Button staying put at BAR

Jenson Button is one of the drivers Williams is interested in for replacing Juan Pablo Montoya next year but Button claims he is staying put at BAR. The Englishman started his F1 career with Williams in 2000 but was ousted in favour of Montoya the following season. Now entering his second year with BAR, Button wants to stay with the team that he helped build.

"People keep going on about the Williams drive and they are obviously an excellent team," he said, according to the UK's Sunday Mirror. "They gave me my first chance in Formula One, but I have had no contact with them and I'm genuinely not looking to leaving BAR."

"Of course the world championship is my ambition. But I want to do it with a team I have helped build. We are building something here, and we hope to be challenging for the title next year. If we do achieve that, it will mean far more to me than if I'd walked straight into a team that guaranteed me a winning car."

With the departure of Jacques Villeneuve, Button is now team leader at BAR and he believes he can cope with the responsibility: "Jacques was very good because he said what he thought, but I can be tough and forthright when I have to be," he said. "When constructive criticism is needed I can give it -- and take it. Now I'm expected to give even more to the team and I'm relishing the role."

Button was testing at Jerez last week and topped the times two days running in the new BAR 006. Work concentrated on tyres and reliability and despite a few minor problems, Jenson was happy with the results.

"In general, the test has been good. Obviously it's nice to top the timesheets again, and I am pleased for the team," he commented. "There's still a few problems to address and the next couple of tests will be vital to sort these issues out and get a lot more long runs in before Melbourne."

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