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-   -   OMG - Button leaves BAR for Williams!!! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intl-motorsport/951-omg-button-leaves-bar-williams.html)

I was shocked when I read this on the ITV website !!

Button has signed a 2 year contract with BMW Williams!! This has got to be the most unexpected move ever!! All that BS Button gave earlier in the year about being committed to BAR and not wanting to move was total crap!!

But what could his reasons be?? BAR are far ahead of Williams this year and look to get stronger next year. Button has a team boss that really loves him (David Richards) and a team that looks upto him.

Williams have never been the team to pamper their drivers, and they are the first ones to kick a driver out if he's having a bad spell.

Anyways, IMO, this was a stupid move on JB's part, alets just hope he doesn't live to regret it, coz BAR are not gonna welcome him back.

Rt

The silly season continues. Was a real shocker for me too. And I remember Webber wishing for a less talented driver as a team mate. Now things should hot up at Williams too

Wonder what other surprises are in store. DC to BAR?

Dippy

no, I dont think so. Maybe Trulli...who knows...! I'm waiting for an official statement from BAR.

Rt

Well with things hotting up with 2 tough contenders at Williams expect both the drivers never to look into each others eyes, bang into each other at atleast 1 race in the season and the team have even more engine blowouts....

... Frank Williams idea of having 2 warring drivers in the team is archaic. Its ideal place is the bottom of a Canyon.

Revv

Another shock. Mika Hakkinen is being linked to BAR for 2005.

Hakkinen and BAR

SHOCKING ! who wud have thought of that !
but more vexing is how he was allowed to leave BAR ?
what was the 'exit' clause ? and where was the loophole ?

read somewhere..
that it had something to do with Honda's committment to BAR..
that cant be coz honda have already confirmed !

AND

David Richards : "Jenson is under contract with BAR for 2005, since we took up an option on his services only last month."

and on top of all that.. Jenson isnt asnwering his phone..
so David Richards cant get in touch with him ! ppl. at BAR are stunned as well !

Source - ITV - www.itv.com/f1

Hatari, i think that answers your question.

Revv

hey guys,
* * * * * * when button came into f1, didnt he like sign a long term deal with bmw williams? cos even during his time at renault, he was still under contract from williams but was on loan to renault for a couple of seasons. I guess the deal must have been similar with BAR then? Atleast thats what im assuming, trying to figure out on whats just happened. Hakinnen back in F1? BAR? that should be a good one, atleast someone to give michael some competition. But im sure Ferrari will reign supreme for a couple of more years atleast.

There's something to be said about a persons ethics and I don't care if its F1 or not, IMO, what JB did is a shame. After all the support he got from David Richards, he turns around and stabs him in the back. I mean, I was watching BBC yesterday when they interviewed DR. He said that JB never sopke with him nor mentioned this to him ever. Even after the deal with Williams was announced, there was no contact between the 2. If you gonna leave, fine, but the least he could do was to inform his team FIRST.

This is after all the hugging and great comments earlier in the year from JB. The thing is, even if JB does not go to Williams next year, what kinda support is he gonna have within the team??? How will they trust him again?


Well, he may be a good driver, but he's lost my respect. I hope BAR end up trouncing Williams next year.

Rt

just heard that button was a lil pissed off at some verbal performance contracts with BAR were not honoured.. that cud be one.. among the few reasons why he left..

Interesting article from www.ft.com - it a subsription article so the link would not work - here goes :

Button's inelegant manoeuvre leaves a sour taste
By James Allen
Published: August 12 2004 05:00 | Last updated: August 12 2004 05:00

The Hungarian grand prix on Sunday represents Jenson Button's best chance of a win this season. The track should suit his BAR Honda well and give him the chance to beat Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. But he might find the atmosphere in his garage is not as sweet as it was at the last race.


It was not at all predictable and it was not very nicely handled, but was it right? That is the key question surrounding last week's shock news that Button had signed a contract with BMW Williams for the 2005 season and beyond, shortly after BAR had taken up their option on him for next year.

Looking at the sporting aspect first, Button has probably made the move a year too early. Williams undoubtedly have greater resources and are better placed over the long term to take on Ferrari than BAR. But Williams are currently undergoing a period of upheaval in the technical department. There are personnel issues to be resolved and it is possible that the team may need another season to get their house in order.

BAR, meanwhile, have recently agreed a new contract with Honda, whose track record from the last time they were in F1, in the 1980s and 1990s, is outstanding. At the time Button made his decision, following the British grand prix, he was frustrated that development on the chassis appeared to have stalled, but then the team took another step forward in Hockenheim two weeks ago, where Button finished second. The lap times show that they are continuing to improve. But can they keep doing so? Button obviously feels they cannot, but I think it is possible that he might finish lower in next year's world championship driving a Williams than he would have done in a BAR.

Business-wise, there is far more to this issue than meets the eye. Sir Frank Williams employed Button in 2000 and has maintained an agreement with him ever since, giving him first refusal if Button wants to leave his existing team. When Button was at Renault in 2001-2002, Williams was still paying him a retainer of more than £500,000 a year. After two poor years with Renault, Button was offered a chance to redeem himself by BAR boss David Richards. He has brought BAR seven podiums this season and clearly feels that any debt of gratitude has been repaid. His heart has long been set on a return to Williams.

Furthermore, there is an issue of bonus payments for points scored, over which BAR and Button's management are believed to have disagreed. Button's BAR contract was negotiated in July 2002, before the the F1 points system was changed to make points easier to come by. This season alone Button has amassed 61 points. BAR are believed to have wanted the payment scale revised.

Button's manager, the lawyer John Byfield, has clearly been looking for some time for a way out of BAR and back into Williams. He has found a technicality in the way Button's option was taken up by BAR, which relates to the timing of the team's renewal with Honda, and he has used it as grounds to walk away from the agreement. The matter is now with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which arbitrates on all F1 contractual disputes and whose decision is final. It is expected to make its judgment before the end of the month.

So how does this story sit in the context of other F1 moves? Ruthless practice is no novelty in the sport and we have already seen some tough business this summer, with Monaco winner Jarno Trulli dumped by Renault, despite outperforming his team-mate Fernando Alonso. But this move seems strong even by F1 standards. Bernie Ecclestone has said he is surprised by Button's move and has suggested teams need better protection from this kind of action.

The move has stunned a determined young BAR team, which had seemed very united and was enjoying showing up the grandee Williams and McLaren teams as underachievers this year.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of his decision, Button's own conduct in the matter has struck a jarring note with F1 insiders and fans alike, who feel that the least he could have done was inform Richards himself, rather than get his manager to send a fax. It was not until three days after the news broke that Button finally met with Richards. No one resents a sportsman making a tough decision because he wants to win. But there are more elegant ways than Button chose on this occasion

Whoa........thats good news.....it would be nice to see Mika back in action. Awesome!
Hope BAR gives him a good car!