Red Bull’s Mark Webber is only contracted for 2012 and the Milton Keynes-based
team, homing in on a second successive world championship double, are known
admirers of Button.
Ferrari, for whom Felipe Massa will also be out of contract next year, are
also keen on the 2009 world champion who, like a fine wine, is maturing with
age.
It is, however, unlikely McLaren will be so far off the pace at the start of
next season with the technical regulations for 2012 remaining much the same
as 2011 and the car basically an evolution of this year’s machine which is
now very competitive.
Telegraph Sport understands that the will on both sides is to agree a
long-term deal which will suit both parties.
Button will seek to cut down the number of PR days and sponsorship activities
he must perform — McLaren are known to work their drivers harder than any
other team — while the team, whose business model is sponsor-driven, will
seek to strike the right balance between his salary and their commercial
revenues. Button is believed to earn around £6 million per year at present.
Lewis
Hamilton, whose McLaren contract ends at the end of 2012, and who
like Button objects to the amount of PR time he is contracted to, is
negotiating along similar lines.
Meanwhile, Whitmarsh has assured McLaren fans the team will continue to push
and try to win the remaining seven races this year — rather than throw all
their resources into 2012 — despite Red Bull’s and Sebastian Vettel’s
overwhelming lead in both championships.
“The fans expect it,” Whitmarsh said. “If Ferrari or particularly McLaren say
that we are going to freewheel now then I don’t think that is the right
message. The fans deserve a stronger battle than that. The championship
looks pretty ambitious but we have got to be positive.
“You review that emphasis all the time of course. In Belgium we had six
performance modifications on the car. One of those came out of the
development programme for next years’ car.
“We are always going to try and steal things form next year’s car. It is not a
line you draw saying this is purely this year and on the other side of that
line it is purely next year. I want the car to be quicker for the next race
and the race after that. We are going to keep pushing.”