Sao Paulo, Nov. 7: Armed men attempted to attack the car carrying defending Formula One champion Jenson Button as he left the track after qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Button was driven away from danger and nobody was hurt in what appeared to be a robbery attempt near the Interlagos circuit in South America’s biggest city. Button said it was a “pretty scary situation,” and that he only escaped thanks to the undercover police officer who was driving his vehicle.
“The driver was a legend, a great guy, he got us out of trouble,” Button told The Associated Press as he arrived at the track for Sunday’s race.
The driver rammed through several vehicles, swiftly driving Button and the other people in the car through traffic and away from danger, making sure nobody was hurt in Saturday night’s incident.
The attack happened on the same night three Sauber engineers were robbed just outside the Interlagos track, heightening security concerns in the country set to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
“We got between six cars to get past and got away,” Button later said at a press conference. “Looking behind there were two guys with hand guns and one guy with what looked like a machine gun. It was a pretty scary situation,” he said. “It’s not a very comfortable feeling, not great.”
Button’s father, John, also was in the car along with physiotherapist Mike Collier and manager Richard Goddard.
McLaren has provided Button and Hamilton with reinforced armoured vehicles driven by armed police drivers who were trained in avoidance techniques.
“We were probably unlucky more than anything else,” Button said, adding the assailants all looked “quite young.”
Sauber said five men, one of them with a machine gun, stopped the van carrying its engineers and forced them to hand over two backpacks with personal belongings.
Button said he left the track at about 7 pm local time and the attack happened when they stopped at a traffic light about a kilometre from the track.
“The driver obviously didn’t feel comfortable and stopped about a car length back,” Button said. “We looked to the right and saw five or six guys walk out of this building at the edge of the road. They looked suspicious. Then they started running toward the car.”
Button, who was sitting in the front seat of the armored Mercedes with tainted windows, said the driver angled the car to speed past other vehicles and drive to safety.
Sao Paulo authorities said they had not been notified of the attack. No arrests had been made by Sunday afternoon.
Button said he believed Saturday’s attack was random. “It happens every year, but it’s the first time that it has happened to a driver,” he said. “It’s not a very nice feeling having to come to work in a bulletproof car with a policeman as the driver and two police cars, one in front and one in back, but that’s the way it is.” —