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If you have seen the TV commercial for the recently launched Boss Bottled. Sport. fragrance, you'll find its ambassador Jenson Button putting on a look of steely determination as he visualises himself at a race.
After a sequence of close-ups of his green puppy eyes (of which his female fans would no doubt appreciate), the camera then pans to reveal that Button is in his apartment, apparently about to leave for race day.
Just as he leaves to give the camera another smouldering stare - this time whilst putting on a Westlife-ready leather jacket - he sprays on the fragrance, and looks suitably invigorated by it.
Button
It's the kind of thing the easy-going, self-deprecating British and 2009 Formula One world champion would have had a nice laugh over, which was exactly what he did when Star2 caught up with him at a recent event in Dubai to launch the fragrance.
"I race around at 300km/h, but this was more nerve-wrecking than driving a Formula One car!" said Button, 32, about filming the ad. "But it was a great experience. From the previous (Boss Bottled) ads I've seen, I thought, 'however bad I am, it's going to turn out OK'. And I really like it; it's really, really well done."
We wouldn't say he was bad, but having someone with Button's boyish good looks and laid-back demeanour trying to pull off Zoolander's Blue Steel isn't exactly a perfect fit. But then again, Button has carved quite a remarkable career for himself by straddling that awkward middle ground in his own unflappable manner.
For some people, such as retired British racer David Coulthard, Button is a throwback to 70s drivers like James Hunt. Not a Formula One history fan? All you need to know is Hunt was famous for having 5,000 notches on his bedpost.
On the other hand, former world champion Jacques Villenueve dismissed Button as a "boy band member", while another fellow Brit and world champion Damon Hill said he was simply too "frighteningly normal" and "even-tempered" to ever win Formula One's top honour. Apparently you've got to be a bit "bonkers" to do that.
But after over a decade in the sport, Button has proved his sceptics wrong, winning the drivers' championship (albeit after nine years) and establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with - whilst staying the same level-headed person. It helps that he surrounds himself with family and close friends, including girlfriend Jessica Michibata (a 27-year-old Japanese-Argentine model), as he races around the world.
As we chatted with Formula One's nice guy, on a yacht moored by Dubai's seven-star Burj Al-Arab hotel, no less, he was effortlessly charming, extremely well-spoken, completely diplomatic, and effusive in his praise for other drivers.
But whenever he spoke about Formula One, that's when you see that steely determination again, and in person, it definitely cuts through those green puppy eyes.
It's been 12 years in Formula One for you. What keeps you going?
It's massively addictive, when you get the chance to win a race. My Formula One career has not been the most straightforward. I've had some very good times, and also had some very bad times. I know how much it means to win a grand prix, how difficult it is; so when I win a grand prix, it's a very good feeling.
Winning in Formula One means you're racing against the best drivers in the world. When you come out on top, that feeling's amazing. That's what I live for. So yeah, I'm not gonna get bored of that feeling.
The reason in the end why I'll stop racing Formula One will be the stresses, the pressure, the travel. It won't be a lack of hunger.
Speaking of the pressures, how do you keep yourself focused throughout the Formula One season?
The preparation is very important. Formula One is different compared to a lot of sports. For example, in football, before the game, they have a lot of time with the other players in the locker room. It's very, very different to what we have.
We have to go before the cameras before we go out. We're with sponsors, the team ... Formula One is such a glamorous sport that you've got to really take yourself away from that and spend time on your own, focus on what you're doing.
You have to run through the race in your own head. We do a lot of visualisation work as well; with a steering wheel, I close my eyes and basically visualise myself driving around the circuit.
In Formula One, it's all or nothing. You drive up to the circuit and immediately you're racing. You don't have a warm-up. It's quite difficult and it takes some time to get used to that, so preparation is key, really, to a good race.
That's why I think (Boss Bottled. Sport) is a great fragrance for me to be involved in. Sharpening the sense is exactly what we need, and it's high-tech, which is exactly what Formula One is. Formula One is the most high-tech sport in the world. It's a great partnership.
What's your race-day routine like?
For the race, I wake up in the mornings, and always go for a run or a swim, just to get the blood pumping. And then we always run through the same programme. Sounds boring, but I pretty much eat the same thing at the same time of the day.
I spend time with the engineers, and I also have a massage before the race, which most of you would probably think is quite nice, but it's quite painful. Basically my physio is warming my muscles up, so it's quite an aggressive massage. Then it's straight into the car, focused, relaxed and ready for the start.
Do you have any superstitions? Lucky underwear, perhaps?
We don't actually wear underwear when we're racing! We have fireproof underwear, I suppose, which are long johns with long-sleeved tops. I knew you'd get excited about that.
 
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