Feature provided by Santander
It's pouring with rain outside the Roca Gallery London in fashionable Chelsea Harbour.
Inside, behind a blackout curtain,
Jenson Button is sitting in a Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes race simulator. He's staring intently at a bank of three video screens and twirling a steering wheel as the room echoes to the roar of synthesised engines. The circuit unfolding in front of him is rendered in grey but the landmarks, popping up in red, are unmistakable: Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square. This is the London Grand Prix by Santander.
With a flick of the wrist, Jenson turns sharply left at Charing Cross. Nelson's Column looms ahead. Jenson brakes at the last second… too late. The car ploughs straight on, into the crash barrier. Admiral Nelson and the lions are unmoved. Jenson sucks air through his teeth. Lewis Hamilton, standing over him, chuckles and says, “Come on, are you going to finish a lap?”
Racing drivers rarely get a chance to help design circuits, but for the London Grand Prix by Santander, both Lewis and Jenson worked with architects Populous whose previous credits include the revamped Silverstone, home of the Santander British Grand Prix, as well as the O2 Arena and the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. They're delighted with the results.
“I've driven around London before and found myself imagining what a Grand Prix here would be like,” says Lewis. “Racing up The Mall, along Piccadilly – how many fans would be there? How cool would the atmosphere be? Would the Queen be watching? I'd give her a wave on the way past. That'd be pretty neat…”
To bring that vision to life, Lewis and Jenson are starring in an innovative CGI concept movie that blends live action visuals with cutting-edge digital imagery. After taking it in turns on the simulator to refresh their memories, they'll describe on camera the experience of what the circuit would be like to drive. The Roca Gallery London provides a suitably hi-tech backdrop for the live action, which calls for Jenson and Lewis to interact with a 3D virtual London that will be added in post-production.
Renown director Guy Nisbett shows Lewis and Jenson a rough-cut sequence shot with stand-ins.
“It'll look great once the visual effects guys have done their jobs,” says Lewis.
“So the map comes up out of this table here,” says Jenson, rehearsing his moves in front of the bare table. “Kind of like
Minority Report. It'll look really cool.”
“See Hyde Park Corner here?” He prods a finger into empty space. “The map says second gear but having done it on the simulator, I reckon it's probably third.”
“Trafalgar Square, that's going to be crazily tight,” says Lewis. “It'll be quite special to race through there. Through Admiralty Arch – there's nothing like that in Formula 1. Turn left at the Ritz – have you ever stayed there?”
“No – don't they make you wear a tie?”
Time is money and with the location specially closed for filming, every second is accounted for on the call sheet. Director Guy has a specific list of exactly what shots he wants to accomplish, storyboarded with how they will fit into the finished film.