British Formula One ace Jenson Button last night told of his terrifying escape from bandits armed with a machine gun in Brazil.
Jenson, 30, said the moment he spotted the gang from his car he shouted: "Fuck, he has got a gun!"
The world champion escaped thanks to brave police driver Daniel Toni, 34, who smashed the bullet-proof Mercedes saloon through parked cars to flee.
The bandits struck in a slum district of Sao Paulo on Saturday night as Jenson was being driven back to his hotel after qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
As well as the armed driver, his dad John, manager Richard Goddard and trainer Mike Collier were in the motor.
Jenson said: "We got to the traffic lights. Our driver always stops early. He doesn't pull up right behind the car in front.
"We saw a few guys gathering on the side of the road, maybe six or seven. They looked a bit suspect but we didn't think anything of it. Then Richard noticed one had a baton hanging down from his arm.
"Then I saw one guy was playing around with something in his trousers and it was a gun.
"The driver looked across. They saw him look and they started running towards the car.
"They were quite young, maybe in their 20s. Two had handguns and one a machine gun. It was massive."
Jenson added: "Our driver angled the car and floored it between cars where there didn't seem to be any space. He was a legend, absolutely brilliant."
John said: "He just bashed his way between the cars and kept going. He was almost going over the top of them.
"It wasn't until we got well away from the circuit that we told him to slow down and we all took a deep breath. The car was absolutely wrecked, though.
"It was like being in a movie. That police driver was a star."
Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart said last night that Button - fifth in the race - could have been the kidnap target of gunmen linked to the drugs trade. Scotsman Sir Jackie, 71, said: "Security issues like this are a fact of life out here.
"Part of the danger is the risk of kidnap. Drug barons don't go out to kill people but kidnap them because they are linked to rich multi-national companies.
"In Jenson's case that means Vodafone and Mobil."
Jenson's McLaren team increased security for him and fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton, with a heavily armed police escort for the six-mile trip to and from the Interlagos circuit.
Hours before Jenson's escape, gunmen took briefcases off five Sauber team mechanics. And Virgin Racing's Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi was robbed of a watch at gunpoint in his car.
