In this week's column, Ann Bradshaw analyses the huge pressure of being a top sportsman in the UK, and how Jenson Button is coping with it successfully. She also talks about the silly season, future great drivers, and wedding plans...

We Brits love our heroes but often tend to hype them up to such an extent that they cannot fail to disappoint. Every summer we have Henman-Mania around Wimbledon time and poor old 'Tiger' Tim never quite meets our expectations. Each year as he is filmed dejectedly leaving the tennis courts some commentators write him off and others suggest he may have just one more year in him to try for the title.

I was getting a bit worried the same would happen with Jenson Button. The hype in the British press around Silverstone time was amazing. His every move was scrutinised and the pressure put on him to win was enormous. I was beginning to fear we would have another sporting hero who would never quite match the expectations of greatness. I am delighted to say my fears have been laid to rest as on Sunday Jenson drove what both he and the TV commentators described as the race of his life.

There was no hesitation, and certainly no thought that no I can't do that from 13th on the grid. Instead there was confidence, and a drive to second in adversity that was reminiscent of the happenings a few hundred kilometres up the road in Paris as Lance Armstrong claimed his sixth consecutive Tour de France.

I suppose it is wrong to compare Armstrong's battle against cancer and then a record breaking sixth win with Jenson fighting to keep his helmet from not throttling him, but both in their way got on with a difficult job and did it superbly. I loved hearing Armstrong liken his ride to a 12-year-old on a bike, and I liked the understated way Jenson talked about keeping hold of his helmet on the straights as the strap had come loose and so was restricting his breathing when the wind got under it.

Jenson has it all – looks, fame, fortune, a beautiful fiance and, most of all, talent. He is in an atmosphere where he thrives and credit must go to everyone at BAR who are currently giving him what he needs above all else: a car to match that of Michael Schumacher. We have all waited for months for the McLaren challenger to come along as this was 'promised' as the Ferrari beater. We also hoped we would see a change of fortunes for Williams once the personnel shuffle had ended.

While they both did well at the weekend in qualifying, in the race it was Michael back in front and it took the man who had to step back ten places after an engine change to make it a race. He dealt with Fernando Alonso and this gave us some great entertainment, but Michael proved too elusive. Hopefully the starting position disadvantage may have been something to do with it, and I am hoping when Michael admitted at the end that he could not go any quicker this was true.

However, whatever the situation Jenson drove superbly and again we have a Brit who may just be able to emulate some of the others who were the centre of both welcome and unwelcome attention. Jenson has managed to avoid playing away from home like several other top sporting stars have done recently, and I am sure the intelligence of the lady on his arm has a lot to do with that. Mind you, if his eye so much as looks at another woman I am sure someone will be there to record it. I remember many years ago a reporter from the UK's Daily Star coming to a couple of races to 'dig' the dirt on Nigel Mansell. The said reporter spoke to everyone he could find and the outcome of his efforts was a double page spread. Sadly he didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Nigel Mansell was ordinary, in fact in his view very dull, and the worst thing about it was he loved his wife!

Anyway it is well into the F1 silly season so I suppose I had better turn my attention to this. I am expecting an announcement any moment now to say Mark Webber will leave Jaguar and go to the Williams team. I saw him last Monday at John Walton's funeral which, although being a very sad affair, was a wonderful send off for him, with about 500 people attending. I was able to grab a word with Mark. I congratulated him on the way he has dealt with the speculations as I think he has been amazing.

Mind you, his long term partner Ann Neal is a very good PR lady and I am sure having her at his side has been a help. Mark to me is the Jenson Button of Australia. He has it all and still manages to be one of the nicest drivers to have sat in an F1 car. I think he will be ideal for the Grove squad. He is not quite the same boisterous person as Australia's other great F1 driver, Alan Jones, but his no nonsense way of dealing with things will appeal to Frank Williams and Patrick Head.

It was also interesting to see the Jarno Trulli announcement that he was leaving Renault, which we all presume will make way for Giancarlo Fisichella. Flavio Briatore, who it seems Jarno no longer wants to be looked after by, does seem to have all the aces in his hand. There are rumblings about conflict of interests with running a team and managing drivers. Flavio does seem totally immune to such comments.

