Autosport Plus

Button Undone

For the second year in a row, Jenson Button has placed himself in the middle of a nasty controversy involving contracts, options, money and lawyers - not the natural habitat for a 25-year-old Grand Prix driver. Yet the fact that it has happened to the Briton not once but twice suggests an acute problem in how Button has been managing his career. Tony Dodgins delves into the second 'Buttongate' and analyses the prospects of seeing Button drive for Williams or BAR next season

Tony Dodgins Aug 3, 2005, 12:40 PM

The gossip in the Hungaroring paddock was all "Buttongate II."

There is a strong sense of deja vu about all this. Twelve months ago, Button was a BAR driver wanting to go to Williams "to have the best chance of winning the World Championship". BAR considered that they had a firm 2005 contract with the Briton but there was some doubt about the F1 rules and, at Hockenheim last year Honda Racing president Shoichi Tanaka admitted the company could withdraw from the sport if it did not like the direction in which F1 was heading, although the chances of that happening were slim.

Button's contract, however, required BAR to be able to guarantee a works Honda engine supply if they were to be able to take up an option on his services for 2005.