HONDA F1

British F1 driver Jenson Button plans to take part in another triathlon.

The 28-year-old Honda racer, who regularly takes part in such events, finished a competitive 16th of the 250 triathletes - just eight minutes behind the winner - in the Sevenoaks Triathlon in England last month.

He won a similar event in Lanzarote over the winter.

Button's next triathlon outing, it has emerged, will be the tough Nokia Windsor Triathlon, which is regularly named 'event of the year' by the British Triathlon Association.

The event will take place on June 15 in Windsor Castle, Eton College and the River Thames, in the south east of England.

"I don't expect to be 16th at Windsor," Button told The Times. "My aim is to be in the top 10 per cent of the finishers. That will be difficult. It's pretty close stuff."

The veteran of more than 140 Grand Prix starts, and winner of one, revealed that he got into triathlon while training at his favourite off-season destination, Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands, north of Africa.

"I go to Lanzarote to train at the Club La Santa, which is used by Olympic athletes because it's warm all year round.

They do mini-triathlons there, so I got into doing it," Button explained.

The Windsor triathlon, to feature some professional athletes, features a 42km cycle ride, a 500m river swim and a 10km circuit run.

"There's some stiff competition," Button continued, adding that Olympic rower James Cracknell will be among the 2000 starters.

"I wish I had more time for training because I'm flying a lot for the Grand Prix and that's quite tiring," he added.

Button insists he has thrown off his earlier image as a lazy Playboy and is now among the fittest drivers on the grid.

"Mark Webber takes it very seriously, too. He runs the Webber Challenge in Tasmania. I would love to do it."