Jenson Button Set to Sign New 3-Year McLaren Deal

McLaren could announce a new £12 million-per-year agreement with Jenson Button next week, according to Kevin Eason of The Times (subscription required).

Button is yet to commit to his seat for next season, but Eason highlights McLaren’s forthcoming 50-year anniversary celebrations, predicting the two events will merge:

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The team mark 50 years in Formula One next week and an announcement that Button's £12 million-a-year contract has been renewed could coincide with the celebrations. The deal is likely to be for three years, taking Button to his 36th birthday.

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Former world champion Button has cut a frustrated figure at times this season, currently sitting ninth in the standings on 47 points—largely due to the poor performance of the McLaren car.

Sergio Perez has also struggled down in 12th place, and team principal Martin Whitmarsh recently confessed via ESPNF1 that the team owes the pair a better car.

"Let's just say both drivers have done a good job here and deserve a better McLaren next year and that's what we aim to give them," Whitmarsh said.

Button cut a relaxed figure as he walked around Spa at the weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, where he achieved a sixth-placed finish.

Having been mildly linked with a move away from McLaren, Button recently said he plans to see out his future with the team, as reported by Ian Parkes of the Press Association, via the Daily Mail.

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It's obviously not going our way at the moment, but it will, and I'm very happy here, I feel good here, and I still feel we can achieve so much together.

I'll be here for my future in Formula One.

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Button also said a contract was ready to be signed, hinting that all it needs is his signature to confirm his stay with the McLaren setup.

He stated: "I think I have a contract for next year but I don't think it has a signature on it yet! But I really want to be here next year."

Button is in the comfortable position of knowing, as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, that he is in control of his own future.

Should he choose to leave McLaren he would have no shortage of places to go, but the anticipated three-year deal worth a total of £36 million is expected to be his last before he exits the sport.