When you’re used to driving a Formula One car, its difficult to adjust to racing at a slower pace. That was made plainly clear when Jenson Button competed in the Ironman 70.3 Oceanside on Saturday.
While all other currently contracted F1 drivers were preparing for the Chinese Grand Prix, Button, who’s on sabbatical, completed the triathlon in California with the third-fastest time in his age group. His time was good enough to earn him a spot in the Ironman World Championship, or so he thought.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, Button revealed he ultimately was disqualified from the race for — believe it or not — going too fast.
In Button’s defense, the only time he needed to worry about speeding in F1 was while driving through the pit lane; plus, unlike his bike, F1 cars have pit-lane speed limiters.
With Button spending so much time in the U.S. lately, we might see him compete in another triathlon stateside. If he does, hopefully he can convince his buddy Jimmie Johnson to as well. Since the 2009 F1 world champion and the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion might never go head-to-head on track, it could be the only time we get to see them race.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/jambox998
