Button crashed at the fastest part of the Monaco track |
British Formula One driver Jenson Button missed Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix following his 180mph crash in practice. Button spent the night in hospital after his car ploughed into crash barriers on the fastest part of the circuit during Saturday's free practice.
BAR boss David Richards said: "We've had advice from the hospital and we've had long discussions with [F1 medical expert] Sid Watkins and no one was very comfortable with the situation."
Richards said 23-year-old Button had wanted to drive and was already doing physio training.
"I've just had him on my phone and he said 'I can race, I've got no problems'. But we just took the decision. For his long-term well being it was far more sensible to withdraw him from the race," said Richards.
Professor Watkins said: "It's clear from talking to him that he did have a concussion and it's very unwise to expose yourself to a second possible concussion if you've just had one."
Button had already missed Saturday's qualifying session, in which Williams' Ralf Schumacher set pole position ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, also of Williams.
BAR technical director Geoff Willis said there were no signs that a car failure had caused the accident and that Button had triggered the crash by hitting the barrier as he exited the tunnel in the morning's second session.
Button, who admitted he had briefly lost consciousness after the accident, said: "The barrier is normally very flat there, but I was told there was a bollard sticking out and I hit it."
The car hit the metal barriers which line the circuit on the right hand side, rebounded onto the guard rail on the left and then spun sideways before hitting the safety barrier at the harbour-front chicane.
Button, third in first qualifying on Thursday, remained in the shattered car as doctors attended to him for several minutes before being taken away in an ambulance.
Richards continued to play down the significance of what he described as "a fairly monumental accident".
Schumacher watches as medics attend to Button |
"I have spoken to him on the phone and he is saying, 'I can race, I have got no problems'," Richards said.
"He is fine, great. I was up there with him last night and this morning and he is up and about saying, 'There is nothing wrong with me at all'.
"But talking with Sid Watkins, you just never know after a trauma like that, a second blow to the head or anything like that would be very foolish.
"I know he wants to prove something here and felt he had something to prove but he doesn't have to prove anything to us.
"Sid was very pleased that we made the decision to withdraw him rather than putting him in the onerous position of having to make the decision for us.
"He'll be testing in Monza this week, he'll be [racing] in Canada in two weeks time.
"He has got a long career ahead of him and we don't need to squander it in one afternoon in Monaco."
MMIX
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