Formula One’s Jenson Button re-signs with McLaren

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McLaren Mercedes quashed any speculation that former Formula One champion Jenson Button might drive elsewhere next year by announcing Wednesday that it re-signed Button to a new multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed.

‘I’ve made no secret of my ambition to continue winning races and world championships, and I fully believe this is the place where I can achieve those aims,’ Button, 31, said in a statement.

The Englishman stunned the Formula One world in 2009 when, driving for the Brawn GP team, he outdueled the powerful McLaren and Ferrari teams to win the world championship.

The next year Button himself moved to McLaren Mercedes, where he joined 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton.

This year Button has won two races (in Canada and Hungary) and is second in the title standings behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel as the series prepares for the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

But Vettel has all but clinched his second consecutive championship with a commanding 124-point lead over Button even though there are five races left on the F1 schedule. Vettel has won nine of the 14 races so far this season.

-- Jim Peltz