Button gets into the champion's mind set

I wasn't surprised to hear Jenson Button saying that racing is dominating his life at the moment.

Button is like many drivers who have found themselves in with a chance of winning the world title. Presented with an unexpected opportunity to fulfill his lifetime's ambition, Button is finding that he can think of little else between races.

"I'm probably a right boring bastard at the moment, I really am," he said.

Jenson has always had a relaxed air about him in person and in the years when things were not going so well, he found it easy to switch off between races. But beneath the relaxed facade there is an intensity about him; he was always unsettled by not being competitive. He appears to be wearing his current situation quite easily, but it's clearly taking over his life. He finds himself thinking through all the scenarios, considering every possible thing which might help him to land the grand prize,

"It's different because things are going well and you want to be thinking about how you can improve. When things aren't going so well, you know you need to improve the car and where you are, but you also need to get away from the racing, to forget about it for a few days. At the moment, that's not possible.

"This season is weird because after the last couple of races I've won. I've obviously enjoyed the weekend, but I wake up on a Monday morning and I'm already thinking about the next race.

"It's quite a strange feeling, very different to the rest of my Formula 1 career, winning four races out of five, but you do get used to it very quickly. I will never forget how difficult it can get, how tough it can get, but when you're winning, finishing second is a disappointment.

"Over the last few weeks, I've been non-stop thinking about the next race, running through it in my mind, getting all the data. It's been quite a stressful few weeks, you wouldn't think so, but it is more stressful."

Michael Schumacher lived in this mental state for the best part of 12 years. It's hard not to become compulsive-obsessive in that position.

Racing is a kind of controlled chaos, there are so many variables at play, especially at the sharp end of Formula 1. A driver always wants to try to master every aspect, control every situation, to bring it under his control, to dominate.