Ron Dennis reveals spark for Jenson Button U-turn as McLaren turn on the diplomacy
Button says he has a "good feeling" about his partnership with Alonso
Friday 12 December 2014 11:43, UK
Ron Dennis has revealed that his tete-a-tete with Jenson Button after the Abu Dhabi GP was central to his decision to offer the former world champion an unexpected reprieve.
With Fernando Alonso’s return to the team an open secret in the paddock from October onwards, Button’s demeanour throughout the final month of the season was that of a condemned man. Despite his superior form and points-scoring, few believed that McLaren wouldn't retain the younger and cheaper Kevin Magnussen - including, it seemed, Button himself.
Button’s reprieve, after weeks of deliberations and uncertainty, was only finalised on Wednesday evening, just hours before he was unveiled alongside Alonso, when he signed a two-year contract after agreeing to take a substantial pay-cut.
But while Button’s willingness to make a financial sacrifice – if, that is, signing a deal reputedly worth £8m a year can ever be described as a 'sacrifice' – sealed the deal, it appears that Dennis’ reputed preference for Magnussen over Button first began to shift when he sat down with the 2009 title winner in the immediate aftermath of the season finale.
“The content of the conversations Jenson and I had prior to me signing the contract was preceded by a conversation which took place after the Abu Dhabi race. He was a very different person, both then and last night, and my concerns faded,” Dennis told Sky Sports News HQ.
“There were very defined minuses [to re-signing Button] and we decided to address some of those issues and when I engaged with Jenson and went through those, some of them almost evaporated.
“The decision is mine and Jenson’s destiny is in his own hands. He will get equality and, l hope, a race-winning car.”
With Button made to wait, to his evident exasperation, for weeks on end before being told he would be retained, and Alonso not on speaking terms with Dennis when his previous stint at McLaren reached its acrimonious conclusion, there are now three fascinating intra-team relationships at play within the Woking camp. Each in their own significant way may prove decisive in the success - or otherwise - of what is essentially a rebirth for the team in 2015.
Relationship one: Button and Dennis’.
“We’ve been very clear and very transparent, as Ron would say, with each other. It’s the relationship I want, I don’t want anything going on behind the scenes, we want to work together closely and be very open with each other – that’s the only way we are going to have any chance of getting anywhere near Mercedes next season,” Button told SSNHQ.
Relationship two: Button and Alonso’s.
“Fernando is an exceptional talent. We’re both very straightforward, if we have an issue with each other we will speak to each other face-to-face, and that’s the most important thing you can have with a team-mate,” added Button.
“For many years, I’ve been asked who is the driver I would most like to partner and for many years I have said Fernando.”
A future career in the diplomatic corps surely awaits Jenson.
And last, but by no means least, there’s the giant elephant in the room which inevitably overshadowed Thursday’s announcement, the relationship between Dennis and Alonso itself. Expect every nuance of body language between the pair to be forensically examined by armchair psychologists in the year ahead.
In 2007, t
