by James Allen, from the Spring 2000 edition of J magazine.

For a racing driver the path to Formula 1 is clearly marked. Most start out as children in karting and progress steadily through the single-seater car ranks, typically racing Formula Ford, Formula 3, F3000 and then moving up to Formula 1, ideally arriving in their mid twenties. But for Benson & Hedges Jordan driver Jarno Trulli and BMW.WilliamsF1's new star Jenson Button, things moved more quickly.

Jarno's rise to the F1 ranks was swift. Having won multiple world kart championships, he stepped straight into the German Formula 3 series in the second half of the 1995 season, winning races immediately. The following year he did the full F3 season and won the German championship which launched him straight into Formula 1 with the Minardi team at the age of 23 - just 18 months after his first car race!

This season Jenson Button has emulated Trulli, arriving on the F1 scene after just two seasons in cars. Many F1 observers were critical of Williams' decision to hire the 20 year old, but his first outings in Melbourne and in Sao Paulo, where he out-qualified the highly rated Ralf Schumacher, have silenced the critics.

As outstanding kart racers who fast tracked their careers, Jarno and Jenson have much in common, including a great deal of mutual respect. Jarno, not surprisingly, has been something of a role model for the young Englishman.

"It's good to look at Jarno and what he has done in the past," says Jenson. "He only did a couple of years in car racing, but he had a very good career in karts and was a multiple champion. He is a very good role model. I watched him all the time when I was in juniors and he was in Super A karts in Italy – he was amazing. I never thought then that I would be racing against him here in F1."

"I saw Jenson karting a few years ago," says Jarno, "And I know that he is very good. It's going to be tough for him in Formula 1, but I'm confident he’ll do a good job. He's talented obviously. He's also driving for Williams which is a strong team who can teach him a lot. The thing with F1 is that there is much more to cope with than just driving the car, and it is all those things which make your life very different."

So what are the hardest things facing a young driver when he arrives in Formula 1?

"It’s a big adjustment," says Jarno. "It changes everything around you. It changes your life; you have to travel all around the world. In the beginning you like it, but after a while it gets harder, you get tired. You have to be in meetings, driving, you need to be ready at every moment for anything. So you change your mentality. You live by your watch and you look at it all the time."

Jenson agrees; "Because I'm only 20 and still a little boy the team look after me, getting me to the right place at the right time! No seriously, it's pretty much the same as F3, although obviously there are a lot more interviews and things like that to do, but I enjoy it. Having said that, I'm sure that later in the year it will get pretty hectic."

Another adjustment which is hard to accept for young men accustomed to winning races every weekend, is the realisation that in Formula 1 it is much harder to win. Many years might elapse between arriving on the scene and winning a race.

"It can be frustrating when you start in F1," says Jarno. "When you win all the time you feel strong, you feel you can do anything and you go for it. When I came to F1 I started with exactly the same mentality. Step by step I realised that here it is different. It is a man with a machine with a large group of people and it is the whole package which wins. In karting and F3 you have far fewer variables. In F1 it can take a long time to put the package together. When I had my first F1 podium (Nurburgring 1999) it felt like I was home again. I was suffering a lot before then when I had not been on the podium for so long. But now I understand that this is motor sport and that sometimes you have to work really hard even if you know that you aren't going to get anywhere. You always have to try so that one day maybe you can have a chance. The way I look at it, it's already a big chance to be an F1 driver. Now I am very lucky as I have a good car and therefore a big chance to be on the top."

Jenson agrees. "When I was karting I could win races and in Formula Ford and F3 it was the same. Then when you come into F1 it is more difficult because you rely on your car more. The team effort in F1 is a really big thing; you move forward together."

Both men feel that the lessons learned as children in karts have made them into the Formula 1 racers they are today. Both started at the age of eight and quickly rose to the front of the grid, as the extent of their talent became clear.

"The race-craft in kart racing is unbelievable," says Jenson, "There is no down-force so the racing is much more intense. It was very good training for me, which is a good job since I only had two years of it! I learnt everything from racing with people from different countries, to learning about the technical side of the car, how do deal with all the PR work and so on."

"If I have made a quick adjustment to F1 it's probably thanks to karting because you only get two laps of qualifying to get the best out of the car, the tyres and yourself. You learn to go out of the pits and be focused on what you have to do. It worked for me last year in F3, where I didn’t know the circuits and had to be on the pace after five or six laps. You need to be able to do that in F1 too so I am lucky to have got that training."

Critics say Formula 3 to Formula 1 is too great a step, that a driver of 20 with only two years experience of car racing should learn more about the sport before coming into F1. But Jarno is adamant that it is the right step to make.

"In some ways it is an advantage, but only for the best drivers. Jenson came out of karts into Formula Ford and he won straight away. Then he went to F3 and he didn't win but he did very well. Then he went straight into F1 where he is doing a good job. It can easily happen differently and then a driver loses his chances. Say, for example, Jenson had done another year in F3 and did not win, it would have been dangerous for him. Then he might have gone into F3000 and not been in a top team with a top budget and therefore not had good results. Then he might have been lost. So, as it happened for me, stepping straight up into F1 was a good move."

Jenson says, "I agree with that. This was the best opportunity for me to get into F1 with Williams. It's what I wanted, but for a lot of drivers it's very difficult. Perhaps they don't get the opportunity, or they are not in the right place at the right time. I was and here I am now."

After three years of racing and gaining experience with the Minardi and Prost teams, Jarno is now ready to win races. Exciting times lie ahead for him with Jordan. As a man best placed to know what lies ahead for Button, what words of advice would the young Italian offer?

"If you really want to do well in F1," he says. "You have to adjust yourself to the situation, not try to adjust the situation to yourself. Stepping from nowhere to F1 is a huge step and you need to handle it very carefully. Jenson and I come from karting where the difference between one kart and another is not much and the driver can make the difference. In F1 the driver can sometimes make a difference of three or four tenths but still be one and a half seconds behind the competition. What is important is to get as many miles on the clock as you can, to stay on the track and to fight, but not overdrive. It's really hard because a young driver always wants to do well straight away, so you have to have good self-control."

The two young men, who became aware of each other as children, now find themselves competing for the highest prize in motorsport. In a few years’ time they could well be the main championship contenders. What a fascinating prospect.