Button puts a lot of his new mental resilience down to having taken up the discipline of triathlon, which brings together much of his usual training regime, but in a competitive setting. In his first event, he finished 16th out of 250 starters while, in the second - the Olympic-distance Windsor Triathlon - he came home 117th out of 1700.
"The main benefit from the multi-discipline event is overall fitness," he revealed, "The bike is particularly good because you build up lactic acid, which is what happens in the car due to the vibrations, [while] swimming is good for upper body strength, and I also work my neck while I'm in the water. Triathlons are competition, which is what
F1's all about, and knowing that I'm one of the fittest drivers on the grid makes me feel very strong psychologically.
"I like the pain and I like pushing my body to the limit. I also enjoy the fact that there's nobody else involved. It's just me on my own and if I'm not quick enough, then it's solely down to me."
Having enjoyed the unusual experience of being able to hear spectators shouting his name rather than just muffled engine noise, Button is looking forward to racing in front of his home crowd at
Silverstone this weekend.
"I always look forward to the British Grand Prix," he admitted, "The fans are great and I love seeing all the Union Jacks in the grandstands - but it's also a bit frustrating at the moment because I want to give them better results than I'm currently able to. With the race selling-out on all three days, there will be a fantastic atmosphere."
