· “So I chose to be the photographer. Jenson was happy with me being the photographer. He wanted to be the assistant because he probably thought he could be lazier but it turned out that he had to do everything. My role was having to direct where all the bits and pieces had to be, position the girls and get them to put on the expressions that I liked and then I had to get the shot done in a very short period of time. I did a pretty good job.” He Said

Jenson was quick to get to grips with the outfit selection, as well as the intricacies of lighting, composition and camera setups, while Lewis also tackled his role confidently. “I’ve done several photo shoots”, Lewis commented, “so I kind of see how photographers behave and act. And obviously I’ve seen Austin Powers so that’s where I really took my inspiration from!”

Check out the behind the scenes video and some exclusive photos :

Jenson Button filling in for the model.

The Alleged photographs by Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set the timer for this one !

Generally fiddling around on the set for the photo shoot !

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Jenson Button is a loyal Brit, he has expressed his willingness and his inclination to continue with his stint at McLaren and to end his formula one career at McLaren only. The Brit has a contract with McLaren till 2012. Fresh from is title victory with Brawn GP, Jenson Button had joined the McLaren team in the 2010 formula one season.

Button said that he was very happy with McLaren and was enjoying his time spent with the McLaren formula one team.

Button was quoted as saying

“When I finish racing here, I won’t be racing in Formula 1 anymore. I’m very happy here. I want to enjoy my racing and I’m really enjoying my time here. I can’t see any reason to be anywhere else.”

“It’s a position that most drivers would love to be in and I’ve worked very hard for it. I might be around for three years, five years…I don’t know.”

McLaren Team principal Martin Whitmarsh seemed happy hearing reports of Jenson’s fondness for the team, he was quoted as saying :

“If Jenson says he is totally committed and wants to do x more years, then I suspect that we could quickly come to an agreement.

He’s a tremendous asset to the team and when we get around to that, I hope that it will be a quick and easy conversation.”

‘Where does Lewis Hamilton fit into all this ?’ is a good question though, is he also committed to the McLaren team or is he looking for a switch to one of the better teams at this stage (Redbull racing comes from the rumourville). I remember reading at a few places that Lewis Hamilton might decide to swtich to the faster Red Bull cars. Whether  or not there is any basis for the rumours, only time will be able to tell.

Martin Whitmarsh also talked about the plans for the Turkish Grand Prix :

Winning in China was a fantastic reward for all the hard effort that’s been undertaken both at the race track and at the McLaren Technology Centre to turn MP4-26 into a race winner.

“We’re excited and encouraged by the pace and consistency that both drivers have shown in the opening three flyaway races, but the return to Europe brings fresh challenges.

“We’re under no illusions that we need to improve our qualifying and race pace if we are to remain a threat at the front.

“Additionally, many teams will be readying significant upgrade packages for the Turkish Grand Prix – so nobody can afford to sit still. For this race, we’ll be evaluating a number of small modifications, which include some aerodynamic refinements to the bodywork, during Friday practice.

“Our pace of development is what can win us this championship — and we go into Turkey determined to ensure our upgrades deliver practical gains and are able to confer a useful margin to both drivers.

“Our one-two finish in Turkey last year was one of our most exciting races – and the memory of that result will doubtless spur on the whole team next weekend.”

Image: McLaren Media

TUESDAY 22 MARCH 2011: Ahead of defending his Australian F1™ race grand prix crown, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ace and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button wrote history today, becoming the first-ever race driver to take on Australia’s iconic Mount Panorama circuit in an F1™ race car.
 
The historic event proved to be irresistible to motorsport fans, with thousands flocking to line the Mount Panorama circuit to see a Formula 1™ car soar around the legendary track. Button completed five laps in the MP4-23 car, before five-times Bathurst champion, TeamVodafone’s Craig Lowndes, himself wrote his own new chapter in Australian motorsport history, becoming the first-ever Australian driver to pilot a Formula 1™ car around the famous Mount Panorama circuit.

