Button confirmed as McLaren driver

Fifth Gear  Wednesday 18 November 2009

Jenson Button has been confirmed as a McLaren driver for the 2010 Formula One championship.

The exact details of his contract are yet to be announced, but it is expected that he has signed a three year deal with the Woking-based firm on a salary of around £6m a year – double the amount he earned last year with the Brawn GP team.

Button said the decision was "difficult" but added, "Life is about challenges. Most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself".

For Button, the move to McLaren marks the end of seven years with his previous team which was known as BAR when he joined in 2003 before becoming Honda and then when Honda pulled out of the sport at the end of 2008, the team re-emerged as Brawn GP for the 2009 season.

Button will join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, making them the first team to start a season with the last two world champions. It will also be the first pairing of two British world champions since Graham Hill joined Jim Clark at Lotus in 1968.