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...  

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

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

McLaren opts for Button over Raikkonen

Formula One champion Jenson Button signed with McLaren on Wednesday to partner with Lewis Hamilton, giving the English racing team a potent lineup for next season featuring the most recent title holders.

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

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