Jenson Button Shaves Beard as He Turns 30

Jenson Button celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, as he entered the 4th decade of his life as a Formula One champion. However, we're not to discuss his achievements in the world of the Great Circus, but rather focus on the McLaren Mercedes driver's appearance before the media, when giving his first interview as a 30-year old.

Unlike we've seen Button throughout the duration of the past few Formula One seasons, the Somerset-born driver appeared before the journalists without his classic beard. When asked about it, the British driver tried to joke a little bit, saying that he chose to shave because he now has to look just as young as 25-year old Hamilton.

“I thought I would have a trim because I have a younger teammate now. I need to look younger,” joked Button, when talking to the Daily Express at the team sponsor event in London.

If we're to be a little mean for a second, we'd argue that it's McLaren's corporate image that has the most to do with Button's change of external appearance. We all know how the Woking based company works when it comes to securing a proper image in front of the media & fans, as past examples have taught us.

Soon after leaving McLaren Mercedes at the end of 2006, Kimi Raikkonen admitted that part of the reason why he chose to leave the British team and switch to Ferrari was because he was not allowed to act like himself at Woking. Also, when Alonso joined the team in early 2007, he adopted a completely new haircut – he actually cut his hair short – and changed his “bad boy” image he had developed at Renault.

However, according to The Telegraph, it seems Button's girlfriend Jessica Michibata had something to do with this also, although it's hard to believe she waited for a whole year to tell him that.