Button to McLaren!

[Joeaksa]

Just announced on McLaren's Facebook site.

VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES SIGNS REIGNING WORLD CHAMPION JENSON BUTTON TO MULTI-YEAR DEAL - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes News

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES SIGNS REIGNING WORLD CHAMPION JENSON BUTTON TO MULTI-YEAR DEAL

18th November 2009

Sensational double World Champion driver line-up created as Jenson Button joins Lewis Hamilton at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Woking, 18 November 2009: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is delighted to announce the signing of the reigning World Champion Jenson Button to a multi-year deal. He will be partnered by 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who will be embarking on his fourth consecutive season as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.

This unique partnership will mark:

- The first time in Formula 1 history that a team has started the new season with a line-up featuring the most recent two successive World Champions

- The first pairing of two British World Champions since Graham Hill [1962, 1968] partnered Jim Clark [1963, 1965] at Lotus in 1968

Jenson Button
2009 Formula 1 World Champion
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car #1
“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. 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. You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history. McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who’s Who of Formula 1 – Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and of course my new team-mate Lewis Hamilton. I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.

“When I visited the McLaren Technology Centre earlier this month, it wasn’t simply the technical resources and the incredible standards of excellence that impressed me. No, I was equally struck by the ambition, the motivation and the winning spirit that flow through everybody there. And then there’s the team’s epic history: put it this way, the trophy cabinets seem to stretch for miles.

“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.

“Also, I think it’s fantastic that we’ll be forming an all-British line-up. I know that we both fly the flag with pride, and I sincerely hope we can make the whole of the United Kingdom, as well as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes fans across the world, proud. Nothing means more to me than to be able to represent my country, and I’m looking forward to both of us painting Formula 1’s circuits red, white and blue for many years to come.

“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.

“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.”

Lewis Hamilton
2008 Formula 1 World Champion
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car #2
“It’s fantastic news that Jenson has decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and I’m looking forward to working with him and our engineers to make sure we kick off the 2010 season with a car that’s competitive enough to win the World Championship – but I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend Heikki Kovalainen, who is one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met.

“I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together. We both really want our team to succeed. Although we’ll be pushing each other hard, I’m sure we’ll very quickly establish a great working relationship. He’s an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience. I think we’ll complement each other very well, and our collaboration will make the team stronger as a result. Also, I’m delighted to be racing alongside a fellow British World Champion, and I believe we can pull together to make Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the best team on the grid.

“I’m sure Jenson has already started to appreciate our team’s unique culture and the special family atmosphere that makes it such an incredible place to live and work. We really are like one big family – and I’m sure Jenson will feel the warmth of that welcome from day one.

“Obviously, as a British driver, I’m also thrilled that we’ll be flying the flag for the United Kingdom, and I think today’s announcement is fantastic news for all British sports fans. I hope they’ll be giving us their full support when the season kicks off next March. I’m already looking forward to Silverstone – it’ll be massive!

“Looking ahead, I think the results from the second half of 2009 speak for themselves, and I’m convinced we can carry that momentum through the winter and into the new season. I’ve been closely following the development of our 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, and I think it’s going to be a state-of-the-art car that will enable both of us to consistently fight for victories.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team. It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers – and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula 1.

“Moreover, I’m confident that we’ll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson’s and Lewis’s complementary skill-sets. Our engineers are already looking forward to working with Jenson, and I’m convinced that such a strong and dynamic driver line-up will make us an even more complete and competitive operation. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery.

“I want to make clear that Jenson’s decision to join us was in no way motivated by money. We’ll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson’s belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season.

“I also want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years. As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we’ll all miss considerably. It goes without saying that we wish him all the best for next season, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010.

“We’re ambitious, we’re motivated and we’re hungrier than ever. We make no secret of our ambition for next year: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wants to win both World Championships – and, with Jenson and Lewis, we believe we’re better equipped than any other team in the pitlane to do exactly that.”

[legion]

Poor Kimi. He's got nowhere else to go.

Poor Heiki. I hope he gets a ride. I always liked him.

[legion]

Oh, and I think this is an interesting move. I think that last season proved that Hamilton can develop a car....and that Button can't.

I think it was on "Inside Grand Prix" that the narrator said that Button was not a well-rounded World Champion like Hamilton, Alonso, and Raikonnen.

[MFAFF]

[QUOTE=legion;5017994]Oh, and I think this is an interesting move. I think that last season proved that Hamilton can develop a car....and that Button can't.
QUOTE]

Did any of hte drivers actually do on track testing between the first and last races of the season (beyond using Fridays as a testing session.....)?

The development of the McL was due to the technical team doing a massive amount fo work at the Technology Centre....not LH doing any testing. And no LH is not noted for his ability to assist in that side of things.

