Button drove a GRC-spec Honda Civic Coupe Supercar last week with Swedish team OlsbergsMSE.

Speaking ahead at the Race Of Champions event in Miami, which included a GRC Supercar Lites rallycross car on its roster of machinery, Button joked that the test had been purely a warm-up rather than a career change…

“I must say, to be fair, it was the best birthday present you could ever have – apart from Race Of Champions,” said Button, who turned 37 last week. “Everyone thinks I was testing to further my career in rallycross, but basically I was just practicing for this weekend!

“I want to have a bit more of a relaxed year, on my terms. I’d love to race in something – there’s a good chance I’ll do Super GT, one race in Japan at Suzuka [the 1000kms]. And I’d like to do some rallycross.

“But there is so much I’ve got to learn. The stuff that’s on the concrete, I can deal with, but as soon as you get onto that dirty stuff – I have no idea!

“It was a great experience, and hopefully in the future, yeah, I’d love to race. But there’s so much to learn.

“But that makes it so exciting, that’s why I stayed in F1 – because there’s always more to learn. Hopefully it’s the same with rallycross.”

Getting down and dirty

Button sought advice from former World Rallycross champion Petter Solberg this weekend, and asked him: “Have you noticed that when you blow your nose, the night after driving the car, it’s just full of shit? I blew my nose and it was a right mess!”

Button’s teammate in Sunday’s Nations’ Cup was David Coulthard, who partnered him when they drove rallycross cars for a BBC Sport feature in 2015: “I’ve never seen anyone so scared in my entire life as [DC] sat next to me in a 600-horsepower, two-wheel drive VW Beetle in the wet at Lydden Hill!”