Brawn GP News

Renault today appeared in front of the World Motorsport Council to answer charges of bringing the sport into disrepute.  Specifically it was claimed that at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix they instructed driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash his car in order to bring out the safety car to the benefit of his team mate Fernando Alonso who went on to win the race.

In the lead up to this case much of the evidence that the FIA had collected was leaked online.  The case was underpinned by Nelson Piquet Jr ‘s sworn statement of the events that took place, also the FIA reviewed the data from the crash and found several inconsistencies.

The majority of the blame for the incident was focused upon Flavio Briatore Renualt’s Managing Director and Pat Symonds their Executive Director of Engineering.  Last week Renault announced that they had parted company from both Briatore and Symonds and they would not dispute the allegations.  Effectively changing today’s hearing from an investigation into whether it occurred into a discussion of how they should be punished.

The Outcome – Summary

Flavio Briatore – For an unlimited time the FIA will not sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever. It also hereby instructs all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Briatore access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, it does not intend to renew any Superlicence granted to any driver who is associated (through a management contract or otherwise) with Mr. Briatore, or any entity or individual associated with Mr. Briatore. In determining that such instructions should be applicable for an unlimited period, the World Motor Sport Council has had regard not only to the severity of the breach in which Mr. Briatore was complicit but also to his actions in continuing to deny his participation in the breach despite all the evidence.

Flavio Briatore has made no public statement (that we can find) regarding the events of the Singapore Grand Prix other than to deny his participation.

Pat Symonds – for a period of five years, the FIA does not intend to sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever. It hereby instructs, for a period of five years, all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Symonds access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction. In determining that such instructions should be effective for a period of five years the World Motor Sport Council has had regard: (i) to Mr. Symonds’ acceptance that he took part in the conspiracy; and (ii) to his communication to the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council that it was to his “eternal regret and shame” that he participated in the conspiracy.

Nelson Piquet Jr – the World Motor Sport Council confirms the immunity from individual sanctions under the International Sporting Code in relation to this incident, which the FIA had granted to him in exchange for volunteering his evidence.

Nelson Piquet Jr has spoken of his desire to put this behind him and return to Formula One – What has not changed is my love for Formula 1 and hunger to race again. I realise that I have to start my career from zero.  I can only hope that a team will recognise how badly I was stifled at Renault and give me an opportunity to show what I promised in my career in F3 and GP2.

Fernando Alonso – the World Motor Sport Council thanks him for cooperating with the FIA’s enquiries and for attending the meeting, and concludes that Mr. Alonso was not in any way involved in Renault F1’s breach of the regulations.

Renualt –

At the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, Renault F1 made the following points in mitigation:

- it had accepted, at the earliest practicable opportunity, that it committed the offences with which it was charged and cooperated fully with the FIA’s investigation;
- it had confirmed that Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds were involved in the conspiracy and ensured that they left the team;
- it apologised unreservedly to the FIA and to the sport for the harm caused by its actions;
- it committed to paying the costs incurred by the FIA in its investigation; and
- Renault (the parent company, as opposed to Renault F1) committed to making a significant contribution to FIA safety-related projects.

The World Motor Sport Council considers that offences of this severity merit permanent disqualification from the FIA Formula One World Championship. However, having regard to the points in mitigation mentioned above and in particular the steps taken by Renault F1 to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved, the WMSC has decided to suspend Renault F1’s disqualification until the end of the 2011 season. The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time.

In addition the World Motor Sport Council notes Renault F1’s apology and agrees that the team should pay the costs of the investigation. It also accepts the offer of a significant contribution to the FIA’s safety work.

Conclusion

Many have compared this latest Formula one scandal to the McLaren spygate affair where McLaren were disqualified from the season and forced to pay a fine of £100,000.  In fact many say what Renault did was worse as it put at risk the safety of the drivers, marshalls and spectators.

Renault have been upfront in the matter and the investigation has shown that knowledge of the incident was limited to just Briatore, Symonds and Piquet.  Should Renault be punished for the actions of three of their employees?  A survey on F1fanatic.co.uk shows that the majority of Formula one fans feel Renault got off too lightly.  But with the real risk of Renault wanting to leave the sport could the FIA risk a harder punishment?  What do you think?  Leave a comment.

The Full World Motorsport Council Statement

At an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council held in Paris on 21 September 2009, the ING Renault F1 team (“Renault F1”) admitted that the team had conspired with its driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in breach of the International Sporting Code and F1 Sporting Regulations.

Renault F1 stated at the meeting that it had conducted a detailed internal investigation, which found that: (i) Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr. had conspired to cause the crash; and (ii) no other team member was involved in the conspiracy.

The FIA has conducted its own detailed investigation and its findings correspond with those of Renault F1.

At the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, Renault F1 made the following points in mitigation:

- it had accepted, at the earliest practicable opportunity, that it committed the offences with which it was charged and cooperated fully with the FIA’s investigation;
- it had confirmed that Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds were involved in the conspiracy and ensured that they left the team;
- it apologised unreservedly to the FIA and to the sport for the harm caused by its actions;
- it committed to paying the costs incurred by the FIA in its investigation; and
- Renault (the parent company, as opposed to Renault F1) committed to making a significant contribution to FIA safety-related projects.

Nelson Piquet Jr. also apologised unreservedly to the World Motor Sport Council for his part in the conspiracy.

The following decision was taken:

The World Motor Sport Council finds that Renault F1 team members Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr. conspired to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The World Motor Sport Council therefore finds Renault F1, which, under article 123 of the International Sporting Code, is responsible for the actions of its employees, in breach of Articles 151(c) and point 2(c) of Chapter IV of Appendix L of the Code, and Articles 3.2, 30.3 and/or 39.1 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations.

The World Motor Sport Council considers Renault F1’s breaches relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity. Renault F1’s breaches not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr. himself. The World Motor Sport Council considers that offences of this severity merit permanent disqualification from the FIA Formula One World Championship. However, having regard to the points in mitigation mentioned above and in particular the steps taken by Renault F1 to identify and address the failings within its team and condemn the actions of the individuals involved, the WMSC has decided to suspend Renault F1’s disqualification until the end of the 2011 season. The World Motor Sport Council will only activate this disqualification if Renault F1 is found guilty of a comparable breach during that time.

In addition the World Motor Sport Council notes Renault F1’s apology and agrees that the team should pay the costs of the investigation. It also accepts the offer of a significant contribution to the FIA’s safety work.

As regards Mr. Briatore, the World Motor Sport Council declares that, for an unlimited period, the FIA does not intend to sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever. It also hereby instructs all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Briatore access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, it does not intend to renew any Superlicence granted to any driver who is associated (through a management contract or otherwise) with Mr. Briatore, or any entity or individual associated with Mr. Briatore. In determining that such instructions should be applicable for an unlimited period, the World Motor Sport Council has had regard not only to the severity of the breach in which Mr. Briatore was complicit but also to his actions in continuing to deny his participation in the breach despite all the evidence.

As regards Mr. Symonds, the World Motor Sport Council declares that, for a period of five years, the FIA does not intend to sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever. It hereby instructs, for a period of five years, all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Symonds access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction. In determining that such instructions should be effective for a period of five years the World Motor Sport Council has had regard: (i) to Mr. Symonds’ acceptance that he took part in the conspiracy; and (ii) to his communication to the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council that it was to his “eternal regret and shame” that he participated in the conspiracy.

As regards Mr. Piquet Jr., the World Motor Sport Council confirms the immunity from individual sanctions under the International Sporting Code in relation to this incident, which the FIA had granted to him in exchange for volunteering his evidence.

As regards Fernando Alonso, the World Motor Sport Council thanks him for cooperating with the FIA’s enquiries and for attending the meeting, and concludes that Mr. Alonso was not in any way involved in Renault F1’s breach of the regulations.

The World Motor Sport Council would like to thank the Stewards and legal investigation team (in particular Dorothy Cory-Wright of Sidley Austin LLP who conducted the interviews at the Belgian Grand Prix).

The full reasons for this decision, in addition to a complete recording of the proceedings before the World Motor Sport Council, will be made available shortly.

While this weekend’s race should be a celebration of a long history of Formula One in Silverstone and a fond farewell it looks set to be overshadowed by the news that the FOTA teams will leave Formula One and set up their own series.  Read the Press Release here.

Everyone has their view, is this good or bad for the sport is it a stunt?  We’ve selected some of the key players thoughts and included them below.

Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Nick Fry – Brawn GP CEO

We have negotiated with both Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone at some length in good faith and not quite got to where we want to be so at the moment it looks like we will be doing something different.

It’s a variety of problems. One is what we would call overall governance of the sport. The way it is run and decisions are made. There are also some financial difficulties on the way costs are going to be controlled in the future.

I think Max in general does a good job but it’s a combination of things. Some of the decision making we feel has been done without the consensus or the participation of the competitors and that is obviously an issue.

The drive to reduce costs is the one supported by all the teams, but on the other hand some of the processes by which we get to cost cut aren’t supported by a number of the teams.

We’re not against reduced costs in F1. They have got too high. For our team, which is one of the smaller ones, getting down to a figure like £40m is not so much of an issue. But we want to be competing against the likes of Ferrari or Toyota. They are much bigger companies and it is a much more difficult for them and they need time to do it.

Really the ball is in Max’s court. He has to announce the participants in the championship for next year, so we’ll see what happens there. I do hope from our point of view that discussions continue.

We want to compete against the best in the business, and the reason that we were very keen to be with the group of eight is that it contains the best motor racing teams in the world.

We want to be competing against Ferrari, Renault and Toyota and others.

As we sit here today, the great teams are within the Fota group, and Brawn GP want to be beating the best. I’d be confident there will be F1 racing next year – the format – who knows?

Martin Whitmarsh – McLaren,

In Formula 1 in recent years there has not been the stability that we should have, there has not been the clarity of what the championship should be for the fans.

Anyone who has been watching would have been very aware that a number of major manufacturers were almost inexorably leaving the sport, and that would have been highly damaging.

“We’re inviting all those participating at the moment and any new entrant to participate in what we believe will be the pinnacle of motorsport.”

Adam Parr – Williams F1 CEO,

Note – Williams one of two teams (along with Force India) to sign up for next years F1 season

We are, I wouldn’t say bystanders because that would be disingenuous, but I would say that we have contracts in place with Bernie [Ecclestone] and we have always said with Max [Mosley] as well and we entered the championship in light of those contracts

I am impressed that [Brawn GP owner] Ross [Brawn] as, let’s say next year an independent team that actually has to raise money in the way that we do, feels that he has the ability to do that in another championship.

But we simply could not – there was no way we could walk away from our contracts and raise the sort of money that we would need to compete with the manufacturers, the Red Bulls and so forth.

So we have a mutual dependence with the FIA and FOM and that is enshrined in contracts that we will honour.

It’s very, very sad from us that in so doing that we have drifted away from people that we like and we respect and we like racing against.

Christian Horner – Red Bull

I think it’s quite clear that the FOTA teams have probably now gone as far as they can, I’m perhaps ever the optimist, but I think from what I’ve seen of the statements from the FIA they seem fairly resolute.  So we’ve unfortunately reached that stalemate and I can’t honestly see either side budging at the moment, which therefore leaves no alternative [but to split].

It’s disappointing because some progress has been made and large efforts have been made in recent weeks that it now looks like it has reached that stalemate and some grown-up decisions needed to be made.

Bernie is in a tricky position because he doesn’t write the rules, It’s effectively his business and the big problem the teams have are with the regulations and aspects of the way the regulations are brought in, but Bernie has not really any control over that so he’s in a situation where his key assets, ie the teams, are in a situation where they are saying we can’t enter under these current regs.

We have all stated that we are prepared to commit for three years and if anyone can deliver a solution to all of this I think he is probably about the only man that can.  But at the moment that hasn’t been forthcoming.

A solution has tried to be found in good faith and that hasn’t happened, There has come a point where those negotiations have come to a close now. The teams have felt they have gone as far as they can and the FIA similarly and therefore you either enter under the terms that we find unpalatable or you do something else.

We’ve reached the stage where the only alternative if we want to keep competing is to do something else.

Vijay Mallya – Force India Owner

Note – Like Williams F1, Force India have signed up for the 2010 Formula One season

We were always hoping there would be compromise between FOTA and the FIA.

But at midnight last night I was notified by FOTA about their decision, which already seems to be heading towards a breakaway championship or series.

We find this to be very sad and disappointing, particularly since the FIA World Championship and the Formula One brand has been developed into an invaluable property over many decades.

As of now, Force India is a confirmed entrant to the FIA 2010 Formula One World Championship and we wait to see the developments over the weekend. Until a clear direction has been identified, we do not wish to make any further comments.

David Coulthard – BBC Commentator and Former F1 Driver

I think this is another part of the challenge of Formula 1. We tend to think of the driver-car challenge on the track but it’s always been about business manoeuvrings off-track as well.

What we’re seeing here is the ultimate manoeuvring, the ultimate game of chess, between the governing body and the teams.

The rules can be whatever they all collectively decide them to be. The way F1 is set up, we have the commercial rights holder, Mr Eccclestone, and he does a fantastic job in getting the venues and the TV contracts, and the FIA which governs the sport and what they’ve said is that if the teams are not happy then they can go and find someone else govern them.

Eddie Jordan – BBC Commentator and Former Owner of Jordan Grand Prix

It may be the situation where the teams are saying we will happily deal with the FIA but – and this is purely my view – but we want rid of Max Mosley.

Max has to decide whether he goes for re-election or not, and I presume the teams want to see that he doesn’t and that he follows through with what he said he would do and stands down.

There’s not a chance [of there being two rival series in 2010]. It’s a huge sport but it does not stand up to having two rival events. No sport does, and I think to go against the governing body is a very, very dangerous position to take.

Bernie Ecclestone – Formula One rights holder

and the final word goes to Bernie…

I’m not concerned. The Formula 1 world championship has been going for 60 years and will continue to go.

We’ve had 73 teams in and out of the world championships so I don’t suppose it will change.

The FIA has released the pre race car weights for the Spanish Grand Prix.  These are the weights that cars will start on the grid for Sunday’s race. This shows how much fuel the cars are running.

From the below it is clear that the Brawn GP cars are running slightly low on fuel and will have to watch their backs at the start of the race for the Red Bull’s and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa who will be looking to run a longer first stint.

Lewis Hamilton is the heaviest runner down in 14th, expect an unusual strategy from McLaren to try to bring him up into the field.

1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 646kg
2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 651.5
3. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 649.5
4. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 655
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 651.5
6. Timo Glock, Toyota, 646.5
7. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 655.5
8. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 645
9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 668
10. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 660
11. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 676.6
12. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 677.4
13. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 676.3
14. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 683
15. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 678
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 673
17. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 669
18. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 657
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 675
20. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 656

The FIA have been planning an optional 2010 budget cap for some time.  It was previously thought that the team’s budgets would be capped at £30 million however it was announced today that the cap would be £40 million.  The FIA wants to reduce the cost of teams competing in Formula one.  There are two schools of thought as to how this could be done, one is much more restrictive technical regulations which would almost cause teams to be standardised or 2 – cost caps.  The FIA believe technical innovation is a key part of Formula one and therefore has opted to create a cost cap.

What is included

The teams will have to ensure that they stick to a budget of £40 million for all costs EXCEPT

• Marketing and promotions – This includes exhibitions, sponsor’s adverts, demonstrations etc
• Drivers and Young Driver Programs – The FIA want to maintain formula one as the pinnacle of motor sport and want teams to be able to employ the best drivers and train new drivers into the sport
• Engines – For 2010 only the FIA are excluding engine costs from the budget in an attempt to entice more manufacturers to enter the sport.
• Fines or penalties imposed by the FIA

In order to enforce this budget cap the FIA has formed a cost commission to audit team spending.

Why should a team cap their budget

If a team signs up to the cost capping scheme they will have the following benefits.

• Movable wings, front and rear.
• An engine which is not subject to a rev limit
• Unlimited out-of-season track testing with no restrictions on the scale and speed of wind tunnel testing

Other Regulation Changes

The following regulations will affect all teams in 2010

• Refuelling during a race will be forbidden – In order to save the costs of transporting refuelling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy (to save weight).
• Tyre blankets – will be banned and that the ban on other tyre-heating devices will be maintained.

Anaylsis

Although this is an over used phrase in Formula one “These regulation changes could be the biggest yet”.  With cost capped teams allowed no rev limits and movable front an rear wings it is hard to see how other non cost capped teams could compete even with a greater budget.  The scale of these cost cuts is clear when you consider this would be a 90% cut in some team’s budgets.  It seems while the FIA have admirable goals in cutting the cost of F1 the scale of the rule changes will force teams to take part.

While the teams have mixed views on cost capping, Frank Williams has spoken out in favour encouraging all teams to participate.  “We would like to see all the teams operating to one set of regulations and under a budget cap in 2010 and that is the position we will be advocating within (Formula One Teams Association) FOTA when we meet next week,” said Williams.

The lack of refuelling during a race will appeal to many who want to see drivers overtake on the track rather than in the pitlane but to many it will be sorely missed as refuelling strategies of Ross Brawn and other team managers have lead to some of the most exciting races!

Q: Sebastian, a very incident packed race. Talk us through that pace car start and the conditions that faced you.
Sebastian Vettel: It was the right decision to start under the safety car. Basically it was okay at some points but at some corners on every lap you were having a lot of aquaplaning. Sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the rain. It was very, very difficult throughout the whole race. I think we both knew, Mark and I, that we were on the short strategy, so we had to push at the beginning to get away from the pack which we succeeded. And yeah, it was a very difficult race. As I said, a lot of aquaplaning and sometimes you were just catching the car and just keeping it on the circuit. You tried to push and tried to get away from the car lap by lap. I think I had the best conditions because I had no car running in front of me more or less for the whole race, so that was quite comfortable but still it was really difficult with the aquaplaning especially in the last corner. It is going a bit uphill and the water goes down and there is some place where basically you have no control, so you just try not to touch the car there, don’t downshift, don’t brake too much and every lap you had to be cautious. But what should I say. I am extremely happy, second time now in the wet I have won a grand prix. Now we can have some more rain. The car was fantastic. It is definitely necessary to mention that the team did a really, really good job in preparing the car. Yesterday in qualifying we did a good job but nevertheless we were struggling a bit with the reliability but we were able to fix it overnight. We found the problem and that speaks for the quality of our team and everybody was just trying to fix it. We succeeded. Both cars just finished the race and even having a top two. A double win for Red Bull is incredible and I am extremely happy.

Q: Mark, you have been with this team for a long time. This must mean a lot to you to?
Mark Webber: A huge amount. Our team has been through a lot and a lot of results have slipped through our fingers. And today Sebastian and I could capitalize on a car that worked very well. We pushed each other quite hard in the race. It was very, very tough conditions for the whole grand prix. It got a little bit better in the middle of the race, then at the end again it got a little bit interesting. And also when you lose the edges off the wets they don’t cut the water as well. It was a very tough race, extremely rewarding to get this result. Personally for myself it is obviously the best result of my career. I hope to go one step better in the future and this is a long way towards it. I think it is an incredible result for Red Bull. If you think what Dietrich (Mateschitz) has done over the last five or six years in Formula One to get his first one-two is an absolute credit to him, so it is good.

Q: Jenson, a great race for you with lots going on. Obviously some problem with the car as the conditions worsened?
Jenson Button: Well, I think everyone was struggling with the aquaplaning out there. It was pretty crazy conditions into the last corner. As Sebastian said it was a just a lake and you couldn’t actually brake for the corner. A few other places were the same. I was just really struggling with the tyres. They were shuddering. They shudder because you can’t get temperature into them, front and rears. It was a difficult race and every lap you thought you were going to throw the car off. You really did, so to finish the race is an achievement and to come home on the podium is also great. We couldn’t challenge these two guys today, they were immensely quick. But it is great to get six points on the board and that’s important to keep the consistency.

Q: Sebastian, it was also an incredibly strong car. Let’s have a look at lap 19. Can you talk us through this incident on the back straight? I don’t know if Jarno Trulli was going slower than you but you got a nasty punt from the rear from Sébastien Buemi.
SV: Yeah, I mean I was surprised. I thought this car was Rubens (Barrichello) as I knew he was in front of me. I was just going off throttle to check if everything was alright, I passed him and I really didn’t see that Sébastien was coming. I am very sorry for what happened. To be honest I was just taking care. I didn’t want to run into the car in front of me. Obviously it is impossible to see anything in the mirrors as there is a lot of spray, so I moved to the right, checked if everything was alright and then I realised it was a Toyota and not Rubens and then I continued. And unfortunately Sébastien hit me already. It is a shame for his race but on the other hand I am very lucky to have finished mine.

Q: And it didn’t affect your car at all?
SV: No, it didn’t. After that I was quite happy that nothing happened. I could continue in a normal way, still it was difficult enough with the conditions, a lot of aquaplaning and I am just extremely proud and happy to sit here now.

Q: Mark and Jenson. Some fun and games mid-race. Quite a lot going on between you. Maybe I should let both of you now describe the action. You can fight amongst yourselves about who wants to do the commentary on the clips we are going to see next?
JB: For me I was pretty much just always out of control. I was just waiting for Mark to appear, well not appear in my mirrors, but appear in the front. I locked up the fronts in that corner. I was struggling there with locking up the tyres.
MW: I hit the river there and had to catch and straighten the car and open the steering and get onto the astroturf. Also I was worried about that. I didn’t have a clue where Jenson was as I had just come back on. I only looked at my pit board every few laps, so I knew he was somewhere there but I didn’t know how close.

Q: What is going on here Jenson?
JB: I was just trying to get some heat in the tyres. I am not trying to weave and keep people behind. I was really struggling with that. I don’t think they have shown Mark going past me around the outside at turn seven. I didn’t have a clue where he was and he was alongside at turn eight and it was such a shock as you can’t see anything when it is raining. Then he just cut across the front and made the move stick. For me it was impossible to do anything about it. As soon as these guys get near you or alongside you, you cannot challenge them and it would have been silly to have tried.

Q: It looks from that if you had more problems getting the tyres to work than the two Red Bull drivers?
JB: Well, I don’t know if everyone else did. Rubens and myself struggled quite a bit. I don’t know what the reason for that is. Obviously the car is working in a different way but I hope we will solve those problems in the future because we cannot let these guys be that far in front.

