LONDON (AP) -Formula One champion Jenson Button signed with McLaren on Wednesday to partner with Lewis Hamilton, giving the English team a potent lineup for next season featuring the most recent title holders.
McLaren said Button signed a ``multiyear deal'' after leaving constructors champion Brawn GP in the wake of its takeover by Mercedes-Benz this week.
The 29-year-old Button, who is replacing Heikki Kovalainen, was out of contract with Brawn GP after capturing his first F1 drivers' title last month and talks about a new deal had stalled. McLaren opted to sign the British driver instead of 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen - leading the Finn to announce he will take next year off after being let go by Ferrari.
Button had taken a significant pay cut to ensure he had a car for 2009 with Honda pulling out of the sport and reforming under Ross Brawn's ownership.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said Button's decision was ``in no way motivated by money,'' insisting that they were paying him ``no more than he could be getting elsewhere.''
``Although I won the world championship with Brawn GP last year, and I'll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges,'' Button said in a statement. ``So that's why I've decided to join McLaren Mercedes. You can't help but be affected by this team's phenomenal history.
``McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who's Who of Formula One.''
Button said Wednesday that it is a ``great pleasure'' teaming up with fellow Englishman Hamilton, who won the 2008 championship.
``It's fantastic that we'll be forming an all-British lineup. I know that we both fly the flag with pride,'' Button said. ``Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he's a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula 1 driver.
``I'm sure there's plenty that we can learn from each other, and I'm really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.''
The last time a team had a pairing of two British world champions was in 1968 when Lotus united Graham Hill and Jim Clark, who both won two titles.
``I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together,'' Hamilton said. ``We both really want our team to succeed. Although we'll be pushing each other hard, I'm sure we'll very quickly establish a great working relationship.''
Button, who began his career at Williams in 2000, only joined the list of champions last month.
After fearing he wouldn't have a team in 2009, Button took advantage of the Brawn car's early dominance to win six of the first seven races and maintained a comfortable lead in the championship standings.
Button's move to McLaren ends his seven-year association with the Brackley-based outfit, which he joined in 2003 when the team was known as BAR. He established himself as the team's No. 1 driver before Honda's takeover in 2006.
While Button's McLaren will be adorned with No. 1, Hamilton, who won the 2008 championship, has been nurtured by McLaren for a decade since he was in karting.
Whitmarsh, who had to quell infighting between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso during the 2007 season, has no concerns about the partnership with Button.
``I'm confident that we'll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson's and Lewis' complementary skill sets,'' he said. ``Our engineers are already looking forward to working with Jenson, and I'm convinced that such a strong and dynamic driver lineup will make us an even more complete and competitive operation.
``Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery.''
Hamilton had a difficult third season in Formula One with McLaren but had a strong last half of the year to finish fifth - 46 points behind Button.
``The results from the second half of 2009 speak for themselves, and I'm convinced we can carry that momentum through the winter and into the new season,'' Hamilton said. ``I've been closely following the development of our 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, and I think it's going to be a state-of-the-art car that will enable both of us to consistently fight for victories.''
