The former world champion Jenson Button is to stay on at McLaren next season, ending speculation of pending retirement from Formula One racing.
Team chief Ron Dennis announced "McLaren-Honda is happy to confirm that Jenson Button will race for the team in 2016,"
British formula one driver Jenson Button Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"Jenson and I have been discussing his plans in private for the past few weeks, and the fact that our talks have led to today's announcement is very pleasing to both of us and will delight and motivate all at McLaren-Honda."
The 35-year-old British driver's Formula One future was the subject of intense scrutiny at last week's Japanese Grand Prix after he suggested he had fallen out of love with the sport.
Button has scored only six points this season from 13 races.
But those concerns appear to have been settled in the past few days with Dennis saying he finds Button "as enthusiastic and as committed and as focused as ever".
"I am extremely pleased. Jenson is the most-experienced driver currently racing in Formula One and, next season, he is due to become only the third driver (after Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher) in Formula One history to pass the milestone of 300 Grands Prix," Dennis said.
Button, world champion in 2009, admitted he had been seriously mulling his future in the sport before deciding to stay on with the British team for another year.
"Over the past month or so, I have done quite a lot of thinking, and it is no secret that I was at one point in two minds about my future," he said.
"But I have been a McLaren driver for six seasons now and, in that time, I have got to know Ron very well.
"He and I have had some very good chats these past few weeks and, during those chats, it has become clear to me that Ron is both utterly determined and uniquely equipped to lead our team through its current difficulties to great successes in the future."
There was no mention in the statement of Button's team-mate Fernando Alonso.
The Spanish two-time world champion is contracted to the team until the end of 2017, but his future is in doubt after he said following the Japanese Grand Prix that he "didn't know" whether he would be racing in F1 next year.
He later put out a series of Tweets which seemed to reconfirm his commitment to the team.
