No More Mr Nice Guy for Button

Briton Jenson Button is shrugging off his nice guy image and taking a tougher line with BAR to push the team to Formula One success.

"Jenson was too nice a man to win the World Championship, but now he has changed," Shuhei Nakamoto, engineering director of BAR's engine partners Honda, told Autosport magazine on Thursday.

"He is still a good man, I like him, but he pushes more. And we are happy to hear complaints from him."

Button, 24, will be starting his fifth season in Formula One when the championship starts in Australia on March 7.

The Briton, who has set his sights on a first Grand Prix podium place and says wins are not out of the question, told Autosport that he had to take on more responsibility now that he was effectively the team leader.

Button partnered Canadian Jacques Villeneuve last year but the 1997 World Champion has been replaced by Japanese driver Takuma Sato.

"People don't come up to you and say 'oh, you are the lead driver' but my opinion is now very important," said the Englishman. "I am also pushing the team and Honda as hard as I can. Even if there is no real problem, I have to push them. Even if it's something really, really small I have to say 'Why is [it] not like this?'

"They love that we pick out things that are not quite right and put them to work."

Button also paid tribute to Villeneuve, saying he was a 'great teammate' and he had learned a lot from him.

"I liked working with Jacques," he added. "He was always outspoken, whether it was correct or not. He would always speak, which was good, and it helped the team."