McLaren coy on Jenson Button comeback to replace Fernando Alonso

McLaren have refused to be drawn on whether Jenson Button will be called out of retirement, just six months after he stopped racing in Formula One, to replace Fernando Alonso at next month’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Double world champion Alonso, 35, will be absent from the Monte Carlo race after it was revealed he would participate at the blue-riband Indianapolis 500 event instead, with McLaren’s blessing.

Button, the 2009 world champion, competed in more than 300 grands prix, and spent seven seasons at McLaren. He remains an ambassador for the British team — following a deal struck with former McLaren chairman Ron Dennis last September — and lives in Monaco, too.