Button’s announcement comes as sportscar racing is experiencing a renaissance, with several major car manufacturers returning thanks to recent design rules allowing teams to experiment with performance philosophies, while other series impose strict limits.
Following a period when Toyota were the only top manufacturer in WEC, the 2023 season saw Porsche, Ferrari and Cadillac join Peugeot in a reinvigorated championship, in which Ferrari shocked Le Mans by winning after a 50-year absence.
The 2024 campaign will see Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini also begin hypercar programmes, with Aston Martin joining in 2025.
Button will also race in the American version of WEC – the IMSA Sportscar Championship – for one race at the Daytona 24 Hours in Florida, United States, in late January.
He will drive the WTR Andretti Acura (Honda) GTP prototype.
Button added: “It’s still the same as when I first drove a go-kart when I was eight – there’s just a bit more going on, but it becomes second nature when you know the systems.
“I’m not quite there yet. But we all love driving and you still control the car with your feet and your hands, and your bum – that hasn’t changed, it just looks very different.
“My son’s only four and my daughter’s just three, so they don’t really know. They know I race cars and came to support me at a Nascar race earlier this year, and sat in the car just before I was about to race.
“They both love cars, and it is a lot of time away from home. But they travel with me now and again, which is great, and when I am home, I’m home 100%.”
Several big-name drivers have been linked with a return to sportscars – including four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who could race for Aston Martin in 2025 after competing for them in F1 at the end of his career.
Mick Schumacher last month signed to drive for Alpine in 2024 – his seven-time F1 champion father Michael began his top-level racing career in sportscars in the legendary Sauber-Mercedes C11.
Lamborghini announced on Thursday their full driver line-up, which includes former F1 drivers Romain Grosjean of France and Russia’s Daniil Kvyat.
“I don’t know what happens when you get to 50, but I’m very happy with where I am at the moment. I’m still at my best; I do a lot of fitness training. And I broke the Guinness World Record for reactions on a Batak board earlier this year.
“The want is still there, that’s the big thing. Look at Fernando Alonso – proof you can still do it at 42 or 43 years old.”
Round one of the 2024 FIA WEC season takes place in Doha (Qatar) from 1-2 March.
