Jenson Button: ‘other teams are trying to sign me’

Formula 1's world champion-elect Jenson Button has admitted ahead of the final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi this Sunday that he has been approached by rival teams who are looking to prise him away from Brawn GP. Last week McLaren refused to rule out making a bid to unite Button with their current number one, Lewis Hamilton, but Brawn GP - the constructors' champions elect themselves - stated over the weekend that they were "99 per cent certain" they could arrange a deal that would make Button stay with them.

Now however Button has broken cover. "I don't want talk about the future at this point," the 29-year-old said yesterday. "I've been approached by teams in F1, but I can't talk about who or what's been said because that's confidential. I wanted to concentrate on this season; I wanted to win the championship this year and then we could start discussions. There was not a perfect time over the last few months to discuss the future because I didn't want to think about anything else but racing this season."

Button continued: "My aim is to be racing in a car next year that I can win races in and the championship. That's always been the key for me; the most important thing as a driver and that's my aim for 2010." He even hinted that driving alongside a driver of Hamilton's calibre would be a welcome challenge. "There's no one on this grid I wouldn't go up against. That's the challenge of Formula One. That's why we love it." As the press began to feverishly speculate that this was an explicit reference to his predecessor as world champion, he backtracked slightly. "But I'm not talking about Lewis; I'm talking generally."

What thing that appears fairly certain is that he will not be racing alongside Rubens Barrichello next season. The Brazilian looks likely to perform a straight swap with Nico Rosberg at Williams; the German driver announced this week that he was leaving the team and the gossip in Abu Dhabi was that Brawn was his destination. Rosberg is seventh in the drivers' standings with 34.5 points, his team's entire tally.