At some point in their F1 career, every driver expresses some kind of desire to race for Ferrari.
It is seen as the ultimate team, even if they aren’t competitive, because of its history and ties back to the origins of F1 when the championship first began 75 years ago.
Lewis Hamilton is the latest driver who gets to experience the passion of driving for Ferrari, having made his track debut with them at Fiorano.
Around 3,000 fans turned up to see Hamilton take to the circuit, all wanting to catch a glimpse of him ahead of the new season. Hamilton completed 30 laps without any major issues, which gives him a good start before the teams head into pre-season testing.
Hamilton will be the first full-time Ferrari driver since Eddie Irvine in 1999, but Jenson Button once revealed how close he was to driving for the Italian outfit in his book, Life to the Limit.
Jenson Button reveals how close he was to signing for Ferrari
During the 2013 season, Button was racing for McLaren alongside Sergio Perez and the team’s competitiveness started to drop off.
Hamilton had just made the move to Mercedes, while Red Bull was unbeatable with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel. With Felipe Massa underperforming at Ferrari, the team was looking for an alternative into the 2014 season.
Button was approached by Stefano Domenicali as early as the Bahrain Grand Prix, and the Briton came close to pulling off a deal to make the switch.
“In Bahrain, we had a meeting with Stefano Domenicali, who was then the head of Ferrari, about a possible drive there. As you can imagine, it was all kinds of tempting,” wrote Button.
“The Tifosi would say ‘Hey Button, when are you gonna come and drive for us?’ and although it would’ve meant a move to Italy and the challenge of learning a new language, I was certainly up for giving it serious and proper consideration. Ultimately I was spared having to make a difficult decision when Stefano moved on that very weekend.”
How Jenson Button’s F1 career panned out after 2013
Button would stay at McLaren for the remainder of his career, although things would take a turn for the worst when they entered the hybrid era.
Although McLaren was using Mercedes engines, their chassis was not as competitive as rivals Williams and they ended up finishing fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
It would be the last time they finished in the top five before the 2019 season, after they made the ill-fated switch to Honda engines in 2015.
Button was partnered with Fernando Alonso, although he only lasted until the end of the 2016 season before calling time on his F1 career because of their lack of competitiveness.
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