F1 champion in 'DISASTER' crash

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at the 2019 British GP — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 champion in 'DISASTER' crash

Jenson Button won the 2009 F1 drivers' championship

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 28 February 2025 17:56

A 'disaster' crash for a former Formula 1 champion has taken place in a nightmare incident between team-mates.

F1 returned to the track this week for pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit, where all 10 teams hope to fine-tune their setup ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in just two weeks.

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With just two teams retaining their driver lineup from last season, many drivers across the grid were hoping to use the many hours of testing to get to grips with their new machinery.

One such driver having to adapt to a new environment is Lewis Hamilton, who having moved from Mercedes at the end of 2024 now appears to be enjoying the new environment with Ferrari.

Despite F1 not returning to competitive running until march 16, many other FIA regulated racing series have already begun including WEC, which is now home to multiple ex-F1 stars.

Former F1 champion Jenson Button is just one driver who has moved over to race in WEC

Since retiring from F1, Button has also taken up a prominent role as a Sky Sports pundit

Button rear-ended by WEC team-mate

Hamilton's former McLaren team-mate Jenson Button made a full-time return to racing in 2024 in the World Endurance Championship and has continued with Hertz Team JOTA for 2025.

Having achieved championship success in the ultimate F1 underdog story in 2009, Button retired at the end of the 2016 season after 15 years of competing in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Button piloted Brawn GP to double championship victory in 2009

The 45-year-old has remained in the F1 sphere as a pundit with Sky Sports, often interviewing former team-mate Hamilton and many of his past racing rivals.

The former McLaren star returned to the track this week with WEC, piloting machinery for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, but all did not go to plan as he and team-mate Alex Lynn took to Lusail Circuit.

During the first round of the 2025 endurance season, the session was thrown under safety car conditions.

Following the call, Button led Lynn and the rest of the pack, but the former champion's team-mate sent both cars into the pits after driving straight into the back of Button thanks to a poorly timed break from Button just as Lynn was accelerating.

Disaster for Cadillac! ?

Teammates Jenson Button and Alex Lynn collide into each other under the safety car!

Watch live on https://t.co/IPZa0nw0B2 ?#WEC #Qatar1812km @lusailcircuit pic.twitter.com/no6VarzHTf
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) February 28, 2025

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Ferrari Mercedes Australian Grand Prix