Newly-crowned world champion Jenson Button will drive for McLaren in 2010, the Woking-based team confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, after wage demands were not met by current employer Brawn GP. Today's announcement comes just two days after Brawn were taken over by current McLaren engine supplier Mercedes, and ends Button's seven-year association with the Brackley-based outfit.
Button's signing means McLaren will field an all-British dream-team line-up of successive world champions, with 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton having already been confirmed for next season. It will be the first time in history a team will start with the two most recent world champions in their ranks, while it will also be the first pairing of British world champions since Graham Hill and Jim Clark raced at Lotus in 1968.
Although McLaren refused to confirm the length of the multi-year deal, it's understood that the agreement is for 3 years, with Button getting paid between £6m and £7m per season, compared to the £4m being offered by his former team, Mercedes GP.
“It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long. But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself,” commented Button. “So, although I won the World Championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges. So that’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
“From a personal point of view, it’s also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British World Champion. Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he’s a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula 1 driver. I’m sure there’s plenty that we can learn from each other, and I’m really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.
“While I’m fully aware that there’s a tremendous amount of hard work ahead, I’m absolutely certain that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be able to deliver where it matters: on track. I’m already looking forward to starting work with the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre as we begin our preparations for the 2010 season – and the defence of my world championship. This is a team that always goes racing to win, and I’m looking forward to being part of that.”
Button therefore turns his back on Mercedes GP, after seven years of loyal service in its guises of BAR, Honda and Brawn. The 29-year-old said his championship-winning 2009 season would live long in his memory.
“Last but very far from least, I want to say that the 2009 season will always have a special place in my memory, and I’m absolutely sure that everybody at Brawn GP who worked so hard to achieve our World Championship successes feels exactly the same way about it. Equally, I want to thank the guys at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, without whom we’d never have been as competitive as we were. I’m so pleased that I’ll still be using their engines in 2010 and beyond.
“So I wish all my old Brawn GP mates well in their new Mercedes Grand Prix adventure, just as I hope they’ll wish me well in my new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes adventure.”
The 2010 grid line-up as it stands can be viewed here at any time. Button's confirmation brings to 11 the number of confirmed seats for next year.