World champion Jenson Button has signed a deal to drive for McLaren from next season which will see him form a blockbuster all-British line-up with Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren announced the signing of the 29-year-old on a multi-year deal early on Wednesday afternoon, the confirmation coming less than a month after Button clinched his first world title with the Brawn team.
Button and his management had been in contract talks with Brawn – which this week was taken over by Mercedes – since the Abu Dhabi season finale but those discussions reached an impasse with the parties failing to agree financial terms on a new deal.
That stalemate led the Briton to consider his options and, after touring McLaren’s Woking factory last week, he has now opted to cut his ties with his long-time Brackley home and race alongside his predecessor as world champion, Hamilton.
Button admitted it had been a tough decision to leave the team he initially joined when it was known as BAR 2003 – but says he wanted to set himself a new challenge on the back of his title success.
The Englishman said it was McLaren's rich F1 history, technical capabilities and ambition to win that convinced him to jump ship.
"It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long," Button said in a statement.
"But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself. So, although I won the World Championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges.
“So that’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
"You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history.
"I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.
“When I visited the McLaren Technology Centre earlier this month, it wasn’t simply the technical resources and the incredible standards of excellence that impressed me.
"No, I was equally struck by the ambition, the motivation and the winning spirit that flow through everybody there.”
Button’s McLaren move – which will see him take the coveted #1 away from Mercedes GP to its former exclusive partner’s operation in 2010 – sets up the prospect of two of F1's biggest stars going head-to-head for the sport’s top honours in the same team.
And although McLaren fell short of a title challenge in 2009, Button is confident that he will have the chance to defend his world title.
“While I’m fully aware that there’s a tremendous amount of hard work ahead, I’m absolutely certain that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be able to deliver where it matters: on track,” he said.
“I’m already looking forward to starting work with the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre as we begin our preparations for the 2010 season – and the defence of my world championship.
“This is a team that always goes racing to win, and I’m looking forward to being part of that.”
And while he has opted to turn his back on Brawn, Button says he will never forget what the team achieved this year and wishes his former colleagues well for its new era under Mercedes ownership.
“Last but very far from least, I want to say that the 2009 season will always have a special place in my memory, and I’m absolutely sure that everybody at Brawn GP who worked so hard to achieve our World Championship successes feels exactly the same way about it,” Button added.
“Equally, I want to thank the guys at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, without whom we’d never have been as competitive as we were. I’m so pleased that I’ll still be using their engines in 2010 and beyond.
"So I wish all my old Brawn GP mates well in their new Mercedes Grand Prix adventure, just as I hope they’ll wish me well in my new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes adventure.”
The signing of Button leaves Heikki Kovalainen looking for a new drive for 2010 following two largely disappointing seasons at Woking.
Earlier on Wednesday Kimi Raikkonen’s manager revealed the former world champion – who at one stage had appeared the front-runner for the McLaren seat – was out of the running for the drive and would now take a sabbatical from F1 in 2010.
The former Brawn team may now turn to BMW refugee Nick Heidfeld to replace the outgoing Button, with Nico Rosberg already understood to have signed a contract to drive at the Brackley squad.