Button the one to beat Michael?

Michael Schumacher is going from victory to victory so far in 2004, with five straight wins under his belt from the first five races. Beating the Ferrari champion seems like a tall order at the moment but BAR boss David Richards thinks Jenson Button is the one who can do it.

Jenson Button.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

BAR has been challenging Ferrari in qualifying but so far a race distance has been too big a task to match the Scuderia. But Richards is convinced Button and BAR's first victory won't be far away.

"Beating Michael to the title I think is going to be a big challenge for anyone," said Richards. "Michael is pretty invincible, pretty awesome. The really interesting question now is who is going to be the first driver to break Michael's record."

"I think it'll be Jenson Button. The next race is always the one we're looking for him to win. I think there is a very good chance for him. He feels very positive about it."

BAR had high hopes for Button in Spain but a mistake in qualifying left him 14th on the grid. Teammate Takuma Sato came to the fore instead, taking third but, once again, it was Ferrari who made it work in the race. While the two scarlet cars took a one-two victory, Button managed to fight his way up to one point in eight and Sato came home fifth.

Button has now turned his sights to Monte Carlo: "Considering where I started, I am pleased to have been able to salvage a point here," he said after Barcelona. "I'm really looking forward to Monaco though. I think we'll have a good package there and hopefully we can translate that into a good result."

The Englishman has a more immediate task to attend to first; visiting an eye specialist after a piece of carbon fibre stuck in his eye during the race. "The eye troubled him during the race but he is not too uncomfortable and it is treatable," said Richards. "Jenson does not seem unduly worried." The injury should not affect Button's preparations for Monaco.