This was the first Racing Driver Portrait out of F1 Racing
Magazine that I made. It was a challenge as I had not
worked in this way before, and I stared of ripping up the
articles small so that I could use them the same way I had
used the dots, but as my confidence grew, I left the articles
bigger.
When Jenson first set out as an F1 racing driver I was not
a huge fan, although he did impress me in his first year,
when he drove for Williams. Sure he was fast, but there was
far too much media hype about him, the same thing happened
when Lewis came on the scene. Watching the F1 coverage for
the first few years was like watching the Jenson Button show
("Hello, what about the other 19 drivers? And D.C. is
British too, you know!"), and it started to get on my
nerves, not Jenson's fault, but it just did.
Once he went to what was then B.A.R , then Honda before becoming
Brawn, I watched the boy Button turn into a man. In the six
seasons before this years world championship I watched him
suffer as his car just got worse and worse. Of course there
were some highlights, they had a good car in 2004, and he
got a few podiums, but not the win he needed. Then he got
his win in 2006, to which I cried with relief, but in general
it got worse with each passing year. Did he complain? Rarely.
He often beat his team mate, always gave interviews for his
fans, always took the time to sign autographs for Joe Public.
He drove like a hero in some races for very few if no points,
and he grew and grew on me. Just an all round good guy/great
driver with a crappy car.
Each year that his car got worse, my heart went out to him
more and more, rounding up in 2008 as Lewis was busy collecting
his world title at Brazil, Jenson was climbing out of his
flaming (literally!) Honda. This pretty much summed up the
way his time with Honda had been. Despite genius Ross Brawn
joining the Honda team that year, it had been to late to do
anything with the 2008 car. With Honda pulling out of F1,
it was not looking good for our Jenson, a talent wasted in
the wrong cars at the wrong time.
To my joy, Ross Brawn threw the Honda team and Jenson a lifeline.
He then got to drive the car that Brawn had been developing
all the previous season, whilst the other big teams were concentrating
on their 2008 cars. Brawn had a year head start on the 2009
spec, and in testing it looked quick, so I held my breath
and prayed, and finally Jenson had the Car he deserved. I
mean, the boy Button had certainly paid his dues! It was obvious
that McLaren and the "F" word team would sort out
their troubles by mid season, spend their way out of trouble,
and when I attended the British Grand Prix I started to fear
for Jenson's title. The previous year, after the British Grand
Prix, I started to make Lewis, and he won. So being
a little superstitious, I decided to pay homage to Jenson
too, hoping it would bring him luck and in turn the title
that he so deserves.
I know about paying your dues; not being able to get to Art
School until my thirties, having always wanting to go, giving
up a well paid job and my home to spend nights on your friend's
sofa, and working 18 hour days on art that you don't know
if anyone will ever see, for 6 years. I know about having
to wait, being patient and believing in yourself, even when
it looks like their is no hope, and you feel like you are
working your ass off for nothing. That is why my passion for
Jenson grew; I felt his pain, and found him inspiring, he
helped me keep going. That is why I sobbed my heart out when
things finally started going his way. He never gave up, and
neither will I, hopefully my dream will come true one day
just has Jenson's has.
Jenson Button Collage from F1 Racing magazines. July 09 -
present
I am still adding bits to his portrait, currently waiting
for this month's edition, to add the fact he won the title
to the other articles you can read on his face.
