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Jenson Button is pushing ahead with plans to return to racing full-time next season, but it won’t be in Formula One.

Button, 37, took a year out of motorsport this season, appearing only in one-off cameos at the Monaco Grand Prix as a replacement for Fernando Alonso at McLaren and in the Suzuka 1000km enduro in May.

Button admitted that he had fallen out of love with the sport and that he should have stepped away from his F1 drive a year earlier than he did.

The 2009 world champion, who comes from Frome, had spent seven seasons with McLaren before leaving the race team after last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Now he has earmarked the US-based IMSA series as a championship he would like to race in.

Button said: "There are a few options and I want to do a full season and take it properly seriously.

"The GT category [in IMSA] is great but I'm not sure I can be in a car being overtaken by DP cars. That's something I can't get my head around," he said.

"I'd love to do Le Mans at some point, but I'm not sure it's the right time to jump in and do it.”

Speaking at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, at which Button is visiting, the 37-year-old said that he does not miss racing in F1.

He added: "I miss racing. I've sort of fallen out of love a little bit with motorsport.

"I think that maybe I left it a year too long racing in F1.

"I want to go racing and have fun. I want to hear the engine, I want to hear it roar.

"I want to drive something that has 600+ horsepower. It's what I grew up with."