[E90SLAM]

This is based on The Guardian, not confirmed and no official statment or announcement yet.
But seems like McLaren is willing to pay Button and keep McLaren to have the #1 car again. (2007 with Alonso, 2009 with Hamilton, and possibily 2010 with Button???)

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,189...699508,00.html

Jenson Button has reportedly agreed a three-year contract with McLaren that will see the reigning World Champion earn £6m per year.


According to the Guardian, Button 'has agreed terms to join McLaren on a £6m-a-year deal and could sign his formal three-year contract to partner Lewis Hamilton in an all-British line-up within the next few days.


'The Guardian understands that the World Champion has turned his back on Brawn following protracted negotiations and will almost double his salary with the Woking-based team. '


'For Button the prospect of going head-to-head with a close friend and the man regarded by many in the pit lane as possibly the fastest of all will just be part of the challenge of defending his title.'


And although current McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has said he would welcome Button, the newspaper was quick to point out that McLaren would not have given the 2008 Champ a say in the matter.


'It is unlikely either Hamilton, who earns about £12m a year at McLaren, or his father Anthony, who has managed the 2008 World Champion since his days as a teenage kart racer, will have been consulted on this beyond the normal deployment of good manners,' claimed the report.


'McLaren have always had the resources and philosophy required to field two fully competitive cars and have always sought the strongest possible driver line-ups they could engage.'


Button's reported signing comes just hours after Mercedes let go of their 40 percent stake in McLaren in favour of a take-over at Brawn GP, prompting speculation that the team would take on an all-German line-up, leaving Button out in the cold.


However, Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug was quick to downplay the rumours.


"I read some speculation and I understand this because we could not give this information earlier. But this will be an international team for Mercedes-Benz is a global player," he said.


"We want to have the best ones and we definitely do not want to have the pure German team - it's an international Silver Arrows team and we want to have the best drivers in the car."


Haug's comments were followed by Mercedes GP chief executive Nick Fry stating that the team is still keen to hold onto Button, although not at any price.


"I hope Jenson is still with us next season," Fry told the BBC. "We've been together for a good few years now and we have succeeded in winning the World Championship together and we want Jenson to be with us."


But despite the statements by both Haug and Fry, the Daily Mail claims that 'an exasperated source close to Button dismissed the comments as 'lip service.'


The newspaper also says that 'Button is expected to sign for McLaren before the end of the week rather than risk ending up without a team after Mercedes' buy-out of Brawn yesterday pushed him closer to the exit door.'

[Ramos]

It's a done deal... The only unconfirmed is Nick Heidfeld at Mercedes GP former Brawn GP to partner Nico Rosberg
It's officially Britain Vs. Germany Vs. Hot blodded coalition of Italy, Spain and Brazil

[E90SLAM]

Its very likely...but its still a "rumor" (like Alonso to Ferrari) until someone "officially" announce it...like Glock is going to drive for Manor next season....

[KANdaddy]

and so it begins....

[escobar929]

haha i love it all

[1BMW4fun]

So next season would be an all brits drivers for a brits racing squad. The fans must be going crazy.

[Convertible]

Confirmed.

[xbook]

Man, this sucks. One of the drivers I liked the most will now be headed off to the team I like the least. DAMN YOU F1 for messing with my mind.

[G-Mach1]

Wrong move. Hamilton is going to eat him.....

[E90SLAM]

Now its CONFIRMED!!!

I dunno man....I do feel a bit sad.....now Brawn GP (the only year they trully exist...next year will be Mercedes GP) has a special place in my F1 loving heart....

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,189...702375,00.html

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,189...702401,00.html

I don't think its a good move IMO...
They might be good mates....but Hamilton is more aggressive in drivining....the MP4-25 might start off a in a bit more oversteer style which suit Hamilton more...

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by xbook

Man, this sucks. One of the drivers I liked the most will now be headed off to the team I like the least. DAMN YOU F1 for messing with my mind.

LOL...the upcoming F1 seasons is gonna tear you apart...

[BudVlad]

Jackie Stewart: Button move a mistake.

"It will be difficult for him to take on Lewis Hamilton," Stewart explained to BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's like walking into the lion's den because Lewis has had three years with McLaren now and he has it his way - he's already disposed of one driver that came in there, Alonso."

[flat_out]

Originally Posted by G-Mach1

Wrong move. Hamilton is going to eat him.....

Not quite sure, i myself am a LH fan but JB in the last few races did come into his own and will go into next year fully aware of the challenge and could do well....

What the hell !!! go go team GB

[xbook]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

LOL...the upcoming F1 seasons is gonna tear you apart...

I know huh? Sure wish it would get here soon

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by BudVlad

Jackie Stewart: Button move a mistake.

"It will be difficult for him to take on Lewis Hamilton," Stewart explained to BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's like walking into the lion's den because Lewis has had three years with McLaren now and he has it his way - he's already disposed of one driver that came in there, Alonso."

It was a no-brainer for Jenson to stay with Brawn (Mercedes GP)....unless he knows something that we don't know about the new Mercedes GP car next year...