Q: Sebastian, let’s have a look at you crossing the line to win your second grand prix. A nice moment?
SV: Yeah, unbelievable. Some 10 laps from the end I obviously tried to observe the gap to the car behind, which was Mark, and was trying to adapt more or less to his pace. Just trying to have everything in control but it is extremely difficult. At some point I tried to bring the car home but then I realised ‘don’t do that as you lose the focus,’ so I tried to be really focussed corner by corner and not looking too far ahead. Then at the end, in the last two laps, I backed off a little bit as I didn’t want to risk going over the lakes in a stupid way anymore. So, just fantastic. Winning the second race having won one for Toro Rosso and now one for Red Bull is fantastic. I am extremely happy and hope we can continue working in this direction.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, what a fantastic drive. Just give us some indication of what sort of concentration and mental effort is required.
SV: A lot. It was a long race. I don’t know how long it was. Basically we finished the 56 laps but in terms of time I don’t know. It felt quite long. I think first of all it was the right decision to start behind the safety car. There was a lot of water already on the lap to the grid. I was surprised at how much standing water there was in places and throughout the whole race I think everyone was struggling with some aquaplaning. In some places more and in some places less. I knew we had a short middle stint and an aggressive strategy, so every lap earlier the safety car pulled in would give us more chance to open a gap to the guys at the back. At the point the safety car came in I just tried to push and basically tried to get as much gap to the guys behind as possible which I think was the key to success in the end. Also in the second stint I think we did the right thing. Fantastic strategy, extremely good effort by the team to get both cars reliable after the trouble we had yesterday. To be honest we were quite confident going into the race that nothing should happen but obviously you never know and especially the last couple of laps when I was in the lead and quite comfortable I was just hoping and nursing the car back to the finish line but on the other hand you also always have to keep the focus and not to do any silly mistake as with these conditions having a lot of aquaplaning in some places, especially the last corner, it was absolutely necessary to keep your head up and watch out what the conditions were like. When it started to rain a bit more there was also more aquaplaning and the tyres basically had a peak at the beginning and then it was difficult to keep the tyres alive and towards the end of the stint it was always getting more difficult to get rid of all of the standing water and obviously to come back with the result I am extremely happy to have won the race. I think it is an enormous job by the whole of Red Bull. Greetings to Austria and we are both very happy and very pleased.

Q: You had the advantage of a clear track having started on pole but were there disadvantages as well?
SV: Yeah, when I was not in the lead, basically, especially when I was trying to catch Jenson. It is extremely difficult to see the car in front of you which we all know and that makes it so difficult to get the race started in wet conditions. Sometimes I knew I was behind him as I could see the spray but I did not exactly know where he was, so it is extremely difficult first of all to get close and then stay close and even pass. I think Mark and Jenson had a bit more exciting race in terms of overtaking each other. For me I was quite happy that I always had clear vision to the front similar to last year’s race in Monza, so for sure I had the best chance to do well and at the end it was close sometimes to keep the car on the track especially entering turn one. Sometimes there was kind of a river running down the track and you just lost the car on snap oversteer. You just caught it and you were hoping for the car and the tyres to stick again. In 100 per cent of the cases it did, so it doesn’t feel comfortable to have this kind of situation.

Q: You had the incident with Sébastien Buemi. Any other major moments we might have missed on television?
SV: There were a couple of moments I would say. But obviously that was extremely important that there was no damage to my car. Basically what happened I was going down the main straight, the safety car was already out, not yet in front of us, so you stay in your target time and try to catch up with the safety car. What happened is I saw a car slowing down all of a sudden on the left side and saw the spray and thought initially it was Rubens (Barrichello). I was not sure if he had a problem or was just slowing down because of the cars in front of him, maybe we had caught up and already there was a queue. You cannot see that far. I was slowing down and it turned out to be a Toyota, not Rubens, so I was just looking cautiously. He had a problem. He had no rear wing. Then I passed him and at the same moment I got a hit from behind by Sébastien. I am sorry to ruin his race but in these conditions you could basically run without mirrors because you cannot see a lot, you cannot see much because of all the spray. So sorry for him and extremely lucky to keep going in the race.

Q: Mark, as you said, your best ever result – and you were in the spray!
MW: Yeah, it was challenging at times. Of course, Sebastian deserved a clear gap because he got pole. Once Fernando rolled away in terms of pitting under the safety car, I thought OK, we knew we were quite short, we need to make the most of getting away from potential two-stoppers or people who had more flexibility with their strategy. The first few laps it was impossible to stay close to Seb, I could hardly see anything. I was in and out of the throttle in some of the blind crests, and having so many moments while trying to stay close. And then it started to settle a little bit and then I thought OK, I can start to come a little bit closer. I hit a river in turn one, went a bit wide, lost some time and then unfortunately it put me back into the clutches – a little bit of the gap after the next safety car. I then had to come back through Jenson which was a good scrap and then again, when Jenson slightly locked a front right into the hairpin, I had an opportunity to go past. And when it’s your first (clear) lap, it’s ‘my God, I can see everything, it’s beautiful.’ Then pushing like hell, again trying to put as much as I could into that part of the race. Another little mistake. Just playing with the rivers, you know, just playing with them, how aggressive you can be with the rivers and how much you can get away with. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. It was a fantastic challenge. Then when Jenson got back past me again, I knew it was… not do or die but I was still quite keen to try and win the race myself and I passed him around the outside of turn seven because I knew the car was quite good there and also he would not know I would be there as well, so he could not defend. It was one of the best moves of my career and that started to then build me for the next part of the race. And then it was basically a formality. I was just watching Jenson’s gap. Sebastian and I were just on the pace, bringing it to the end but it is an incredible day for the team. You’ve got no idea what the guys went through last night. We were absolutely sh*tting ourselves that the cars wouldn’t finish the race because every time we ran yesterday the cars stopped in three laps. Basically my driveshaft boot was destroyed as well after qualifying, so it was incredible to get the cars home. To get maximum points, for us, after the missed opportunities in Australia, and also with Sebastian’s and my missed opportunities in Malaysia, it’s a great day for the team, at Milton Keynes and also in Austria.

Q: Jenson, tell us about your battle with Mark.
JB: I knew that the Red Bulls obviously had very good pace, we saw that in the first stint and when the safety car came in, they seemed to be very strong from the word go. Our pace could get closer to them but when we’re on cold tyres, they could really get their car working which is very impressive. But after the first stop, I was back in front of Mark, due to the difference in stop laps and really it was all going OK. I felt like I was really slow, because I was trying to miss every river, but the problem with that is that it changes every lap, the conditions are changing every lap and the position of the rivers is changing every lap, so it makes it very, very difficult and when I saw that myself and Mark were pulling away from the people behind, I was reasonably happy with the pace then, I could just sort of settle into a pace. And then I got to the second to last corner and locked up the fronts, Mark went through, I tried to stay with him but there was no chance and then he made a mistake in the last corner where I jumped back past him again. The problem was, for everyone who was racing, you can’t see the car in front, where he is and when you’re in front you can’t see the car behind. It makes it quite dangerous. You might say it’s more fun, but it’s not, it’s quite dangerous. Mark did a great move round turn seven, round the outside. It seemed that they could run on the really wet parts of the circuit and actually break through the water on the circuit, whereas we just seemed to float over the top. I don’t know if that was because we were running the car too low or what but that’s where he made the move, made it stick and from then on really it was just holding on and getting to the end of the race, because for all of us, however quick or slow you drive, it’s just as dangerous and it was so easy to throw the car off (the track) as we saw with Sutil, a pretty fast part of the circuit. It could have easily have happened to any of us. I’m very thankful that we got to the end of the race with both cars and I was able to get on the podium. It’s a great result for me but you’ve got to say ‘well done’ to these guys because they drove well and obviously their car is working well as well.

Q: To all three of you, to what extent were you expecting these conditions today, all the way through the race?
JB: I didn’t expect so much aquaplaning. If it’s wet, it’s wet. You can normally master the line and try and find an area on the circuit where it’s dry or where you’re not aquaplaning, but here it’s very, very difficult. You’re aquaplaning as you come onto the main straight, as you go down the dip across the start and finish line and in that condition there’s nothing you can do and it’s very, very scary in a way. So getting to the end of the race, in spite of being third and not being on the top step, it’s such a relief and such a great feeling that we’ve been able to come away with these points.

