SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Jenson Button says he is close to making a decision on his future but, during a press conference ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, was not willing to drop any hints on what it might involve.
An exit from current team McLaren looks increasingly likely for Button, with GP2 champion and current reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne waiting in the wings for promotion. Williams has shown an interest in extending Button's career into a 18th consecutive season, but is unlikely to match the 2009 world champion's current salary. Leaving F1 is also an option for the Briton, who has not ruled out a move to the World Endurance Championship where he would be competing alongside the likes of ex-F1 drivers Mark Webber, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson.
"I'm almost there," Button said when asked if he had made a decision on his future. "I'm almost there with my thought process and you'll hear about it soon." Asked how soon, he added: "I can't put a time-scale on it but soon enough."
Button said he had spent much of the summer considering his options for 2017.
"I did think about it a lot, yes. I didn't have a long time to lie on a sun lounger and think about to be honest, I was busy. But yeah of course I thought about it a lot."