Jenson Button says his one-off return to Formula One at the Monaco Grand Prix is a "dream" scenario and he is confident his recent simulator testing will be enough to prepare him.

After 17 seasons in F1, Button stopped racing at the end of last year and took on an ambassador and reserve driver role at McLaren. The decision appeared to signal the end of his F1 career -- and in normal circumstances it probably would have -- but with Fernando Alonso skipping this year's Monaco Grand Prix to race at the Indy 500, Button is making a return as his former teammate's replacement.

"When the chance came to race in Monaco, I was going to take it," he told Sky Sports. "I don't want to be racing in Formula One for a whole season because I've done my time in Formula One -- I've loved most of my career but it was time for me to have a break.

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"But to come back for the Monaco Grand Prix, I mean that is just the dream for a racing driver; coming in for a one-off race, in Monaco, the most glamorous grand prix on the calendar, that excitement is back."

Button passed up the opportunity to test this year's McLaren-Honda in Bahrain last month, instead opting to prepare for his comeback on the team's simulator at its Woking headquarters. As a result, the race at the end of May will see him get his first physical taste of F1's new, more extreme cars on a circuit that is notoriously unforgiving. But Button is not concerned.

"You jump into the simulator and after five laps there's that 'OK, I've still got it then'. I can still direct the car around the corners and I still know how to change gear and push the brake pedal and modulate the throttle. That never leaves you."