Nigel Mansell and Murray Walker have backed Jenson Button as a future Formula One champion as the Brit prepares for the 2006 season.

After a disappointing 2005, when he was unable to build on the positive results of the previous season, Button will have the might of Honda behind him this year following the Japanese companies buy-out of the BAR team and will be partnered by Rubens Barrichello in what appears to be one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid.

Button has come under fire in some quarters for the fact that he has yet to win a Grand Prix – something the man himself has admitted on more than one occasion doesn’t bother him – and Mansell said it was only a matter of time before the results showed how good he is.

"Jenson's had a tough time and I'm going to stand in total shoulder to shoulder and defend the guy,” he told LBC News 1152AM. “I think he's a class act, he's just got his priorities it mixed up a bit in the past.

“He's has some bad advice and has obviously signed some contracts at times that he shouldn't have done, but that's in the past. I think Jenson could be one of the drivers in the future, certainly for this country, to bring the world championship back."

Also speaking to LBC News 1152AM, veteran commentator Walker – who commentated on a number of British F1 champions during his time behind the microphone – added his weight to those saying that Button is a champion of the future.

"I'm convinced that Jenson has got the talent, quite apart from the fact that he's an extremely nice bloke, to win races, and if you can win races it then, to some extent becomes luck of the draw, as to whether you can win the championship,” he said. “I believe he can win the championship and I hope I'm right.”