McLaren will confirm in the next few weeks that Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen will drive for them again next season. The racing director Eric Boullier told the Observer exclusively on Saturday: “We are happy with the drivers we have, to be honest. You can rate them or not rate them, I don’t care. We are happy and lucky to have the good drivers we have. If we have them next year we will be happy with that.”

In recent weeks McLaren have been linked with the three A-list drivers in F1: Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Boullier said: “The truth is we have been talking to everybody. But we never hide this. We may consider Daniel Ricciardo [Red Bull]. Nico Rosberg as well is doing well. So there are a lot of drivers we may consider.

“But we are thinking about strategy. We have to think about 2016. We are seeking who, when, how, how much, because we need to know how we want to build for the future. It is usual in Formula One, especially with A-list drivers, to have discussions not for next year but for the year after.”

In truth, McLaren know they have no chance of luring the three leading drivers to their team for next season. They are all under contract for one thing, while the strength of McLaren’s partnership with Honda, which resumes next year, is unknown.

The suggestion that Hamilton could rejoin McLaren is far-fetched because the statement from Mercedes that they may split their feuding drivers was meant only as the ultimate scenario.

Boullier added: “We are looking at drivers, not necessarily for next year, but maybe in two years or three years. We are in favour of having the best car, because then we can attract the best driver and have the winning package. At some stage you have to open the negotiations.”

Boullier’s comments are the clearest indication yet that McLaren have decided to settle for what they’ve got before aiming higher for 2016. Button is a world champion who is popular in Honda’s Japan while the team retains enormous faith in their rookie Magnussen.

The McLaren Group chairman, Ron Dennis, was more coy on Saturday when he announced that the 2015 driver lineup would be announced before the end of the season.

“We always have the best available drivers,” said Dennis. “Without being derogatory, detrimental or negative to your existing drivers, the first thing you have to establish, before you have any process of selection, is who is available. “No-one could have predicted the tension inside Mercedes-Benz, or 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 we have. “What it means is you are trying to understand who is available, and then you make a decision. It could be that decision is not to change.”