 
The unique event, organised by Vodafone with the support of Bathurst Council, was inspired by Jenson himself, who after taking Lowndes’ team mate, TeamVodafone driver Jamie Whincup’s V8 Supercar, for a spin around Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit last year, declared his desire to have a crack at The Mountain.
 
For V8 Supercar legend, Craig Lowndes, the event presented him with a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive a Formula One car around a track he knows (arguably) better than anyone else.

 
When Button took to the wheel of the TeamVodafone V8 Supercar, he fulfilled a dream- to thread a V8 racecar through the famous walls of Mount Panorama, a race he grew up watching as a young child in the UK.

 
Both Button and Lowndes paid tribute to fans, thanking them for travelling all across Australia to be part of this unique event and also for their kind donations to the Queensland and Victoria Flood Appeal.
 
JENSON BUTTON 
 
Jenson on his first impressions on the track
These guys are crazy – they really are. This place is fantastic. Television just doesn’t do it justice. When I drove around earlier in a Mercedes road car it even felt fast. I think I’m going to have more fun in the V8 car than the F1 because you can actually use all the kerbs and get a good flow. I’m really excited about the challenge. It’s
the second time I’ll be driving a V8 and I’ve got so many good memories of watching the V8s on TV and hopefully one day I get to drive one for real and it not just be four laps.
 
Jenson on fulfilling his childhood dream of driving at Bathurst
As a driver you have your favourite tracks. Like Macau and Silverstone for instance. But this is the one I haven’t had the possibility of driving and I’m going to fulfil a childhood dream in not only a V8 but also in a Formula 1 car – which I think is pretty special myself.
 
Jenson Button on the advice given to him by TeamVodafone V8 Supercar legend, Craig Lowndes
He jokingly said it’s flat everywhere and that if you don’t come back with wing mirrors that’s pretty normal!
 
Jenson Button on how it felt to be the first driver to pilot an F1™ at Mt. Panorama
This is an iconic race track and it’s great to celebrate the unofficial fastest lap in a F1 car. That was phenomenal. It was such a rush. Once you get over the straights being quite hard to control the car over it is such a pleasure. It’s just a pity I don’t have more laps to test it out.

Jenson Button on how different was it driving the V8 compared to watching them on TV?
I didn’t expect so much grip. It took me a while to get used to it. I haven’t hammered a car over kerbs like that for 12 years so it was a new experience for me and something I’ve missed.
 
Jenson Button on what it was like up on top of the mountain in a V8?
I was holding on tight all the way. It takes everything out of you. It was the experience I’ve wanted to have for many years and I’ve finally done it. In a way it’s probably not a good thing because it’s made me more hungry to come back.

This is just a small article showcasing how the team looks for the 2011 season, the team calls its 2011 challenger the VJM04.

The team seems all charged up for the 2011 season, while poster boy Adrian Sutil was retained for the 2011 season as primary driver, Nico Hulkenberg will be the reserve driver and Brit blood (Scottish for some ) Paula Di Resta has come into the team as the secondary driver. Vitantonio Liuzzi is out of the team (surprised ? ).

Testing has been proceeding well for the team and Adrian Sutil seemed happy with the recently concluded testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Adrian’s comments after the test were :

Adrian Sutil
A very productive day in general for us. We made some good progress with the balance and we’ve now got a basic set-up that feels smooth and easy to drive. I also got a run on the supersoft tyres, which we didn’t manage to do yesterday. Of course we also put the KERS on the car. It ran reliably and allowed us to complete the full test programme: very promising for this point in testing. It’s still early days for the system but we have got ourselves into a good rhythm and can feed this back into the factory to get some more performance for the next test.

Dominic Harlow, circuit engineering director also added his thoughts :

A good final day’s testing concentrating on KERS set-up, reliability and also some aero tests that remained on our program. Adrian also looked at some ride height sweeps and a few procedural checks. It’s been a productive four days for the team and overall the car seems to be performing reliably and according to expectations in all the major areas.

