2009, with it originally matching the colours of his Brawn. There is also a pink band around the top of the helmet which is a nod to his late father John Button, who used to wear pink shirts when supporting his son in the paddock.

Button will be replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne in 2017, but will continue working with McLaren in an ambassadorial role. His future racing program has yet to be confirmed, with the 36-year-old keen to work on his own schedule.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.