jenson button

Jenson Button's Ferrari to Sell At Bonhams

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

A 1978 Ferrari 512BB Berlinetta Boxer owned by British Formula One driver Jenson Button is to be sold by Bonhams at its sale of Collectors' Motor Cars at the RAF Museum in Hendon, UK on the 11th of April. The car, which was bought last year by Button, the then-reigning Formula One World Champion, has attracted a pre-sale estimate of up to $180,000.

Tags: auctions, Bonhams, celebrity cars, Ferrari, Ferrari 512BB Berlinetta Boxer, Formula One, Jenson Button, racing, UK

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Formula One Drivers and Staff Ambushed by Gunmen in Brazil

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Formula One drivers are used to making quick getaways, but found themselves in harm's way last weekend in Brazil. While in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the car carrying the defending world champion Jenson Button was attacked by a gang of gunmen. The armored vehicle was driven by a police officer away from the scene of the ambush, delivering Button to safety. The famous McLaren driver praised his driver's abilities, which comes as quite the compliment coming from the world champion.

Button wasn't the only F1 figure attacked during the race weekend, however, as additional reports depicted an attack on a van full of the Sauber team's staff. In this case armed bandits stopped the van at gunpoint and made off with the staff members' bags. Fortunately no one was harmed in this incident either.

Despite the attacks, figures in F1 are not calling for removing the event from next year's calendar, crediting the government with doing all its best to improve socio-economic conditions in Brazil and reducing crime rates, while refusing to blame race organizers for what happens off the track.

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Tags: brazil, brazilian grand prix, f1, formula 1, formula one, grand prix, jenson button, sao paulo, sauber

Steinmetz Encrusts McLaren Gear with Diamonds for Monaco Grand Prix

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

In the fast-paced, weight-obsessed, space-age world of Formula One racing, there's not much room for ornamentation. Except maybe in Monaco, the most glamorous race on the calendar. That's where the F1 circus is heading this weekend, and it's also where Steinmetz Diamonds will be unveiling a unique tribute to the McLaren team and its world champion drivers.

Steimetz has taken the helmets and steering wheels of both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, and embellished them with Forevermark diamonds. The pieces were unveiled at Villa la Vigie – once owned by Karl Lagerfeld and now the home of the Steinmetz Salon Privé – on Wednesday. Both world champions – Button 2009 and Lewis 2008 – will be sporting their diamond-encrusted helmets and steering wheels at this weekend's grand prix, where Hamilton, for one, hopes to recreate his 2008 Monaco GP win, where he also wore Steinmetz diamonds on his helmet.

Gallery: McLaren helmets and steering wheels by Steinmetz

Tags: diamonds, f1, formula 1, formula one, grand prix, jenson button, lewis hamilton, mclaren, monaco, monaco gp, monaco grand prix, monte carlo, steinmetz, villa la vigie

Jenson Button Puts his Bugatti Veyron Up For Sale

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Jenson Button is one fast driver. After years of driving in Formula One, the current championship leader is also filthy rich, and can afford pretty much any car he wants. He hit a blistering 246 miles per hour in his Honda RA106 F1 car at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah back in 2006, but there's one car that's faster: the Bugatti Veyron. And last year he bought one.

Now, however, with his garage already packed with a Ferrari Enzo, Audi RS6 Avant (the world's fastest station wagon), BMW M5 and Mercedes CLK DTM and C63 AMG, and with the first two Honda Jets earmarked for his new charter business, Button is apparently looking to make some space. So after selling several of his Ferraris as well as a Ford GT and Porsche Carrera GT – the fastest and most expensive supercars ever made by those two companies respectively – Button is putting his all-black Veyron up for sale. His asking price is £900,000, or about $1.5 million – pretty much the going rate for a Veyron, and you can check it out in the gallery below.

Gallery: Jenson Button's Bugatti Veyron