In the meantime, though Button says he won’t embark on a full-time racing programme in 2017, he is keen to keep racing sporadically in other disciplines.
Revealing he is keen to drive with Honda in the Suzuka 1000kms Super GT endurance race, he says he also wants to try his hand at Rallycross racing in the United States.
“I don’t know what I am going to do yet. I might do Suzuka 1000kms in Super GT, it would be nice if that works out. Apart from that I might do some rallycross in America (Global Rallycross Championship) and do some testing in something else
“There is lots I can do and I have just got to choose how much I really want to do next year. I want more of a rest. [A full Rallycross programme] won’t happen next year. In the future, definitely. I think it is a massively growing sport.”
Any Rallycross programme would see Button follow in the wheeltracks of his late father John, who was a prominent rallycross driver in the 1970s. Indeed, Button says the idea of racing something other than F1 excites him.
“[I’m] so excited. I have raced one thing for 17 years and I want to race something else. I am a racing driving. You don’t just want to race one thing for your whole career. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, but sometimes you need a change.”