When the 'marriage' between BMW and WilliamsF1 fell part, there were some who doubted whether the British F1 team could continue, citing the loss of the German manufacturer, and its money, together with various sponsors, and even the loss of Jenson Button, as the death knell for the last remaining truly privateer team.

While some F1 fans hope to see Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg cause Button to eat humble pie, the Englishman having made it quite clear that in his opinion the Grove outfit is no longer what it was, others want to see the British team roundly beat its former partner.

Although the WilliamsF1 team has remained dignified at all times, there are few fans of the team who wouldn't have allowed themselves a wry smile when Jacques Villeneuve's BMW engine detonated during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Asked in Malaysia how he felt about the German team's problem in Bahrain, Patrick Head attempted to remain thoroughly professional, diplomatic and not resort to schadenfreude.

"That was quite interesting really," said the Englishman, "because I was called up on Wednesday to be asked whether I'd come here and I said to Silvia, who rang me up, Mario Theissen being asked as well? I'm not sure if I got a reply, but I thought 'this is a set-up'.

"You're so busy during a race that you're not really looking too often at what's going on on other cars," he continued, "but I don't think tears welled up in my eyes."