Button to make way for Vandoorne at McLaren

McLaren driver and 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button will not race in the sport in the 2017 season, but will remain at the team in an ambassadorial capacity.

“That is not in the vocabulary, that is not what we are saying”.

It means Button will continue to play an “active role as a key member of the team” in 2017, effectively as third/reserve driver, with McLaren also having an option on him for 2018, should a race seat become available.

However, Button said he made his mind up over the summer break to take the McLaren offer, which will now see him focus on team and auto development at the Woking-based team.

Like Hakkinen, Button is handing over to a hungry, young talent in Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne but, unlike the Finn, will stay around as a potential reserve.

“I’m really excited. I will do everything I can to make sure this team is competitive in 2017”.

“There is a possibility of me racing next year but at the moment I am not thinking about anything over the firstly the end of this year”. Specifically, I’m looking forward to becoming even more deeply involved in the team’s efforts to bring about the success we’ve all been striving to deliver.

“I remember watching him when he first got to Formula One, on a weekend with my dad, eating bacon sarnies, watching Jenson doing what I was dreaming to do”.

“If you look at what Stoffel has achieved in the lower formulas, he’s definitely a stand out driver coming through”, said Button.

In the meantime, Button serves effectively as an insurance policy as well as strengthening the team’s hand in any negotiations with the Spaniard, who knows they have a ready replacement.

“It’s not created to be an insurance policy on anything”, Dennis said.

“Formula 1 is an addictive sport and stopping any form of addiction is challenging”, said Dennis. The 36-year-old adds that he talked about it to Ron Dennis over the summer break.

That’s assuming of course that, having taken a year out, Jenson still wants to return to the cockpit.

“Jenson had offers to drive next year in other teams and declined those offers”, said Dennis.

“My family is forever growing as well, so it’s nice to be able to spend time with them and not see them every year and see they’ve grown another six inches, all the kids in my family”.

Meanwhile, Vandoorne also went on to say how much he believes in McLaren-Honda and the team’s ability to get back to winning ways.