It was announced yesterday that Jenson Button has signed to partner Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season.
It follows news that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will not be driving in F1 next season, but to compete in the WRC (World Rally Championship).
Button, 29, left former team Brawn, for whom he won the title, described it as a “difficult decision.” But with new team McLaren, he will have tough competition from his teammate. Hamilton is regarded as the fastest driver in F1, having achieved a great amount in a short space of time.
Brawn GP, who have recently been taken over by Mercedes, made Button an offer that he did not deem acceptable. He took a pay cut to £3m to have a seat with Brawn at the start of last season, due to Brawn living on a shoestring budget. But McLaren, with all their power and money, persuaded Button to switch sides.
Button has said that the move was not about money, but about having a competitive car next season. But I feel it may be used as a scapegoat as his demands have risen. Winning the title has gone to his head and has now become drunk with power.
In other Formula 1 news, Kimi Raikkonen has taken a year out of F1 to focus on rallying. He made a guest appearance during his home rally in Finland this year, having set competitive times before crashing out. He failed to secure a driving seat with McLaren next season after making way for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari at the end of this season. McLaren was the only team that he had set his sights on as they were the only competitive team he thought he could win the title with. The 30-year-old attempted to sign a deal with McLaren, but his high salary demands meant McLaren could not afford to keep him.
A number of teams were interested in signing Raikkonen, but he was not interested as he saw no other team being competitive enough. He hopes to return to F1 in 2011, but again he may face the same fate to not finding a competitive enough team. Hopefully he does as he still has a lot of talent still left in him
Next year the driver’s line up is constantly changing with many rumours surrounding the pit-lane, it looks set to be an exciting season. Will it be an English 1-2 at McLaren, or will Ferrari make a comeback? We will find out in 12 months.
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