Button 'probably the best I've worked with' - Alonso

Fernando Alonso says Jenson Button "is probably the best I have worked with" as a team-mate, with the British driver's future unclear.

Button is out of contract at the end of the season and McLaren is expected to promote Stoffel Vandoorne alongside Alonso in 2017, with the Belgian currently racing in Japan's Super Formula. The 2009 world champion has been linked with a move to Williams, but Alonso is full of praise for his current team-mate.

Asked if Button is pushing him as hard as any team-mate, Alonso replied: "Yes…

"He is a very experienced driver and he is helping the team a lot with feedback and developing the car. As a driver he is very complete and is probably the best I have worked with."

Button's links to Williams were strengthened by Felipe Massa's retirement announcement on Thursday, with Alonso admitting he was surprised to see his former Ferrari team-mate leaving F1.

"A little bit… I didn’t know for sure what he was doing next year but even if he was retiring I was expecting the announcement later in the season. His decision, he is a great man, I was team-mate with him for four years and I know him very well, so I wish him the best for the future and for his family."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently stated he would find Vandoorne a seat in F1 if McLaren is "crazy" enough to not give the Belgian a drive in 2017.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.