Jenson Button has hinted news about his future might be just a “few weeks” away.
Speaking in Singapore, the Briton was responding to speculation that while McLaren wants to keep him for 2016, the two sides are having discussions about money. “I’ve had a couple of very good chats with Ron (Dennis),” Button told the local Straits Times. It is also rumoured that the 35-year-old is genuinely considering a move away from F1, with a future at Le Mans – or even as a television presenter or commentator – on the cards. “I’ve thought about lots,” Button admitted. “There’s still a lot to go through. Nothing is set in stone.”
But he said that if he does stay in F1, it will be with McLaren-Honda, despite the team’s woeful current performance. “You never know. Turnarounds can happen quite fast in formula one,” said Button. “Maybe as soon as next year, McLaren will be up there again.”
Another big paddock conversation this weekend is the haze above Singapore’s skies, and whether it will affect the grand prix action. Button said visibility is not the biggest concern. “It’s hot, it’s humid and you’re out of breath a little all the time,” he told Channel NewsAsia. “So you’re trying to take gulps of air in and we just hope that it’s not going to cause us any issues in the race.”
Oskari Saari, the pundit for Finnish television MTV admitted he has never experienced an air quality problem of this type. “It’s pretty dark here and you can smell the smoke,” he said. “Today I was out for an hour or so and my eyes started to sting a little.” A recent rain storm, however, eased the problem somewhat and a change of wind on Friday is expected to blow even more of the smoke away. “It is not too bad at the moment,” Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen told De Telegraaf newspaper. “I don’t notice it too much.”