The comments are very much in contrast with those of the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. In other news, Martin Whitmarsh has issued a whip to the  various drivers taking gripes at the new F1 tyre suppliers Pirelli.

“Being a tire supplier is a thankless task,” Martin Whitmarsh said.

“The quick deterioration is a characteristic, requested by the teams and organization, to improve the show.”

Images : Force India F1 Media

After the high of last year it looks like its going to be a bumpy ride for the Brit team McLaren and their all Brit duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. After the recent rounds of testing completed , both drivers seemed skeptical of their car’s performance and acknowledged that the car needed to improve for them to have a chance in the championship.

Jenson Button was not happy about the setup work due to the short testing period that teams are getting. He commented that the improvement done to the car till now wont be enough once the formula one season starts.

“It’s tricky because we haven’t had enough testing in the car to do proper set-up work which is disappointing. It’s been bitty in testing. We have improved it but not enough.

“The next test is really important to us to see what this car can do and hopefully we will be ready for the first race. If we went racing now we wouldn’t be quite ready because we have not done enough testing.”

Lewis Hamilton was also disappointed about the small testing windows and the fact that McLaren is playing catch up to its rivals in testing.

“One day we did only 38 laps. That’s nothing major but we have had mechanical issues at the back of the car and that has really hampered us. In the last test we got 170 laps so we have picked up but we are behind on mileage and we can’t catch it up on the testing left. But hopefully it will not hinder us too much.”

In other news the Bahrain Grand Prix though cancelled due to democracy protests in the country and subsequent bloodshed could be back in the 2011 season itself at a later date. Keep reading for more. In an interview, Bernie Ecclestone said :

“I’m hoping upon hope that things settle peacefully in Bahrain and we can find a slot later on in the year,” said Ecclestone.

“I don’t know how likely there will be peace, but if there is then we will find a way.

“We will have a look and see what we can do, how we can swap things around a bit. Maybe we can change it with Brazil, or something like that.

“But forget August. It’s too hot for the public to sit in the grandstand at 40-odd degrees .”

Image : McLaren Media

McLaren today released their 2011 formula one challenger at Berlin, the MP4-26. The car was revealed in a unique style with McLaren fans assembling the chassis of the car.

The team has great expectations from the car. The MP4-26 features a new KERS system which is supposed to recycle the energy from braking for boost purposes.

The car also has the much talked about adjustable rear-wing system which was criticised by Ferrari drivers earlier this year for making the sport too complicated. The U-shape side pods for more air intake into the rear end of the car are also prominent on the car.

The McLaren team continues with the all Brit pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Martin Whitmarsh was pretty optimistic at the launch of the new challenger.

“I’m hopeful that Formula 1 stands poised on the cusp of an incredible new era.

“With Lewis and Jenson, we have two of the most exciting, charismatic and high-profile personalities in the sport, and the whole team feels a powerful sense of responsibility to provide them with the very best machinery with which to showcase their very evident talents to the world.

“The MP4-26 is the result of an incredible amount of hard work, innovative thinking and dynamic teamwork. Under the leadership of Paddy Lowe [technical director], Tim Goss [director of engineering] and Neil Oatley [director of design and development programmes], our design department is more integrated than ever: in fact, I’m particularly proud of the contributions made by our project engineers, many of whom have taken on leadership roles for the very first time and who have worked so well together to create this very striking and individual-looking car.

“While we’re all hopeful of once more adding to our tremendous record in Formula 1, this sport is so unpredictable and finely pitched at the moment that it’s impossible accurately to forecast the state of play until the season starts next month. That’s a tantalising prospect for Formula 1’s many millions of existing fans – and, I hope, something that will attract many millions more by the end of what looks set to be an absolutely fantastic year.”

