Point-seeking Button replaces Alonso at Monaco Grand Prix

SAKHIR, Bahrain - Veteran British driver Jenson Button will step in for Fernando Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix next month.

Although the 37-year-old Button retired at the end of last season, he is taking Alonso's seat for this single race because McLaren has allowed the Spaniard to make his IndyCar debut at the Indianapolis 500 on May 28. Both races are on the same day.

"I'm thrilled to be making a one-off return to Formula 1 racing, and I couldn't think of a better place to make that return," Button said in a team statement on Friday. "I've won the race before, in 2009, and it's one of my all-time favorite racetracks. It's a tricky street circuit on which a good driver can really make a difference and, although the McLaren-Honda MCL32 hasn't begun the season well, I think it may be more suited to Monaco than to the faster circuits."

Button is oozing confidence he will be fit enough despite the six-month gap from his last F1 race.

"I'm supremely fit, having done a lot of triathlon training recently, so I have no worries on that score," he said. "I'll drive the MCL32 around Monaco in the McLaren (simulator) beforehand, and I reckon I'll be ready."

Alonso retakes his seat for the race after Monaco - the Canadian GP on June 11 - and for the remainder of the season.

McLaren has yet to score a point after two races - Australia and China - following a frustrating campaign last year where the team struggled to adapt to the Honda engines.

"I was truly delighted when Jenson accepted our suggestion that he race at Monaco," McLaren's racing director Eric Boullier said. "Jenson is a class act. He's a superb driver, fast, smooth and precise, and he won't have lost any of his competitive edge over the past few months. He'll do a great job for us, I'm sure of that."