Jenson Button has sued Mercedes after they refused to give him the car he drove to victory as a gift. Button says his team, Brawn GP, which was later bought out by Mercedes, wrote into his contract that he would receive a Brawn BGP 001 if he won the championship.
Sources close to Button, 30, say he wanted one of the cars, which he described as the best he had ever driven, as a ‘memento’ of his triumph last October.
"Last year’s victory was a culmination of his life’s work, and to have one of the models he drove to win was going to be the icing on the cake for him," a source said.
At least six Brawn BGP 001 cars were made for Button and his team-mate Rubens Barrichello by Honda Racing, which was bought out by Brawn last year. The carbon-fibre vehicles are believed to have cost more than £1million each to build.
But in the months after Button’s crowning as the 10th British Formula 1 World Champion, there was no sign of his gift. Meanwhile, Brawn was bought out in November by Mercedes, which inherited the contractual pledge.
Just days later, Button left to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton. And in April, he launched legal action against Mercedes at the High Court in London.
According to the writ submitted by Button’s company JB Next BV, his contract with Brawn read: "In the event that the Driver wins the Driver Championship at any time during the term, the Company shall transfer...ownership of one chassis [car] of the type driven by the driver during that winning season."
The writ also quotes an email from Mercedes in January, which said: "We have no spare 2009 chassis as limited quantities were manufactured for the 2009 season for cost reasons."
"We can therefore arrange for a chassis of the type driven by Jenson during the 2009 season in line with the terms of the contract to be manufactured during the factory shutdown in July as we currently are busy working on the 2010 car."
But Button said a replica would lack the ‘special and unique’ value of one of the vehicles he used to win the championship.
The writ only became public last week. However, the two sides seems to have reached a deal after frantic negotiations. Button’s spokesman said that he will receive a 2009 Brawn BGP 001 from Mercedes. "We have arrived at an amicable resolution, and so there will no longer be any court action over this," he added.
Motoring experts say the vehicle could be worth as much as £1million.
Button’s agreement with Mercedes is similar to a promise made by McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who pledged to give Lewis Hamilton a £5million car if he won three world championships.
The Brawn BGP 001, with its seven-speed gearbox, can reach 60mph in less than two seconds, and 100mph in four seconds.
Button has developed a reputation as something of a playboy because of his love of luxury cars and beautiful women. Among the vehicles in the garage of his Guernsey mansion is a Ferrari Enzo, worth about £450,000. Last year, he put his Bugatti Veyron on the market for £900,000.
Source: DailyMail
