Button: Villeneuve was "out of order"

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By pitpass.com
March 17 2003

According to BAR's Geoff Willis it was a radio communications failure, while as far as team boss David Richards is concerned it was a bit of healthy rivalry that will ultimately prove beneficial for the team. According to Jenson Button however, it was "out of order".

Writing his own exclusive column for The Sunday Mail, Button admits that: "calming down after the embarrassing and questionable events which undoubtedly cost me points last Sunday in Melbourne may not be simple."

"Almost everything about the GP was encouraging," he continues. "We showed surprising speed in qualifying and we proved that we will be a competitive drive this season. With both cars finishing we also suggested reliability and consistency, two crucial factors towards a successful season.

"So to see definite points and a very possible top-six place dashed because your team-mate decided to come in to refuel on the same lap that I had been told to is, to put it lightly, frustrating.

"As a results of Jacques' actions I lost at least 20 seconds waiting behind him in the pitlane for my turn. His explanation afterwards was that he had a problem with his radio at the precise time I was coming in. He had no further problems afterwards.

"I'll leave you to decide on that one," he adds.

"After all the hard work, the incident was out of order. Whatever the reason for the error, it should not have happened. I've never experienced such a set of affairs before and I certainly don't expect to do so again.

Looking ahead to next week's big race in Malaysia, Button reveals that he is keen to get back to work, however.. "just as long as my team-mate doesn't hold me up again, accidentally or otherwise.

This article was produced by pitpass.com, and is used with permission.