Ron Dennis: McLaren could keep Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button

The Woking-based outfit has been sounding out Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel about their interest longer term for its new Honda era.

And, with McLaren wanting to wait until it knows what the multiple champions' plans are before sorting out its 2015 line-up, both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen are being forced to wait on their own futures.

But despite the uncertainty about the situation for next year, McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis said that neither driver should be alarmed - and that both could stay on even if other stars were on the market.

"The first thing you have to establish, before you have any process of selection - and it is not at all derogatory, detrimental or negative to your existing drivers - the first thing you have to find out is who is available," explained Dennis, speaking at the announcement of a new McLaren sponsorship deal with coffee supplier Segafredo Zanetti.

"Availability in F1 isn't as black and white as you would think. Sometimes there are performance contracts that provide drivers with the mechanism to say that 'we haven't achieved this'.

"And no one could have predicted the tension inside Mercedes-Benz. I didn't say the things that have been said by the [Mercedes] executives or drivers. But we can all imagine a range of scenarios that could see one of those drivers on the market by the end of the year.

"That does not mean we would automatically reach for that driver, or any other driver, in preference to what you have.

"What it means is you are trying to understand what is available, and then you take a decision, and maybe that decision is not to change.

"That's because stability, as we go into the relationship with Honda, and in-depth understanding of the entire plan, has a huge value. And loyalty is very important to me too."

PRAISE FOR CURRENT DRIVERS

Dennis said that a decision was likely to be made before the end of the 2014 campaign, and made it clear there was no reason to believe Magnussen and Button were doing anything wrong.

"I am a huge fan of both Kevin and Jenson," he said. "Kevin has done an amazing job. Who could keep Fernando Alonso behind him at Spa for three laps?

"Normally I remember with Ayrton [Senna] his helmet was like a staff that cut the Red Sea. You saw the yellow helmet and you pulled over.

"With Fernando it is the same to a certain agree, he has that. People see him coming and think it is only a matter of time [before he passes], I might as well not make it difficult.

"I phoned up the Kevin on the Wednesday after the [Spa] race and I could hear a bit of tension on the end - [a sense of] 'am I going to get a bit of pressure'? But I said: 'Don't change, be a little bit more careful next time, it was not a great move, but don't change.'"