Jenson Button had a pretty cr*ppy weekend at his home Grand Prix. He had an issue with his car in qualifying that meant he couldn't get past the first session and then finished outside of the points in 12th. And the Britain still doesn't know if he'll be racing for McLaren next season.
The issue of whether Button will get a new deal for the new season has been ongoing at this time of the season for the last few years and once again the future of the former world champion is up in the air.
McLaren chairman Ron Dennis revealed that nothing would be decided till at least September and the Italian Grand Prix telling the BBC, "We're not even talking about it until Monza. Why should we decide now?"
The McLaren team have previously made mistakes with their driver line-ups in recent years. They Sergio Perez in for a year but replaced him for young up and comer Kevin Magnussen, who had a big reputation, however that move back fired and he was replaced after a year by Fernando Alonso.
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Those moves might put the underperforming team off replacing one of their veterans again until absolutely necessary. If the team did decide to replace Button then it would be with reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne who took Alonso's seat in Bahrain earlier this season when the Spaniard was injured.
Vandoorne is rated as the best driver without an F1 seat right now and has been touted as a Renault driver for next season however, speaking back in May, Dennis suggested that any teams eyeing the Belgian up should look elsewhere saying, "Any team that imagines they may be able to poach him is very much mistaken. You may rest assured Stoffel is not for sale."
If Button isn't signed for next season, or decides himself against staying with the team, then there may be a seat back at Williams for him as they consider dropping Felipe Massa. Button started his F1 career at Williams in 2000.
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One this is for certain, McLaren really need to get back to the upper echelons of the sport otherwise they risk losing two former world champs in the next two seasons.
(h/t BBC Sport)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Formula One, mclaren, Fernando Alonso