Formula One:Jenson Button's contract negotiations have taken a new twist with team principal Ross Brawn suggesting they are unlikely to match his salary demands.
Newly crowned World Champion Button is looking for a big increase after taking a pay cut at the start of the year following the demise of Honda.
However, his bosses at Brawn are yet to match his demands and McLaren are reportedly ready to pounce should the negotiations end in deadlock. That would mean an all-British driving line-up alongside 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Brawn, who recently stated that he is "99 per cent certain" that the English driver will stay, hinted that they will probably offer him more freedom to negotiate his own sponsorship deals instead of giving him a contract worth more than €6.6m a year.
"We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go," said Brawn. "Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations."
Button has yet to sign a new contract with Brawn for next season but has said he wanted to stay with the newly crowned champions.
The 29-year-old took a significant pay cut, around €5.5million according to reports, to stay with Brawn this year after their predecessors Honda decided to pull out of the sport in December.
Although driver salaries are coming down as teams cut costs, Button wants his pay restored to something more appropriate to a world champion - likely to be in the region of €9million.
