Williams says no to $22million

[manwell]

From f1racing.net

http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=98160

Jenson Button's attempt to stay at BAR next season has reportedly taken a grim knock. Britain's 'Mirror' tabloid claims that Sir Frank Williams, with Button's signature on a cast-iron 2006 contract, has turned down a Honda-funded $22m buyout offer.
The daily newspaper claims that $22 million would have been the 'biggest price tag ever put on a British driver'.
BAR boss Nick Fry, though, appeared undeterred when he reported that 'lots of dialogue' between the 25-year-old's management and Grove based Williams rattles on. He told PA Sport: "If there is dialogue there is hope but there is nothing concrete at the moment.
"From our point of view we'll just sit and wait. Jenson is the one we'd like to have in the car and we've said we'll wait until the end of the season or beyond if necessary."

I havent decided yet if i want Jenson at Williams now.
I was looking forward to it, but now he is putting everyone through Buttongate2 im not sure anymore. He is certainly not worth the $22million that has been talked about. This is a guy who has never won and F1 race!But then i wouldnt want Williams to get annoyed with all this and let him go to BAR, because thats exactly what Jenson wants.
He signed a contract, so he should be a man of his word and stick with it.
Who knows, Cosworths years of experience with V8's could be the ones to provide Williams with the best engine out of the field next year?

[lookleft]

Button or $22mill of Hondas money - I know which I would take. Please make the cheque out to cash....

[NO1SPECIAL]

i couldn't have said it better myself - the spiteful side of me wants SFW to force the clod to drive for them but who wants a guy in your team who's given you so much rubbish???
If only there was a way to get oodles of dosh for JB (from JB himself cos the fool won't drive as stipulated in the contract), find a better driver, let button take his sulking sabattical AND produce a ripper of a car next year....

I gues the best we can hope for is for Button to go to williams and have webber kick his arse.

[MRJUCY]

I want Button at Williams & will be disgusted if he weasels his way out of it but there is no way he is worth $22,000,000.00 on top of the surely hefty fee Williams would be paying him next year they'd save without him.

[Oaksnaf]

I think BAR/Honda should be paying more money to compensate Williams, as Frank is going to milk this for everything its worth. $22 million is no-where near enough for Frank to accept.

[SpawnyWhippet]

I think you are all missing the point. JB as a driver talent is probably not worth $22m, you are correct. However, as a source of revenue for sponsors to come on board with the team, he is worth a lot more than that, hence the hesitation from Williams about letting him go for this price.

[Gt_R]

The fact that BAR is willing to cough out $22mil says that they believe he is worth that much...and in a world of inflated values... who can argue with those that carry the dollars?

On a personality side, i understand Jenson's ambitions. Considering that F1 drivers only have one career to live, you can't blame them for wanting to make the best chance out of it. Going to Williams in 2006 is a huge risk that may end up in tatters...and we all know that there are few second chances.

Still, i disapprove it. He was the one who chose to and wanted to leave BAR last year for Williams. he wanted to sign the contract early... and now..he wants to stay. There is a total disregard for contracts and promises, of goodwill and trust. It is unfair on Williams for two seasons in a row, be made to search last minute for a new driver.

As a driver talent, people question his worth. True..he has yet to win a race, and his attitude towards the issues now leaves alot to be desired. But people who insist he isn't as good as the likes of Montoya/Barrichello may be missing something. He outpaced JV, and even the last couple of races, he had shown an ability to race. His move on Alonso in German GP 04, in Turkey 05, in Belgium 05, indicates an ability that needs to be unlocked by the car.

More importantly, as a driver, Jenson Button is probably far more marketable than the likes of Kimi, Alonso, Nick, Webber, Barrichello, Fisichella, Montoya. He is a good tool to attract sponsors, do PR work, etc etc. And for commercial teams like BAR who are partly in it for the marketting of Honda, and Williams who needs to attract sponsors...he's a vital asset.

