Following Fernando Alonso’s shock announcement that he will skip the Monaco Grand Prix and race in the Indy 500, reports say that Jenson Button will fill his vacant seat at McLaren.
McLaren’s F1 team has yet to announce Alonso’s replacement but BBC Sport says 37-year-old Button is the outfit’s only real option.
Last year, he signed a contract with the team where he would skip the 2017 season and have the option of racing in the 2018 season. Button’s contract also committed him to replace any McLaren driver that couldn’t take part in a race.
Speaking about the decision of selecting Alonso’s replacement, McLaren executive director Zak Brown refused to mention names but said conversations are being held.
“We have a few different options, we will state who that is when we know. Eric [Boullier], who runs the F1 team, is ultimately responsible for making the recommendation as to what driver should go in the car and I think he will be here at the weekend so I can save questions for him, he is working on it.
“I wouldn’t want to share the conversations he has had with whom,” Brown said.
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