Richards: German GP Drive to Boost Button

Jenson Button can go on to score his maiden Formula One victory this season after his second place in the German Grand Prix proved that anything is possible, his BAR team boss has David Richards claimed.

Englishman Button, 24, produced what he said was the drive of his life to finish as runner-up to Michael Schumacher at Hockenheim after starting from 13th on the grid.

Richards reckons Button's belief in a maiden Grand Prix win this season will be strengthened after his drive in Germany proved that he has the talent to threaten the dominance of Schumacher and Ferrari.

"I think now he'll realise that anything is possible, you never give up," Richards said. "I told him that we could be on the podium here and he looked at me and laughed and gave that grin. He said 'come on you've got to be joking, let's just see what happens, a realistic objective might be fourth or fifth'.

"Now he knows what can be achieved. Whether he can win or not is the famous question. We've all seen what he can do and we've just got to keep pushing because we've shown Ferrari are not unbeatable."

Button holds a strong third place in the Drivers' Championship, while BAR are closing in on second place Renault in the constructors' standings. But Richards, who has set his team the modest target of finishing fourth in the Championship this season, is refusing to get carried away by the prospect of Button and BAR ending the year as the second best in the series.

"Can we get second in the Constructors' Championship? Can we get second in the Drivers' Championship? I don't know but not one person would have bet on us for top three this year," he added.