To just brush of his worth is not seeing the bigger picture.

I would reckon Williams would exchange him for a tidy sum of money. They need it to pay drivers bills, engine bills, and to cover-up for the short fall in bonus that are tied to performance clauses.

[lookleft]

Well reports are that the Button deal was $10,000,000.00 a year from Williams - so in reality you need to add that figure to the reported $22,000,000.00 BAR / Honda have on the table and it turns into a net gain of $33,000,000.00 for the first year. I don't see Button bringing an EXTRA $33,000,000.00 worth of sponsorship for the season. RBS are signed, Petrobas want Pizzonia, Bud are signed, HP is going anyway so I think the whole "Button will bring sponsors" is just Williams pumping the deal (good on them).

What Williams need for the next year or two is to direct as much funds as possible to the car and get drivers onboard who want to be there, not some nationalist sentiment. NH has shown how under-rated some drivers are - they might even get a sweet deal on Fisi at the current rate. I would much rather throw Fisi a lifeline for a few million and spend $30,000,000.00 in getting ready for 2008 when spending will be more tightly controlled. It just makes no business sense to waste the money on offer.

I say let Button run around with BAR being the "next big thing", it's not like he has the record of Alonso, Kimi, MS, Montoya, RS, Rubens Fisi or Coulthard over the 100 starts he has had - in generally good cars. At best he is the 4th best driver on the market - his stock is not worth $33,000,000.00. He will win races but so can / might Trulli, Heidfeld, Massa, Webber and Pizzonia; and then you have the next generation coming.

I would be willing to bet that Williams will take the money. I wouldn't want to be trying to negotiate Button's next contract!!

[macdaddy]

Even my mother would sell me for $22M.
Heck... so would I.

[Kempi]

However, as a source of revenue for sponsors to come on board with the team, he is worth a lot more than that, hence the hesitation from Williams about letting him go for this price.

I'm not sure if a sponsor wanted anything to do with a guy as unreliable contractually as Button.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by Kempi

I'm not sure if a sponsor wanted anything to do with a guy as unreliable contractually as Button.

He's never actually breached a contract, he just does not like them after he has signed them.

But then again I can't blame him in this instance. Who's to say SFW did not paint a rosy picture of what was going to happen as BMW funded their engine development to the max and the team make giant steps forward? Rather than be struggling in the midfield and facing up to a customer engine?

Then again, Cosworth have a bit of experience with V8 engines...

[Super Tourer]

As we speculated on earlier in the year, it seems that HP are to end their Williams sponsorship early.

The Hewlett-Packard computer company will announce later today that this is withdrawing early from its sponsorship deal with Williams. The company had been expected to continue as the team's title sponsor until the end of next year but has been making major cutbacks in recent months and it seems that it has decided that it no longer needs Formula 1.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15593.html

[BootsOntheSide]

HP have cut nearly 1000 jobs in the UK this week, so this is unlikely to be linked to Williams' current problems or the Jenson situation. Which sponsors do Williams still have signed up, and how many of those will have signed on the basis of Jenson starring for the team? Is there another driver available who's as talented as Jenson, let alone as well-known and marketable? I don't think so, so I think rejecting the offer is all the team can do, espeically as £12m is a fraction of the team's annual budget. Selling the contract would be like an acceptance of a spell in the midfield.

[Menelaos]

Originally Posted by NO1SPECIAL

the spiteful side of me wants SFW to force the clod to drive for them but who wants a guy in your team who's given you so much rubbish???

The question is who wants a driver that doesn't want to drive for their team? I mean, if he hates being there how well could he perform?

[Kicking-back]

I imagine if Jenson realised there was no longer any chance of getting out of Williams, he'd do a totally committed and professional job.

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

The fact is you should never sign something and then try to weasel out of it. He needs to suck it up, put on the Williams firesuit and get on with what he commited to do in the first place.

[Super Tourer]

I think Williams will ultimately take the money and release JB.

