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Jenson Button

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The Formula 1 racing ace says "Sometimes you have bad days and you've just got to fight through them."

Raise Your Game: You won your first kart race at the age of 8-years-old, do you still feel the same thrills now?

Profile

Name:
Jenson Button

Born:
19 January 1980

From:
Frome, Somerset

Height:
1.82m

Weight:
70.5kg

Sport:
Formula 1

Teams:

  • McLaren (2010)
  • Brawn (2009)
  • Honda (2006-2008)
  • BAR Honda (2003 - 2005)
  • Renault (2002)
  • Benetton (2001)
  • Williams (2000)

Achievements:

  • Appointed MBE (2010)
  • Fomula 1 World Champion (2009)
  • Winner - Hungarian Grand Prix (2006)

Jenson Button:It's exactly the same. I love racing and competing. That's what I'm here to do. I've had that since I was 8-years-old. As soon as I won my first kart race that was it, I was hooked. I just loved the sport. I think it would have been the same if I was doing any competitive sport.

RYG: How important is it to have a good team?

JB: I have very good people around me who look after a lot of my business away from the circuit, so I can focus on what I need to do. My physio, my manager and my PA take care of everything that I don't want to be thinking about while I'm at the circuit, so I can focus on what I do best.

RYG: How do you prepare mentally for a race?

JB: I'll sit down on a Swiss ball with a steering wheel in my hands and close my eyes. I'll drive around the circuit, practising every gear shift. It's just a little bit of visualisation work to get me in the mood for it. Qualifying is just one lap, so you have to be on it.

I'll get up and do a bit of boxing with my physio. I punch him and he just takes it (laughs). That warms the muscles and the reactions up. I do that everytime before qualifying and it seems to work well.

RYG: What advice would you give to someone that wants to be the next Jenson Button?

JB: Follow your dream. You have to be 7 to 8-years-old when you start these days. It's when you really get your experience and you learn race-craft. You're fearless at 8-years-old, it's the only way to learn.

You have to realise that not every day is going to be a good day, sometimes you have bad days, and you've just got to fight through them if you really love it that much. You have to be dedicated and always think of yourself as learning. You're always learning. I'm learning and I'm in F1, so you need to realise when you're 15-years-old you don't know everything about racing, you are still learning and you need to realise that.


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