Brawn tries to tempt Button to stay with sponsorship proposal 12/11/2009 |
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Ross Brawn has hinted that he will not meet Jenson Button’s wage demands but will instead give the driver greater freedom to negotiate his own sponsorship deals to make up the difference.
The new world champion took a voluntary pay cut from £8m a year to £3m in order to help Brawn GP get off the ground following the management buyout from Honda. But having won the world title with a race to spare, Button – who has also been linked with McLaren – is understood to want a deal in excess of £6m to stay with Brawn.
However, Ross Brawn said: “We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go. Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations.”
Yet Button’s camp look to be holding out for a straightforward pay rise. After hearing Brawn’s comments, the driver’s manager Richard Goddard told the Daily Express: “We are not asking for anything outrageous.
”Just three months before Honda pulled out last November, Jenson signed a contract which would have given him a lot more money than we’re looking for now.
“We recognise times have changed but he is the world champion now and the team have turned things around.”
McLaren would easily be able to match Button’s wage demands but could still make a move for former world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is a free agent after leaving Ferrari.
In a further twist, Mercedes are thought to be close to selling their 40 per cent stake in McLaren before buying a majority interest in Brawn, which also won the constructors title in its first season as an independent team.
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