Jenson reveals all about unhappiness at BAR

By Phil Huff (07/09/2004)
September 8 2004

Outgoing BAR Honda driver Jenson Button has finally broken his silence regarding his move to Williams, explaining at a London press conference that he's not happy at BAR and is going to Williams to be World Champion.

"I don't think BAR is the right place to be next year because I don't think they will be able to challenge for the Championship," explained Jenson Button. "I think that Williams in the future is the team to be with. They've got the resources and Mark Webber and myself will be a great team.

"Continuity is important but if you're not sure which direction the team is going, it's very difficult to be happy there," he added.

"A Formula One driver's career has to keep moving," he says, before adding "I can't keep finishing third or fourth in the Championship."

Jenson's highest championship position to date is 7th while at Renault in 2002.

There's been speculation recently that Jenson is following the money, but he refutes that. "Money is not my aim in Formula One," he says. "If I was at BAR I would be earning more money next year. My reason for moving to Williams is to be World Champion."

There's more to it than meets the eye, however. "There are many issues," he says of BAR. "Contractually we had some differences, we had some issues. That was at the end of 2003 and it hasn't been resolved."

Here at BAR-Talk.com we covered these disputes on 8 October 2003, right here.

"One of the reasons why I want to move on is because I am not 100% happy at the team, and one of the reasons I've not been happy is that there are issues with the contract. We've tried to resolve them but to no avail."

BAR team principal David Richards is still trying to keep hold of Jenson, going as far as to release a statement saying that the F1 Contracts Recognition Board had stated that only BAR's contract was valid. Williams believe the statement was misleading, adding that he CRB have not endorsed the validity of this claim, but have simply confirmed receipt of BAR's documentation.

"I don't understand why he is saying that because we are pretty sure I am going to be racing for BMW-Williams next year," said a frustrated Jenson. "I think the CRB will understand our position and I'll be there [Williams] next year. I wouldn't be going through all of this if I didn't think it was possible. It's never one hundred percent certain, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be with Williams next year.

Button hints that it was David Richards who leaked news of deal to the media, saying "Through John Byfield [Button's manager] I spoke to BAR, and thought it would be best for to him speak to David Richards originally because it was on the contractual side. As soon as John spoke to DR it was leaked to the press, and the only person who knows why that happened is DR himself."

Asked if he felt let down by Richards, Button replied "In certain ways, yes. There was a lot said after he realised that I didn't want to be there in 2005. It was over the top. I would rather it had been a lot easier, I don't really like the way it's been handled at all. It's not a nice position to be in."

"We had an agreement to be with BAR for two years," added Jenson. "I honoured that agreement and I think I did a good job. I think I have been a big bonus for the team. I'm sure they'll have a good year next year but for me I need to move on and be with a team that can challenge for the championship over the next two years.

"So I'd rather it was a much more simple move and we hadn't got into such a big argument about it."

Quite why Jenson feels the need to reveal all quite suddenly is unknown. However, the comments won't go down well at Brackley, where Jenson's reputation has already taken a dive. David Richards can't be too comfortable right now, either, as he's already trying to recover the situation with team owner BAT and Honda, both of whom are unhappy to be losing Button.