Button, the 2009 world champion with Brawn, has been at McLaren
since 2010 and is in the final year of his current contract.
The 34-year-old Briton, winner of 15 grands prix, is the most
experienced driver in Formula One, having made his debut in 2000,
and is currently eighth in the championship with 68 points.
Danish rookie team mate Kevin Magnussen has scored only 37 but has
out qualified Button repeatedly and, at 21, is seen as a face of the
future.
Dennis told the official formula1.com website that he was satisfied
with the current line-up, and both were capable of winning in a
competitive car - which McLaren have been unable to provide this
year.
Despite that, he said they needed to "be responsible enough to
appreciate that McLaren will always make efforts to hire the best
drivers available.
"Jenson and Kevin represent an excellent blend of capable experience
and youthful promise, and we’re very happy with both of them," he
added.
"The fact that we’re keeping an eye on what a few other drivers are
up to in no way contradicts that, because, as I say, if
opportunities arise, we’ll appraise them - we always have and we
always will."
Media reports have repeatedly linked McLaren to Ferrari's Fernando
Alonso, who had an unhappy season at the team alongside Lewis
Hamilton in 2007 and fell out with Dennis.
The Spanish double world champion has a contract at Ferrari until
the end of 2016 but there are likely to be performance clauses in
the small print.
Ferrari, who have not won a drivers' title since Kimi Raikkonen in
2007, are currently third in the constructors' standings and only 10
points clear of resurgent Williams in fourth place.
McLaren have not won a race since 2012 and failed to get on the
podium entirely last year.
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However, Honda are returning to the sport as McLaren's engine partners
next year and, while Button has close ties to the manufacturer and to
Japan, are said to be pushing for an "A List" driver.
Asked whether McLaren would be prepared to "move mountains" to get their
man, whoever he might be, Dennis replied: "Well, that depends on whether
you respect drivers’ contracts or not, and I do."
Button recognized after Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix that his future was
up in the air.
"If I have to retire at the end of the season then so be it, but I feel
I have so much more to give and I can't imagine life without motorsport
and especially Formula One," he told the BBC.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier was non-committal about 2015 and
Button's place in the team's plans.
"We have discussions open with him, but until we have decided on our
strategy, we will not finalize our driver line-up," said the Frenchman.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Justin Palmer)
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