Button shrugs off Hill's plea to quit Honda
 

BRITAIN'S Jenson Button has shrugged off comments made by former world champion Damon Hill urging him to leave Honda if he wants a Formula One world title.

"It's very easy to say those sorts of things from the outside," Button said in Tokyo ahead of this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"He didn't have those comments last season. We were very strong last season and won a race in Hungary which was a first for the team and for myself."

Hill warned Button he was unlikely to win a drivers' championship with Honda in a British newspaper article last week but his remarks cut no ice with Button.

"Last season he was very positive and made some positive comments...that I could be a world champion of the future. Now it's the opposite and it's a little bit negative."

Button has complained about Honda's lack of speed in pre-season testing but he quickly dispelled any suggestion of a deeper malaise.

"We've got to get our heads down and improve the car," he said. "But I am very happy with where I am. We are growing as a team all the time.

"It's a fantastic atmosphere and I think we will be challenging for the world championship in the future - I'm very sure of that."

Elsewhere, Toyota's Jarno Trulli faces a fight to be fit for the start of the F1 season this weekend after canceling a stopover in Japan on Monday.

Toyota officials said the Italian did not attend a Tokyo news conference because of fever.

However, team boss Tsutomu Tomita played down the absence while team manager Richard Cregan later dismissed any health concerns.

"Jarno just has a cold. We allowed him to not participate in the event in Japan but he will be in Australia," Cregan said in a statement.

Toyota officials said Trulli had been advised by his doctor to go direct to Melbourne.

Teammate Ralf Schumacher produced Toyota's only podium finish of 2006 with third place in the third round of the season in Australia.

Toyota's form last year was a huge disappointment after Trulli's two second places in 2005 helped the Japanese car giant to finish fourth in the constructors' championship.