Pushing the Wrong Button?

When Jenson Button finally notched up his maiden pole position in the San Marino Grand Prix in 2004, he carried the expectation of all British motor-racing fans as their next great hope.

When Button lost that year's Monaco Grand Prix by less than half a second to Jarno Trulli, many believed that it's just a matter of time before he scored his first ever victory in Formula One.

And when he negotiated a deal with Frank Williams to allow him to get out of the contract he has signed with the Williams team, and to remain in Honda after the 2005 season, and given Honda's huge financial backing, he was many people's bet as a World Champion in the making.

Fast forward to the French Grand Prix 2006 ...

Button, while still looking for his first victory in Formula One, qualified 19th (out of 22 cars) but did well enough to climb up to 11th, before retiring with mechanical problems. His teammate, Rubens Barrichello, didn't fare much better, as he qualified 13th and had to retire after only 19 laps.

Meanwhile, both Williams drivers qualified relatively better, with Nico Rosberg 9th fastest (although he was penalized for an engine change and lost 10 places on the grid) and Mark Webber starting in 10th. Both ran competitively but Webber spun off in spectacular fashion due to a tyre failure, while Rosberg finished the race in 14th.

While both Honda drivers have scored 16 points apiece so far, and the Williams drivers have only 10 points between them, it was the Williams cars which have caused a lot of surprises in most of the races this season, only to be foiled by mechanical and reliability issues. And had the team chosen a better pit strategy, many believed that Rosberg, who had already posted the fastest lap of the race, could have won this year's opener in Bahrain, on his Formula One debut as well.

Honda, with its huge financial and technological backing, was one of the pre-season favourites. Meanwhile Williams, which had lost its engine deal with BMW when the latter decided to set up a team on its own, was expected to struggle. While both teams were not doing particularly well this season so far, it's fair to say that Williams has exceeded the expectation of many.

Did Button make the correct choice to stay put? You make the call.