What should Button do in 2017?

Jenson Button will not be a full-time Formula 1 driver in 2017. That much is clear, though he will remain on the McLaren books as a reserve driver and will take on more ambassadorial duties for the team and its engine supplier Honda.

Could he do more, though? Or should he do less?

At 36, with a world title and 15 grand prix victories on his CV, Button has nothing left to prove in F1.

As he gears up for his 300th grand prix start, members of the Autosport team offer what they would like to see the Briton doing next year.

HEAD FOR LE MANS
Glenn Freeman (@glenn_autosport)

Nico Hulkenberg's triumph in the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours as an active Formula 1 driver sparked several weeks of his rivals on the F1 grid expressing their desire to have a go at the French classic - with most suggesting that sportscar racing would be a good move once their single-seater careers were finished.

Button was one of those drivers, and since announcing his step back from the F1 grid for 2017 he has reiterated that Le Mans remains desirable. It's unfortunate that the LMP1 teams are unlikely to have seats to fill next year, but if the option is there, he should definitely take it.

Hulkenberg deserves credit for taking his Le Mans outing very seriously, which included joining Porsche for the Spa 6 Hours in May to get acclimatised in a racing environment. If we're assuming Button's McLaren duties would rule out a full-time attack on the World Endurance Championship, a Hulkenberg-esque approach would at least fit with his schedule.

Multi-driver sportscar racing allows a chance for drivers to drop in part-time, and two long-distance races may be enough to satisfy any urges Button has for competition in 2017 without depriving him of the more relaxed schedule that was such a key part of his decision to move aside for Vandoorne.

A Honda-affiliated driver is obviously not going to turn out for Toyota, but would Audi or Porsche really be a clash that couldn't be overcome? Permission from McLaren-Honda would be required, but perhaps a rare case of common sense prevailing would see to that.

Tackling the race at the first available opportunity would show how serious Button is about his ambition to race at Le Mans, and could open doors for a full-time sportscar career in the future.

SWAP SEATS WITH VANDOORNE
Mitchell Adam (@DrMitchellAdam)

Button out, Vandoorne in for McLaren-Honda's 2017 Formula 1 line-up seems like it will work nicely enough. So why wouldn't Vandoorne out, Button in for Super Formula be the same?

When he hasn't been standing and smiling politely in the McLaren garage this year, or filling in for Fernando Alonso in Bahrain, Vandoorne has kept his hand in racing in Japan.

McLaren reckoned it would be "good preparation" for F1 after winning the GP2 title and he's adapted well. Having taken his first win earlier this month, he's sixth in the championship with two races to go.

Vandoorne seems like he's having a good time in Japan as well, in what look like wicked race cars. They are properly fast, too. When Autosport did the numbers and ranked just about every category in the world on speed earlier this year, Super Formula came up second behind F1, ahead of IndyCar and LMP1.

As part of that feature, Super Formula racer and ex-F1 tester James Rossiter outlined that the control Dallaras corner about as quickly as F1 machinery during the tyre war of the mid-2000s. Speeds Button knows well, from an era he often refers to as his favourite time in F1.

He would definitely have fun. And even though the Honda engine is not as potent as Toyota's in Super Formula, the deficit is nothing like the one he's faced in F1 for the last two years. So there'd be plenty of scope to be competitive, as Vandoorne is showing.

With seven events between late-April and the end of October, two of them at the mega Suzuka, it's hardly a taxing schedule. It would still give Button plenty of time to hang out with his family and be a normal guy.

It would be a massive coup for Honda as well. Imagine bringing a Formula 1 world champion - and one with a massive profile in Japan already - to race in its high-quality domestic series? Merchandise, and Civics, will be flying off the shelves.

McLaren sent Vandoorne to Japan this year to keep him match-fit for 2017. If it's serious about the prospect of maybe using Button in '18, plugging him into the same seat is surely a fun, win-win situation.

GET MUDDY IN RALLYCROSS
Scott Mitchell (@ScottAutosport)

"I'd love to do rallycross." Get in!

Impartiality is pretty key to being a journalist, but as someone raised at Lydden Hill and whose formative years as a Formula 1 fan coincided with the launch of Button's career, the idea of the 36-year-old going rallycrossing prompts child-like levels of excitement.

There's wonderful sentimental value in Button going where his dad John was successful - and there's great potential for symmetry, given that Volkswagen has blessed a works Beetle project over in the US-based Global series. Dress it up in blue and yellow and maybe I can convince the editor to recreate the time John graced the cover of Autosport in his Beetle.

Button v Loeb v Solberg v Ekstrom is like manna from heaven to anyone with an ounce of motorsport fever.

Naturally the problem is where does he fit in? His ambassadorial duties could prohibit any tie-up with the Andretti-run VW operation in the States, however endearing the Beetle link to his dad is. But the reason for that is actually an argument in favour of Jenson ending up getting muddy.

Earlier this year, Honda launched a Civic Coupe-based RX machine, which has run in Global RX in the hands in Sebastian Eriksson. He hasn't won, but he has been on the podium four times - so that's immediately one of Button's most competitive Honda-based options around.

