Frome flyer Jenson Button added to his list of successes in the last year as he was awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list.

The 29-year-old won the world championship in 2009 and has since moved to McLaren to race alongside Lewis Hamilton this year.

Button described the MBE as the "crowning glory" of a remarkable year, having started 2009 without a team before going on to claim world glory with Brawn GP, whose chief Ross Brawn was awarded an OBE.

"This really is the crowning glory to what has been the most incredible year of my life," he said.

"Everybody at Brawn played their part. It was down to their expertise, dedication and hard work that we were able to achieve so much.

"We literally started with nothing but had the belief, determination and passion to take on the world and succeed.

"Many people played a role in my world championship and in receiving this award, I want to acknowledge and thank them for all their efforts.

"To be recognised by the Queen and the British people is a tremendous honour."

Button and Hamilton will begin working together later this month as pre-season testing begins and the newcomer to the team is ready to put in the hard work needed to put him in contention for a second successive title.

"My aim is to keep the number one on my car for as long as possible but it is a little early to start talking about the world championship," said Button, who has now officially started work as a McLaren driver.

"The backbone of any title challenge is built on good preparation, hard word, focus and dedication.

"The hard work starts here. The next 10 weeks could well largely dictate the destiny of the 2010 world championship, so it's crucial that we start testing very strongly and that we never let up.

"I'm more motivated than ever to work with the team and my engineers, and I'm extremely positive for the year ahead."

The first race of the 2010 season is in Bahrain on March 14.