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Button Not Asking for Outrageous Paycheck from Brawn

The Jenson Button – Brawn GP saga continues after team boss Ross Brawn confirmed he will not offer his world champion a greater salary than in 2009. The British team owner told the media during the course of this week that Button will not be offered a greater paycheck but will instead be given more freedom to commit to personal endorsements outside of Formula One.

And that's clearly not something Button can agree with, especially since he has agreed to have his paycheck cut in half prior to the 2009 campaign, in order for the Brackley based team to survive the economic difficulties in F1. After winning a championship, the 29-year old Brit feels like this has to be his time and demands at least double the salary he has received through 2009.

He reportedly earned about 3 million pounds starling last season, while he is now seeking between 6 and 8 million pound sterling for 2010 and beyond. Otherwise, the British driver would be forced to look at other jobs in F1, the one he would be particularly interested in being at McLaren.

While trying one more time to convince Brawn that Button is, in fact, worth a world champion-like salary, his manager told the media that the Brit's requests are not as high as one may be inclined to believe.

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,” said Button's manager Richard Goddard to the Express newspaper.

Brawn are yet to announce a single driver for their 2010 lineup, after losing Rubens Barrichello to Williams F1 Team earlier this month. Apparently, Nico Rosberg's deal with Brawn GP is also to be affected by Button's decision, as McLaren's open seat alongside Lewis Hamilton seems to be an option for both drivers nowadays.
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