Jenson Button praised his police driver after escaping from six armed men when returning to his hotel after qualifying yesterday in Brazil.
The Formula 1 world champion was travelling with his father, manager, and trainer in a reinforced armoured vehicle when he saw the men with machine guns approaching his car. On hearing of this, his driver forced his way through the busy Sao Paulo traffic. None of the occupants of the car where unharmed.
Button reportedly described the driver as a ‘legend’ for helping him to flee the danger.
A McLaren spokesperson told the BBC: “The police driver of Jenson’s vehicle reacted swiftly and, using avoidance techniques, rapidly forced his way through the traffic, taking Jenson and the other occupants of the car immediately away from any danger and back to their hotel.”
The spokesperson went on to say that the Sao Paulo had also acted efficiently and would provide additional security for Button and other members of the McLaren team today.