By Phil Huff (06/08/2004)
August 6 2004

Lucky Strike BAR Honda's chief David Richards is furious at both BMW.WilliamsF1 and Jenson Button, describing the current situation as 'dumbfounding'. "To be treated like this is dumbfounding," fumed Richards to The Times. "We are all utterly shaken. I have got 400 people in this factory who have worked their socks off night and day and then the guy who gets all the credit and drinks the champagne turns around and ditches them.

"I cannot believe that Jenson wants to leave. There is a hidden agenda here somewhere and we are determined this is not going to happen. Somebody has been looking for a get-out clause because there is absolutely no doubt Honda are committed. Honda only announced they were renewing and extending their contract with us before the race in Germany, so why should there be a doubt?"

Honda renewed the contract with the caveat that, should the rules change reducing the technical requirements of creating a Formula One power plant, they could leave.

"We believe we can make Jenson Button a world champion and we, with Honda, have proved this year that we are going in the right direction and we thought we were all going together. Perhaps Jenson has been led in another direction — down the garden path. I can only hope that I can talk to him and make sense of what is going on."

That pretty much confirms our statement earlier, stating that BAR would fight Jenson's move.

David Richards will be making a further statement at 07:45 today.