Button and Brawn (right) have been the leading protagonists in the 2009 season

Team owner Ross Brawn says he is "completely confident" his team will be competing in Formula 1 next year.

Brawn GP have been told by motorsport's governing body, the FIA, that they must submit an unconditional entry by this Friday if they are to race in 2010.

McLaren, BMW Sauber, Renault and Toyota are in the same position.

But Brawn thinks the impasse between the teams' umbrella group Fota and the FIA over proposed budget caps can be resolved to allow all teams to enter.

Since the FIA announced a voluntary budget cap of £40m per team for the 2010 season, Fota and the sport's governing body have continued to row over the future of F1.

What we want... is an agreement between the teams and the FIA on governance for the future, and how we can avoid these situations ever occurring again Ross Brawn

On Friday all 10 current teams were included on the list of entrants for next year's championship, though five of them were on a conditional basis.

Though Fota and the FIA are still at odds over new budgetary and technical regulations, Brawn believes a solution will be found before any existing teams are ruled out of the 2010 championship.

More meetings are planned this week in an attempt to reach an agreement.

"I'm completely confident [we will be in F1 next season], and you have to plan on that," said Brawn.

"There's nothing else to plan for. We cannot allow this row to be a distraction to our engineering and racing plans.

"I'm not supporting a breakaway championship, but if there was one, then it would be one with cars similar to what we are working on now, which will be without re-fuelling.

"All of us - and I mean this collectively - have got ourselves into a situation we need to learn from.

"What we want to get back and put in place again is an agreement between the teams and the FIA on governance for the future, and how we can avoid these situations ever occurring again.

"I think there are still opportunities this week to resolve the issues, and if they are, then we will be happy to enter."

Brawn also backed the collective stance of Fota, which has continued to voice its displeasure in recent months over the proposals set out by the FIA for 2010 and beyond.

"Fota have been supportive of Brawn GP, and the reason we are in Formula 1 is because of the support we received, particularly from McLaren and Mercedes, and offers of help from Ferrari.

"So we want to support the group in trying to find a solution.

"We, as small independents, balance up the group with the manufacturers and they want to support the small independents. So we've stayed together as a group, and we can present a balanced approach on what needs to be done."

Jenson Button has won six out of seven races for Brawn's team this year and such is Brawn's confidence that they will be competing in 2010, he revealed they have already been working on next year's car.

"We've been working on the new car for about a month now," he added. "Probably about a third of our wind tunnel time at the moment is spent on the new car."

A meeting of the Financial Working Group and the FIA is due to take place on Monday to address the outstanding issues surrounding the voluntary £40m budget cap.

But, on the same day, the FIA pointed an accusing finger at what they perceive as a disruptive element within Fota.

An FIA statement claimed significant progress was made during a meeting on Thursday involving FIA president Max Mosley and four Fota members - Brawn, Stefano Domenicali of Ferrari, Christian Horner of Red Bull and Toyota's John Howett.

But, in a statement released on Monday, the FIA said it was "astonished to learn that certain Fota members not present at the meeting have falsely claimed nothing was agreed, and that the meeting had been a waste of time".

The FIA says it will soon publish a detailed and documented account of the facts in its dealings with Fota.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version