Lewis Hamilton said he would welcome back his former team-mate Jenson Button, as the 37 year-old Englishman increasingly looks likely to replace McLaren driver Fernando Alonso for the Monaco Grand Prix. The jewel in the F1 crown clashes with the Spaniard’s newly announced drive with Andretti Autosport in the Indianapolis 500 race at the end of May.

Button retired from F1 at the end of 2016, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November being his 305th and, apparently, final outing. But his ongoing contract to act as an ambassador for the Woking team is believed to include a clause that he must deputise if one of their drivers is unable or unavailable to compete in a grand prix this year.

Button was not available for comment, but ticks all the boxes for the team, and could test the 2017 McLaren MCL32, with its wider tyres and greater aerodynamic download and cornering power, in a special session in Bahrain next week. He is also highly experienced in the way in which McLaren operates, and at a race in which team boss Zak Brown will surely be inviting potential long-term sponsors, he would be an attractive alternative to Alonso in terms of character, status and charisma.

Other former F1 racers, such as Paul di Resta, Felipe Nasr and Esteban Gutierrez also have the necessary superlicences and are available, but have those traits to lesser extents, and the Scot is contracted as Williams’ reserve driver.

"I hope Jenson comes back, it would be great for the sport to have Jenson back," said Hamilton, who partnered Button at McLaren from 2010-12.

"I still think he is one of the best drivers, his calibre is very high, and he is experienced."

Hamilton said that he was excited to see Alonso racing in the American classic. "Firstly it is great that a driver is able to do it, we should be allowed to do more than one series. There was a time when drivers could do multiple series, so it’s pretty cool.

The 2017 Formula 1 grid Show all 20 1 /20 The 2017 Formula 1 grid The 2017 Formula 1 grid Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari Vettel finished fourth last season and will hope improvements to the team's 1.6-litre V6 will help him back onto the podium. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari The experienced Finn largely underperformed last season. At 37, could be his final season racing for a top team. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Sergio Perez, Force India Perez retains the drive he has held since 2014. Force India again use the Mercedes-AMG engine. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Esteban Ocon, Force India The talented 20-year-old raced in 9 Grand Prix for Manor last season and earns a call-up to a much more competitive team. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Romain Grosjean, Haas Haas had a very good season last year, finishing 8th with their Ferrari engine. Grosjean will look to improve on his 13th place finish. AFP/Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Kevin Magnussen, Haas The Dane moves from Renault to Haas. Struggled last season. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren The talented Belgian, who scored a world championship point in the unfamiliar MP4-31 last year, replaces Jenson Button at McLaren. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Fernando Alonso, McLaren The youngest double champion of all-time remains at McLaren for the 2017 season, despite a well publicised approach from Mercedes. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes The team - and driver - to beat since the infamous V6 rule changes came into place in 2014. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes Bottas replaces world champion Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Will push Hamilton all the way this campaign. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Adrian Newey has completely redesigned the RB13 for the 2017 season and Ricciardo will be hopeful of bettering last year's 3rd place finish. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Max Verstappen, Red Bull There will be plenty of attention on Verstappen as he completes his first full season at Red Bull. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Hulkenberg moves to the team from Force India, replacing Kevin Magnussen. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Jolyon Palmer, Renault The Brit came under pressure last year for a disappointing 18th-place finish. Will be hopeful of improvement. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Marcus Ericsson, Sauber Sauber were poor last season and were plagued by retirements. Ericsson nevertheless remains with the team for a third campaign. AFP/Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber The 22-year-old wins a drive at Sauber, moving from Manor Racing. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso Resigned to Toro Rosso after plenty of speculation; will be desperate to show he shouldn't have been replaced by Verstappen at Red Bull. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso Now in his third season with the team. Toro Rosso this year return to a Renault engine. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Lance Stroll, Williams 18-year-old rookie. Stroll's first appearance in the car didn't inspire confidence, he spun the car in testing. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Felipe Massa, Williams Heroically returns to the team after Bottas departed for Mercedes. One of the most experienced drivers on the grid. Getty

"I wouldn't want to miss out any races in F1, you need to do all the races. But I would like to do MotoGP, I'd love to drive a MotoGP bike - or do a NASCAR race, like the Daytona 500.

“It’ll be interesting to see how Fernando gets on. It’s a completely different character, it is a lot, lot different. The set-up, the banking, how much you lift, how much you use the tyres - it's definitely a lot to learn in a short space of time. But Fernando is one of the best drivers in the world.

"He will be the best driver in the paddock there but he does not have the most experience, so it will be interesting to see how far he can challenge those guys and how he copes without that experience."

Alonso himself admitted that he would miss competing in Monte Carlo.

Alonso will miss the Monaco Grand Prix (Getty)

“It is a magic race, and the place where we believe that we will have our best package so far this year,” he explained. “So I will miss racing there massively. But racing in Indianapolis, trying to achieve the Triple Crown of winning in Monaco, Indianapolis and Le Mans, is a dream come true.”