Personal best for Button in London triathlon.

F1 world championship points leader Jenson Button refused to enjoy a relaxing break from on-track action, instead taking part in the Mazda London Triathlon as part of his schedule between the Hungarian and European grands prix.

The Brawn GP driver, who has used the three-discipline marathons as an enjoyable and competitive means of maintaining his fitness, completed the London course in just two hours, seven minutes and two seconds on Sunday, well inside the target of two hours and 16 minutes he set himself for the Olympic-distance 1500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run during a radio interview on Saturday.

"I had to wake up at 4am to get here this morning and I loved it - it has been my best ever Sunday morning," Button said, "I enjoyed it today, it's such an amazing event, it's so big and it's great that triathlon is doing so well in the UK. I hope that its growth continues."

Button was one of 14,000 competitors - of all ages and abilities - who took part in the event, which was based at the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands, among them British 125cc grand prix rider Bradley Smith, who recorded a time of 2hrs 13minds 36secs.

The motorsport pairing exchanged some pre- and post-race banter, but it was Button who finished as the narrow victor after both men put in impressive performances.

"He did very well," Button said of his 18-year old 'rivl', "He's a fit lad and so am I and it's great to show that at events like this. Our performance demonstrates that we do have to train hard to be an F1 driver or a MotoGP rider and that, when we aren't racing, we aren't just at home sitting around and that we do have to be very fit in order to race at our level."

"With competitors of Jenson Button's calibre helping to raise awareness of triathlon, it's no wonder that it's the fastest growing sport in the UK," sponsor Mazda's sales and marketing director Mark Cameron commented, "I was delighted to be able to congratulate Jenson as he crossed the finish line."