Zoom Button banking on a Honda buy-out

Should Jenson Button sit out the 2009 season, he may never return to the Formula One grid. That is the fear of the 29-year-old Briton's friend David Coulthard, following the turmoil of Honda's shock withdrawal from the sport.

"You cannot say 100 percent, but it would be very difficult to imagine where he goes from there," Coulthard, who contested the last of his 247 Grand Prix last November told BBC Sport. "It is a fickle business.”

Coulthard worries that, if Button disappears from the F1 radar this year, he might never return.

"The way the sport is now, there are so many young drivers coming through and there are so many opportunities for teams to pick up these guys," he said at Jerez, scene of this week's main pre-season test action.

Even if Honda does find a buyer, Coulthard believes the Brackley-based squad is facing a difficult season. "You would like to imagine that it (the 2009 car) would be better than what they were given last year but I think the team at the back of the grid potentially could be Honda," he said.

Button reportedly secured a new multi-year contract with Honda before the team announced its F1 exit.

E.A, Source: GMM
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