Button to bring F1 craze to Manila

Jenson Button, the 22-year-old Englishman tagged as the next king of Formula One, is preparing to party with his growing horde of Filipino fans next week as he drops by for a brief visit for Mild Seven’s Nov. 9 F1 party.

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team driver capped this year’s season with a points-scoring finish in Suzuka, Japan which sealed his team’s early season promise of a fourth place in the Constructors Championship.

"It’s great to get a point for the team and myself," said Jenson after his final race. "It has been an up and down season, but has been good for my experience. It has been fun working with the team!"

Jenson finished in the points seven times this year. But that is not his biggest achievement for the year: he placed seventh overall in the Driver’s Championship with 14 points, one notch higher than his eighth place in his rookie year two years ago.

Mild Seven Renault F1 Team managing director Flavio Briatore praised Jenson. "It was a good way to conclude this season. Special thanks to Jenson, who has done a great job for us."

Jenson has been racing since his childhood days. From his first taste of karting when just eight years old, he has been a winner. In the 1991 British Cadet Championship, he finished with 34 wins – from 34 races.

He then went on to win a string of victories on the British, European and World stages. Twice British Open Champion, in 1995 he won the Italian ICA Senior title, and two years later crowned his karting achievements by becoming the youngest ever winner of the European Super A title. Also that year, Jenson won the Ayrton Senna Memorial Race in Japan, a fitting climax to stunning kart career.

The talented youngster had long been the talk of the motor racing world, with seasoned observers waiting to see how he would adapt to racing cars. The answer quickly came – Jenson was dominant in Formula Ford in 1998, taking nine wins in the British Championship on the way to claiming the title. Recognition of what a special talent this young man from Somerset, England, had came with the award of the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year title at the end of 1998.

His jump straight into Formula 3 the next season saw Jenson rock the established stars by placing his car on pole position for the very first race of the year. Racing against drivers with more than a season of F3 under their belts, and with an engine not quite on a par with the best, Jenson took three wins, claimed the Rookie of the Year title and took third in the championship.

In November of 1999, Jenson sampled a Formula One car for the first time, taking to the track in a McLaren MP4/13. A couple of weeks later a test for the Prost team saw Jenson outpace the experienced Jean Alesi, and now the F1 world was sitting up and taking notice.

The Williams team put Jenson into a high-pressure ‘shoot-out’ against another young rising star – one with far more experience – and Jenson won. Suddenly the world had a new F1 star.

At 20, Jenson was the youngest driver on the grid for the opening Grand Prix of the 2000 season, but he impressed with his coolness and race pace. A point in just his second Grand Prix signaled his intentions, and by the end of the season the youngster was eighth in the Drivers’ Championship – an amazing feat for a ‘rookie’ racer.

During his brief visit in the Philippines, Button will be drawing the lucky winner of an all-expense-paid trip for two to the Sepang Circuit next year for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Anyone 18 years old and above can join by simply filling out empty Mild Seven packs with his name, address, age and signature and send them to Wishcraft Creatives Events, No. 17 San Pablo Street, Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig City, 1603. Entries can be dropped at The Fort at Bonifacio Global City on Nov. 8 before midnight. The winner should be at the venue when his/her name is called.