Come on honey, throw a sickie and get here now! JENSON BUTTON PLAYBOY DAYS ARE OVER: JENSON PHONES HIS GIRL.

Byline: PAUL O'NEILL

SO much for the flash playboy image, Jenson. The new world motor racing champion left his victory party after just 45 minutes on Sunday... to be alone.

With the Formula 1 crown in the bag - and his lingerie model girlfriend thousands of miles away - Jenson could have been forgiven for partying the night away with his title-winning team in Brazil.

Instead, he spent less than an hour at the Brawn celebrations before heading back alone to his hotel room. I'll in Friday can't JENSON GIRLFRIEND The 29-year-old, criticised in the past for putting his lifestyle before motor racing, explained yesterday: "I wanted a bit of alone time. I think most drivers, when they have the possibility of winning the world championship, they go crazy.

"But we all celebrate it in different ways, and for me to just chill on my own was the best thing for me. I obviously wanted to go out and congratulate the whole team, which I did, and then I got home, relaxed and just took everything in.

"It was perfect. I was on the phone to my girlfriend, my family, my mum, so I was up until about 4am just lying in bed with a big grin on my face.

"It was time by myself, relaxing and thinking about what I'd achieved.

That was the best place for me."

see her Dubai on and I wait ON MODEL JESSICA Jenson told his Japanese/Argentinian girlfriend Jessica Michibata, 23, to stay away from Sao Paulo over the weekend so he could concentrate on the race.

And now he'll have to wait until Friday before they can finally reunite - five agonising days after his stunning title-winning triumph.

"She was gutted not to be here, but she completely understands the situation," said Jenson.

"It makes it even more exciting when I do see her, which won't be until Friday when she comes to Dubai because she's working. Every time I speak to her it's like, 'Come on honey, you can sack off work, you can get here, I want to see you now'.

"But she can't. She's working, and it's great she is working, for sure, but I'll see her on Friday, and I can't wait.

"Me and Jessica have been together for a year, and it might not seem like a long time, but we've been through a rollercoaster of emotions. She's been a big part of my life, along with my team of people around me who have put up with all of this, including my mum."

Jenson revealed that even his mother Simone had feared he may have blown his chances during Saturday's disappointing qualifying session, which left him trailing way back on the grid in 14th position.

"She is in the most difficult situation because she doesn't come to many races, so for her it's tough," he said. "After qualifying she was devastated and very upset, so I sent her a text saying, 'Don't worry mum, we're going to kick some butt.' "She said, 'Good, go and kick some butt,' and that's exactly what we did."

Jenson, who fought his way magnificently up to fifth to clinch the title, managed just three hours' sleep on Sunday night.

"I couldn't sleep for any longer," he smiled. "I just wanted to be awake to enjoy it. I woke up every hour with a smile on my face - I've a few pinch marks on my arm.

"In my engineering debrief yesterday with Shov (his engineer Andrew Shovlin), we were running through everything.

"I leaned over and pinched his arm and he squealed like a girl. He said, 'What was that for?' I said, 'Shov, I'm just making sure you're awake.' Then I realised I needed to make sure I was awake, so I had to pinch myself too. But it's been such a memorable few days, such a rollercoaster of emotions, even over this weekend. Forget the season."

He flew back to the UK yesterday courtesy of Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello, who gave him the use of his private jet.

Jenson's future is far from clear, however, as he has yet to sign a new deal with Brawn, apparently due to money wrangles.

He said: "Waking up this morning knowing I am the world champion makes me feel very confident for the future.

"I'm thinking about the moment, and I'm going to enjoy this moment for a very long time. For me, as a driver and a sportsman, winning the world title is the best thing you can possibly win, and I've achieved that.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the future, and at the moment I don't care because I'm not thinking about it."

You can bet he's thinking about Friday though. For the new world motor racing champion, it cannot come quickly enough.

CAPTION(S):

HITTING SOME BUTTONS Jenson after the race BIG SUPPORT Model Jessica