Button and Webber arrange for stickers to be placed on helmets
Last Updated: October 27, 2011 4:05pm
Jenson Button: Raced against Wheldon in the 1990s
Jenson Button and Mark Webber will lead the tributes to Dan Wheldon during the Indian Grand Prix this weekend.
The race in Greater Noida will be the first Formula One event since the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was killed in a crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16.
Button was an on-track rival of Wheldon during their karting days in the early 1990s, a battle the pair resumed in 1998 as they chased Formula Ford titles in Britain and Europe.
Webber became a friend of Wheldon in the mid-1990s when they were both instructors at a racing school at Brands Hatch.
And the Red Bull driver has arranged for stickers bearing Wheldon's logo and his initials in red, white and black have been made to put on his helmet, that of Button and any other driver wishing to pay their respects.
Stickers
"I sent Jenson a text after the race in Korea and I told him I wanted to get some stickers made up for our helmets," Webber said.
"I asked him if he was keen and he said he was. It's a nice little sticker because we both knew him. It's only natural he is part of us a little this weekend."
Button added: "I've so many memories of racing with Dan. When I was nine years old we were competing and he had the big number one on his car as the British (kart) champion.
"It was Dan, myself and Anthony (Davidson) that pretty much won everything in cadet racing. But he was the guy I was always trying to beat, the one I was motivated to get out of bed for and fight against.
"His is a massive loss to motorsport, but you have to take the good memories from it and look at what he achieved in his life that most people wouldn't achieve if they died in their 70s or 80s.
"It's a very tough time for everyone that knows him and is close to him."
Thoughts
The 2009 world champions expects several drivers on the grid become involved in the tribute to Wheldon in India.
"I don't think I will be alone, there will be a few drivers. It's a tough one because how much can you do? It's always tricky, but he will definitely be in our thoughts this weekend when we are racing," Button said.
Webber also paid tribute to MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who was killed in a crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix one week after the death of Wheldon.
"In a way motorbikes are even dearer to my heart than car racing because I started out in bikes," Webber said.
"I was watching the race live and when you see it you just hope it is not real, particularly for a guy of such a young age. He was a phenomenal character who will be massively missed, no question about it."
Credit: Sky Sports (www.skysports.com)
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