Former world champion Jenson Button will have to wait a few more days before discovering whether he has a future with McLaren, the team indicated on Friday.
A spokesman revealed no decision had yet been taken about their driver line-up for 2015, leaving Button in limbo, and no announcement was now expected before next week.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso’s return after five years at Ferrari has already been confirmed, and McLaren must now choose between Button, 34, and Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, 22, to partner him.
There had been hope of an announcement on Friday following a board meeting involving McLaren group chief executive Ron Dennis and two other senior shareholders, TAG co-owner Mansour Ojjeh and Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji, chief executive of Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund.
But the spokesman said no decision had been reached and there would be no announcement until next week at the earliest
British media reports suggest Danish driver Magnussen will get the nod, leaving Button — world champion with Brawn in 2009 — to turn his hand to sportscar racing.
“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,” Button told Britain’s Press Association on Thursday.
Asked when he expected a decision, Magnussen told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet: “I have no idea. Hopefully before Christmas!”