Jenson Button, and the Story of the Tortoise and the Hare.

You won't find many people in the world of sport, let alone Formula One, unhappy with the sight of Jenson Button winning the Australian Grand Prix yesterday in his Brawn car a matter of weeks after his Honda team sold out and the British racing driver was facing a hasty exit from the sport. Say what you like about Button, he stuck it out during the barren years with barely a moan and continued to impress the paddock with his attitude to his job. Patience has always been a virtue, as the very likeable JB has proved once more. All of which brings me on to an anecdote concerning the tortoise (me) and the hare (Button). On two occasions I have joined Jenson in Lanzarote for a spot of pre-season training in the warm, Canary Islands sun and, both times, he has roped me into what is laughingly called a mini triathlon, if you call 800 metres in a swimming pool, 32K on mountainous roads on a bike, and a 5K run "mini." I'll gloss over our second run and report that the first time we took each other on I beat him fair and square, if only because he felt a twinge in his overworked groin during the run and stopped, allowing a slow journalist to trundle past him 20 minutes' later to finish. The result, and the fact that I remind him every time I see him, leads to a barrage of abuse, with "fat" being one of the kinder words hurled at me. Yesterday in Melbourne he did not allow anyone to pass him and for this I salute him. Welcome back to the party Jenson. I have a feeling he's going to enjoy it.