Richards issues BAR challenge
David Richards believes BAR can convince Jenson Button not to walk out at the end of next season.
Button’s attempts to switch to Williams for next season were thwarted by Formula One’s contract recognition board but he is still odds-on to make the move in 2006.
And team principal Richards understands why Button wanted out of BAR, admitting Williams’ longer and more successful track record was a legitimate distraction.
But he has now set his sights on persuading the Englishman, during the course of next season, to reconsider.
He said: “We’ve got to convince Jenson quite clearly. We all go through periods in our life where we are not certain we have picked the right horse.
“Jenson had a few bad races in the summer, they weren’t the best races for the team this year, probably the worst.
“We all have worries, that’s quite reasonable and quite realistic. The trick now is to make sure we solidify as a team, work together and prove that there is no foundation for those issues.
“Clearly we are a young team, before this year you wouldn’t have dreamt what we could have delivered this year.
“It’s quite clear the record of other teams out there is much more established than us, it’s a fact.
“It’s not unreasonable for a young driver to look at that and think of the track record there and are we going to be able to deliver in the long term.
“I say we can, but there must be question marks over that. We are committed to make sure it happens next year.”
Richards confirmed there is no way Williams will be able to buy Button out of his BAR contract.
“I made it very clear from the outset, as far as I’m concerned the team is committed to Jenson and no financial issue was ever going to change that,” he added.
“I made it very clear to Frank [Williams] from an early stage.”
Despite admitting his disappointment at the CRB’s verdict, Button insists he is determined to make the most of his extended stay at BAR.
He said: “I think we both said some things that probably neither of us liked, but I think that it’s good to get it out in the open and we talk things over a lot more now and we are a lot more open with each other.
“I’m not going to lie, it is a bit disappointing, but you can’t have everything in life.
“If you look at the last few weeks with a difficult situation in the team we have still been able to have some good results.
“If we all stay focused for next season I think we can have a very good year.”
