McLaren F1 driver Jenson Button joins 2015 Race of Champions field

McLaren driver Jenson Button has become the latest big Formula 1 name to join the line-up for this month's Race of Champions event in London.

The 2009 F1 world champion will be competing in his fifth RoC, but his first since '11.

His best performance came in 2009 when he reached the semi-final of the individual event, as well as the Nations Cup for Great Britain in tandem with Andy Priaulx.

On this occasion Button will partner 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series champion Alex Buncombe in one of the two English teams, with the other comprising two-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato and a yet-to-be-named team-mate.

Button said: "I can't wait to be back at the Race Of Champions again - and especially to be racing at home at London's former Olympic Stadium.

"It is always a very special event with a good atmosphere. You're racing against guys from your own series, plus others from all over the world.

"We get to meet friends old and new from the different forms of motorsport so we enjoy our time both on and off the track.

"It's always a lot of fun, but everyone wants to put on a good show for the fans - and of course we only pretend to be taking it easy before giving it everything when we're sitting in the car on the line.

"I look forward to partnering Alex Buncombe in the RoC Nations Cup too.

"Germany had an annoying habit of beating us at Wembley in 2007 and 2008, so it's about time we made it all the way now we'll be racing on the other side of London."

The 35-year-old is now the sixth F1 driver to sign up to this year's RoC at the Olympic Stadium on November 20-21, joining Roman Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

2015 RACE OF CHAMPIONS LINE-UP SO FAR

Alex Buncombe
Jenson Button
David Coulthard
Mick Doohan
Romain Grosjean
Nico Hulkenberg
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Tom Kristensen
Jorge Lorenzo
Felipe Massa
Nelson Piquet Jr
Jason Plato
Daniel Ricciardo
Petter Solberg
Sebastian Vettel
Susie Wolff

Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and More

With his third world championship in the bag, and his place in the history of Formula One assured, Lewis Hamilton's attention will soon turn to his legacy.

The 2016 season will be the British driver's 10th in the pinnacle of motorsport and Hamilton, having achieved his lifelong ambition of matching Ayrton Senna's title tally, has revealed how he plans to approach the remaining years of his F1 career.

Hamilton has explained that when the time comes to walk away, he will not cling on to F1 and would be willing to stand aside to benefit young, emerging drivers, even setting a potential date for his eventual retirement.

At the age of 30, however, Hamilton is not yet at the stage where he should seriously consider retirement, but the same cannot be said for 34-year-old Felipe Massa. 

Massa has recovered his reputation since his arrival at Williams, but the Brazilian, who missed out on the 2008 world title by a single point, has admitted the 2016 campaign could be his last in F1.

Until recently, it seemed 2015 would be Red Bull Racing's final season in F1 as the four-time world champions were left to scramble for a 2016 engine deal.

Red Bull finally appear to have found a solution, safeguarding their short-term future, but that has not stopped Ferrari from again offering their support to the Milton Keynes-based team.

Meanwhile, Force India are finally set to benefit from the support of a major manufacturer in 2016, with Aston Martin set to join forces with the modest, Silverstone-based team.

But despite the anticipation surrounding such a deal, which would lead to a complete change of identity, Force India deputy team boss Bob Fernley has insisted that no agreement is imminent.

Closing this week's roundup is former McLaren and Ferrari driver Stefan Johansson, who has been left disappointed by the friendly rivalry between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2015, claiming modern drivers lack the old-fashioned ruthlessness of many F1 legends.