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  • JENSON BUTTON: We've only been able to choose our race

  • numbers for the last two years.

  • Before that, it was basically where the team

  • finished in the championship.

  • Number 22, the main reason is because I

  • won the world championships with that number in 2009.

  • So obviously it's some pretty amazing memories

  • from those days.

  • When I was growing up, I watched Formula One.

  • And I used to watch Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost.

  • Funny enough, they're actually racing for McLaren right then.

  • And it was probably one of the best eras to grow up

  • and being a big kid and to watch Formula One,

  • massive inspiration.

  • So they were, sort of, heroes, but not as much as my dad was.

  • My dad made my career basically.

  • I started racing at eight and my dad used

  • to stand out on the circuit and tell me where to drive,

  • which racing lines to take.

  • In those days we didn't have enough money

  • to go professional racing.

  • But he worked hard so that we could go racing every weekend.

  • And he's the guy that went out and found the sponsors

  • and the manager that took me through to Formula One.

  • Pressure doesn't really affect me in that way

  • because I started at such an early age.

  • You learn things a lot quicker at an early age.

  • I am confident in my ability.

  • And you understand your surroundings at speed,

  • at 8 years old.

  • It's my 16th year in Formula One this year

  • which is scary because it feels like I started yesterday.

  • Some people were like you're starting driving?

  • I was 1.

  • I, for example, loved Alain Prost, the way he went racing.

  • Ayrton Senna, I knew he was passionate about the sport.

  • He was a very aggressive driver, and was probably quicker

  • than Alain Prost.

  • But Alain Prost could still beat him.

  • They called him the scientist, the professor.

  • He was a very intelligent driver.

  • It's so interesting to hear the stories

  • and see how you compare to that individual

  • that you really looked up to as a kid.

  • I really do think I based myself on him as a kid

  • growing up, driving stuff.

  • He was a really inspirational individual.

  • My most special win was winning in Suzuka, in Japan.

  • Because it's a circular I watched Ayrton and then

  • Alain racing on in the '80s, fighting for a win.

  • And I was able to win there, just

  • in front of two other world champions.

  • Formula One is all about aerodynamics.

  • Soon as you've got these big wings on the car,

  • pushing the car into the road, they

  • work at different positions.

  • It's so technical.

  • And that's a part of the job that I've

  • learned over the years and I've loved-- love that when

  • you talk to the engineers and their analysis

  • about aerodynamics.

  • An aerodynamicist would look at that now and go,

  • are you kidding me?

  • First of all, the driver can't see anything.

  • And that's not really doing much because this

  • went in a wind tunnel.

  • It was a lot of engineers thinking,

  • well this probably would work.

  • The technology's come so far.

  • Every year they limit us on what we can do.

  • There's a limit of how far we can push down force.

  • Most circuits have long straights.

  • So we need an efficient car, something

  • that's slippery in the wind.

  • And that's exactly what you need on a bike.

  • It's all about efficiency.

  • So getting in that correct position

  • where you're at your strongest.

  • And it's about the frame, the wheels, the helmet,

  • all working together as one to fight through the air.

  • When I watch the old footage [INAUDIBLE]

  • years ago of the tour and when they do time trials

  • It's hilarious, the positions they're in,

  • handle bars up here.

  • And it's amazing that we didn't realize back then

  • how important it was to be tiny to get through the air as

  • quick as possible.

  • People say what scares you the most in life.

  • I think for a lot of sports, it's failure.

  • It's not succeeding at what you think you're good at.

  • I really went through some difficult times

  • to get into a good place [INAUDIBLE].

  • Took me 8 years before I found a car

  • that I could then race with.

  • You need lightning reactions, the stop

  • you reacting to the lights going out and it's 0.18 of a second.

  • That's what gives you the buzz, the adrenaline rush

  • with a Formula One car and that's just you on your own.

  • Then you got to throw the other cars around you.

  • It's an absolute mess.

  • Your brain is just firing in every single way possible.

  • In that period of time, that's when you realize

  • what sort of person you are.

  • When I crossed the finish line in Brazil

  • and I won the world championship,

  • everything was going through my mind.

  • You think back to hundreds of races that you've done

  • and you think of what you've gone through,

  • the good times, and bad times.

  • Things that just flashing up in your mind of what's

  • happened to you in your career.

  • It's amazing how much can go through your mind in a split

  • second.

JENSON BUTTON: We've only been able to choose our race

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