Q: Were you expecting these conditions though?
JB: We thought it would be raining today but it’s amazing the amount of water build-up considering it hasn’t been raining that hard, compared to Sepang.
MW: When I got out of bed this morning, driving to the track, I was thinking maybe intermediates today and if we’re unlucky a little bit of work on the extremes but to do a whole Grand Prix on a set of extremes is not often the case. I think there are a few sections of drainage on the track which definitely need to be improved because some sections are not bad and on other sections you really are aquaplaning, so you are totally on top of the water. I don’t know if Adrian (Sutil) was on inters but where he went off, through there we had several moments where you were just trying to keep the wheel straight and feather the throttle and wait for the movement because it was very, very treacherous. I must say, an incredibly challenging Grand Prix for the drivers and one that was right on the limit for safety. It was a massive challenge. We all want challenges as drivers, at this level we should be able to test ourselves to the maximum and that’s what Formula One is about, but that one was right up there with Fuji, right on the edge and we cannot take much more than that. Visibility is one thing but also aquaplaning is another, it’s not down to… Anyway, we got a great result, so that’s good.
SV: Basically on Friday they said that it might rain on Sunday night. Saturday they said maybe Sunday afternoon and I really started to believe this morning when it started to drizzle that we were going to have a wet race or some rain during the race. I was surprised that it kept going continuously, so there was rain throughout the whole race. At some stage it stopped raining, the rain got less and the circuit improved and I thought OK, maybe now we have to pit too early, maybe in a couple of laps after the stop the track will be ready for inters but then it started raining again and also a couple of guys tried to make the inters work but obviously there was so much water, as Mark said, especially in the last corner, also turn six, basically that’s just an easy right kink, but it’s a bit of a crest. For some reason there’s a lot of water and you never know if you can stay flat or not and every lap the car was very light, going sideways and you were hoping, ‘yeah, everything is OK,’ and the next lap it was the same again, so every lap you had the same kind of scenario. As Mark said, it was extremely challenging but also on the edge, so if it had just started to rain heavier at some point, then in some places it would have been impossible and the person who got there first possibly would have lost the car.
JB: The scary thing was that normally when you follow a car you see the two lines in the water and you know exactly where they’ve been and you can follow that line because there’s less water there but I never saw any lines on the circuit. That was the amazing thing. The water doesn’t seem to clear and that was the worst thing about it, I think.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mike Doodson) Mark, you must have been very relieved to see the rain at the start from the driveshaft point of view. Were you able to modify the driveshafts to make them better or were you really worried that if it had been dry they might have only lasted for three laps at a time?
MW: Yes, we were able to modify the driveshafts, well, the small boot that contains the grease, to keep all the lubrication in there, so that was a spec change overnight, obviously within the regulations from parc ferme to be able to do that. There was some work done at the factory to understand the problem at this particular circuit. Of course, we might have been a bit more nervous in the dry with more loading and things like that but it turned out to be an inspired change from what the technical guys in that department had done. I must say that normally when I’m in that position, to gain positions, I like to see the guy in front have a problem and blow up but today of course, I would like to win but to get one-two, for us two, for the team… of course if it was Jenson, I would like to see him blow up but if it was Sebastian it was a bit different, so it was an incredible result for our team in the circumstances.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian and Mark, I know that Adrian Newey is projecting a new car with the diffuser. Do you believe you really need it as the one you are using proved to be very competitive?
SV: Well, first of all I didn’t know you are friends with Adrian. I think it’s the same for all the teams. We all have a diffuser, if you have this kind or this kind… As Fernando said yesterday, this is what is extremely interesting about this championship. I think these cars are new, they look different and you are just at the beginning of their development, so basically the curve continues to go up and you are able to find newer and newer bits, other than the diffuser, and an update here or there, smaller or bigger can make a huge difference because the championship is very tight. Three or four tenths up or down can have a big impact in terms of position in qualifying. You can be on top or midfield or at the back. I think every team is pushing. We are pushing extremely hard to make the car faster. I’m very happy that the car is fast already and able to compete with the best teams so far and yeah, hoping that it gets better and better throughout the season. Basically we will try and stay on top and make the final step to be the best team on the grid.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Jenson, you’ve been around for a little while already. When we have wet races, they seem to be started behind the safety car and you’ve mentioned the problems with visibility; what is different from the past, are the cars too fast for wet races, are they producing too much spray?
JB: That’s a difficult one. I haven’t been around that long, maybe longer than these two! There’s always been a lot of spray in Formula One. I don’t think that has changed. For some reason we seem to be having a lot of wet races over the last couple of years which I think stick in our memories more. The problem with getting temperature into the tyres is more of a new issue for me, anyway. You know we didn’t have that so much in the past. The tyres don’t seem to work as well as previously in the very wet conditions. We don’t seem to be able to break through the water. Obviously these guys could get it to work, so it wasn’t such a bad problem for them but it’s something that’s very strange, that we’re struggling so much with aquaplaning and tyre shuddering which we didn’t use to have four or five years ago. It’s very difficult to remember that far back but I don’t remember having such big issues. The wet is always difficult but this year and Fuji two years ago and a couple of wet races in between have for me been a lot more difficult and challenging for sure, because of the aquaplaning and just not getting heat in the tyres.
MW: If you look at the Spa race whatever it was, ten years ago or something, when one of the McLarens lost it on the exit of La Source, when you’ve got a car out of control – OK, it can happen from a rolling start as well – but I think we’ve seen the safety car work quite well on releasing the field in a much more controlled fashion. If you have different speeds off the start, the spray has always been high. I think that we’ve learned a lot in ten years in Formula One that there’s no real need to… today, to have a standing start is not really necessary. We can use the safety car and it works quite well. Once we’re under way, I think the conditions are the same as they were in ’93 or ’92 when the guys used to do it (conventionally). It’s the same thing but now we just have different methods to maybe make the race a bit safer to start.
SV: It also depends a lot on if you have guys running at the front all the time they might say yes, we could have started the race in the normal way but I think especially for the guys at the back it’s much more comfortable because you have no idea where you’re going – I’ve been there – and you can see, like today, I was extremely lucky to continue, you’re not braking, nothing, you just lift the throttle a little bit, I was cautious in case it was Rubens (Barrichello), in that case it was a Toyota. You know there were three cars involved and you can see that one hit the other and that shows how difficult it is and even starting in a normal way up to turn one there was no chance to see the car in front. We all have a flashing red light but you don’t see anything when you follow each other.

After the back to back races in Australia and Malaysia the teams have had a weekend off before the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.  Though what a busy two weeks it has been.  On Wednesday 15th April the FIA ruled that the Brawn, Williams and Toyota’s “Double Decker” diffusers were legal.  Now all the other teams have basically admitted that they will have to integrate this into their designs to be competitive.  For some teams such as Ferrari this will entail a major design change to the car as a new diffuser cannot be simply added as the suspension prevents this.

McLaren however arrived at China and in Friday practice revealed a new diffuser and quickly took to the top of the time sheets.  The McLaren diffuser design isn’t as radical as the Brawn’s but has certainly benefited Hamilton and given the McLaren team a much needed boost.  However one must ask, how much of this is true speed, this is only Friday practise so cars aren’t really competing and interestingly Kovalainen brought his McLaren in 4th despite not having the new diffuser design on the car.

