Honda guarantees <I>were</I> given to Button.

Going against the basis that Jenson Button's management team gave Williams for being able to leave the BAR contract for 2005, Honda Racing's vice president has come out and said that acceptable assurances were given to Button and his management team.

Otmar Szafnauer, Honda Racing's vice-president, is reported in the UK's The Daily Telegraph as saying that assurances were given not once but twice.

With this having occurred, the Williams announcement came as a surprise to Honda. "We were shocked and surprised," the newspaper reports Szafnauer as saying. "We thought he would be racing for BAR next season. We gave Jenson's management all the reassurance they had asked for. When we asked if the answers provided were what he was looking for, they answered yes,"

"We were aware that other teams were showing interest in Jenson. That was only natural. We told him that we were committed to providing engines for BAR and no other team. And they said that was what they wanted to hear. Two weeks later, on July 23, we announced the new deal with the team."

This, and the FIA Contracts Recognition Board's announcement that the BAR contract is the only valid one lodged with them means it's looking less likely that WilliamsF1 will get Button for next season, unless the BMW coffers are dipped into to buy him out of the BAR contract.

Next move's yours Frank...