Former world champion expected to be replaced at McLaren by Vandoorne for the 2017 season
Monday 29 August 2016 10:41, UK
Jenson Button says he is close to making a decision about his future, but has not hinted at where he is likely to be in 2017.
The McLaren driver appears set to leave the team he has represented since 2010 at the end of this season, and departing F1 altogether remains a possibility.
"I am almost there with my thought process and you will hear about it soon," said Button ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. "I can't put a timescale on it, but it will be soon enough."
The 2016 season has returned following a four-week summer break, and Button did admit he spent a large portion of his holiday pondering his future.
"I did think about it (my future) a lot," he added. "I didn't have a lot of time to lie on a sun-lounger and think about it, to be fair. I was busy, but yes, of course, I thought about it."
While Button has been heavily linked with a return to the Williams outfit with whom he started his F1 career, Belgian youngster Stoffel Vandoorne is widely expected to replace Button at McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso for the 2017 season.
But Sky F1 expert Ted Kravitz believes that Button will try and make his announcement before McLaren decide his future for him.
Jenson is going to try and be in control of his own future and announce where he wants to go next year. Whether that's a move to Renault or Williams, we'll have to wait and see.
"My feeling is that he's already done that thinking and he's going to try and stay ahead of the game and perhaps pre-empt McLaren's announcement that they're going to go with Vandoorne next season," Kravitz told Sky Sports News HQ.
"Jenson is going to try and be in control of his own future and announce where he wants to go next year. Whether that's a move to Renault or Williams, we'll have to wait and see.
"The feeling is that Jenson wants to stay in Formula One and if he can get a competitive car, that's all for the better.
"There is also the possibility that Jenson could decide that if his future isn't with McLaren and he doesn't want to be with any other team, then he could go and try other forms of motorsport, like for example Rallycross, which his father John competed in and we know he is keen on doing sometime in the future."