He was testing prior to the season...The results of this was a stunning WTF for the first half of the season whereas as Brawn won 6 out of the first seven races.

I think therein lies the truth of who out of the two of them had a better development season...the double diffuser is only part of the equation as Red Bull demonstrated...

[Deschodt]

Next... Schumi back at Brawn... Why not ? German, ferrari contract ended, Ross is his buddy...
Wouldn't that be a sight ?

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Next... Schumi back at Brawn... Why not ? German, ferrari contract ended, Ross is his buddy...
Wouldn't that be a sight ?

sounds like a German's wet dream!

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by TheMentat

sounds like a German's wet dream!

Exactly... Mercedes would do anything to have him... And while I've never been a fan of Herr Schumacher, now that he retired, I'd like to see if he can still do it against the new guys... I betch a I'm not the only one thinking this, I don't think the termination of his ferrari contract is a coincidence... And What's his face..norbert haug... said there might be a surprise on the driver front at brawn...

My money's on schumi !

[Neilk]

Schumi at Brawn would be awesome.

I wish they would suspend the Costructor's champioship next year so that Alonso, Button, Hamilton and Massa can race each other through out the year. There are going to be some pissed off #2 drivers next year. Should be really interesting.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Neilk

Schumi at Brawn would be awesome.

I wish they would suspend the Costructor's champioship next year so that Alonso, Button, Hamilton and Massa can race each other through out the year. There are going to be some pissed off #2 drivers next year. Should be really interesting.

My prediction for #2 drivers? Button and Alonso.

Hamilton has something to prove and he doesn't seem satisfied (like Kimi) with one title. Alonso thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, but barring Massa not being able to return (or finding out things aren't quite right during the season), I think he will kill Alonso. I give it three months before Alonso is crying in the press about his unfair treatment.

[Wintermute]

Looks like Kimi is sitting out next year.

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/154719/1/raikkonen_manager_reveals_f1_2010_decision_made.ht ml

Well done Ferrari, you made sitting out a year more lucrative than driving, thus taking out some competition next year. I hope he has fun in WRC and comes back in 2011...

[legion]

Kimi played his hand all wrong this year.

First, he hasn't driven particularly well compared to Massa the past two years.

Second, he let Ferrari cut him lose. If he wanted to make the big bucks AND drive for a top team, fulfilling his contract with the Scuderia was his best bet.

Third, he stated he would only drive for McLaren. This really limited his options, and McLaren knew that they held all the cards.

Fourth, he couldn't make a decision. He could either drive for a top team OR make the big bucks, and he insisted on both. This effectively drove him out of the sport.

I don't know who will be willing to hire him in 2011 if he doesn't make some concessions.

[GH85Carrera]

Kimi has been paid for the year and now he does not have to drive. My heart does not bleed to much.

[legion]

So....um.....what about Heikki?

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by legion

So....um.....what about Heikki?

I had such high expectations for that guy since he dominated in the Race of Champions one year (don't ask me why). I have no doubt that he's a great racer and all around nice guy, but he hasn't really done much to deserve a top drive since being in F1. I think there will always be something for him to drive in the lower tier teams. But if I were him, I think I'd rather go kick some a$$ in sports cars/prototypes...

[mike55]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Kimi has been paid for the year and now he does not have to drive. My heart does not bleed to much.

Mine either. Imagine taking a $25M pay cut to stay at home and still make $17M?

[imcarthur]

It’s all good news. Two top tier teams. 4 top drivers. 3 x WDC + the deserving Massa. Enough rivalry & controversy with a hit of sympathy. A big team shakeup. Todt’s leadership – wherever that may lead.

2010 should be a good season. If not good, at least interesting.

Ian

[nostatic]

Seems MS to Brawn either as consultant or (maybe) driver is a no-brainer. He has done his duty to Ferrari by mentoring Massa, and I doubt that Fernando thinks MS has anything to teach him. Otoh MS could help turn Heidfeld or Rossberg into a champion. I think that Brawn may need that bridge to a driver to get good development.

Hamilton will crush Button. I think Button had a significantly better car all year and Hamilton still won races.

I don't know how fast Massa will be. It is tough to come back. But the real question is whether or not RedBull can keep the momentum. I think Vettel is the best driver on the track right now.

[Deschodt]

And let's not forget *no refueling*... Heavy cars that get lighter as the race goes by, changing pace throughout the race, cars that behave better on heavy fuel loads than on light loads....and vice versa... Drivers who abused their tires on a heavy load and all of a sudden drop 2 seconds a lap, those that managed them and all of a sudden start passing people..... It should be fun to watch, and for that last reason alone, I would not write off Button completely... Hamilton is harsh on his tires, Button is not... I do think hamilton is a better driver overall, but....