Money Problems between Brawn and Jenson Button

Jenson Button driving for Brawn GP for another season is not such a done deal as initially suggested by the British media. Although the Brackley based team gave him a title winning car and he is currently in pole position to becoming world champion with 4 races to go, the Brit doesn't seem too enthused of the financial prospects waiting for him next year.

According to his manager Richard Goddard, Button is now requesting a salary worthy of a Formula One champion. However, before judging Button too harsh, know that the Somerset-born driver only asks for the salary he was initially paid by Honda before the Japanese manufacturer left the series last year.

If one will remember correctly – and we're sure all Formula One fans do – Button agreed to have his 2009 salary cut by 50% in order to help the management team and Honda rescue the Brackley based outfit. Now that the team has survived and is on top of the world in Formula One, it's only natural that part of the money that comes with it returns to Button.

“When we signed the revised contract last year, we did so in the knowledge that if things went well for the team, they would go well for Jenson for next year. We are not being greedy by looking to get what they are paid. All we expect is for Jenson to be paid on the scale that he was last year before Honda left,” Goddard was quoted as saying to the Sportsmail.

The problem is that, despite their great success in the championship so far, Ross Brawn failed to make his team attractive enough for the sponsors. Most of the deals were signed on a one- or two-race basis, therefore giving Brawn GP only the money to survive in the series.

Brawn's only chance of keeping Button is now related to German manufacturer Mercedes, who is allegedly in talks with the Brackley officials for a major deal for 2010. According to the latest rumors, Mercedes are planning to switch to Brawn as their works team in F1 starting 2011.