Purnell: Button affair 'cheesy'

Button has come in for some criticism for the way in which his 'defection' to Williams was handled and the fact that he had not contacted either David Richards or other BAR-Honda team members before the announcement was made. The atmosphere in the BAR motorhome, usually so convivial, was palpably flat on the opening day in Hungary.

"The whole thing is a bit of bad news for Formula 1," said Purnell. "We would like a cleaner image. The details we will never know and I suppose it is a very unfortunate way to change teams."

Purnell contrasted the situation with the way his driver, Mark Webber, handled the situation internally when confirmation of his expected move to Williams was made public.

"We are sad to see Mark go," added Purnell, "but I think he has handled it beautifully. We have known the situation with Mark for many months. So you can do it quite sweetly and ethically of you like. I don't think the messages from the Jenson Button affair are quite what Formula 1 wants."