Jenson Button

2009 F1 World Champion at the Festival of Speed

Jenson Button put on a bravura display of driving skill on the Goodwood hillclimb course this afternoon, eschewing the expected 2008 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23 Grand Prix weapon for a McLaren MP4-12C supercar – with test driver Chris Goodwin acting as ‘ballast’. The reason for the substitution? He’d hurt his knee. The 2009 F1 World Champion said: “I just love this car so much. Unfortunately I fell off a jet ski and, with the British GP coming up, I decided to take it easy. There’s nothing to worry about but Silverstone is a big weekend for me so I didn’t want to put too much stress on it. But the funny thing is, I’ve never driven up here really quickly before. This was the first time I really went for it and it was great fun. I really enjoyed that!”