Formula One news
Frank firm on 'Buttongate'
08 September 2005Sir Frank Williams is showing little sign of buckling under the pressure of Jenson Button's fierce campaign to wiggle out of his 2006 contract. Even as $90 million deals float around in the rumour mill, the knighted team principal said he still 'expects' the 25-year-old Briton to honour the contract he signed in September last year.
"But the less I comment about this, particularly in the press, the better," Williams told the Telegraph newspaper.
In the interview, Sir Frank - who gave Button his debut as little more than a teenager in 2000 - laughs at the suggestion that his stance is showing him up as the 'hard man' of the grand prix Paddock.
Williams' team co-owner and director of engineering, Patrick Head, agrees that Ron Dennis or Flavio Briatore are "just as tough -- maybe more so."
It's definitely going to be a tough 2006 for the Oxfordshire based outfit, which has lost BMW's works engine support. An annual budget of about $150 million is likely to shrink next year. "Maybe even £85m ($156m)," Williams hinted to the newspaper of the current budget.
Of one thing, though, there is little doubt. Sir Frank and Patrick have not put a 'for sale' sign above the door. Williams said: "I love it just as much as ever."
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