Stoffel Vandoorne could replace Jenson Button at McLaren next season, according to the BBC.
The 24-year-old replaced the injured Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix and scored a point on his début – bagging McLaren’s first of the season at the same time. It is because of this feat – and the fact that he dominated last season’s GP2 championship – that Vandoorne is the hottest prospect in Formula One currently without a race seat.
In an interview with BBC 5Live F1, McLaren chairman Ron Dennis described the Belgian as “an integral part” of McLaren’s future and warned their rivals that “any team that imagines they may be able to poach him is very much mistaken”.
Dennis also added that the team are not yet ready to finalise their driver line up.
Should the Woking-based team decide to promote Vandoorne to a permanent race seat, it is likely that it will be Jenson Button that is dropped. The 36-year-old Brit has been with McLaren since 2010 but is out of contract at the end of the season – unlike his teammate Fernando Alonso who is signed up until the end of 2017.
It is believed that Button could extend his 17-year career by replacing Felipe Massa at Williams – the team he started his career at in 2000. Massa is also out of contract at the end of the season and it is looking increasingly unlikely that he will be offered a new deal with the nine-times constructors champions.
