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Weidenfeld & Nicolson Illustrated has acquired the rights to Jenson Button's personal diary of his Formula 1 season this year.
Michael Dover, editor-in-chief of Weidenfeld & Nicolson Illustrated, bought world rights to the tentatively titled My Grand Prix Season via David Luxton of Luxton Harris. The book is a last-minute addition to W&N's autumn list, being scheduled for hardback release on 19th November, priced £20. The season ends on 1st November.
Dover said: "We had Jenson under contract for an autobiography and as it became clear how dominant he was at the beginning of the season it seemed entirely sensible to do a book of the season first and follow up with his autobiography next year. His agent David Luxton, his manager Richard Goddard and [team boss] Ross Brawn thought so too and the trade has backed it enthusiastically." The two titles combined were sold for "a high six-figure advance".
W&N described Button's 2009 season as "the biggest story in Formula 1 for decades", with wins in Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco and Turkey.
Dover added that there was "very strong consumer appetite for British Formula 1 winners if you look at the sales of Damon Hill and Lewis Hamilton."
The book will follow the driver in detail "race by race", including changes to the car, notes on strategy and training, fitness and mental preparation. Button also gives a "detailed account of each race from the driver's perspective". The personal commentary is interspersed with notes on records broken, transcripts of in-car radio exchanges, quotes from the team, snippets from the TV commentary and Button's own text messages. There will also be a foreword by Brawn.