Jenson Button - Personal Life

Personal Life

Like many Formula One drivers, Button resides in the principality of Monaco, although he did live in Guernsey for 18 months before returning to Monaco in 2012. He also has properties in the United Kingdom and Bahrain. His hobbies include mountain biking, competing in triathlons and body boarding, and his car collection includes a Nissan GT-R, a 1956 VW Campervan, a Honda S600 and a Mercedes C63 AMG, numerous Ferraris (including an Enzo) and his championship winning Brawn BGP 001. He previously owned a blue Honda NSX Type R and a blue on black Bugatti Veyron.

He was engaged to the actress and singer Louise Griffiths before ending their five-year relationship in May 2005. Button has been dating Argentine-Japanese model Jessica Michibata for two and a half years. Button has two tattoos: a black coat button on his right forearm; and Japanese kanji-characters on his ankle which say "一番" (Ichi ban, "Number One" in Japanese); this was done before he won the world title, and is the name of Button's triathlon team. Since mid-2010, the same legend has appeared on Button's race helmet. Button is also a brand ambassador for Head & Shoulders, and has appeared in advertising campaigns for the company.

Button is also involved in charitable work through the creation of The Jenson Button Trust. Established in March 2010, the Trust provides donations to a number of charitable causes. Each year the Trust will select and nominate charitable beneficiaries to which the funds will be distributed.

On 5 September 2011, Jenson Button opened a restaurant on Beulah Street in Harrogate called Victus, but it closed after less than a year in trading. Button's manager Richard Goddard said "unfortunately the business was launched in an economy which then continued to slide and just hasn’t stopped, with people simply not having the disposable income needed to spend in restaurants."