McLaren to buy back Mercedes holding

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler AG will have stakes in two Formula 1 teams next season, with a majority shareholding in Brawn GP coming into effect while its 40% stake in McLaren Racing is set to be bought out by the McLaren Group over the coming year...  

Button agrees to join McLaren

• Button will sign contract with McLaren in the next few days• Champion unfazed by being Lewis Hamilton's team-mateJenson Button has agreed terms to join McLaren on a £6m-a-year deal and could sign his formal three-year contract to partner Lewis Hamilton in an all-British line-up within the next few days.The Guardian understands that the world champion has turned his back on Brawn following protracted negotiations and will almost double his salary with the Woking-based team. The 29-year-old was given a guided tour of McLaren's factory last Friday and, although neither the team nor Button's management would confirm the deal tonight, sources close to McLaren hinted: "I think Jenson liked what he saw and they liked him too."In switching to McLaren Button will be going against advice from Formula One grandees including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Martin Brundle, all of whom feel he might be biting off more than he can chew taking on Hamilton on his home turf in equal cars.But for Button the prospect of going head-to-head with a close friend and the man regarded by many in the pit lane as possibly the fastest of all will just be part of the challenge of defending his title. It is unlikely either Hamilton, who earns about £12m a year at McLaren, or his father Anthony, who has managed the 2008 world champion since his days as a teenage kart racer, will have been consulted on this beyond the normal deployment of good manners. McLaren have always had the resources and philosophy required to field two fully competitive cars and have always sought the strongest possible driver line-ups they could engage.The decision by the newly crowned world champion to leave the team built from the ashes of Honda by Ross Brawn came on the day it was officially announced that Mercedes-Benz had switched allegiances from McLaren and purchased a controlling interest in Brawn GP. They will field their cars under the Mercedes banner in 2010.It had been widely thought that Button would remain with the team alongside Nico Rosberg, the preferred Mercedes nominee, for 2010 following Rubens Barrichello's move to Williams. But there are suggestions that Button was never at the top of the Mercedes wish list. In fact, on Sunday Norbert Haug, the Mercedes motor sport vice-president, hinted that the company was already in talks to sign Nick Heidfeld from BMW, raising the possibility of two Germans going head-to-head with two Englishmen for next year's championship. Nick Fry, Brawn's chief executive, played down those rumours tonight, saying: "I can confidently say that [speculation] is totally incorrect – Mercedes is an international company. Clearly a German driver would be nice for them but we don't need two German drivers, that's not the intent."He added: "I hope Jenson is still with us next season. We've been together for a good few years now and we have succeeded in winning the world championship together and we want Jenson to be with us. But we have to recognise that Formula One is not divorced from the rest of the world. We have worked within a budget [and] if we spend in one area then we cannot spend in another area."The purchase of Brawn was funded by Mercedes' parent company, Daimler AG, who will own 45.1% of the team's equity, while Ross Brawn and the other senior management will hold 24.9% and the Abu Dhabi-based Aarbar investments will hold 30%. The team will continue to be run from its headquarters at Brackley in Oxfordshire.Under the new arrangements finalised today McLaren will have the facility of using Mercedes engines through to 2015 if they wish to. "This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler," said Ron Dennis, chairman of the McLaren group and the man who originally forged the team's alliance with Mercedes back in 1995. "I've often stated that it's my belief that in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula One a team must become much more than merely a team. In order to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win grands prix and world championships companies that run Formula One teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities."Nonetheless, all of our partners will of course continue to play a crucial role in our Formula One programme. For that reason, and because the engines they produce are very competitive, we're delighted that Mercedes-Benz has committed to continue not only as an engine supplier but also as a partner of ours until 2015 – and perhaps thereafter."McLaren will not be disadvantaged by no longer being perceived as Mercedes-Benz's standard bearer in the Formula One front line. They and Mercedes have gone their separate ways because of conflicting interests in the high-performance road car arena. But out on the circuits McLaren remains potentially a consistently formidable winning machine. Button knows this and that is why he will be driving one of their cars next season.Jenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jenson Button visits McLaren HQ

