From GMM
During an event on Monday in Brackley, the local town where the team is based, Ross Brawn has declined to confirm a deal has finally being agreed with Jenson Button, either if the team would be renamed Mercedes.
The claim by the Swiss newspaper Blick seems unlikely, given that the 2009 champion elect was conspicuously missing during a team parade through the streets of Brackley on Monday. Members of the locally based F1 team, winners of the constructors' title, rode through the Northamptonshire town in open-top buses, while team heads Brawn and Nick Fry sat on the back shelf of a Mercedes convertible.
Asked about Jenson Button - who is currently holidaying with his girlfriend in Japan - and the fact he is yet to be confirmed as an ongoing driver for 2010, Ross Brawn said: "I can give you 99 per cent on Jenson Button (staying)."
Ross Brawn added: "We have nothing more to say at this time except that we expect to be in good shape for next year."
He also refused to be drawn on the likely deepening of Brawn GP's collaboration with Mercedes, with Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claiming an announcement is due within days with the cars bearing a silver livery.
It is possible that new world champions Brawn GP will be renamed to feature the word 'Mercedes' ahead of the 2010 season. But whether the name can be changed to officially include Mercedes depends on the agreement of McLaren, the Stuttgart-based luxury car maker's exclusive F1 partner.
Asked if he would like to comment, Ross Brawn answered: "No, it's too early to say anything."
McLaren has already vetoed Red Bull's desired use of Mercedes engines for 2010, but prior to the 2009 season Martin Whitmarsh approved a two-year supply deal for Brawn. Auto Motor und Sport claims that "error" could cost Whitmarsh his job as team boss, with Ron Dennis linked with a return to the pitwall after appearing at the Abu Dhabi finale earlier this month.
Ross Brawn told PA Sport: "We are looking at all opportunities for the future but it is too early to announce anything yet."
During an event on Monday in Brackley, the local town where the team is based, Ross Brawn has declined to confirm a deal has finally being agreed with Jenson Button, either if the team would be renamed Mercedes.
The claim by the Swiss newspaper Blick seems unlikely, given that the 2009 champion elect was conspicuously missing during a team parade through the streets of Brackley on Monday. Members of the locally based F1 team, winners of the constructors' title, rode through the Northamptonshire town in open-top buses, while team heads Brawn and Nick Fry sat on the back shelf of a Mercedes convertible.
Asked about Jenson Button - who is currently holidaying with his girlfriend in Japan - and the fact he is yet to be confirmed as an ongoing driver for 2010, Ross Brawn said: "I can give you 99 per cent on Jenson Button (staying)."
Ross Brawn added: "We have nothing more to say at this time except that we expect to be in good shape for next year."
He also refused to be drawn on the likely deepening of Brawn GP's collaboration with Mercedes, with Germany's Auto Motor und Sport claiming an announcement is due within days with the cars bearing a silver livery.
It is possible that new world champions Brawn GP will be renamed to feature the word 'Mercedes' ahead of the 2010 season. But whether the name can be changed to officially include Mercedes depends on the agreement of McLaren, the Stuttgart-based luxury car maker's exclusive F1 partner.
Asked if he would like to comment, Ross Brawn answered: "No, it's too early to say anything."
McLaren has already vetoed Red Bull's desired use of Mercedes engines for 2010, but prior to the 2009 season Martin Whitmarsh approved a two-year supply deal for Brawn. Auto Motor und Sport claims that "error" could cost Whitmarsh his job as team boss, with Ron Dennis linked with a return to the pitwall after appearing at the Abu Dhabi finale earlier this month.
Ross Brawn told PA Sport: "We are looking at all opportunities for the future but it is too early to announce anything yet."