Jenson Button says he hates the term ‘former World Champion’ being applied to him – because in his eyes, it is something he will always be.

The Briton experienced the feeling of conquering the Formula 1 world just once, in 2009 when his Brawn team mastered a big regulation change – similar to what has come along this year – better than all of their rivals and hit the ground running.

By winning six of the first seven races and finishing third in the other, Button had built what proved to be an unassailable lead by midsummer and although he failed to claim any more victories that season, he could not be caught despite a strong finish by Sebastian Vettel.