SOMERSET celebrity, Jenson Button, has opened up on his championship win in an interview where he spoke out about the greatest moments in his career, including that 2009 world title and how he didn't want to drive his final race.

Born in Frome, Jenson Button had a lustrous career in motorsport, enjoying a 17-year career competing in the Formula-1 World Championships.

But when Button looks back at his Formula-1 era, he thinks he’d handle that pressure “a hundred times better” today, and sees similar patterns in this new era of young drivers.

The now 44-year-old still competes at a top level in motorsport but just not within F1.

For the last couple of years, Button has been a part of Jota Sport's British sports car racing team.

The team competes in 'Le Mans', known as the 24 hour endurance-focused sports car race held in Le Mans, France.

The Le Mans race is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races and it is one of the racing events, along with the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500, that form the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Started in 2000 by Sam Hignett, then a university student in materials engineering, and racing driver John Stack, Team Jota's first car was a Honda Integra built specifically for endurance racing.

That year the team competed at 24 Hours Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hours.

Fast forward to 2024, Button drove Hendrick Motorsports's NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 entry, alongside sports car driver Mike Rockenfeller and NASCAR racer Jimmie Johnson at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The trio completed 285 laps and were 39th overall following a drive line fault late in the event.

For the 24 Hours of Daytona, 2024, Button joined Louis Delétraz, Colton Herta and Jordan Taylor in sharing Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti's No. 40 Acura ARX-06 GTP car.

The team finished third overall.

Speaking in an interview with Motorsport about his racing career, Jenson Button said: "It wasn't a fairytale season.

"Yeah it was great at the start, but it is difficult to quantify how good it was because you always want to do better.

"So even after winning three races, not being quickest in a practice session was a failure.

"Not being on pole in qualifying was a failure."

Button won six of the first seven F1 races in 2009, accounting for more than a third of the 17-race season. He didn’t win another race that year, but held onto the points lead to take the title.

Button added: "I got to the point where I put so much pressure on myself after those seven races, [if] I got to a race where the car didn't work, I couldn't get the best out of it. My head was in the wrong place already.

"I think trying to control your emotions and get your head in the right space is very difficult for youngsters in motorsport, and it's very easy for them to do a year in the sport and get thrown out.

"That's it, game over. Where do you go from there? It's very difficult to pick yourself back up from that point.

"It [that 2009 F1 season] was one of the toughest years of my life."