Button: 'I would have loved to drive for Ferrari'

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On the eve of most probably his last Formula 1 Grand Prix last weekend, Jenson Button talked with TV pundit and Top Gear anchor Eddie Jordan about his time at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The 36-year-old's career at the top spanned seventeen years and included four different teams - if one merges the Benetton and Renault, and the Honda and Brawn outfits - but there's one place where the 2009 world champion would have loved to spend some time.

"If it was the right situation, yeah of course I would have loved to drive for Ferrari," said Jenson

"Three teams that I wanted to drive for in F1 when I arrived, and they were Williams, Ferrari and McLaren, and I’ve driven for two of them.

"There was an opportunity at one point, but I thought this was the best place to be."

Button set the trend for young drivers when he stepped into Grand Prix racing in 2000. He believes however that times are easier now than over a decade ago.

"It’s easier if you’ve got the talent. For me, I had no experience when I arrived in F1. I had no idea how to set a car up. One year in Formula Ford, one year in Formula Three, into F1.

"Didn’t have simulators then, nowhere near as much data. Now, drivers have hours and hours in the simulator, like Stroll’s got his own test team as far as I’ve heard. He’s done all the circuits on his own… in a two-year-old Williams.

"We had nothing like that back then, we were thrown in at the deep end and our engines kept blowing up at Williams. We did a lap and then it would blow up, so first race I didn’t even have a super-licence!"

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.