Button to lose Renault seat, claims Irvine

Irvine made the comments in response to being shown an article in The Sun newspaper that claimed Button was chasing the Irishman's Jaguar seat and had met with the team last week.

"I've heard that Jenson's getting pushed out of Benetton [now Renault], so he needs to go somewhere," Irvine told reporters. "I'm sure he'll be up and down the pit lane trying to get in anywhere he can. It makes sense."

When told about Irvine's comments, Button retorted: "Eddie Irvine said that? Well he knows everything about this team, obviously... Where's he going to be next year?"

As far as his own destiny is concerned, Jenson said: "We've been talking to teams about next year but it's nothing too serious at the moment. It's not just the decision of one person either. There are lots of different options."

Frank Williams will certainly have a say in Button's ultimate destination, as he signed him on a five-year contract in 2000.

Irvine's three-year Jaguar contract, meanwhile, runs out at the end of the season and it is unlikely that the team would re-sign him on as lucrative a deal as the £6 million plus he reputedly earns now. Likewise, after three uncompetitive seasons Irvine is unlikely to commit himself further to Jaguar until he has sampled the heavily-revised R3 that he tests next week and races at Silverstone in a fortnight.