McLaren still hopes to persuade Jenson Button to remain with the team in 2016, according to chief operating officer Jonathan Neale.
Button's future has become the centre of speculation once again following reports in British newspapers claiming the 2009 world champion would announce his retirement from F1 this weekend. However, Button declined to reveal his plans for next season when questioned on Thursday.
With Button saying he is "in good talks" with McLaren, Neale says the team remains keen to keep hold of the 35-year-old.
"I get the sense from the media there was a big anti-climax yesterday and there was a lot of discussion about where Jenson was at," Neale said. "Jenson is a fantastic guy, a world champion and a big part of the family at Honda and McLaren – he’s been with us for six seasons – and we’re contracted with him, we want him to stay, we like him very much.
"But if your driver doesn’t really want to be in the seat we have to respect that. I really hope that we have done enough between us to continue those discussions with him and have the confidence to have him with us, and that’s what we’d like."
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