London: Jenson Button has suffered a broken rib whilst go-karting and will miss this week's first Formula One tests since the end of the season.

Button, who took the first grand prix win of his career in Hungary last August, had injured himself during a karting test as part of his winter preparations.

"Jenson will not take part in next week's test to ensure that the condition is not further aggravated," the Honda team said in a statement over the weekend.

The British driver will therefore skip the three-day Barcelona tests starting tomorrow.

Button returned to Britain from Japan after attending a Honda 'Thank You Day' at the Motegi circuit where he met some of the 26,000 customers invited to celebrate Honda's motorsport successes.

The Barcelona tests are the first with all teams running on Bridgestone tyres following the departure of Michelin at the end of the season that finished in Brazil last month.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and newly-appointed test drivers Christian Klien of Austria and Briton James Rossiter will test for Honda.