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McLaren will announce whether Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen will partner Fernando Alonso in 2015 at a media conference on Thursday.
Several outlets in the UK on Thursday morning reported that Button would return for a 16th season in Formula One, although others on the continent indicated that Magnussen was the more likely pick.
It means a few hours more intrigue as to who will drive alongside Alonso, who is returning to the team he left in inauspicious circumstances back in 2007.
Group chief executive Ron Dennis has taken a surprising amount of time over deciding whether to retain Button or Magnussen.
F1 2014 championship driver ratingsShow all 22 1 /22F1 2014 championship driver ratings F1 2014 championship driver ratings Lewis Hamilton – 9 The two-time world champion deserved every bit of his success in 2014, in which he showed he was the faster driver in the battle with Nico Rosberg. Had he not made the error in Brazil that allowed Rosberg to take victory, it could well have been a perfect 10 for Hamilton.
F1 2014 championship driver ratings Nico Rosberg – 8 Rosberg pushed his team-mate all the way but ultimately who had no answer to Hamilton’s sheer speed when it was a straight dog-fight between the two. The mechanical failure in Abu Dhabi robbed him of any hope of winning the title, but it would’ve been unlikely that he could have passed the eventual champion anyway.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Sebastian Vettel - 5 Who’d have thought the four time world champion would not win a single race this season? Perhaps that’s not so bad given Mercedes dominated the season, but his new team-mate Ricciardo won three times, and simply it’s been a case of not good enough from Seb. He’ll hope the grass is greener at Ferrari next season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Daniel Ricciardo - 9 A world champion in the making, Ricciardo has shown that he is both hugely talented and one of the nicest guys on the grid. He was rewarded for his excellent drives with three victories in Canada, Hungary and Belgium, and he fully warrants his third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Fernando Alonso - 6 The Spaniard may have endured a difficult year with Ferrari which has led to his exit, but in his eyes he has put in some of his best drives this season. He dominated his team-mate, the 2007 world champion, and he can still be pleased with a number of his performances this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kimi Raikkonen - 3 What happened to the Flying Finn of last season at Lotus? Raikkonen has not performed well at all since his return to Ferrari, and there’s a strong case to drop him to have been dropped for next year – though he will partner Vettel next year. A season-best of fourth in Spa is the anomaly of a poor season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Felipe Massa - 7 His career could have been over when he left Ferrari last season, but the Williams team rewarded his determination to remain in F1 with a massively fast car. Two third-place finishes – the best in Brazil in front of his home fans – made up for a few retirements and nasty crashes, though they weren’t of his doing.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Valterri Bottas - 7 One more podium finish than his team-mate and just one retirement all season has capped a breakthrough year for Bottas. The Finn is showing why he is rated so highly and he has a phenomenally calm head on his shoulders. His drive in Austria was a particular highlight.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jenson Button - 6 Somehow under the radar Button has performed admirably in a car that has not been up to scratch this season. Button has out-performed Magnussen in the Drivers’ Championship and started with a bang as he secured third in Australia, and a strong end to the season could still see him remain for 2015.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kevin Magnussen - 6 Moments of sheer braveness and incredibility have been hindered by errors and rashness, and a number of penalties this season have ended up costing Magnussen. Like Button, he amazed by finishing second in Melbourne, but has managed no better than fifth since then.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Sergio Perez - 4 Inconsistency has seen Perez finish up and down the field, with a third place in Bahrain helping him forget the fact that he didn’t even start in Malaysia due to reliability failure.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Nico Hulkenberg - 5 Big things were expected from Hulkenberg after last season’s performances despite missing out on a so-called ‘big team’ but hasn’t been as outstanding as we’ve come to expect. Consistently inside the top-10, Hulkenberg will still be in the Force India next year.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jean-Eric Vergne - 4 Five retirements in the first eight races looked to pave the way for Vergne’s exit, but Kvyat’s move to Red Bull could yet allow the Frenchman a second chance in F1. A season-best of sixth in Singapore was the best of a poor season.
F1 2014 championship driver ratings Danil Kvyat - 4 The young Russian has shown that he has what it takes to make it in F1, but too many times this season he’s fallen away and finished outside the top 10. Only three times this season did he finish inside the top 10, which hasn’t been good enough.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Adrian Sutil - 2 A dismal year for Sauber looks to have confirmed the end of Sutil’s time in F1. He hasn’t scored a point and has already been confirmed as leaving Sauber, and he’s unlikely to be picked up again before the start of next season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Esteban Gutierrez - 2 A year to forget for the Mexican who will also be leaving Sauber this year. He remains confident of securing another drive for next season, but it certainly won’t be based on results this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Romain Grosjean - 3 Let’s not take too much from Grosjean’s results, as the Lotus has simply been awful this season. He’s asserted himself as the lead driver in the team following Raikkonen’s exit, and he’ll hope for much better fortunes next season having confirmed his stay witht he team.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Pastor Maldonado - 1 Where do you start with him? If he’s not crashing, he’s being penalised by the stewards for reckless driving. At times he’s even been running behind the Caterhams and Marussias which simply isn’t acceptable for Lotus. Finally scored a first point of the season in the United States.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jules Bianchi - 5 It would be easy to bump up his rating due after the tragedy of his crash in Japan, but the fact is that Bianchi has impressed everyone this season. His drive in Monaco to score Marussia’s first ever point will go down in F1 history, and he looked nailed on for a future Ferrari drive. Here’s hoping he makes a recovery from his serious injuries.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Max Chilton - 2 Chilton’s efforts in finishing every race he started finally came to an end in Canada, but he was consistently out-performed by Bianchi. Marussia’s absence from the grid towards the end of the season looks to have ended his time in F1.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kamui Kobayashi - 2 A strange season saw Kobayashi somewhat surprisingly recalled to Caterham, but financial problems meant he lost his drive in Monza only to return for the next race. Two 13th place finishes represents Caterham’s best finishes this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Marcus Ericcson - 1 He has structured a move to Sauber for next season and severed ties with Caterham before their return in Abu Dhabi. A tough year, but he’ll get another chance to impress next term.
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Dennis has been criticised for his dithering, in particular after stating at the Italian Grand Prix in September a decision would be made before the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi in November.
Mika Hakkinen, a double world champion with McLaren, told Swiss newspaper Blick that "what is happening at McLaren is unworthy of such a team".
British Racing Drivers' Club president Derek Warwick told the BBC McLaren's treatment of Button has been "disgusting".
Dennis held a board meeting last Thursday with two other primary shareholders in TAG co-owner Mansour Ojjeh and Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji, CEO of Mumtalakat, Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund.
It has since taken Dennis the last few days to finally arrive at a conclusion, ending the agonising wait for Button and Magnussen.
Jenson Button has driven in F1 for 15 seasons (Getty Images) Only last week Button said: "I just want to get it done. I want to hear the decision as we all do so we can all move on in whatever direction."
At stake is Button's 15-season F1 career, although it is understood he has irons in the fire should Dennis opt for the 22-year-old Dane Magnussen.
The 34-year-old Briton is lined up for a seat in the World Endurance Championship, with Toyota understood to be leading the pursuers.
Button said: "I'm now really comfortable, and whatever happens I will have a great year next year.
"New challenges are exciting, whether it's in Formula One with McLaren alongside an exciting team-mate, or whether it's elsewhere."
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