"I'm not sure what I'd want to race in, either Global or the World Championship," Button says, but if (and of course it remains a big if) he went Global with Honda the hope would be he ends up at Lydden as a wildcard in World RX.

Lydden's attracted a mega crowd since the series was reborn in 2014, and Button's presence would only enhance an already quality atmosphere.

"It's very different from F1, but that's why I like it," Button admits. Here's hoping it eventually comes to fruition, even if 2017 is a bit too soon.

MOVE INTO THE MEDIA
Matt Beer (@mattofautosport)

Jenson Button himself would admit that he's past his absolute peak as a Formula 1 driver. But in what should be his next career, his untapped potential is massive.

Opinionated, intelligent, likeable, good at making F1 nuances and rivalries accessible. The man needs to be on television.

He's already carried out a sort-of-audition for commentary. When his McLaren-Honda failed to make the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix grid, Button live-tweeted the race rather than sulking or grabbing the first available flight home.

It wasn't all ultra-gold unique insight ("Loving the sparks from the cars") but he narrated the leading cars' strategies, explained radio messages and stoked some Mercedes controversy: "Ooh is Lewis backing his team mate into Vettel?!? #oldstory #whynot".

He proved he could take an overview and read how a race was unfolding. And we already know he's not just eloquent in 140 characters.

British broadcasters aren't struggling for drivers-turned-commentators at the moment: Martin Brundle, David Coulthard, Anthony Davidson and Allan McNish are all exceptional. And the number of jobs available is set to shrink when Channel 4's shortlived tenure ends and UK F1 coverage goes all-Sky in 2019.

But Button has the edge for bagging one of those slots as his experience of recent F1 is so much greater than those currently starring in the commentary box.

And we know from countless pre-race television features - most famously his rallycross test - that he makes a very sparky double-act with David Coulthard, two friends who know each other well but make their banter inclusive and not an audience turn-off.

You could slot him in the commentary box, as a pitlane pundit or a gung-ho participant in build-up features and analysis. Or all of the above.

Brundle and Coulthard were excellent grand prix drivers, but it was Button who became a world champion. He might just have the long-term potential to outshine them behind the mic too.

ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING
Ian Parkes (@IanParkesF1)

There is a saying that goes 'a little of what you fancy does you good'.

There's absolutely no need for Button to pigeon-hole himself into doing anything specific in 2017. Instead he should dabble in whatever he likes.

Of course much will depend on the terms of the new contract he signed with McLaren. It has always been very strict with its race drivers as to what they can and cannot do between grands prix and between seasons.

It would be fair to assume - and you would certainly hope - that Button has not locked himself into such an arrangement for next year when he takes his sabbatical.

The ambassadorial role will be simple enough, as that will entail lots of meet and greet, the shaking of corporate hands, nodding politely during conversation while telling the odd anecdote or two.

But in remaining an employee of McLaren, and by extension Honda, any time spent behind the wheel of another vehicle would require permission.

It is hardly ambassadorial driving for a rival when you continue to represent the McLaren and Honda brands, but as both are involved in different forms of GT racing that side of motorsport is not beyond the realms of possibility.

You would have thought that within reason Button can go and do whatever he wants in a driving capacity, providing it promotes either McLaren or Honda in some way.

If he fancies a bit of Le Mans, then go and do it; a spot of rallycross, no problem; switching to the dark side and dabbling in some media work, fine; or simply putting his feet up on a beach alongside his girlfriend, hell yeah!

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
Edd Straw (@EddStrawF1)

Button has spoken very eloquently about the demands of being a Formula 1 driver from the age of 20-36, of marching to Bernie Ecclestone's drum throughout, of the impact it has had on his personal life, and the desire to be able to spend time on other things.

Most people probably have zero sympathy. After all, Button has coined in millions while doing a job most can only dream of. But life as an elite sportsperson requires supreme dedication and it does take its toll. No matter how much you are paid, no matter how glamorous the lifestyle supposedly is, he remains a human being.

That's why Button should do nothing, in terms of motorsport. OK, he might do the odd race here or there purely for fun, but he shouldn't commit to any kind of full championship or anything too serious. Based on what Button has said, this is an opportunity for him to sample life 'on the other side' of retirement with a possible route back.

One outcome is that he realises he can live without F1, that he enjoys an ambassadorial role for McLaren-Honda and that he can concentrate on other things in life. He then might choose to turn his hand to rallycross, sportscars or some such.

The other is that he is revitalised; having spent time catching up on other aspects of his life, he genuinely does want to come back. There's nothing stopping a committed 38-year-old from cutting it at the front in F1.

Whether or not there's a way back with McLaren in 2018 (and that depends a lot on Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne) is one thing, but if the team doesn't want him there could be opportunities for Button to race elsewhere.

That's what makes this situation so great for him. He effectively gets to sample the reality of retirement, to see if he likes it or if the passion comes back after a year on the periphery.

He's admitted that when it came to deciding about continuing or stopping for "the last couple of years" it's been "up and down with emotion". This is a chance to take a clean break, a 'provisional retirement', but with a path back should he choose to take it.

And for that to work, he needs to ensure that the year off really is a year off.