In an interview with the press service of the WEC series, Jenson Button spoke about the upcoming season…
Q: Jenson, congratulations on your return to the WEC!
Jenson Knoop: Thank you, I have been given a fantastic opportunity at Hertz Team JOTA. I have been following this team for several years, I have a lot of friends there. I am happy to have the opportunity to participate in one of the most interesting series, where the competition is very high, to fight as part of a private team with major manufacturers.
Q: Why did you decide to return to the WEC now?
Jenson Knoop: After my retirement I took part in selected races, in the Japanese Super GT and in the WEC in 2018. I tried many things, including the 24 Hours of Daytona, but I felt that I could not get the most out of the car if I only drove it sporadically. Ultimately, I decided to play a full season to see what we can achieve in the WEC this year.
Q: Tell us about the Hypercar cars, can you compare them to the cars you raced before?
Jenson Knoop: Formula 1 cars have incredible technology, the pinnacle of racing aerodynamics, but they are not as advanced as a hypercar – the LMDh has 38 pages of instructions explaining the functions of the steering wheel! There are so many switches that for every problem there are multiple solutions at once. It takes some getting used to.
Question: Last season you participated in the final round of IMSA with a Porsche 963. How did it go?
Jenson Knoop: Yes, I performed at Road Atlanta. Before the start there was one test day, I quickly got used to piloting, but it takes time to adapt to the technical characteristics.
It feels like there are twenty different switches to do the same task, and they all work slightly differently. These cars are very smart: they learn as you drive. You can specify a specific piece of telemetry that you want to change, and it will change it without affecting the rest. These are very smart machines, but very complex. It takes a different type of racer, a true technical expert.
Question: Do you feel the same emotions as in the early days of karting?
Jenson Knoop: Yes! Everything is pretty much the same as when I started go-karting when I was eight years old. The driving looks the same: steering wheel and pedals, but I don’t quite feel the car yet.
Hypercars are the coolest cars in the world. You know, if I were to draw a car as a kid, it would be a hypercar!
Question: This year you will participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third time, what do you think of this race?
Jenson Knoop: I saw Le Mans in the 80s, going back during the WEC season is a great adventure.
The atmosphere in the team is very different from Formula 1, where your teammate is your main rival. In endurance racing, you and your teammates learn the car to win.
Everyone thinks Le Mans is just an endurance race, but that’s not the case: everyone gives their best for 24 hours! Plus, everyone has been awake for about 40 hours; you can’t just wake up and go racing.
Le Mans is about emotions. Whether you win or lose, crash or finish, you just want to cry! You’ve been through so much with your teammates that you’re just glad the race is over.
I can’t believe I’ve only been there twice, but I look forward to increasing that number in the coming years.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
