Button would extend until 2013 with McLaren
An announcement could be made at Silverstone, even if the final details still need to be settled.
After several weeks of speculation about Jenson Button’s future with McLaren, and rumors linking him to Maranello as Felipe Massa’s replacement, the 2009 world champion is expected to renew his contract with the Woking team in the coming weeks.
This would not be a surprise since the British driver has repeatedly affirmed his loyalty to McLaren-Mercedes and seems happier there than ever. Thus, last April, the 2009 world champion confided in a way that left little doubt about his future in gray: « When my collaboration with McLaren is over, I will not race in F1 anymore. I am very happy here, I see no reason to look elsewhere. I drive for one of the best teams in the world. It’s a situation that most drivers dream of being in. I could stay in the circuit for another three or five years. I don’t know yet. »
However, a few weeks later, the Briton stated in an interview with the Guardian: “There are three teams I’ve always wanted to race for since I was a child: Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams. I’ve been able to drive for two of them, which is great and something I didn’t think was possible when I was an eight-year-old. Ferrari is, of course, a team I haven’t raced for.”
It didn’t take much for the press to seize upon the story, going so far as to claim, with unofficial sources to back them up, that the men from Maranello had approached ‘JB’. Thus, the English tabloid *News of the World*, which had made a name for itself by exposing the sexual escapades of Max Mosley – then president of the FIA – recently claimed: « There have been a lot of discussions within the Ferrari team about Button. They have already tried to see if he would be available. »
Jenson Button is just another name to add to the long list of drivers who have, at one time or another, been the subject of rumors linking them to Maranello as a replacement for Felipe Massa. The Brit thus follows Robert Kubica, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, and even Lewis Hamilton, who the *Mirror* reported had a meeting with Stefano Domenicali during the Canadian Grand Prix. But at a time when Fernando Alonso, supported by Santander, has renewed his contract with the Italian team until 2016, few top drivers seem to be knocking on Maranello’s door, except… Sebastian Vettel.
With experience in handling such situations, the Scuderia once again issued a scathing response to the rumors, through the Horse Whisperer column on the Italian team’s website: « It goes without saying that once again, it is just a bunch of nonsense, to politely express what I really think. »
The fact remains that Jenson Button, who joined Woking in 2010 after his championship victory, is tied to McLaren by a contract that includes an option for 2012. This option, which can be activated at the team’s discretion, would effectively prevent the British driver from responding to the allure of Maranello, at least for 2012, if Woking decided to exercise it.
The door would therefore remain open for the 2013 F1 season, but it seems that Jenson Button’s future is increasingly shaping up in gray, and a contract extension is already on the table. This contract, valid until the end of 2013, would also come with a substantial increase in the Englishman’s income, which would rise from nearly 9 million euros per year to a little over 11 million euros per season.
According to Byron Young, correspondent for the Mirror, the deal must be finalized before the end of July but could be announced at the British Grand Prix, an announcement that also nips in the bud the recent rumors of Nico Rosberg joining Lewis Hamilton, but could well reactivate the Italian option for the young German Mercedes driver.
