BMW split could see Jenson Button back at BAR

By Phil Huff
August 14 2005

Jenson Button could remain at BAR Honda for 2006, despite seemingly having a watertight contract with Williams, and potentially without BAR Honda needing to spend a fortune buying the contract back.

According to a QC consulted by Autosport, Jenson could extricate himself from the Williams contract, arguing that the team bears little relation to the team he signed with, and therefore rendering the contract null and void.

This in turn would leave BAR Honda free to hold on to what they consider to be their star asset.

The exit revolves around Williams' engine supply in 2006, even though their contract with Button doesn't guarantee a works engine deal. Should BMW not supply Williams with engines in 2006 even on a customer basis, which is looking increasingly likely, then it could be argued that the changes are so fundamental to the team that they make the contract unenforceable.

The BMW supply could be seen as 'collateral' in the contract between Williams and Button - that the engine deal was so fundamental to Button's decision to enter an agreement with the Grove team, that the change effectively makes his decision one made on information that later proved to be false, leaving him a potential release from the contract, despite a lack of clauses covering engine supply.

Legal advice obtained by BAR-Talk.com mostly agrees with this scenario, although we were left in no doubt that the collateral contract breach would only leave the driver and teams at a negotiating table, and not free from the contract entirely. At that point it would be up to Button (and therefore BAR Honda) and Williams to come to a commercially acceptable agreement.

Williams are in no doubt that the contract is binding, with Frank Williams commenting that "Williams has a fully-binding, straightforward contract. There is no let-out. It is clear to understand. Jenson is emphatically, in capital letters, not for sale. We are a serious racing team and we need him. We require him to be here."

Nick Fry, BAR Honda's team boss, is certainly keen to retain Button. "We've made it very clear that we'd like Jenson to stay with us and that's an open-ended offer," said Fry. "Honda are a company that has won 11 World Championships. At the end of the day he knows they are completely determined to win. We will give him the best chance to be Formula One World Champion - there is no doubt."