BAR
The highlight of the 2005 season for BAR didn't occur on the track — that was something of a disappointment following the great strides the team had made in the previous campaign. Rather, it was the change of heart on the part of Jenson Button, who committed his future to a team he said offered him the best chance offulfilling his ambition of becoming Britain's ninth world champion. That decision came with a hefty price tag, Button reportedly having to stump up some Do million to buy himself out of the contract which should have seen him rejoin Williams in 2006.
"Villeneuve signs for fledgling team"
Tobacco giant BAT entered F1 after buying the Tyrrell team in 1997. British American Tobacco took to the grid as British American Racing, making its debut at the Melbourne curtain-raiser in 1999. One of the team's prime movers was Craig Pollock, whose close association with Jacques Villeneuve helped secure the services of the 1997 world champion. It proved to be a difficult baptism, but things improved with the arrival of Honda power in 2000, Villeneuve finishing fourth on four occasions. His 17 points put him seventh in the championship, ahead of Button's Williams and both Jordans. In 2001 Villeneuve finally got BAR onto the podium, in Spain and Germany, and there were changes at the top as Dave Richards took the helm. After a hugely disappointing 2002 campaign, Richards drafted in Jenson Button from Renault. Button regularly outperformed the former champion, whose loss of interest and patience culminated in a dramatic walk-out just before the final race at Suzuka.
"Runner-up to Ferrari"
Button scored 10 podium finishes in 2004, his 85-point haul taking BAR to the runner-up spot behind Ferrari in the Constructors' race. The Briton was somewhat unlucky in 2005, his third place at Imola chalked off for a technical infringement, which also earned him a two-race ban. He scored 37 points for ninth place, Takuma Sato adding just one to the team effort as BAR slipped to sixth overall.
Rubens Barrichello, the perennial foil for Michael Schumacher's five back-to-back titles .in the 2000s, joined the team for the 2006 assault. The Brazilian confidently predicted that he and Button could finally put BAR on top of the podium. There were also more backroom changes afoot as it was announced that Honda would be buying out BAT's majority stake and assuming full ownership in 2006.
