It was a very special moment for reigning V8 Super Car Champion Jamie Whincup when he and reigning Formula1 world champion, Jensen button swapped car today in Melbourne as part of a promotion for Vodafone.

Button got to hop into the Team Vodafone reserve/passenger v8 Supercar while Jamie got to drive the 2008 McLaren that Lewis won the world championship in.

Jamie only had one word to describe the experience “unbelievable”. Jamie has not driven an open wheelers since 2002 when he raced formula fords. No doubt the McLaren MP4-23 was very different to anything he experienced in the Formula1 ford.

Due to works still being completed on the main straight, the drivers had to use there speed limiters as they passed the pits, however the could go full pace for the rest of the lap. Each driver did around 4 laps each.

For Jamie, his biggest concern was being able to successfully launch the F1 car without stalling it. A little push from the team assisted him in this feat. Jamie said taking off was the hardest part, but the F1 car did a lot of the work for him.

“It’s great that I knew the track and I’d done a few miles around here in the race car, but it gripped unbelievable. I was probably only using half of the brakes capacity. I should have been braking at the 100 metre mark, but I was braking at the 200 mark. I think I grained the tyre up a little bit, so I’m pretty proud of that! “ said Whincup

For Button who is a fan of the V8 Supercar series it was a great opportunity to sample the TeamVodoafone v8 supercar.

Jensen was surprised with the speed able to be carried through the corners in the V8 supercar “You can use more of the road! On the way into the fast left right, you can carry a lot of speed, but there’s not a lot of downforce. I ran off the tarmac and onto the astro turf,” he said.

Jamie however noted that it was very different using your right foot to brake in the VE Commodore. He went on to say “I’ll have to strengthen my right leg if I ever want to drive these again, or get the chance to drive these again. In the V8, you brake with your right leg, where as in our cars, it’s with your left. It’s quite difficult to get used to”.

Both drivers said that it was a great experience for them. Jensen was not dispelling rumours of an opportunity for him to race at Bathurst in the future. He noted that once he retires from Formula1, driving in a race such as Bathurst will hopefully be a possibility for him.

Photos courtesy of Australian GrandPrix Corporation