Jenson Button has agreed an £18m three-year deal with McLaren, according to a report due to be published in Tuesday's Guardian newspaper which will see the newly-crowned world champion team-up with fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren dream-team of world champions. Going against the advice of former F1 greats Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, Button has reportedly decided to leave Brawn GP just hours after the team was taken over by German car manufacturer Mercedes.

The deal will see Button earn £6m per year over the course of his contract, almost double what was being offered by Brawn GP. However, having spent seven long years at the Brackley-based team, building the team around his needs to help him win this year's championship, only time will tell if it will be the correct choice to switch to McLaren, a team similarly built around and engineered towards 2008 champion Hamilton. The news comes following a visit to McLaren headquarters by Button on Friday, as he considered the deals being offered by the opposing camps.

The report in The Guardian said Button could sign his contract within the next few days.