Cute as a Button

The title should really be ‘fast’ as a Button, rather than ‘cute’, but in my world, both words apply! I am not talking about buttons on shirts, or even the chocolate variety. But the legend that is Jenson Button.

I grew up with a Dad who was obsessed with racing. Anything with an engine qualified, and our weekends were filled with the sound of motorbike, boat, Nascar, Indy car, rally car and most importantly Formula 1 car engines. The weekends that didn’t involve watching a race of some sort, instead were filled with the resonant growling and revving of his GT40 in the garage that he spent most of my childhood building. 

When I learnt to drive, my favourite lessons were from my Dad (who also raced cars and boats), teaching me about racing lines, and breaking zones, on the country lanes where we lived (please don’t tell my mum). My husband says my only strong point in a car is being a passenger.

So, it’s no surprise that I love F1. I’ve watched the majority of races for over twenty years (for the bulk of that I had little choice in the matter), and was there (in front of my tv) when Schumacher won his seventh title, Lewis Hamilton won his first, and when Aryton Senna tragically crashed. I wept tears of joy when Jenson stood on the podium in Sao Paulo as World Champion, and wiped fat raindrop off my face in the stands of Silverstone when he failed to finish the British Grand Prix in 2009. I also happen to know that the cat and dog band members on CBeebies are called Jenson and Buttons. Epic!

So, what an amazing Mother’s Day present, a win from Jenson at the opening race of the 2012 season. And a fantastic race to boot. I am one happy girl. I just can’t figure out how my husband and daughter managed to arrange it, and what they must now owe Bernie Ecclestone! 

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