Formula 1 Hot News

World champions Button and Solberg win in F1 Legends race

Button wins race 1 at Estoril
Button wins race 1 at Estoril

Ex-Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and ex-World Rally Champion Petter Solberg were the Legends Trophy big winners today as the fight between Mercedes and Aston Martin intensified in The Race All-Star Series powered by ROKiT Phones.

The 2009 Formula 1 title winner Button started from pole and streaked away in the opening 10-lap Legends Trophy race to lead home five-time 24 Hour of Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro and fellow ex-Formula 1 racer and sports car ace Jan Magnussen on the rFactor 2 virtual version of the former home of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

"I was just hammering it every lap because I thought if I take it easy, there's just as much chance I'm going to spin off as if I push hard," Button said.

"This track is really tricky. This is the one that worried me the most. I was testing and I wasn't really on the pace. It's definitely more of a sort of rally-style in terms of where you put the car, rallycross style, you double apex a lot of the corners."

Race 2 winner Solberg passes Coronel
Race 2 winner Solberg passes Coronel

In the second race – a reverse grid battle – it was former World Rally Champion Solberg who clinched his second win of the series in a dominant performance. The Norwegian led home Pirro again and Finnish ex-Grand Prix star Mika Salo.

"It was really great! I had a very good start and then I had to back off because I got too close to the car in front," Solberg said.

"I knew I had good speed, and I just had to try and be as clean as possible. Circuit racing is definitely not easy but I'm loving it"

The pair of runner-up performances from Pirro pushed him to the top of the Legends Trophy points championship after two rounds of the five-week championship. The Italian now leads with 164 points, with Button on 160 and Solberg on 150.