Button reveals he “almost” signed for Ferrari for 2013 F1 season

Jenson Button has revealed that he nearly made the switch from McLaren to rivals Ferrari for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

The 2009 world champion held talks with Ferrari about a possible move for 2013 and even had a contract lined up before he ultimately decided to remain with McLaren.

Button ended up being partnered by Sergio Perez at the Woking squad for 2013 following Lewis Hamilton’s shock departure to Mercedes, while Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa continued to drive at Ferrari.

“Every driver would love to race for Ferrari at some point,” Button said in an interview with Motorsport News.

“There’s just something about that team, even this year [2020] it’s tough for them and tough for motorsport fans to see them where they are, but maybe they needed this to come back stronger.

“But I would love to have raced for Ferrari and there was a good possibility sort of eight years ago but it just didn’t materialise at the end.

“Pretty much contracts were ready to go and it almost happened, but for many different reasons it didn’t and, to be fair, I was probably better off where I was anyway at McLaren.”

Had the move come off, Button would have most likely become teammates with two-time world champion Alonso, who eventually joined him at McLaren when the team made its doomed switch to Honda engines for the 2015 campaign.

Button ultimately agreed on a new deal in 2012 to stay with McLaren, where he went on to race until retiring at the end of the 2016 season.

The Briton returned for a one-off appearance at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix when he deputised for the Indy 500-bound Alonso, while his final F1 victory at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix remains McLaren’s most recent win in the sport.