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Jenson Button: “To Be Clear, I’m Definitely Not Retiring”

The past weekend’s Italian Grand Prix was full of action. Regarding racing action, the slow start off the line for Lewis Hamilton saw fans rejoice with excitement for a change. Outside the fast-paced tarmac, Jenson Button made the headlines with his stepping down as a full-time racing driver for McLaren-Honda.
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In a surprising move, McLaren-Honda and Jenson Button have agreed for the latter to take a step back for the 2017 and, most probably, the 2018 Formula 1 seasons. Thus, a racing seat has been vacated. In JB22’s place, rookie Stoffel Vandoorne will take the wheel of next years’ McLaren-Honda cars.

24-year-old Vandoorne began his career at the age of six with karting. In 2010, he graduated up to the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series, winning the championship on his first try. Then Vandoorne jumped on the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 bandwagon, after which Formula Renault 3.5 followed in 2013. Also that year, the McLaren Young Driver Program had chosen Vandoorne for the Formula 1 roster. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In a release titled “McLaren-Honda announces innovative three-driver strategy,” the Woking-based outfit tells it as it is. As per Ron Dennis, “McLaren-Honda’s race driver line-up next season will be Fernando and Stoffel – a perfectly balanced mix of proven brilliance and immense potential.”

In Jenson’s case, the team had extended his contract through 2018. JB22’s role will be that of “a senior, influential and committed member of the team, and will remain centrally involved in the development of our cars.” What’s more, Dennis made it clear that Jenson Button is not retiring. Instead, he will “also be available to race for us if circumstances require it.”

Button, for his part, appears to be chuffed to bits about this sabbatical from full-on racing. JB22 declared: “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.” Also, it appears that McLaren-Honda will be the last-ever team Jenson will race for in F1: “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.“

JB22 went on: “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.”

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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