Jenson Button and wife Jessica Michibata split after a year of marriage

Formula One driver Jenson Button has split with his wife Jessica Michibata after only a year of marriage.

The 35-year-old former world champion married the Japanese-Argentine model at a lavish ceremony in Hawaii last year.

A spokesperson for the couple said; ‘Jenson and Jessica have decided to go their separate ways and it is very amicable. There is no else involved.’

Jenson, who is from Frome in Somerset, first met Jessica, a model and TV presenter, in her home country Tokyo in 2008.

They began dating eight months later, splitting for a brief period in 2011 and then rekindling their romance.

Jenson proposed, with a ring reportedly worth £250,000, on Valentine's Day in 2014.

The newlyweds confirmed their marriage on Twitter on 31 December last year, with Jenson tweeting; ‘Happy New Year from Mr and Mrs Button! We’re excited to see in the New year with family and loved ones, we hope you’re too!’

However, even after their nuptials the pair continued to live on opposite sides of the globe due to their busy career schedules.

Jenson explained; ‘We don’t see each other any more than before we were married.’

Jessica, 31, lived in a modest flat in Japan’s capital with her mother whilst Jenson continued to live in Monaco.

He said; ‘Jessie still works a lot in Japan…she enjoys her job, she models, she had a television show and has done a Japanese film.’

The pair were rocked by troubles in August this year when thieves broke into a friend’s St Tropez villa whilst they slept, stealing approximately £300,000 worth of valuables.

Jenson and Jessica were last pictured together on Jenson’s social media pages two months ago, during a birthday trip to Los Angeles.