29/08/2011
NEWS STORY
Jenson Button has urged his team to extend his contract for a further year
The Englishman, who finished third in yesterday's Belgian GP having given one of the most committed performances of his career, is currently a free agent at the end of this season, though McLaren has the option to renew for a further year.
However, with all the other leading protagonists now signed up for 2012 - some long beyond - Button, who now lies fourth in the championship, has urged the Woking outfit to put the deal to bed in order that he can concentrate fully on the run-in to this year's title fight.
"If he takes up the option all he has to do is say yes, and I will say yes because I want to be here next year," he said, referring to team boss Martin Whitmarsh. "It's up to the team as to when they approach me, but for me I'm the happiest I've been with the car."
Although many believed Button's move to McLaren would never work out, some predicting in-team fireworks with teammate Lewis Hamilton and other believing the Englishman to be near the end of his F1 'shelf life', it appears to have been a marriage made in heaven, the 2009 world champion maturing personally, improving as a driver and generally helping the team to gel as never before.
It's believed that the team is actually keen to extend the relationship beyond 2012.
Last year, Button overtook Nigel Mansell to become the most experienced Englishman in F1, the McLaren driver recently notching up his 200th Grand Prix start.