Button unlikely to drive this next year?
Could F1's Jenson Button be out of a job next year? It's a possibility, concludes this week's Autosport magazine, as the Brit's contract dispute with Williams escalates into a bitter stand-off.
Button is determined to remain with BAR next season, but Williams is equally adamant that it has a binding contract on him for 2006. If neither side compromises, Button could find himself refusing to drive for Williams but being prevented by the team from driving for BAR.
The situation has been likened to the one that arose between singer George Michael and his record company, Sony. Michael refused to record for Sony owing to an unresolved disagreement and Sony was unable to make him do so. The company prevented him, however, from recording for other record labels.
Employment specialist Victoria Parry told Autosport: "It's a well-established principle under English common law that an individual cannot be made to work for an organisation against his will, even with a signed contract in place. But depending on the terms of the contract, the organisation might be empowered to prevent the individual from working anywhere else."
Team owner Frank Williams told Autosport that his team's contract with Button for 2006 became effective after the French Grand Prix, when Button was no longer in a position to score 75 percent of championship leader Fernando Alonso's points by August 21. That option, said Williams, placed Button on the 2006 driver market and immediately triggered a second contract obliging him to drive for Williams next year.
Button and Frank Williams met on July 12 to discuss Button's decision to stay with BAR. In a statement, Button's management said: "During the course of the meeting Sir Frank Williams asked Jenson a specific question: 'From what you are saying it sounds like you don't want to be here next season.' To this Jenson replied: 'No, I don't'."
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)