Button undone

WHEN the red lights go off at Albert Park, Melbourne in a month’s time for the start of the new F1 season the whole of Britain will be once again firmly behind current World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

And rightly so. He has rejuvenated a sport which was dying a slow death in this country, and several others beside.

The season should be interesting with new rules, new tracks and new coverage. But if you are one of the bleary-eyed who will climb out of bed for the live broadcast from Oz, please spare a thought for Jenson Button.

Jense is one of the nicest guys in the F1 fraternity and, despite recent performances, is one of the most naturally fast drivers in the world.

He has been driving a dog of a car for years now, after being on the periphery of great things. Rewind only three years and he was recording his maiden - and to date, only - win in Hungary and appearing on the podium on a regular basis.

He has not lost his capabilities, his team simply lost their way. Now they are pulling out due to the global economic crisis - fair enough. But Jenson looks like he is going to be hung out to dry.

Money-maestros Bernie Ecclestone and Richard Branson have shown an interest in the team which can be purchased for £1.

But before you all rush to the piggy-bank in the hope of owning your very own F1 team, please remember you then need a further £40million to run the cars for a single year.

In the current climate no-one wants to splash that kind of cash. Well, some people don’t mind. A new team looks set to enter the sport next year as USF1 confirmed they are on schedule to have a car ready for 2010, building the cars in North Carolina and employing only American drivers. It should be interesting, maybe Jenson has a distant relative over the pond?

The original date for Honda’s (and Button’s) knight in shining armour has passed and only a glimmer of hope remains that both team (in one form or another) and driver will be present on the Melbourne grid.

When you look down the crop of drivers for the forthcoming season, it is hard to stomach the fact that Button may be without a seat.

He was rumoured to be in line for a Torro Rosso place, before they took the option to keep the woeful Sebastien Bordais - he must be a hell of a lot cheaper than Jenson.

From earning millions and living the lifestyle many of us will only ever dream of, it looks as though Jenson Button may become one of the highest profile casualties of the ‘credit crunch.’