Autosportfoto

Button, Coulthard join Race of Champions in Miami

The recently 'retired' Jenson Button will return to action in January for the latest Race of Champions which is being held in Miami and joins up with fellow British F1 legend David Coulthard.

The 2009 F1 world champion is set to take a sabbatical from F1 in 2017 but insisted he will not be returning to the sport despite having a 2018 option in his current McLaren contract.

As a result, Button walks away from F1 but his first racing action will come at the Miami Marlin's baseball stadium on the 21-22 January 2017 alongside a host of former and current motorsport stars.

"I'm delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions once again. It is always a great event with a special atmosphere," Button, who has five ROC appearances to his name, said. "You get to race against the best drivers from all over the world and we enjoy our time both on and off the track as we meet old friends from all the different motor sport series.

"The main thing is that everyone wants to put on a good show for the fans - and we only pretend to play it cool before giving it everything when we're revving up the cars on the line."

In a double announcement, 2014 Race of Champions winner David Coulthard also returns to the annual event next month as the second British driver in the line-up. The 13-time F1 Grand Prix winner also reached the final on home turf at Wembley in 2008, losing out to Sebastien Loeb.

"I'm delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions. I was proud to win it a couple of years ago, beating off drivers who I'll admit are younger and more talented than me," Coulthard said. "But that's the nature of the knockout system. You also get a chance to compare your driving with a wide range of different drivers from all over the world in a lot of different vehicles, while having fun out of the car.

"The Race Of Champions is even better for race fans. The stadium environment is what makes it special: you look down on the cars from the grandstands so it gives you a view you wouldn't get in many venues."

Zdroj: crash.net