Jenson Button

A lot of people think Formula One isn’t a sport because everyone drives a car when they go to work in the morning. But we’re pulling up to six G on a corner or during breaking, which is almost like being a fighter pilot. So we have to do a lot of work on our neck muscles.

We all drive differently and have different styles. For me I need a car I can develop beneath me and feel comfortable in. If the car feels neutral and unbalanced it doesn’t work for me.

The fast, flowing parts, the high-speed corners, that’s where a Formula One car is at its best – changes of direction, pulling high g-forces left and right.

I keep my weight low, although you need to be able to move your weight around the race car to change the balance. I’m 6ft and I’m 70kg so I haven’t much fat on me.

To drive an F1 car you have to be a little mad. On the morning of a race there’s a mix of excitement and fear. If it’s a wet track, then it’s worse as you’re not in control most of the time, which is the thing all drivers fear the most.

You’re pulling 4-5G for a lot of the corners around the lap. We build up lactic acid because there are a lot of vibrations in the car, and you have to have strong legs to hit the brake pedal. We need to be fit to do every lap at 100%.

In the car and in front of the camera I tend to be very calm but behind the scenes I can get fired up and passionate, I just don’t see the need to shout my mouth off in public.

When I do retire, I know for a fact that I’ll never be able to replace the incredible feeling I get when I’m driving an F1 car.

I need to develop a car and engineer a car in a position that feels comfortable for me, and I don’t think anyone can do a better job than I can in that position. The problem for me is if I can’t get the car there I do struggle more than some.

To understand the intensity of driving an F1 car, you have to be in it. When you’re driving a 750hp machine at 200mph, the noise and the vibrations are incredible. The G-force when you take big corners is like someone trying to rip your head off. You hit the brakes, and it feels as if the skin is being pulled off your body.