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...  

Toyota surprises with profit, boosts forecast

Toyota Motor Corp reported a surprise profit Thursday and cut its projected red ink for the year by half, adding to growing evidence that carmakers are starting to recover from the deepest industry downturn in years.

Reshuffle at McLaren to ensure driver equality

Jenson Button is to benefit from a behind-the-scenes reshuffle at McLaren as the team strive to guarantee equality between their two drivers.

Schumacher should fear Alonso say Ferrari

Michael Schumacher could rue his departure from Ferrari because Fernando Alonso is perfectly placed to beat the German to the world title again, team boss Stefano Domenicali said today.

McLaren confirm signing of Button

• World champion agrees £5.5m-a-year deal• Leaving Brawn 'a difficult decision', says EnglishmanJenson Button has finally signed a long-term contract to drive for the McLaren team alongside Lewis Hamilton in what will be only the second all-British world champion line-up in Formula One history.Button's move was revealed by the Guardian last week, and the 2009 title holder finally agreed terms after a lengthy meeting last night at the McLaren squad's Woking headquarters.The £5.5m-a-year deal sees the 29-year-old Englishman turning his back on the Brawn team only two days after they were purchased by Mercedes-Benz."It's always a difficult decision to leave a team when you've been there for so long," said Button. "But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it's about challenging yourself."So, although I won the world championship with Brawn GP last year, and I'll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges."Hamilton welcomed Button's arrival. "It's fantastic news that Jenson has decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and I'm looking forward to working with him and our engineers to make sure we kick off the 2010 season with a car that's competitive enough to win the world championship."Hamilton, McLaren's 2008 world champion, added: "I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together. We both really want our team to succeed."Although we'll be pushing each other hard, I'm sure we'll very quickly establish a great working relationship."He's an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience. I think we'll complement each other very well."The McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said Button's move from Brawn "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 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season," Whitmarsh said."Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team."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. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery."Hamilton praised Heikki Kovalainen, his team-mate of the last two seasons who must now find a drive elsewhere. The Englishman said: "I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend Heikki Kovalainen, who is one of the nicest human beings I've ever met."Whitmarsh praised Kovalainen for his role at the team over the past two seasons. "I want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years," said Whitmarsh. "As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we'll all miss considerably."It goes without saying that we wish him all the best for next season, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010."Jenson ButtonLewis HamiltonMcLarenFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hulkenberg all set for F1

Reigning GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg will be furthering his Formula One career next season when he moves up from his reserve driver status at Williams to become a Grand Prix racer...