BAR team boss on bizarre contract situation Button: "Thought I was being paranoid"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
It was announced on Friday that Jenson Button will return to Williams , in the role of Senior Advisor. An unexpected reunion, as the two did not exactly part on friendly terms.
David Richards, BAR's team boss at the time, spoke in a podcast on The Rac e about the bizarre contract situation that Button had found himself in.
Button tried to get out of BAR contract
"Jenson's management wanted to get together a few times to discuss the future and the engine supplier. It felt a little strange. I wondered if I was being paranoid, but there was something about the line of questioning that made me feel uncomfortable."
The bottom line was that Button had a contract with both BAR and Williams for the 2005 season, and that the uncertainty surrounding the contract with engine supplier Honda was being used by Button's management to get out from under the contract with BAR.
"They claimed that we were not officially supplied with engines from Honda. I was convinced that our agreement with Honda was enough to keep the option on Jenson, but apparently they thought otherwise," Richards continued.
What followed was a conflict in the media, and it was clear that BAR was not going to simply accept Button's decision. Not for nothing, as the conflict was eventually decided in BAR's favor, after which Button stayed with the team and went on to become World Champion with Brawn GP.