McLaren’s Ron Dennis has hailed their 2015 driver line-up, consisting of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, as “the best on the grid”.
During a media event on Thursday, the British team unveiled the pairing for 2015 and beyond after confirming that both have signed multi-year contracts.
It’s believed Alonso has signed for three years, though his contract contains performance clauses which would allow him to leave earlier if McLaren-Honda fail to deliver.
Button meanwhile has signed a two year deal, rather than a single season which many had expected – something Dennis confirmed he pushed for.
“I am absolutely delighted to be on the threshold of leading McLaren-Honda to a new era of partnership, and I speak on behalf of all at McLaren when I say that. I am equally confident that our colleagues at Honda share that determination and passion to win,” said Dennis on Thursday.
“As regards drivers, McLaren’s policy has always been to assemble the strongest line-up possible, and in Fernando and Jenson I firmly believe that is exactly what we have.
“We signed Fernando a little while ago, but we decided not to announce the fact until we had also re-signed Jenson as his team-mate. For many reasons our negotiations with Jenson took quite a long time, but, now that they have been concluded, we are confident that our collaboration with him will continue to thrive in the future every bit as well as it has in the past.”
He firmly believes the experienced pairing, which have started a combined 500 races, is the best in the sport at present.
“I can safely say, therefore, that we now have by an order of magnitude the best driver line-up of any current Formula 1 team.
“Finally, I want to thank and pay tribute to Kevin, who has done a great job this season and will continue to be an integral part of our team. He will be our test, reserve and third driver, and remains an excellent prospect for the future.”
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