Posted on 7th September 2016
Shortly after qualifying for the Italian GP on Saturday afternoon, we heard the news that many F1 fans and many Button fans like myself have been dreading; Jenson Button will not be racing for the McLaren-Honda team next year and is being replaced by 2015 GP2 Champion Stoffel Vandoorne.
Needless to say that I predicted this scenario two years ago on Pit Stop Radio live on one of their shows and while my heart breaks into two, it also fills with pride. Now you are all probably all wondering why I am not crying, upset, angry or even frustrated that this happening to the driver I have actively supported since he started his F1 career driving for Williams in 2000 right?
Let me explain what my thoughts are on this situation as a die-heart Button fan. Firstly, Button is the most experienced driver on the grid, he is a world champion and that is not a bad thing. Button has driven for many teams in his career such as Williams, Benetton-Renault, Renault, BAR-Honda, Honda and Brawn GP and has gone through up and downs in his career, but you don't get to be world champion for nothing.
Button has demonstrated throughout his career many times that when he has the car underneath him, he can deliver just as good as anyone else out there; if not better.
Alongside this, his technical input, his experience of setting up a car and leading and pushing any team to extract more pace and performance out of the car is second to none (just ask Honda who he has a great relationship with!).
Let's just flip the coin here though. Even though this does hold many advantages for Button and McLaren, you have to remember that Button is the oldest driver on the grid and he isn't going to be around forever sadly and at some point, Button would have been replaced by a younger driver even if he stayed at McLaren or went to Williams to replace Felipe Massa for a season. So he announced the retirement himself instead.
That my friends takes a lot of courage to do; even though in your heart you will always want to race because it is so ingrained in your blood and that is what you have wanted to do your entire life. But let us not forget that if Button is needed, he will for sure step into that role as he will be playing an active role with the team during 2017.
This then leads me onto my next point; McLaren always promote drivers in their young driver programme, just ask Lewis Hamilton. Vandoorne has shown in the past two years why he deserves to be promoted by McLaren with his speed, commitment and also his professional attitude and approach to racing.
In case you did not know, I am a big fan of Vandoorne and have been actively following his progress. Vandoorne clearly has what it takes to be in Formula One and to be successful in the process.
And let's face it, you cannot deny that Stoffel doesn't deserve to be promoted after winning the GP2 title in the manner and fashion that he did. With many last season arguing that Vandoorne should have replaced Button for this season, I can understand your point.
I just feel that even though Vandoorne would have done a superb job if he did indeed replaced Button this season, I believe that McLaren made the right choice sticking with Button as with Honda now starting to show signs of slow progress and extracting pace out of their engine unit, they need continuity in order to remain on the level of progression that they are at currently and that gives Vandoorne a better chance to perform when he does enter the sport in a full time role as a driver.
You cannot argue against the fact that when Stoffel replaced Fernando for the Bahrain GP and scored a point on his debut (which many drivers could only dream about doing), this then for me highlighted that Vandoorne needs to be in the sport as soon as possible.
So while I am happy that my new protégé Stoffel is finally getting the break that he deserves, you have to remember that he will be compared in his first season not only to a two time world champion in Alonso but also alongside Button as well and they are big shoes to fill but Vandoorne has more than enough to be on an even par with both drivers but needs time to develop and integrate into the team as rookie as well during the 2017 season.
Let us not forget that Fernando Alonso is under contract with the team until the end of the 2017 season. With McLaren and Alonso's history (less said the better), it is clear that second time around; there is a mutual understanding and respect for each other (even though Alonso does tend to have outbursts on team radio sometimes).
With both parties happy to remain with each other for the time being, if McLaren wish to terminate Alonso's contract in order to keep Button for 2017, it would be at a great financial cost to buy the Spaniard out of his contract and could cause substantial consequences for the team too legally.
I would like to point out that even though I respect Alonso as a driver and his achievements in the sport, Alonso just like Button is going to find himself in the same predicament next season. So why did McLaren decide to keep Alonso instead of Button?
I firmly believe that this is to do with Alonso alongside his manager Flavio Britatore (Jenson's ex boss) negotiated a contract when he signed for the team that has a substantial financial compensation package if both parties wanted to get out of their arrangement before the expiration date.
If anything Button in my opinion should have stayed rather than Alonso for 2017. Button has more experience with the team and with Honda which could be extremely useful in order to help the team more forward and build for the future while also being a positive role model for Vandoorne in his rookie season as well and helping him settle into the team as quickly as possible.
That is not to say that Alonso isn't capable of all that, but Alonso and his attitude to racing sometimes is debatable and we have seen many times in the past when Alonso doesn't get his own way (remember when Hamilton outperformed Alonso in 2007), he throws his dummy out of the pram and starts to show signs of aggression, passion and in my opinion rudeness that doesn't benefit anyone who is alongside him working in that situation.
So how would Vandoorne benefit from that if the same was to happen to Alonso again in 2017, like with Hamilton in 2007? There would be no benefit. If roles were reversed, Button would take to the challenge like water off a duck's back, encourage Vandoorne while also fight back just as hard and everyone in the McLaren camp would relish this environment instead of dreading it.
But hey that's the choice McLaren has made for the 2017 and who are we to judge right?
Brings me onto my next point- I don't know if you know this fact but Jenson actually brings more financially to McLaren with regards to sponsorship from firms such as Chandon and Michael Kors. If Button were to just fully retire now, this could jeopardize everything McLaren have tried to achieve since Santander left as a major sponsor in 2011.
And with money being as tight as anything in Formula One right now, McLaren cannot afford to burn bridges that they have fought so hard to gain over the past few years and need this in order to grow and progress in the next few seasons and also in the future.
And now the last thing to remind you about is if Button is contracted to McLaren in a brand new role as ambassador, they will have a say on what Jenson does in the future. For example, if Button did want to go to Williams to take over Felipe Massa's seat or even if he wanted to go into Formula E or the WEC; McLaren would have to find the team for him instead of Button himself.
This would be to stop him potentially taking valuable and sensitive information into another F1 team or even into another series which may nor may not help McLaren progress during the next few seasons in order to get back to winning races and championships. But that is a risk that the firm are not willing to take and Button will excel in his new role positively and actively while also in the manner and grace that we have seen him approach his racing career as well.
All that is left for me to say everyone is what while I understand the reasons why McLaren and even Button himself has stepped down from racing in 2017, even though my heart broke into two when I heard the news at work from my colleague.
Button has informed us all last Saturday of the decision he has taken due to “wanting a rest†from Formula One and who could blame him? Jenson has a horrible time the past few years with the death of his beloved father John who is very much remembered and missed fondly by the F1 community, the breakdown of his marriage to his wife alongside McLaren slowly slipping down the order.
There is only so much a person can take and sometimes you have to make a hard decision in life that is either needed or that you are forced to make. Sometimes a little bit of pain in the short term can help in the long term and that might be the case for Button.
Ultimately while Button stepping down from racing is sad for the Formula One community, we have Vandoorne who will have a lot to prove when he makes his debut as a rookie next season and has to fill the shoes of a driver who was the 2009 World Champion, a driver who has loyally served his sport well as a positive role model to many of his peers and also to fans like myself who have grew up with one of Britain's best Formula One drivers.
If it is for the reasons I have suggested in this article that Button has decided to step away from racing next season, we will never ever know, the only person that knows the answer to that is Button himself. And for me, as long as Jenson is happy, then I am happy.
Sarah Jones-@jonesy_laaa
