Attack on F1 driver

Page last updated at 11:34 GMT+03:00, Sunday, 7 November 2010
F1's Button in Brazil car attack

Jenson Button starts 11th on the grid at Interlagos in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has praised the quick actions of his police driver after armed men threatened him in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Button called him a "legend" for fleeing through traffic after six men brandishing machine guns approached.

Button, his manager and trainer all escaped unharmed as they were driven to their hotel after practice for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

Brazil's major cities have a bad record for serious crimes of violence.

"Would-be assailants made an attempt to approach the car that was carrying Jenson Button" on Saturday, said the statement from McLaren.

Button, 33, was quickly driven away by an armed policeman in the reinforced armoured vehicle provided by McLaren.

Button's manager Richard Goddard and trainer Mike Collier were also in the vehicle.

Extra security

Mr Goddard said: "We were about three or four minutes away from the circuit when the incident took place.

"I would suggest there were more than four or five guys, something along those lines, who emerged from a block of flats.

"I initially saw one guy carrying this piece of wood, a baseball bat kind of thing, but I didn't spot the one who had a gun until someone pointed it out.

"It was pulled, and that was it really. You didn't really have time to think about what was happening.

"You hear about these kind of things in Sao Paulo, and because they don't come home to roost, you don't think about them. But when it almost happens to you then it's fairly worrying."

He said they were lucky to have a police driver on hand to force his way through the traffic and get them out of what could have been "quite a frightening situation".

A McLaren spokesperson said: "The police driver of Jenson's vehicle reacted swiftly and, using avoidance techniques, rapidly forced his way through the traffic, taking Jenson and the other occupants of the car immediately away from any danger and back to their hotel."

The spokesperson added the Sao Paulo authorities had also acted efficiently and would provide additional security for Button and other team members on Sunday.

Previous attacks

BBC Formula 1 commentator David Croft said Button reported seeing six men all brandishing machine guns approach his car.

The reigning world champion, who will start 11th on the grid on Sunday, described his driver as an "absolute legend".

Three years ago members of Toyota's F1 team escaped a similar situation when they were also approached by gunmen, Mr Croft said.

Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker told the BBC that gunmen previously had attempted to attack him in the same area.

He said: "There are parts of Sao Paulo which are extremely violent, and [the city] has extremes of great wealth and extreme poverty."

He said parts of the circuit were close to favelas, or shanty towns, where there was a lot of deprivation.

He said: "I suspect that's where it happened to Jenson, and naturally the people who are in the favelas see these obviously very wealthy people driving away from the circuit and they know they've got a lot of money, and they know they've got watches and things on them and that's what they're after presumably."