Button agress McLaren deal - report
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 09:16Formula One world champion Jenson Button has agreed terms on a three-year deal with McLaren and could sign a contract within days, according to The Guardian newspaper.
The paper's long-standing Formula One reporter Alan Henry, who has close connections with McLaren, said the deal would be worth £6 million a year to 29-year-old Button.
If the deal goes through, Button would almost double his current salary and partner compatriot Lewis Hamilton in all-British line-up of champions at the Mercedes-powered team. He won the championship with Brawn this year, with that team becoming Mercedes Grand Prix next season after a takeover was announced on Monday.
Brawn chief executive Nick Fry said on Monday that he hoped a deal could still be done with the driver but made clear that the Mercedes' takeover did not mean the team would now throw more money at the world champion.
'We've had discussions with Jenson which we think are a sensible salary and this is not going to change anything in that respect,' he told BBC radio.
'I hope Jenson will be with us next season, we've worked together for a good few years now and succeeded in winning a world championship together,' he added.
'We want Jenson to be with us but we have to recognise that Formula One is not divorced from the rest of the world. We work within a budget and if we spend the money in one area, we can't spend it in another.'
