09/09/2011
NEWS STORY
Martin Whitmarsh says Jenson Button is to remain at McLaren on a new long-term contract.
The English driver has made no secret of the fact that he wants to remain with the Woking team and most believe it to be only a matter of time before a new deal was officially confirmed.
Today, speaking to reporters in Monza, team boss Martin Whitmarsh insisted that the team is equally determined to retain the services of the 2009 world champion.
"Jenson Button will be with us next year," he said. "There is nothing that needs to be sorted. He will be with us. We both want to work together for a long period of time. It's a non-issue."
The 31-year-old joined McLaren in a shock move at the end of his championship winning season, many predicting that the Englishman would be blown away by his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
However, for the most part Button has held his own, the two driver's differing styles and approach working perfectly. Furthermore, after the Hamilton/Alonso debacle many believe that the atmosphere within the Woking outfit is better than ever.
Whitmarsh was giving little away in terms of the length of the proposed contract. "The nature of a contract is not something we are going to talk about publicly," he told BBC's 5 Live. "We're just talking about it. I don't think there's any rush to go to a single year contract.
"Jenson's done some of the most spectacular drives in the history of Formula 1 this year," he added. "And I think he's capable of even more."