Jenson Button’s Formula 1 career could be over sooner than expected if Honda fails to return to the grid before the start of the new season. His friend, Coulthard worries that, if Button disappears from the F1 radar this year, he might never return.

“You cannot say 100 percent, but it would be very difficult to imagine where he goes from there,” Coulthard told BBC Sport at Jerez. “It is a fickle business. 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 added.

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 has been left facing an uncertain future since Honda stunned the F1 world by pulling the plug on its F1 involvement with immediate effect and putting its Brackley operation up for sale last December. Button reportedly secured a new multi-year contract with Honda before the team announced its F1 exit. FIA president Max Mosley told journalists at a lunch last week that he thought Honda had a “70% chance” of making the first race.