Button Says Offers Received from 8-9 Teams

Briton Jenson Button says he has received offers to join three-quarters of the teams on the Formula One grid if he leaves Williams at the end of the season.

Button, the 20-year-old who took the sport by storm when he joined Williams unexpectedly at the start of the year, is expected to be replaced at Williams by Colombian Juan-Pablo Montoya.

Montoya, a contracted Williams driver, has been on loan racing in the United States for the last two years and has won the Champ Car drivers title and the Indianapolis 500 race.

"Nobody knows for certain if he is coming back or if he is racing in Formula One," Button told Reuters. "But if he does I am 100 per cent sure about my own future."

Button declined to comment on the team he has placed at the top of his list, if he moves on from Williams, but confirmed it was a team regarded as one of the best.

He confirmed that he had a multi-year contract with Williams but could be released from it on loan to another team if both he and Williams team chief Frank Williams were satisfied with the choice.

"How many teams have we talked to?" he said. "Well, about eight or nine -- at least three-quarters of them. It's all happened in the last eight or nine weeks but that doesn't mean anything has been signed. "The situation is unchanged and I have not signed anything for anyone. I could still be a Williams driver next season."

Button has been linked most strongly with Benetton, British American Racing (BAR) and Jaguar.