Mind you, I suppose unlike Craig Pollock, who was in a similar position, Flavio does have a team that can win races to put his drivers in. Craig lured the talented Jacques Villeneuve from Frank Williams and from then on the only way the Canadian could view a great career was by looking back and not forwards. He is being suggested, along with Mika Hakkinen, as someone who could come back to the sport. Who knows what will happen, but I have a feeling he may not be needed. Trulli, the winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, is no slouch and with him unemployed there may just be too many others on the market to keep Jacques on the ski slopes rather than the race tracks.

Once the music stops in this game of musical chairs it will be interesting to see who will partner Mark. I was hoping that Antonio Pizzonia would shine and put himself in the frame. His free practice sessions seemed fine but sadly when he came to qualifying and the race, while not bad, he did not do anything spectacular. Like fellow team test driver Marc Gene, a lot is being asked of him to just jump in the car and match the others. All in all I don't think either him or the Spaniard did bad jobs.

Testing and racing are two very different disciplines. Pounding round a deserted track for hours on end watching for any small change that a minor adjustment may make cannot be compared to balls out qualifying, and then racing against cars that had proved faster when pitted against regular driver, Ralf Schumacher. Sadly I expect Williams to pick a much more experienced racer but I suppose I cannot blame them. However, it would be nice to see them give one of their faithful servants a job. When Patrick Head decided he needed to spend more time in the factory he didn't look around the paddock for a new technical director. He rewarded Sam Michael's hard work by giving him the chance.

To me this job is perhaps even more important than that of the drivers, although I suspect this may be a controversial view in some quarters if not all. However, Sam was rewarded and now it would be nice to see the same happen to Antonio or Marc. I love them both but feel that Antonio has youth on his side and perhaps Marc has been out of the cut and thrust for too long. Also I expect that he is doing such a good job of testing that it will be easier to find someone to fill the weekend job than it will the week day one.

While the teams were sweltering in Hockenheim I was shivering in North Yorkshire at the Croft circuit. I have not been there for about thirty years. While there is a bit more tarmac in the paddock and there are now garages, several other things have not changed. Mind you, the last time I went the final race of the day was made up of drivers who responded to a paddock tannoy announcing that the first thirty cars on the grid would be able to take part in the race. Anyway standing in their way was in danger of being run over!

I was there with my Formula BMW UK boys and again I had a great weekend. I look at them and hope that whoever is writing a column like this in four or five years time might be mentioning Grand Prix drivers such as Tim Bridgman, Philip Glew, Ross Curnow, Sam Bird, etc. They do have a long way to go, but then I remember the first time I met Jenson Button. He was a gawky youth and it was photographer Keith Sutton who made the introduction. He was about the same age then as Tim Bridgman is now so I know the meteoric rise is possible.

I am also off to Spa next weekend for both the FIA ETCC races and the 24 Hours of Spa. Five of my BMW drivers are doing both races and I am beginning to feel tired on their behalf and mine when thinking about it. However, I think what they have in store is nothing compared to British Touring Car Championship regular James Thompson. James is a very quick driver and has been loaned on several occasions by his BTCC employers Vauxhall to Alfa Romeo to help them against BMW in the FIA ETCC. James came to the last race in Donington and won and so has been offered a drive at Spa.

Obviously he was delighted about this, but he has a small problem. He is getting married this Saturday afternoon at 5pm. I was able to ask him about this in Croft as I felt he may have had some opposition from his future wife. "Alfa Romeo were very persuasive. However, the atmosphere was distinctly frosty at home for the first week after I said what I was doing," he told me. His fiance must be a saint as I think I would have given him a black eye. However, he now has a busy Saturday ahead of him. The race ends at about 2.15pm Belgium time, which is 1.15pm UK time. He is likely to be on the podium so I would expect it may be 3pm before he could be on a helicopter and on his way to his nuptials.

Spa is notorious for the mists that come down so when I asked him what would happened if he could not get back in time his reply was: "I suppose then I decide whether to turn left to face the music or turn right to freedom." I am sure all will be all right on the day and he will make it, but this just shows what dedicated racing drivers put their nearest and dearest through.

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with BMW among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.

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