[E90SLAM]

Has a team ever succeed with two back to back world champions???

Let me put it this way....I wouldn't put my money on Jenson to win another World Champion next season...

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

Has a team ever succeed with two back to back world champions???

Let me put it this way....I wouldn't put my money on Jenson to win another World Champion next season...

It's never happened before... This is the first time the last two world champions will be driving for the same team...

While LH is more aggressive and a bit faster, JB is a smoother driver and better at tire conservation which will be critical with all the extra fuel weight they will be carrying around... I say the only advantage LH has is that he will always be #1 at Mclaren, he is getting paid 2x what JB is getting after all, it's still his team

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by Ramos

It's never happened before... This is the first time the last two world champions will be driving for the same team...

While LH is more aggressive and a bit faster, JB is a smoother driver and better at tire conservation which will be critical with all the extra fuel weight they will be carrying around... I say the only advantage LH has is that he will always be #1 at Mclaren, he is getting paid 2x what JB is getting after all, it's still his team

Actually Prost and Senna?
but we cannot compare those two legends with the new world champions, whole different F1 enviroment, media coverage is different, etc etc....so we'll see....

[Ramos]

Yes and no, while in 1989 both Prost and Senna were world champions racing together for Mclaren, they were not the most two recent world champions. Senna had won in 88, but the year before that 87 it was Piquet Sr. who was champion.
That year 89 Prost won but then he left to Ferrari, so again in 90 Mclaren did not have the two most recent world champions.

LH and Button are in fact the first outgoing and current world champions to race for the race team

[E90SLAM]

I don't think Brawn will offer 12mil....they're just saying it now to make Jenson feels bad....nonetheless...i dun think its a wise move....

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,189...703584,00.html

Jenson Button's decision to join McLaren reportedly came when Brawn GP took an offer of £12million off the table after he breached his contract.

On Wednesday, McLaren announced that Button would be joining them next season having signed a three-year contract worth £6m per year. The move will see him team up with Lewis Hamilton in a formidable partnership of British talent.

However, Button could have earned double that if the World Champion hadn't angered his Brawn GP team bosses by visiting McLaren's Woking headquarters last Friday evening.

On Saturday, newspapers - along with some fine F1 websites - in the UK carried news of Button's visit to Woking, which an unnamed McLaren source said was just a 'hello' while another claimed that the Brit had been in talks with team boss Martin Whitmarsh well into the night.

And it appears Brawn GP's bosses weren't at all happy with Button's McLaren visit.

According to the Daily Express 'Button's relationship with Brawn broke down so badly that they removed an offer that could have been worth £12million next year before he signed for McLaren.

'Just a month after being lifted to the heights of World Champion by his team, Button was left in no doubt that he had let them down in a phone call with team principal Ross Brawn at the weekend.

'That came after a breach of contract when Button was shown around the McLaren factory, a move which shocked Brawn, who thought he was still in the middle of negotiations with Button.'

The phone call with Brawn resulted in both parties feeling wronged and the offer of an £8m per year salary plus up to £4m in points bonuses being taken off the table.

Two days later McLaren announced they had bagged the reigning World Champ for just £6m a year.

"I was very disappointed at the way things finished up with Jenson," said Brawn, who earlier this week sold 75.1 percent of his Formula One team to Mercedes.

Nick Fry, the team's chief executive, backed up the newspaper's claims by revealing that money was not the issue behind Button leaving.

Either way there seems to have been a breakdown in relations and The Times understands that neither Button nor his advisers have been taking calls from Mercedes's management for over a week.

"I don't think that it was a financial issue," Fry told Autosport. "We understand that our offer to Jenson may well have been in excess of what he might be getting with McLaren.

"We are disappointed that Jenson has decided to leave because we did make what we thought was a very generous offer for a new contract which was significantly in excess of the frankly spurious figures that were put out to the press over the past week or so.

"It was clear to us that things were going seriously astray as of Sunday night or Monday morning.

"Unfortunately, over the last week there has been very little dialogue with Jenson's management team despite the fact that we have made overtures to have further discussions. But they didn't seem particularly keen, presumably because they were set on the McLaren route."

Fry added that he doesn't understand why Button chose to leave when it means he will have Lewis Hamilton, arguably one of the best drivers in Formula One, as his team-mate.

"I respect his decision," said Fry. "It's not one that I would have made and maybe he has been poorly advised.

"Clearly, loyalty would be nice but in this day and age you don't expect too much of that. I'm always happy when any employee leaves our company if I think that they've made the right decision and they are going to a better job and they always go with our blessing if that is the situation.

"In this situation, we don't understand the logic of the decision and I think Jenson is going to have to up his game if he's going to beat Lewis on home territory."

[NYSPEM3]

Originally Posted by xbook

Man, this sucks. One of the drivers I hated the most will now be headed off to the team I like the most. DAMN YOU F1 for messing with my mind.

Corrected as noted.

[GuyOh]

there's no way button will find the same success he had with brawn in the 09 season, he simply was just a driver in a champion car, he will no doubt be in the shadows of hamliton