2009 world champion Jenson Button reportedly used to refuse to see his girlfriend before important races
Brawn GP only had a short stay in Formula One, lasting only a single season before being taken over by Mercedes, but it arguably have not been any more successful.
The team shocked the world with a 1-2 finish at the season opener in Australia, never looking back as Jenson Button stormed his way to drivers’ championship, while teammate Rubens Barrichello’s results ensured the team claimed the constructors’ title as well.
The battle for the drivers’ championship was a tight one, with Button only finishing 11 points ahead of his nearest rival, Sebastian Vettel, making it a season where tight margins would make all the difference.
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In an attempt to give himself the best possible chance of securing the title in Interlagos, the Brit apparently employed a strange tactic to give himself an advantage, banning his supermodel girlfriend from seeing him in the lead up to the race weekend.
Button would supposedly prevent Japanese model Jessica Michibata from spending time with him, as it would only provide an unnecessary distraction and prevent him from being one hundred percent focused on the task at hand.
“It’s such an important weekend for Jenson,” said a Brawn GP source when asked about the apparent ban.
“He has hundreds of things to do and wants to be able to concentrate on them alone. Jessica normally always travels with him but he has to keep his mind on the job – so to speak.”
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The strange superstition clearly worked, with a fifth place finish from Button securing him the title, while an eighth place finish from his teammate Barrichello brought home the constructors’ title in the same weekend.
It appears the Michibata, who Button split with in 2015, was an integral part of the Brit’s only title winning campaign, with her massages also playing a key part in making sure Button could achieve maximum performance according to reports.
The Brazilian Grand Prix is next up for the current crop of F1 races this weekend, however both titles have already been wrapped up by Max Verstappen and Red Bull, so it is unlikely that we will see any audacious superstitions from the Dutchman in the build up to the race at Interlagos.