McLaren boss says Button not racing for place in 2015 team

Eric BoullierLondon, Oct 15 : McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has said that their racer Jenson Button is not racing for a place in the 2015 team despite uncertainty over the team's next season's line-up.

Boullier said that he would name the 2015 pairing before the end of the season with the futures of drivers Button and Kevin Magnussen under threat. Button produced his best performances of the season in the last two races.

Boullier said that they do not need Button to deliver an extra job on track to save his job, adding that they know the value of Button and know that he is a world champion-class driver and has been a world champion already, The BBC reported.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso has been linked with McLaren with the Spaniard set to leave Ferrari at the end of the season. Button has scored nearly double Magnussen's points this year, finishing fifth in Japan and fourth in Russia in his last two races.

But the Dane's qualifying pace has impressed and he has started ahead of his teammate nine times to Button's seven in his rookie season. Boullier said that he understands that Button might obviously not feel comfortable and obviously he would be concerned about his future.

Boullier added that he is in charge of McLaren Racing and they have to build the best for the team. He said that drivers are obviously very important in the discussion and Button is more than considered to stay with them for the long term.

But, Boullier added that they are still investigating what they want to do with their driver line-up , once they have all the data in their hands. (ANI)