Button free to leave should BAR not perform

By Phil Huff (18/01/2005)
July 29 2005

Jenson Button could be free to walk away from Lucky Strike BAR Honda if the team fail to provide a potential championship winning car.

"This comes down to a very simple thing," says new BAR chief Nick Fry. "We have to give Jenson a car that befits his talent and if we do that and get the results, then we are very confident that he would want to be with us.

"Because the target is relative to the leader of the Championship, if Michael were to run away with the Championship it becomes very difficult."

The target set by the team is believed to be 70% of the points total of the championship leader at the end of July. In 2004, Jenson managed to score 55% of Michael Schumacher's total at that point of the season. Should Jenson not make 70%, then he would be free to look elsewhere, no doubt starting somewhere near Grove, Oxfordshire.