Only a few days after Felipe Massa announced his retirement, Jenson Button has announced that he will not be racing in 2017. However, he claims that he will be returning to the driver seat with McLaren in 2018, as he is contracted to do.
The 36 year old British driver who made his debut in 2000 will be moving from the driver seat to behind the scenes of the McLaren-Honda team. This is a two-year development plan, during which Button will help develop the team and the car. McLaren has the option in Button’s contract to put him back in the car for the 2018 season or if they need to during the 2017 season.
Jenson Button is happy to be taking year off to help McLaren:
“I’m delighted that I’ll be staying on as a key member of the McLaren-Honda team. In fact I’m massively excited about my new role, which has come about as a result of a number of in-depth chats with Ron. 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 love McLaren-Honda – I firmly believe it’s made up of the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked with – and I have no intention of ever driving for another Formula 1 team.
To be clear, I’m very definitely not retiring. I’m contracted for both 2017 and 2018, I intend to work hard on car-development, and I’m sure I’ll get behind the wheel of the new car at some point.”
Stoffel Vandoorne will be taking over Button’s seat for 2017. The 24 year old Belgian driver has already made a Grand Prix start earlier in the season, filling in for Fernando Alonso following his injury in the Australian Grand Prix.
Vandoorne was also happy with his new role and expressed his confidence in the team:
“I already know the team extremely well – they’re a fantastic group of extremely clever people – and I’ve already raced the car once and tested it often. I have total confidence in the potential of the McLaren-Honda project, and I firmly believe that, racing alongside a brilliant and experienced driver, I’ll be able to make a strong contribution to the team’s future World Championship successes.”
Fernando Alonso will be returning to the car for the 2017 season.
