Jenson Button going back to Williams?

A solid future
By Phil Huff (18/11/2003)
November 18 2003

Juan Pablo Montoya's recently announced move to McLaren starts the 2005 silly season earlier than ever before, and it could have implications for Lucky Strike BAR Honda's lead driver Jenson Button.

While its not beyond possibility that Montoya could be replacing 2002 runner up Kimi Raikkonen, the chances are slim. David Coulthard's contract at McLaren is up at the end of 2004, and it seems most likely that he'll end up at Toyota. Martin Brundle, who shares management responsibility for Coulthard, has said that David's career in F1 is safe, with other even saying he's got the Toyota job already.

That leaves Williams in a situation where they have long term driver Ralf Schumacher in the team, but without a team mate for 2005, and there's not many possibilities. Jacques Villeneuve has been rumoured already, but he's being linked with any seat. While team boss Frank Williams has a healthy respect for the Canadian, he's towards the end of his realistic F1 career.

Another driver well respected at Williams is BAR's own Jenson Button. Under contract until the end of 2004, although with another two year option after that, Button only moved away from Williams in 2000 as Williams struggled to accommodate a plethora of talented drivers under contract.

Having out driven Ralf Schumacher in the latter half of 2000, and developed since then at Renault and BAR, Button would make a natural team member at the Grove outfit.

Of course, it's all just speculation, but don't be surprised to see Ralf and Jenson team up once again.