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Brawn '99% sure' Button will stay

Jenson Button and Ross Brawn
Button and Brawn celebrate winning the world championship in Brazil

Brawn GP team owner Ross Brawn says he is "99%" certain world champion Jenson Button will stay with his Formula 1 outfit next season.

Button has yet to sign a new contract but Brawn told BBC Radio 5 live he is hoping to conclude a deal within weeks.

"We're working to find a balance between what we can afford and what Jenson feels is fair for his status and contribution," said Brawn.

"You are never 100% sure but I would say 99%".

Button, 29, has emerged as a target to join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season, and Brawn said: "For those teams out there without full their complement of drivers, he has got to be a target.

"We want Jenson to stay and I think we will find a solution.

"Jenson has a contract with us but, of course, that contract is not the salary of a world champion and not the salary of a team that's now in a much stronger position than it was 10 months ago."

Brawn also said that his team has set a target of two weeks after the final grand prix of the season - in Abu Dhabi on 1 November - to reach a deal with Button.

"It's finding the middle ground between what we can afford compared to all the things we need to do with the team," he stated.

"We have a finite amount of resources and we have to look at the best way of spending that."

606: DEBATE

Button, who was crowned world champion on 18 October, took a pay cut from £10m to about £3m over the winter to help secure the survival of Brawn.

It has been reported the team are prepared to offer him £8m a year.

The Brawn team emerged from the ashes of the Honda team which decided to quit Formula 1 last December.



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see also
Button in frame for McLaren drive
23 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Brackley welcomes F1 hero Button
22 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Jenson Button news conference
20 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Button seeks place in F1 history
20 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Brawn confident Button will stay
19 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Branson coy on Virgin F1 future
21 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Toyota target Raikkonen for 2010
02 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Alonso out to emulate Schumacher
01 Oct 09 |  Formula 1
Ferrari confirm capture of Alonso
30 Sep 09 |  Formula 1
Mercedes considering Brawn buy-in
07 Sep 09 |  Formula 1


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