Jenson calls in fitness gurus to end lean spell

JENSON BUTTON says he is the caveman of Formula One – and he will need every ounce of strength to club his rivals out of contention at Silverstone today. The 2009 world champion has been on a special steak diet to toughen him up as he looks to get his title bid back on track at the British Grand Prix.

Despite a dismal performance in a rain-soaked qualifying yesterday, meaning Button starts 16th on the grid today, the Briton, who regularly competes in triathlons,does have the advantage of being one of the fittest drivers on the grid. As he seeks to eke out a further improvement in his performance, he has been working with Be Fit Monaco, a personal training and lifestyle company based near his apartment in the Mediterranean tax haven.

Button, 32, said: “It is all to do with your blood type. I’m O+ which means I’m closest to a caveman.

“So I have to follow the caveman diet which is basically steak for breakfast. It is certainly working for me. “I worked with the company at the start of last year but then it faded away.

“This year I worked with them at the start of year. I had a month off and now we’re back together.

“They do a fat assessment and other tests in terms of what you’re eating. Then they spend about an hour stretching you out as when you’re in an F1 car it does impact on your fitness.

“They do all sorts of strength and reaction exercises to get your body ready for jumping in an F1 car.

“Most of my training is at the same pace so they make sure we do lot of high-speed reaction work.

“They are really good and understand the body. The tests and stats show I’ve improved since the start of the year. I am carrying a lot less body fat, less weight and everything’s going well. “I’m a human machine.” Button has not been performing like a machine recently and goes into his home grand prix without a podium finish since China last April – a run of five races.

The Frome-born driver will have to beat his Silverstone jinx to return to the podium having managed a best finish of fourth – twice – in his 12 previous attempts at joining the rollcall of British Grand Prix winners.

But despite plummeting to eighth in the championship standings Button, who won the season opener in Australia, is refusing to rule out his title chances this year.

Button, now 62 points behind Ferrari pacesetter Fernando Alonso,