Jenson Button will be joined by friends and family this weekend in Abu Dhabi for what could be his final race at the wheel of an F1 car.

The 2009 world champion, who will be replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren next year, says he is “really looking forward to this weekend and have been for a few races now”.

“It marks a very special chapter in my life and I’ll have my friends and some of my family out in Abu Dhabi with me which I’m very excited about,” said Button.

“It’s going to be a hugely emotional weekend and I hope with the support of the fans, the team and the people that are closest to me, we can go out there and give it our absolute maximum and enjoy the weekend.”

Button will continue to work with McLaren and has not ruled out returning to F1 after 2017.

“It’s not the end of my career with McLaren-Honda, but it’s the start of a new phase that I’m incredibly positive about,” he said.

“This race marks the culmination of a huge amount of hard work, dedication and passion for the sport that I love and I’m immensely proud of everything I’ve achieved in the past 17 seasons, and the fantastic progress we’ve made over the past couple of years with McLaren-Honda.”

2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix