Mclaren silent on possibility of retired Button replacing Spaniard at Monte Carlo
Mclaren refused to be drawn on whether Jenson Button will be called out of retirement, just six months after he stopped racing in Formula One, to replace Fernando Alonsoatnextmonth’smonaco Grand Prix.
Alonso, 35, will be absent from Monte Carlo after it was revealed he would participate at the blue-riband Indianapolis 500 event instead with Mclaren’s blessing.
Button, the 2009 world champion, competed in more than 300 grands prix, and spent seven seasons at Mclaren. He remains an ambassador for the British team – following a deal struck with former Mclaren chairman Ron Dennis last September – and lives in Monaco, too.
The 37-year would appear the obvious candidate to replace Alonso, but whether he, or indeed Mclaren, want him to fill the sudden one-off vacancy for the race which takes place on 28 May, is unclear. Indeed Zak Brown, Mclaren’s American boss who has been integral to ensuring Alonso would be on the starting grid for the Indy 500 in a Mclaren-branded car, said they are considering several options.
“Fernando’s replacement driver is not in place and those conversations are ongoing,” Brown said. “We have a few different options and we will state who that is when we know.”
Button then mischievously tweeted last night: “Why do I have so many missed calls?”
Alonso, who raced alongside Button for two years at Mclaren, has become increasingly frustrated at the team’s failure to contest at the sharp end of the grid. He is out of contract at the end of the season, but the British team’s decision to expand their motor racing portfolio – with the Le Mans 24 Hours race also seemingly now a possibility – could be a sweetener to him staying.