Chinese Grand Prix free practice session one

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m37.334s

2. BUTTON Brawn 1m37.450s

3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m37.566s

4. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m37.672s

5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m37.752s

6. TRULLI Toyota 1m37.764s

7. ROSBERG Williams 1m37.860s

8. GLOCK Toyota 1m37.894s

9. ALONSO Renault 1m38.089s

10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m38.195s

11. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m38.223s

12. VETTEL Red Bull 1m38.274s

13. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m38.307s

14. SUTIL Force India 1m38.319s

15. MASSA Ferrari 1m38.418s

16. HEIDFELD BMW 1m38.456s

17. FISICHELLA Force India 1m38.460s

18. KUBICA BMW 1m38.463s

19. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m38.730s

20. PIQUET Renault 1m38.825s

In practice two Jenson Button was back on 1st place with a time significantly faster than practice 1.  Nico Rosberg who we picked as an man to watch in an early article is up in 2nd place.  The Ferarris have really suffered finishing 2nd practice in 12th and 14th.  They are not running the KER’s system in China which in previous races they were almost using to keep up!  They have had several KER’s related reliability problems and chose not to run it in China.

Chinese Grand Prix free practice session two

1. BUTTON Brawn 1m35.679s

2. ROSBERG Williams 1m35.704s

3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m35.881s

4. WEBBER Red Bull 1m36.105s

5. VETTEL Red Bull 1m36.167s

6. TRULLI Toyota 1m36.217s

7. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m36.377s

8. GLOCK Toyota 1m36.548s

9. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m36.674s

10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m36.800s

11. SUTIL Force India 1m36.829s

12. MASSA Ferrari 1m36.847s

13. HAMILTON McLaren 1m36.941s

14. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m37.054s

15. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m37.219s

16. PIQUET Renault 1m37.273s

17. KUBICA BMW 1m37.491s

18. HEIDFELD BMW 1m37.544s

19. ALONSO Renault 1m37.638s

20. FISICHELLA Force India 1m37.750s

The Malaysian Grand Prix has been held at Sepang International Circuit since 1999.  The 2009 race is held on April 5th 2009.

Lap Distance 5.543 km (3.376 mi)
Scheduled Distance 56 laps, 310.408 km (189.056 mi)

Previous Winners

Year	Driver	Constructor
2008	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
2007	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes
2006	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault
2005	Fernando Alonso	Renault
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2003	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes
2002	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
1999	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari

2009 Session Times

Friday

Malaysian GP free practice session one times

1. ROSBERG Williams 1m36.260s
2. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m36.305s
3. BUTTON Brawn 1m36.430s
4. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m36.487s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m36.561s
6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m36.646s
7. HAMILTON McLaren 1m36.699s
8. WEBBER Red Bull 1m36.703s
9. VETTEL Red Bull 1m36.747s
10. GLOCK Toyota 1m36.980s
11. TRULLI Toyota 1m36.982s
12. FISICHELLA Force India 1m37.025s
13. KUBICA BMW 1m37.039s
14. PIQUET Renault 1m37.199s
15. SUTIL Force India 1m37.241s
16. ALONSO Renault 1m37.395s
17. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m37.634s
18. HEIDFELD BMW 1m37.640s
19. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m38.022s
20. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m38.483s

Malaysian GP free practice session two times

1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m35.707s
2. MASSA Ferrari 1m35.832s
3. VETTEL Red Bull 1m35.954s
4. ROSBERG Williams 1m36.015s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m36.026s
6. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m36.161s
7. BUTTON Brawn 1m36.254s
8. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m36.290s
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m36.397s
10. PIQUET Renault 1m36.401s
11. HAMILTON McLaren 1m36.515s
12. TRULLI Toyota 1m36.516s
13. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m36.628s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m36.639s
15. ALONSO Renault 1m36.640s
16. SUTIL Force India 1m36.875s
17. KUBICA BMW 1m37.267s
18. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m37.278s
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1m37.432s
20. HEIDFELD BMW 1m37.930s

Saturday

Pos	Name	Constructor	Part 1	Part 2	Part 3	Grid
1	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	01:35.1	01:33.8	01:35.2	1
2	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	01:34.7	01:34.0	01:35.3	2
3	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	01:34.9	01:34.3	01:35.5	131
4	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	01:34.7	01:34.4	01:35.7	82
5	Timo Glock	Toyota	01:34.9	01:34.3	01:35.7	3
6	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	01:35.1	01:34.5	01:35.7	4
7	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	01:35.0	01:34.2	01:35.8	5
8	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	01:35.2	01:34.6	01:36.1	6
9	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	01:35.5	01:34.5	01:36.2	7
10	Fernando Alonso	Renault	01:35.3	01:34.7	01:37.7	9
11	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	01:35.1	01:34.8		10
12	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	01:35.3	01:34.8		11
13	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	01:35.3	01:34.9		12
14	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	01:35.0	01:34.9		14
15	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	01:35.5	01:35.4		15
16	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	01:35.6			16
17	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	01:35.7			17
18	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	01:35.9			18
19	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	01:36.0			19
20	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	01:36.1			20

* Sebastian Vettel will receive a 10 place penalty for the crash at the end of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.  Rubens Barrichello will receive a 5 place penalty for replacing a gearbox during the race weekend.

Jenson Buttons Qualifying Lap

Sunday

Pre Race Start Weights

1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 660kg
2. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 656.5
3. Timo Glock, Toyota, 656.5
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 656
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656
6. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber, 663
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 662.5
8. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn, 664.5
9. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 680.5
10. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber, 692
11. Kazuki Nakajima,Williams, 683.4
12. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 688
13. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 647
14. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 688.9
15. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 670.5
16. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 689.5
17. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 681.9
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 680.5
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 655.5
20. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 686.5

Preliminary Race Classification

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Start Pos	Pts
1	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	31	55:30.6	1	5
2	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	31	+22.7 secs	10	4
3	Timo Glock	Toyota	31	+23.5 secs	3	3
4	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	31	+46.1 secs	2	2.5
5	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	31	+47.3 secs	8	2
6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	31	+52.3 secs	5	1.5
7	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	31	+60.7 secs	12	1
8	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	31	+71.5 secs	4	0.5
9	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	31	+76.9 secs	16
10	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	31	+102.164 secs	15
11	Fernando Alonso	Renault	31	+109.422 secs	9
12	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	31	+116.130 secs	11
13	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	31	+116.713 secs	17
14	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	31	+142.841 secs	7
15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	30	Spin	13
16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	30	Spin	20
17	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	30	+1 Lap	19
18	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	29	Spin	18
Ret	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1	Engine	6
Ret	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	0	Spin	14

Fastest Lap – Jenson Button 1.36.641 on lap 18

Highlights

Brawn GP News 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix Posts

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix TV Coverage

Malaysian Grand Prix Brawn GP preview

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix Friday Practice

Friday Press Conferences – The Constructors

2009 Malaysian GP Qualifying

Bet on the Malaysian GP at Sporting Bet

FIA post-qualifying press conference – Malaysia

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix – Qualifying, Brawn Official Statement

Malaysian Grand Prix – Pre Race start weights

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix – The Race

Jenson Button Wins in Malaysia after a rainy race

Malaysian Grand Prix – Official Brawn GP Race Report

Malaysian Grand Prix – Post race Press Conference

This year the FIA are publishing the weights of each car before the race.  This is a good guide as to how much fuel the cars are carrying.  For Sunday’s 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix the weights are as follows (This is the final grid positioning after penalties)

1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 660kg
2. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 656.5
3. Timo Glock, Toyota, 656.5
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 656
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656
6. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber, 663
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 662.5
8. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn, 664.5
9. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 680.5
10. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber, 692
11. Kazuki Nakajima,Williams, 683.4
12. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 688
13. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 647
14. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 688.9
15. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 670.5
16. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 689.5
17. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 681.9
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 680.5
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 655.5
20. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 686.5

I think it is really interesting data to analysis, we can see that Jenson Button made pole and Rubens Barrichello made 4th (before his penalty) despite being significantly heavier than the cars around them.  From the ten drivers who made it into the final shoot out Fernando Alonso was heavist, and Sebastian Vettel was lightest knowing that he would ten take a 10 place penalty (back to 13th), the heavist car for tomorrows start is Nick Heidfelds BMW-Sauber – He finished11th so missed the final 10 shoot out so was able to choose his fuel load, knowing we would gain a place after Vettels penalty it looks like he will try and run long into the start of the race.

