Jenson Button faced with waiting game over McLaren extension

McLaren-Honda driver Jenson Button will have to wait until at least September before he learns whether or not he’ll be re-upped with the team alongside former two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

This after chairman Ron Dennis told BBC Sport Tuesday that he will not make a decision between the Briton or reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne until the Italian Grand Prix.

“We’re not even talking about it until Monza,” Dennis said. “Why should we decide now?” The boss added that making a decision this early may not be in the team’s best interest, as it might “disenchant” one of their drivers.

Button, a former world champion himself, is out of contract at the conclusion of the 2016 campaign.

Speculation in the McLaren paddock has run rampant surrounding the situation, many pundits have suggested the team will opt to go with the Belgian Vandoorne, who out-qualified Button and scored a point at his grand prix debut in Bahrain this season. He started the race in the place of the injured aforementioned Alonso.

However, Button holds vastly superior appeal to corporate sponsorship, given his proven experience and capability on track.

Should McLaren opt to chose Button, the team would surely make an effort to retain a contractual relationship with Vandoorne, and potentially loan the 24-year-old to another team so he can continue to gain experience behind the wheel.

In May, Dennis said that Vandoorne, who is widely considered one of F1’s hottest prospects, was an “integral part of McLaren-Honda’s future,” adding, “any team that imagines they may be able to poach him is very much mistaken. You may rest assured Stoffel is not for sale.”

Other teams have indeed expressed public interest in acquiring Stoffel’s talents — Renault, whose team principal Frederic Vasseur has rated his talents very high, especially after the Belgian won the GP2 championship.

Outside of McLaren, Button himself has been garnering interest from Williams, who are considered likely to drop Felipe Massa after the current season.

Regardless, Button’s manager, Richard Goddard, has said the 36-year-old has not yet made up his mind on where he might land in 2017.

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