Move over , and – F1’s BAR Honda team could hold a televised shoot-out to pick the driver who will partner Jenson Button for the 2004 season.Idols, and – F1’s BAR Honda team could hold a televised shoot-out to pick the driver who will partner Jenson Button for the 2004 season.content here
Move over , and – F1’s BAR Honda team could hold a televised shoot-out to pick the driver who will partner Jenson Button for the 2004 season.
Although it is not uncommon for F1 teams to evaluate potential drivers by pitching them against one another (as was the case when Williams-BMW chose Button for the 2000 season after he won a head-to-head hot lap shoot-out with CART star Bruno Junqueira), BAR chief David Richards is understood to have spoken to Bernie Ecclestone’s TV arm about televising the test for a -style programme. Button’s girlfriend, Louise Griffiths, took part in the BBC’s Fame Academy show – which is currently running on DsTV’s BBC Prime channel in South Africa.
“We are looking to see if this kind of shoot-out would be a viable solution,” said Richards. “It was amazing how involved everyone at BAR-Honda became watching Louise in the Academy, and the idea seemed intriguing.
“Of course, at the end of the day it is my responsibility to see that the team has the fastest and best driver we can find, and not just a gimmick. There are a whole range of options open to us, but this one is an exciting idea if we can make it work,” he added.
Richards has refused to rule out re-signing Jacques Villeneuve, the F1 driver who currently earns the second biggest salary in the sport, for 2004, but has said the French-Canadian – who finished in the top six in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday – has to get his act together.
“Jacques is not out of the equation but we have told him it will take significant changes of attitude to convince us that he is the driver we need in our team,” added Richards.