McLaren announced today that their sporting director Dave Ryan had been suspended for his part in the Australian GP debacle when McLaren lied to the stewards as to the events surrounding Trulli overtaking Hamilton under the safety car.  Dave Ryan had gone with Lewis Hamilton to both of the stewards meetings and instructed Lewis Hamilton to mislead the stewards by not giving all the information.

Lewis Hamilton gave a full and frank statement to the media today in Sepang Malaysia with questions taken after.  Here is the full text of that conference.

Let me just start by saying, in Melbourne I had a great race.  As soon as I got out of the car I did the TV interviews at the back of the garage and straight away I gave a good account of what happened during the race.  Straight after that we were requested by the stewards, and whilst waiting for the stewards I was instructed – and misled – by my team manager to withhold information, and that’s what I did.  I sincerely apologise to the stewards for wasting their time and for making them look silly.  I’m very, very sorry for the situation – for my team, for Dave, who’s been a good member of the team for many years and whilst I don’t think it was his intention… he’s a good guy.  When I went into the meeting I had no intention of… I just wanted to tell the story, say what happened.

I was misled and that’s the way it went.  I would like to say a big sorry to all my fans who have believed in me and supported for me for years.  Who I’ve showed you I am the past three years is who I am.  I’m not a liar. I’m not a dishonest person.  I’m a team player, and every time I’ve been informed to do something, I’ve done it.  This time I’ve realised that it was a huge mistake, and I’m learning from it.  It’s taken a huge toll on me.  I apologise for not speaking to you guys yesterday, but there was a lot to take in and a lot to deal with.  So I’m here to apologise to everyone and assure you it won’t happen again.

Q: Lewis, may I ask you how you feel about yourself – do you feel comfortable with yourself and what you’ve done?

Lewis Hamilton: No, this is why I’m here sitting in front of you. This is not an easy thing for anyone to do – to put their hand up, step back and realise they were in the wrong.  But the fact is I was in the wrong, and I owe it to my fans to let them know.  Like I said, I was misled. It’s easy to be misled sometimes and I realised that was the situation, which is why I’m here.

Q: You say you were misled. Did you talk to Dave Ryan before you went to the stewards and say ‘that doesn’t stack up with what I’ve just said or what I believe happened’, and how difficult was it for you to go in, knowing that what you were going to say was misleading?

LH: The thing is, we were rushed. I was still my suit and we straight up… When I came out from the garage we went straight there, and whilst we were waiting for Jarno [Trulli] to walk out, I was instructed.  I obviously acted as a team member. If the team have asked me to do something I’ve generally done it.  I didn’t have time to think about it, to think about what I was going to do; I went in and felt awkward, felt very uncomfortable.  I think the stewards could see that and I guess that’s why I’m in this position.  I’ve never felt so bad. Try to put yourself in my position and understand… Like I said, I’m not a liar, I’ve not gone through my life being a liar or dishonest.  So for people to have said I’m dishonest and for the world to think that… what can I say?

Q: Were other members of the team involved in the decision about what to say, or was it just you two?

LH: No, it was just me and Dave.

Q: Lewis, there was nothing wrong with what you did on the circuit, or with the radio conversation itself. Didn’t you ask yourself why the hell [Ryan] wanted to present this version?

LH: Like I said, I was literally just walking in so I didn’t have time to really think about it. But for sure afterwards I wasn’t completely sure why we were…  I mean, we hadn’t done anything wrong, we were just going in there to give an account of what had happened, regardless of whether I had third or fourth.  Jarno did a fantastic race and I had no intention of getting him a penalty. That’s not the way I think; I earn my points and my positions through hard work.

Q: Have you apologised to Jarno, and was it you who put pressure on the team to sack Ryan?

LH: As far as the second part of the question goes, that’s nothing to do with me.  Dave is a great guy and he’s worked for the team for many years, so he is feeling it just as much as the whole team.  I haven’t had the chance to speak to Jarno. I did actually see him before we went into the meeting and I said sorry for the situation at that time.

Q: When Jarno went off and you passed him – correctly, because he was off the track – why was there any decision at all about letting him back in front of you? I don’t understand that bit at all. Why didn’t you just stay there and why was there any radio communication?

LH: When the safety car comes out the team tell you time and time again, ‘no overtaking under yellow flags’. So, whilst that’s been drummed into, you’re dealing with everything that’s going on.  Jarno went off the track and clearly I went by him – I tried to avoid going by him but I went by.  Whilst I was sure in my mind that it was not my fault that I went by him, I had to be sure. I’d worked this hard to get from dead last on the grid to fourth place and I didn’t want the hard work to go out of the window by getting a penalty.  So I had to be sure. It’s better to be safe than sorry so I asked time and time again.

Q: Lewis, is this the worst thing you’ve ever had to do, and do you fear FIA retribution for the team which a lot of people have speculated on and the FIA have said is possible?

LH: This situation is definitely the worst thing I’ve experienced in my life and that’s why I’m here: because it’s right for me as a human being and as a man to stand in front of you all and tell you exactly what went on, to put my hands up and say I can’t tell you how sorry I am.  I’m sorry to my team, to my family for the embarrassment; it is a very, very embarrassing situation.

Q: And the FIA?

LH: I’m sure the FIA will act accordingly and in the right way. I don’t know what else is going to happen in the future.  I think now I’ve just got to try and focus on the race and try to move forward from this.

Team manager Martin Whitmarsh also gave a statement

Martin Whitmarsh: Well, okay obviously I have got to comment on what for our team is a very sad day today.

We have suspended a long standing sporting director, Dave Ryan. I think many people in this room will know Dave and will know of Dave. He has been with the team for 35 years. I have personally known him for 20 years and I think anyone who knows him, knows that he is a very straight forward, dedicated, hard working individual. However, it has become clear from discussions with Dave last night and through into this morning that during the stewards’ meeting he was not entirely full and truthful in answers that he gave the stewards and consequently we had no alternative today other than to suspend him. As you can imagine I think it is a very sad day for the team. We have got to deal with this weekend and we have got to look in a bit more detail at all of the events that surrounded that. From my perspective obviously it is a point of deep, deep regret. It is not how I wanted this year in particular to start and it is something for which the team and myself are not only deeply embarrassed but deeply regretful. I think for Dave is has been a shattering day for him.

Questions from the floor

Q: Talking about what happened to Mr Ryan. Does it mean that he was lying then to the stewards? MW: It means he was not truthful and full in his answer which is what I said.

Q: Martin, to follow that up, the impression we are getting from the statement is that Dave Ryan did this on his own. Are you telling us that there was no-one else involved in McLaren, senior to him, in this process? MW: Correct, there was no-one else senior. I think anyone who knows Davey will know that he did not set out with any deliberate intention to mislead the stewards. He went to that stewards meeting with Lewis, I am sure, with the intention of being very clear and straightforward but I think during the course of that meeting, as we explored it more with him, over the last 24 hours it became clear that he was not as full and comprehensive as he could have been.

