Button refutes criticism

After receiving some criticism in regard to him backing out of his contract with Williams, Jenson Button has defended his decision. Button had agreed a deal with Williams for 2006 but then decided he wanted to stay at BAR in the future. The Englishman bought himself out of the Williams contract last week for an undisclosed sum.

Jenson Button.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Some are of the opinion that Button's actions have damaged his reputation but he thinks he handled the situation as well as he could. "I know I've been criticised but I think Frank Williams and I have dealt with it well," Button told the BBC. "To agree, we've all understood the situation and come out reasonably happy. There should be no criticism."

"It's never a nice situation when you have to talk to someone about wanting to be elsewhere but I had to do it," he added. "The best bit was phoning the (BAR) factory to tell them that I was staying. The cheer I heard from them was amazing."

BAR has long been convinced that Button is a future champion and has previously said it wants to build the team around him. That may not be good news for Rubens Barrichello, who will be teammate to Button next year. Barrichello joins the Brackley squad after six years of playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari.

However, BAR chief executive Nick Fry claimed that there will be no No.1 driver. "We don't have number one and number two drivers," said Fry. "We can give both drivers exactly the same equipment and support and they will be pulling together and fighting hard on the track."

"I am convinced Jenson and Rubens will work very well together. Their combination of skills will work well and their characters are well suited, so I am sure they will be competitive. The drivers are a very important part of the future and having them in place for a good few years is important."

Meanwhile, it looks likely that Takuma Sato, who Barrichello will replace, will leave BAR. The team was in talks with him about a test role but that's not an appealing option. "I can't see any benefit at all because obviously there are two race drivers on long-term contracts so there's no future," Sato's manager, Andrew Gilbert-Scott, told Reuters. "We want to find something to move forward."