F1: McLaren hopes it can convince Button to stay

But there are question marks over Jenson Button.

While Button hasn’t announced his retirement, he hasn’t denied the possibility during any media interactions. We were second in the Constructors’ so pretty special year. “That is a challenge but after the Singapore Grand Prix I was not joyful, no”. The president of Honda was there. In other news, the possibility of Button retiring has been accompanied by rumours that he may be the latest addition to the Top Gear United Kingdom crew.

Button, 35, has scored six points, and there was speculation ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix that he would announce his retirement from the sport.

After saying he had made a decision about his future and indicating he was no longer enjoying F1 following the Singapore Grand Prix, the McLaren driver has declined to comment on his 2016 situation in Japan this week.

But even McLaren director Jonathan Neale admitted that delving into such advances with an unwilling participant would be an exercise in futility.

“Jenson is a fantastic guy, a world champion and a big part of the family at Honda and McLaren”, Neale said.

“We are contracted with him, we want him to stay and we like him very much, but if your driver doesn’t really want to be in the seat, we have to respect that”.

“All l can say is that this year has been a really hard year for the team and I do feel that it has brought us a lot closer together”. Instead, Jenson forecast a time when the Japanese manufacturer would once again dominate the pinnacle of motor racing, albeit in his absence.

In the meantime, as McLaren wait on Button to reveal his plans – a reversal of last year’s scenario when the team didn’t confirm him until December -, potential replacements Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne are waiting in the wings. We hope that we can have a good weekend.

“I think it looks like a fun category to be involved in. Hopefully one day we’ll see the president of Honda stood on the podium again”.

“I have nothing else to add about next year”, he said.