Jenson Button offers some sound advice to Fernando Alonso

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Former McLaren driver Jenson Button knows what it's all about to race in the mid-field with no hope of winning, which is the current fate of his ex-team mate Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard has done his best to save face and keep his spirits up despite another season of painful under-performance.

However, his claims of McLaren making progress or promises of a better tomorrow are convincing no one but himself, but the two-time world champion is pressing on through thick and thin.

"He's clearly still enjoying it, but as a double world champion, finishing ninth and being happy is not really something you want to get used to, Button told Sky Sports after Alonso's gritty run in the points at Silverstone.

"I don't know what he's going to do next year, but I think they need a big turnaround and he has to have great belief in them to succeed next year, or he's going to go."

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Button himself threw in the towel at the end of 2016, consumed by the persistence of McLaren's predicament. Having been there and done that, he knows all about the sense of hindrance and disappointment that emerge when a driver is running well down the order.

The 2009 world champion believes its perhaps time for his former team mate to move on from Grand Prix racing.

"I know how frustrated he is, I can hear it on the radio," Button added.

"He's got ambitions to win the Indy 500 and do the 'Triple Crown' and for me, I feel that's a good option for him next year.

"From a drivers' point of view who's got experience for this, he's got to do something else."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.