November 14th is celebrated as Children’s Day in India in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru who was the 1st PM of India, what an apt day for Formula One to get its toungest even formula one champion. Sebastien Vettel drove an almost perfect race to clinch the F1 title beating closest rival Fernando Alonso by just 4 points. Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag at the Yas Marina circuit to win the Abu Dhabi grand prix ahead of all his championship rivals.

The situation that Sebastian Vettel was in was similar to what Kimi Raikkonen was in a few years ago when he had pipped Lewis Hamilton to take the crown despite having the odds stacked against him. After the race Vettel acknowledged that the same was in the back of his head.

One also has to spare a thought for the Spaniard Fernando Alonso who fought valiantly in his Ferrari but couldn’t match the straight line speed of the Renaults in the end. He slipped and slid all over the track but still couldn’t pass the Russian Vikaly Petrov’s Renault.

Fernando Alonso wasn’t the only person to be heartbroken by the result, Vettel also dealt a blow to his teammate Mark Webber’s plans of celebrating his maiden F1 title. Webber finished the race behind Alonso in 8th place and the championship behind Alonso with 242 points losing out on the title by 14 points in the end.

Lewis Hamilton too wasn’t spared by Sebastian Vettel who smashed his record of being the youngest ever formula one champion at the age of 23.

Concluding, We would like to write that this young champion has heart and this surely isn’t the last we hear of him  . This surely was a fitting end for the season.

In other news AT&T Williams F1 have confirmed Rubens Barrichello for 2011. More on that later.

Red Bull’s Sebastien Vettel has won the battle for the pole position this Saturday at the Yas Marina Circuit to start ahead of the pack during the final formula one race of the 2010 season , the Abu Dhabi grand prix. He will start ahead of Lewis Hamilton (who is also in contention, but almost out of the race).

Fernando Alonso the man most favoured to win the championship will start in third place from the second row. He will be joined by Briton Jenson Button.

Mark Webber , the other major contender for the formula one crown starts from fifth place severely denting his chances tomorrow, but these Red Bull cars have got some real speed, so counting them out would be foolish.

So lets get set for the super race tomorrow !

Image courtesy : Yas Marina Circuit Media Center

To start winning all you have to do is head on over to the website and register yourself. After registering you will be asked to choose the top ten drivers and that’s it.

If you score high then you get to take home the prizes. I am playing too

Contest Ends 15-November-2010 !

Register for the Race To Finish contest here

Thanks to them we will also be holding a giveaway for some cool Vodafone McLaren Mercedes sometime in the future. Stay Tuned for that !

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button also came close to colliding at last week’s Turkish Grand Prix, however their incident was thoroughly overshadowed by the one involving the two Red Bulls of Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber.

As Red Bull PR went into damage control by releasing what seem like canned and cooked up interviews, the McLaren PR seems to have gone into lets take advantage mode. McLaren PR again came out with quotes in which Lewis Hamilton professes his love for Jenson Button. This could also be damage control for a radio conversation that came out on formula 1’s official website.

The conversation goes something like :

After Lewis Hamilton was asked to conserve fuel

Lewis Hamilton says “Jenson’s closing on me you guys”

and asks his team “If I back off , is Jenson going to pass me or not?”

The voice from McLaren replies “No Lewis, no”.

Its another matter than Jenson Button did overtake Lewis Hamilton, Hamilton later regained the lead.

==

Read ahead for the quotes :

“Jenson and I both want to win, but not in an aggressive manner. The fighting won’t happen with me and Jenson,”Lewis Hamilton  was quoted

“We got a one-two in Turkey and it was a professional drive from two team-mates. You couldn’t ask for more from a partnership. We are both world champions, we’re both professionals and we both have a huge amount of respect for each other,” he added.

“When I win he is happy for me and vice-versa. Jenson is a great bloke, a very supportive team-mate and he is doing a solid job. It works both ways. I have no doubts that the rest of the season will be the exactly the same,” Lewis Hamilton added

What a mutual admiration society , I can already predict similar quotes from Jenson Button within the next month.