By Phil Huff
January 27 2003

British American Racing (BAR) Honda pilot Jenson Button says he trusts few people in F1 after being dumped by Williams and Renault. Button burst into Formula 1 in a blaze of publicity three years ago after he was offered the chance to replace Alex Zanardi at Williams. Button’s appointment raised eyebrows as he was only 20 at the time and had only two seasons of racing in the junior categories under his belt.

Despite an impressive debut season for Williams he was farmed out to Renault for 2001. He struggled initially but started to make progress last year where he scored a flurry of points at the beginning of the season - going on to finish 7th in the world championship.

However, it was not enough and the 23-year-old was replaced for 2003 by the team’s test driver Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard also happens to be managed by Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

Button admits that the decision to replace him with Alonso left a bad taste. Speaking in an interview with The Sunday Times, he said: "It hurt. It shows just how pathetic some people are in F1, and that speed and ability aren’t the only things that people want."

Button added that his experience of F1 has left him cynical and there are few people in the paddock he still trusts.

He said: "A lot of the people in F1, you think you trust, and the next day they turn around and say something about you, and it shocks you to start with, especially at Williams. Not in the team at Williams, but a lot of things happened that I was shocked at…the politics in F1, and when I moved to Renault, it got worse. I still don’t trust a lot of people."

However, Button may find little respite from the vagaries of F1 politics at his new team, BAR. The outfit is notorious for in-fighting and new team-mate Jacques Villeneuve has already attacked both Button and team boss David Richards in the press.

Source: ITV-F1