LONDON -- With Juan Montoya reportedly on his way from CART racing in the United States, Williams-BMW has dropped Jenson Button from its Formula One team, with the option of bringing him back in two years.

The 20-year-old British driver, in his first year in F1, will join Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella at Benetton under team manager Flavio Briatore.

Button, Britain's youngest F1 driver, finished fourth at the German Grand Prix last month for his top finish.

His signing ends Alexander Wurz's career at Benetton. After posting a third-place finish in his third race and scoring points in seven of his first 12 events, the Austrian has gone scoreless over his last 19 races.

Williams is expected to announce the arrival of Montoya, a former test driver with the team, for next season. The Colombian driver won the CART title at his first attempt and the Indianapolis 500.

Button scored points in four of 12 races in his debut season, finishing nine. He is eighth of 22 in the drivers' standings.

Montoya reportedly will take Button's place alongside Ralf Schumacher. Montoya, 24, won the U.S.-based Champ Car series title last year and this year's Indianapolis 500.

Benetton, which won the drivers' world championship in 1994 and 1995 with Michael Schumacher, sold its British-based team to French engine manufacturer Renault SA in March. Renault will supply engines from 2002.

OTHER MOVES: Ted Musgrave will drive the No. 01 Chevrolet for the rest of the Winston Cup season, beginning Sunday at Michigan Speedway. He also will drive SABCO's Chevy in Saturday's Busch Series race. ... Hut Stricklin will drive the Junie Donlavey-owned Ford for the rest of the Winston Cup season. He replaced Ed Berrier two weeks ago and finished 14th in the Brickyard 400. ... Jaques Lazier will drive the Mid America Motorsports car in the final two Indy Racing series events. Lazier has driven in five races for Truscelli Racing and has two top-10 finishes and is 20th in the series standings. ... Ron Hornaday Jr., who will race for his NAPA Auto Parts team, is close to signing a two-year contract extension with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway, Winston West and Truck series champ, has won two of the last three Busch races and has been a contender for rookie of the year honors.

MOTOROLA 220: Christian Fittipaldi, who won last year's CART race, hopes to regroup at Road America Sunday.

After a third-place finish in June in Portland, Ore., the 29-year-old Fittipaldi failed to finish three straight races, then missed the race in Chicago after a concussion and back injury in a crash during practice.

Heading into today's practice in Elkhart Lake, Wis., teammate Michael Andretti is leading Gil de Ferran in the championship points 125-106. Roberto Moreno is third with 100, followed by rookie Kenny Brack with 88 and Adrian Fernandez with 87.

Helio Castroneves is eighth in the points with 77 -- tied with defending series champion Montoya.

NAPAONLINE.COM 250: Rain postponed qualifying at Michigan Speedway until today. The starting lineup for Saturday's BGN race will be determined during a single qualifying session beginning at 10 a.m. Rookie Kevin Harvick had the fastest lap during practice, averaging 183.355 mph in his Chevrolet on the 2-mile oval.

PEPSI 400: Jeremy Mayfield will be back in his car Sunday at Michigan Speedway after missing two races with a concussion. He was injured in a crash two weeks ago during practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He missed the Brickyard 400, then the road-course race in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

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