By Phil Huff / pitpass.com (09/10/2003)
October 9 2003

Jenson Button, who 'enjoyed' a very public, and indeed rather silly, slanging match with Jacques Villeneuve over the off-season, has admitted that he'll miss the Canadian in Japan and beyond. "It's disappointing that he won't be here for his final race," Button told reporters at Suzuka shortly after Villeneuve's decision not to race was made public.

"But things change," he continued. "He's been there five years and had ups and downs. It's disappointing to see him leave Formula One."

One person doing well to withhold his disappointment was team principal David Richards. Speaking to AFP, he said "It is very sad, very sad. I certainly was not expecting this. He has been over here for a couple of days but I have not spoken to him. But you have to respect a driver's decision."

"Craig said that he had talked to Jacques and he really didn't feel he wanted to race this weekend, he didn't feel he was motivated or his heart was in it and could we discuss releasing him from his obligations," added Richards.

Richards received a call from Pollock as he headed down to Suzuka on the Shinkansen "Bullet Train" but said he did all he could to try and convince Villeneuve to go back on his decision.

Villeneuve's time in Formula One may not be over yet, though. Contracts seem to mean nothing in F1, and clearly the fact that the Canadian's activities still attract so much worldwide media interest is proof that he would be a welcome addition to a number of F1 teams.

Some of this article was written by pitpass.com and is used with permission.