There is plenty of strong, young talent floating around the fringes of F1. Williams would be better off signing Nico Rosberg alongside MW - it will be a cheap, but fast line up and I would imagine that with some F1 experience under his belt, Nico will be every bit as fast as Button - maybe faster - he's certainly an acomplished racer.

I don't buy all this sponsorship hinging on Button either, BAR have been trying to source new sponsors for years, and we don't see brands falling over themselves to sponsor them because Button is driving. Similarly I understand that Button has little in the way of personal sponsors, so brands are not beating a path to have him endorse their goods.

This doesn't mean that Jenson is not marketable, it's just that brands do not hinge themselves onto drivers in the same way they do with footballers for example. They tend to want to align with other brands and manufacturers to feed off their values and endorsment.

I'm sure SFW (despite what Williams say in public) will squeeze Honda to see how much they will really pay - then take the money. He already has MW, NH and Rosberg under contract - plus AP, so he is hardly in a bad situation without Button.

All IMO.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by Silk Cut Jaguar

The fact is you should never sign something and then try to weasel out of it. He needs to suck it up, put on the Williams firesuit and get on with what he commited to do in the first place.

It's not quite as easy as that. What if what you committed to was no longer the same thing by the time you got there? Imagine signing up with Minardi last week, only to be told that you have to go to England...

It's worse when someone only has a 10-15 year shelf life tops. Wasting a season = 10% of career down tubes.

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

Originally Posted by ensign14

It's not quite as easy as that. What if what you committed to was no longer the same thing by the time you got there?

That's why people write clauses into their contracts, something F1 is notorious for on the driver front. Afterall, this all stems from Button's original contract including some obscure lines on Honda budgeting and engine supply.

[Just Do It!]

Originally Posted by macdaddy

Even my mother would sell me for $22M.
Heck... so would I.

Mine too. Or she flipping well better

That's a fair few sovereigns to stash away for the next generation.

What would we do for $22 million? Come on....spill!!!!

[Super Tourer]

Originally Posted by Silk Cut Jaguar

That's why people write clauses into their contracts, something F1 is notorious for on the driver front. Afterall, this all stems from Button's original contract including some obscure lines on Honda budgeting and engine supply.

There is little doubt that Button has suffered from bad advice on this. According to some reports it's beyond belief that he signed such a contract that is not only heavily weighted in Williams favour but didn't even include standard clauses like stipulating the team had to have a factory engine supply.

[BootsOntheSide]

Deep down I think Williams will be perfectly competitive in 2006 due to the Cosworth engines, but probably slipping back after that. But I agree with KB - Jenson will do his best for Williams if he does end up there.

[JohnnyFiama]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

But I agree with KB - Jenson will do his best for Williams if he does end up there.

Agreed, what else could he do? Drive slowly, not take any risks, not test? All a poor season would do is lower his value and potentially ruin his career. As has already been said, a career is so short you have to take every chance you get. If they sent him out in a Morris Minor he'd still want to be best Morris Minor driver in the world.

[NO1SPECIAL]

i'm sure he will do his best, and williams will do their best for him, but i'm going to find it a lot harder cheering for him if he's in a potentially race-winning situation. others view what he is currently doing as legitimate, i don't, even tho i can understand him not wanting to drive for williams if he thinks he's being offered a better car. keeping your word is important.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by NO1SPECIAL

others view what he is currently doing as legitimate, i don't, even tho i can understand him not wanting to drive for williams if he thinks he's being offered a better car. keeping your word is important.

Hence Alex Zanardi enjoyed his 2nd year at Williams...

It's all negotiation. You sign a contract, it does not mean you are bound to do whatever you have agreed to do and all parties know that. It just means there is a price for you to pull out.

I don't know if "legitimate" is the right word, in that Button is entitled to buy his way out of a contract and Williams is entitled to put a price on it that JB cannot/will not afford. In the same way that I can't afford a Bentley so although it's available on the open market I cannot get one.