Jenson Button has bulked out to compete in Hyrox (Image: JensonButton/Instagram)
Formula One icon Jenson Button has gained 11kg since retiring from racing with the 46-year-old throwing himself into the world of Hyrox. The 2009 F1 world champion completed his first solo Hyrox event in Phoenix, Arizona at the start of February after undergoing a stunning body transformation that now has him looking closer to a WWE star than F1 driver.
Button has swapped the adrenaline of the race track for a running circuit thanks to the popular sport, which sees competitors race 8km on an indoor track with eight workouts split equally throughout. The activity has gained a legion of fans in recent times, with Button first completing a Pro Doubles event in California late last year. Despite the work needed to pack on the pounds, he says he has enjoyed pushing his body to the limit.
”I have loved putting weight on, » Button told Men’s Health. “It’s not been easy because I’ve been skinny my whole life. I had to be 70kg or less when I was racing in F1, and now I’m 81kg.
“I have probably less fat than I did back then. It’s been a really fun process. It’s taken a long time to put weight on, but it’s been fun.
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« I feel so much better and more invigorated from doing weight training and I feel good after a session. All the cardio sessions I used to do, I was just hanging for two days after, whereas now I feel great.“
Button’s final F1 race came at Monaco almost nine years ago. Prior to his retirement from the sport, he hadn’t won a Grand Prix since Brazil 2012.
Button has piled on the muscle (Image: Instagram/JensonButton)
He didn’t turn his back on motorsports entirely, however. Up until 2025 he had been competing in the Super GT series, NASCAR and World Endurance Championship, among others.
Hyrox became a part of Button’s life with the sport, although punishing on occasion, offering shorter training sessions. These helped the ex-F1 star balance life with his family.
“After F1, I didn’t go professional with triathlon, » he added. « But I went to the world championship after qualifying for my age group in the 70.3 Ironman.
“I really enjoyed it, but the training was just too intense and far too many hours. I was doing 20 hours a week, something I just couldn’t do with young kids and my job still racing.
Button cuts a very different figure today compared to 2009 (Image: Getty)
“I then heard about Hyrox a few months back. The training sessions are a lot shorter, unbelievably intense, and it just worked really well for me. I’ve done a lot of upper-body weight training and I’m really enjoying the process. It’s super tough, especially if you want to be competitive.”
Button competed in his first Hyrox race, a Pro Doubles event, in December, before going solo in Phoenix earlier this month. His times were 1:11:43 and 1:08:47, respectively.
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He’s hooked on the discipline but not oblivious to the improvements he still has to make. “I’m all in on Hyrox, » he said. « I’ve done one singles race, which was fun. Happy until I got to the wall balls, which was embarrassing.
“Ankle flexibility is my big issue, so I’m working on that. And my glutes. If I sorted the wall balls out then I think a 1:05 would be possible. My legs are still a weakness that my wife laughs at, because I have a flat butt.“
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