Mumbai: A few days earlier news broke out that, McLaren driver Fernando Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix and will instead race at the Indy500. There were many speculations about who is going to replace Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Two names came out publicly, seventeen-year old Lando Norris and Formula 1 veteran Button. Now McLaren has put all the rumours to rest and announced that Button will race as a substitute for Alonso. Button, who plays a significant role in the McLaren family as their technical adviser, was signed as a reserve driver.
The 37-year old in a recent interview to the McLaren website said, “I’m thrilled to be making a one-off return to Formula 1 racing, and I couldn’t think of a better place to make that return than my adopted home Grand Prix: Monaco. I’ve won the race before, in 2009, and it’s one of my all-time favourite racetracks.”
The Monaco Grand Prix will be 306th Grand Prix start for Button, which makes him the third driver in Formula 1 history to race for more than 300 Grand Prix and win 15 times. But, things have changed quite a bit after his retirement, the rules have been altered and even the cars. Now they are more aerodynamic than earlier.
Button, who have never driven the McLaren-Honda MCL32, is excited about the Grand Prix. “I’ll drive the MCL32 around Monaco in the McLaren sim beforehand, and I reckon I’ll be ready for the race after doing that,” he said.
Everyone knows, by bringing in Button for one race isn’t going to gain the momentum in the championship but, for Button’s fans this is a moment to rejoice. Let’s hope Honda doesn’t ruins that for us.
(With inputs from The Guardian and Formula 1)