Jenson Button in Manchester

McLaren brought a taste of Formula 1 to the heart of Manchester city centre this weekend, with F1 driver Jenson Button and the McLaren team staging a celebration of the sport. Crowds lined Deansgate on Monday afternoon for the highlight of the Bank Holiday, as Jenson Button revved up his McLaren and drove it through one of Manchester?s busiest streets. Button also treated two lucky fans to a thrilling drive through Manchester city centre in a McLaren MP4-12C sports car, before ending the day with an on-stage, public Q&A appearance. Jenson enjoyed the day enormously, commenting: ?To see the looks on people?s faces when I opened up the throttle, was a fantastic moment. It is all about giving something back to the fans and just unleashing the awesome power of a Formula 1 car. It was a lot of fun.? Jenson?s appearance was just one part of a three day event put on by team sponsor Vodafone. From Saturday 27 to Monday 29 of August, customers and friends enjoyed the Vodafone VIP Fanzone in Albert Square. The Fanzone contained a bespoke Go Kart Track, and a number of interactive F1 experiences, including a pit stop challenge, a sit in McLaren car, an F1 simulator and an exhibition of race suits and helmets. Throughout the weekend there was also a pit garage on the forecourt of the Hilton Deansgate in which customers had the opportunity to go behind the scenes in the team?s garage. Here's a video of what Button got up to. Visit us at www.pitstraight.co.uk