Button sets new sights on 'emotional' Le Mans

PARIS - It is 15 years since Jenson Button claimed the Formula One drivers championship but as the World Endurance Championship (WEC) prepares to get underway at the end of February, the Briton told AFP he is eyeing new peaks, not least the iconic Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Button, who turns 44 on Friday, has remained busy in motor sport since stepping away from F1 at the end of the 2016 season but he is now making a full-time return to racing at the wheel of a Porsche with Hertz Team JOTA. 

"I am not just a Formula One driver, I'm a racing driver," Button told AFP. 

"I have always loved endurance racing, first because the cars look super cool. In the eighties I used to sit down and watch F1 and Le Mans with my dad.

"I can't believe I've only raced there twice but I am going to be adding to that hopefully over the next couple of years."

Button won 15 grand prix in Formula One, six of them in his 2009 title-winning season with Brawn. He later moved to McLaren, teaming up with Lewis Hamilton.

The World Endurance Championship comprises eight races, the first of which takes place at the Losail Circuit in Qatar on March 2.