Jenson Button withdraws from Le Mans to be with pregnant fiancee Brittny Ward and hails rivals Toyota 'unbeatable' as Stoffel Vandoorne steps in as SMP replacement Jenson Button has withdrawn from this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans He will be replaced by his former McLaren F1 team mate Stoffel Vandoorne Button cited his partner's pregnancy as a reason for withdrawing from the race Button had a disappointing debut last year when his car suffered a sensor issue
By Alan Baldwin, Reuters
Published: 16:03 BST, 19 April 2019 | Updated: 16:04 BST, 19 April 2019
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Jenson Button has withdrawn from this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and will be replaced at SMP Racing by his former McLaren Formula One team mate Stoffel Vandoorne, the Russian team said on Friday.
Belgian Vandoorne, who left Formula One at the end of 2018 and is now competing in the Formula E electric series, will also replace New Zealander Brendon Hartley at the Six Hours of Spa World Endurance Championship (WEC) round on May 4.
Button, the 2009 Formula One world champion, cited his partner's pregnancy as a reason for withdrawing from Le Mans, the highlight of the WEC season on
