Richards Back to BAR?

[TedN]

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Ted

Sunday 15 May 2005 10:53am
RICHARDS BACK ON THE BUTTON
New BAR move to keep Jenson
by Scott Piecha And Paul Myles

DAVE RICHARDS is set for a sensational return to Formula One racing as BAR throw everything into keeping Jenson Button in the team.

The former BAR team principal is set to take up the reins again after the turmoil of being branded cheats by the sport's ruling body, the FIA, over their cars' 'secret' fuel tanks.

Richards has spent the past week deep in negotiations with the Honda-backed team and most insiders expect him to be confirmed as the team principal at next week's Monaco round.

BAR will serve the second race ban at the premier Monte Carlo event but, while their cars and mechanics will stay away, the team will have a strong hospitality presence - perfect for the high-profile announcement.

The move is also seen as a last-ditch attempt to get Button back on track to score the championship points - 75 per cent of the series leader's tally by the end of July - to prevent the young Briton defecting to Williams next season. And some sources close to the team admit to breathing a sigh of relief that a top operator like Richards is back at the helm to steady the BAR ship after their disastrous start to the season.

One told Revved Up: "This is fantastic news for the team and a sure sign they are sparing no effort to make BAR the most professional team on the grid.

"With Richards' wealth of experience we can look forward to a calming influence that will get the results we need to keep Button in the team."

BAR's season slumped into near- chaos when the FIA turned over the findings of its own stewards at San Marino, where Button scored a podium finish. A court of appeal found BAR had been guilty of illegally using fuel as ballast and that the 'dry' weight of Button's car was more than five kilograms below the 600kg limit.

Button and team-mate Takuma Sato, who finished fifth, were stripped of the San Marino result and the team banned from the next two races.

The European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring is the first race at which Richards is expected to take charge of BAR.