Buttongate II is officially over… Jenson Button has bought himself out of his Williams contract for 2006 and will remain at BAR Honda “for the next few years”, the Brackley-based team says.
Buttongate II is officially over… Jenson Button has bought himself out of his Williams contract for 2006 and will remain at BAR Honda “for the next few years”, the Brackley-based team says.
Following months of negotiations between Button (who apparently made several financial offers to Williams in an attempt to get out of his contract with the team for 2006) and Sir Frank Williams (who obstinately demanded that the British driver honour the controversial deal, which was concluded in the middle of 2005), the ongoing will-he-won’t-he saga about Button and his immediate future in F1 (coined Buttongate II by the Press) has ended.
On Wednesday, BAR confirmed Button (who was desperate to leave the Brackley team and join Williams just twelve months ago) signed a multi-year deal with the Honda-backed team and that he would team up with former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello.
“As consideration for the release from the terms of his contract, Jenson has agreed a financial settlement with Williams F1,” Sir Frank said. “I am glad that we have brought this matter to a conclusion and we can return to what we do best – racing.”
No details were given but British newspapers have reported that Button paid Williams between R115 and R230 million to get out of a deal he agreed last year.
“I would like to thank Frank (Williams) for accommodating a compromise to what was a binding contract and I regret the difficulties my decision has caused everyone involved,” Button said in a statement released by the Williams team.
BAR-Honda boss Nick Fry, who maintained that the contractual issue was between Button and Williams, was no less delighted by the outcome.
“We can now put the uncertainty of the past few months behind us and focus on the future, which looks very exciting indeed,” said Fry. “We considered Jenson and Rubens to be our dream line-up for 2006 and beyond.”
However, the announcement means that Takuma Sato will need to look elsewhere if he wants to continue racing in F1 next season. “Takuma’s current contract reaches its conclusion at the end of 2005 but we are in discussions with Takuma and his management regarding possibilities for the future,” Fry said.
In response, Sato said: “I am not surprised by today’s confirmation about next year but am very disappointed with the news. I have many thoughts about the situation and have my own opinions but now is not the right time for me to comment.”
“I would like to thank all my fans and supporters for their continued faith and look forward to rewarding them with some good news soon,” the soon-to-be-redundant Japanese driver added.
