London, April 13 : Jenson Button reportedly hit the roof when his new sponsor seemed to try his luck with the Formula 1 ace's lingerie model-girlfriend.

The 29-year-old, winner of this year's Australian Grand Prix, landed in a heated argument with married billionaire Richard Branson over lover Jessica Michibata while dining at plush eaterie Nobu in Melbourne.

"Richard was clearly very, very drunk and took a shine to Jessica during the evening. But there was a misunderstanding and Jenson became angry," News of the World quoted a source as saying.

"The whole thing got very, very heated. Richard thought Jenson was over-reacting, and gave as good back. Both of them were livid," the source added.

The Brit racer was said to have bagged a six-figure sponsorship deal with the tycoon just the day before the row.

The source added: "This was before Jenson and the Brawn GP team won in Melbourne and Malaysia, and they were an untested team looking for sponsorship.

"So for Jenson to lose his rag at Richard, it was serious. But things were fine by the next day." (ANI)