• World champion given a guided tour round McLaren HQ• Button would share equal billing with 2008 world championMcLaren have teed up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in their 2010 Formula One line-up and the world champion could be close to turning his back on the Brawn team for whom he won this year's title. Button and his manager, Richard Goddard, today visited the McLaren headquarters at Woking, where they were given an escorted tour of the facilities by Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal. A contract could be signed as early as next week if terms can be finalised, creating the first team with two world champions competing alongside each other since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989."As I've said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship," said Goddard. "We've been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we're not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we've given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them."McLaren have made Kimi Raikkonen their second choice if the Button approach fails, with Nick Heidfeld third favourite.Goddard made it clear that Button was not aiming for the £10m annual fee that drivers such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have under the terms of their existing agreements. But it is clear he wants more than the bargain-rate, reputed £4m deal he agreed with the emergent Brawn team before the start of last season to stay on the Formula One grid in a year when he was almost left kicking his heels in the pits with nothing to drive."I think it's also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season," Goddard added. "He needs to explore all the feasible options." A McLaren spokesman said: "Having just arrived at Heathrow, Jenson made a small detour to Woking to say hello."It is understood that Button has moved to the top of McLaren's wish-list over the past couple of months, with Whitmarsh and his fellow directors impressed by his tenacity in regaining his form to round off the season with two outstanding drives in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.However, Niki Lauda, who won the last of his three world championships with McLaren in 1984, and was paired there with Prost for two years, believes that Button would be best served in the long run by continuing to negotiate with Brawn. "One of the problems faced by drivers today is that there is generally less money around in the business than there was," he said. "So if I was Jenson, I would try to stay with Brawn even if Ross might pay him slightly less than McLaren. Of course, if McLaren are going to pay a lot more, then he must go."But the other thing he must consider is that it is Lewis's team and he needs to be sure he has the confidence to deal with this. It is a tough decision for Jenson and he needs to think it through carefully."McLaren also played host to Raikkonen on Wednesday when the 2007 world champion visited their base with his managers, David and Steve Robertson. The Robertsons – father and son – have an impressive reputation as negotiators, having not only secured Raikkonen an income of around £27m from Ferrari in 2008 but also cleverly inserted a clause in his contract whereby Ferrari were obliged to exercise their option to keep him in 2010 if he scored a certain number of championship points by the middle of 2008.That led to the current situation whereby Ferrari have chosen to pay off Raikkonen's contract for a figure believed to be between £15 and £17m to make room for Alonso. Raikkonen previously drove for McLaren from 2002-06.If Button should eventually join McLaren he would do so on equal footing to Hamilton as the team have always given absolute parity of equipment to their drivers and both would be permitted to race unfettered for grand prix wins and the world championship.Heidfeld, who was a McLaren test driver in the late 1990s, and the incumbent Heikki Kovalainen are also under consideration as potential candidates for the seat alongside Hamilton, although very much as outsiders.Formula OneJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

McLaren's 'epic history' lures Button

• 'It feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it,' says Button• World champion praises 'wonderfully gifted' HamiltonThere is no mystery as to why Jenson Button decided to sign for McLaren to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton. A quick stroll down the central gallery at the team's headquarters near Woking, between ranks of classic racing cars that helped build a reputation second only to Ferrari, might not have clinched the deal but it certainly made the 2009 world champion think."You can't help but be affected by this team's phenomenal history," said Button today after finalising a three-year-deal. "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 One – 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. Then there's the team's epic history, the trophy cabinets seem to stretch for miles."Button said of his new team-mate: "It's 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 One driver. There's plenty we can learn from each other."This mood of delight was shared by Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal who joined the organisation in 1989, the second and final season of the partnership between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. A battle-hardened veteran of the pit wall, Whitmarsh knows that McLaren has always thrived when two world class drivers go against each other.The unprecedented prospect of two British McLaren drivers battling for victory in their home grand prix further heightens the anticipation surrounding the British grand prix on a day that Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, who originally hoped to stage the race at Donington Park from 2010, was put into administration."Everybody at McLaren is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team," said Whitmarsh. "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 One."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."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 McLaren but his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season."On leaving Brawn Button said: "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."Jenson ButtonMcLarenLewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

F1 champ Button teams up with Hamilton at McLaren

Formula One champion Jenson Button signed with McLaren on Wednesday to partner with Lewis Hamilton, giving the English team a potent lineup for next season