Q: Could you explain also what Lewis’s precise role was because the stewards made it very clear to us that both Dave Ryan and Lewis specifically said that the team had not told them to allow (Jarno) Trulli to go past. So what did Lewis do? Did he follow Ryan? MW: I think Dave was the senior member of the team there and Dave has to take responsibility for leading that process. I think Lewis is going to talk to the media later and I am sure he will give a full account from his perspective. But this is something that was still unfolding until literally minutes before the first practice session. I had to take an incredibly difficult decision. I have personally known Dave for 20 years. If you go around this paddock and ask any team in any organisation of their experiences of Dave in terms of his dedication and commitment, so he is shattered by what has happened today. We need to take stock of that situation but there were two people in with the stewards but Dave is part of the management, he is the sporting director of this team, and as such he had the responsibility to ensure that the stewards received a full and entirely truthful account of what happened.

Q: There have been some very harsh things said about the team, particularly in the British press, including a suggestion that McLaren is contaminated by a culture of cheating. Is that the case? MW: No.

Q: What is the case? MW: The case is that Dave made a very serious error of judgement in going into that stewards meeting and he is paying the consequences of that. It is something that he deeply regrets, Lewis and I and the team regret, and it is something that we have got to put right.

Q: You say that Dave was not entirely truthful in front of the stewards but what about Lewis, was he truthful in front of the stewards? MW: No, I think that Lewis was not entirely truthful but we have spoken to Dave, he was the senior member of the team and they went into a situation together and I think they were trying to deal with the situation but they got it wrong. Dave, as the senior member of the team was responsible for what happened and therefore I took that decision this morning.

Q: Martin, what is the procedure or the process in terms of deciding what was going to be said? You were on the pit wall and so was Ron Dennis as much as Dave and anyone else. When this process was unfolding and you knew he had to go to the stewards what was done? What happens? MW: In truth the situation was that during this incident we were asking the stewards, well, we were asking race control, for a decision because we realised that Trulli had been let past. We did not think that was right because in fact the original overtake of Trulli was entirely legitimate as Trulli was not on the circuit. We believed that when all of the facts were presented to the stewards that they would recognise and they would restore the positions, so we asked for the race control and the stewards to look into it and Dave and Lewis went to the stewards to give their account.

Q: But did they talk to you about what should be said? MW: No. They did not because it was not necessary. We knew what had happened and there was a belief that a true and honest account of that would get the result, that the positions would have been reversed.

Q: So what got lost in translation? Lewis gave this interview or interviews saying ‘I was asked’ and then said ‘no’ in the stewards’ inquiry. Why, why did that happen? MW: Well, I think Lewis got out of the car and gave a truthful account of what happened. I believe that whilst they were at the stewards, Dave, who had been party to what had happened in Spa, was highly sensitive and I think in the heat of the moment, his judgment was to not give a true account, and I think Lewis was then led by that.

Q: Martin, I was just wondering what we should believe is the next step, given that Dave Ryan has been suspended as opposed to sacked or resigned. What does that mean, how will that develop?  MW: What it leaves now is that this is something that happened literally minutes before the first practice session.  Dave has been sent home and we need to, during the course of this weekend, understand exactly what happened and make the decisions about Dave’s future.

Q: And finally, from me, I was wondering if you, given all the fall-out from this, have given any consideration to whether you would resign from your role?  MW: I think there’s a lot of things going through my mind today and it’s happening during an event in which we’re trying to do the best job we can.  I think, as a team, at the moment, we’ve lost someone who is very much a significant anchor in this organisation and we’ve got to make sure that we pull together to do the best job that we can this weekend.  I think we’ve got to reflect on everything that’s happened over the course of the Australian weekend, after this race has finished.

Q: So you don’t rule that in or out?  MW: I don’t rule anything in or out. I think at the moment, what we are keen and earnest to do today is make sure that we put our hands up and say it was a serious error of judgement during that process and that we make sure that we come clean on that fact.

Q: Mr Whitmarsh, have you had the chance to see the precise words which were spoken between the stewards and your two team members?  MW: No, I haven’t. Ordinarily they aren’t minuted and I believe one of the stewards didn’t bring his notebook from Australia but we have no access to that.  All we can do is ask the driver and the team manager what was said in that meeting.

Q: But shouldn’t that be recorded for the future?  MW: Well, again, I think at the moment it’s not for me to make that judgement.  I think what the stewards should rely upon is that when the teams are called before them, they will give a totally true and open account of what happened.

Q: Where do Lewis and his manager stand with the team at the moment, how are relations between them and you and whether their reaction to what’s gone on was the factor in Dave Ryan going and whether it’s still a factor in how you’re evaluating your next step as well?  MW: No, it’s not a factor.  Lewis is not only a very committed member of the team, he’s a long-standing friend of many of us in the team who have known him since he was a lad.  Anthony [Lewis's father] is similarly well-regarded.  They are solid supporters of the team, consider themselves to be part of it.  They weren’t involved in the sad decision with Dave Ryan, they learned after the event, Lewis didn’t know until after P1 this morning.  So they had no bearing on it, they weren’t involved in it.  We have to manage the business, they know and understand that and I would say the relationship – at the moment, it’s a very difficult time for the team.  We’ve got to make sure that we come out of it understanding and learning and hopefully with even stronger relationships than we started with.

Q: There’s one thing that I don’t understand very much, Mr Whitmarsh. Does it mean that you only learned this morning from Mr Ryan that he was not entirely truthful, because yesterday when you talked to us, it was something completely different, and it was after you read what the stewards sent out as a press release that you saw there was some inconsistency from what you said and what you knew?  MW: I think in these situations people strive to convince themselves that they have been entirely true and honest in all of their answers and of course you can technically answer something and convince yourself that it is truth.  Dave was clear that he had not lied and we believed that.  As we dealt with the unfolding situation of yesterday, the more that we discussed it, the more that we believed that the answers that were given were not full and honest in the way that we would expect them to be.

At the moment it seems ever other post I write is about the 2009 Australian Grand Prix results.  I’m sorry to say that they have changed again.  Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix results and Jarno Trulli who was given a 25 second penalty dropping him to 12th has now been reinstated in third place.

Originally Trulli maintained to stewards that while under the safety car Hamilton slowed to the point that he had no choice but to pass, the stewards believed he tried to retake his position which Hamilton took (rightfully) after Trulli went briefly off track.  At the stewards enquiry Hamilton and McLaren stated that they had not deliberately let Trulli past.

However since then several things have come to light, straight after a race Hamilton told a journalist that he let Trulli through, the Pit to Car radio reveals that Lewis and McLaren discussed whether Trulli should be let through and agreed to let him through.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place.

Therefore Jarno Trulli has been re awarded third place and Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified

The full statement by the FIA reads below including Hamiltons radio conversation…

PENALTY IMPOSED ON DRIVER NO 1 LEWIS HAMILTON AND COMPETITOR VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES

SUMMARY OF KEY CONSIDERATIONS
At the first hearing following the Australian Grand Prix the Stewards did not have the benefit of the radio exchanges between driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and his Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes nor did they have access to the comments to the Media given by Lewis Hamilton immediately after the end of the race.

From the video recordings available to the Stewards during the hearing it appeared that Jarno Trulli’s car left the track and car No 1 moved into third place. It then appeared that Trulli overtook Hamilton to regain third place, which at the time was prohibited as it was during the Safety Car period.

During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the Stewards and the Race Director questioned Lewis Hamilton and his Team Manager David Ryan specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and the Team Manager stated that no such instruction had been given. The Race Director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted that he had not done so.

The new elements presented to the Stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened Stewards Meeting clearly show that:

a. Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the Stewards Meeting he gave an interview to the Media where he clearly stated that the Team had told him to let Trulli pass.

b. Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the Team contain two explicit orders from the Team to let the Toyota pass.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place.

Transcript of the radio transmission between Lewis Hamilton and his team:

Team: OK Lewis, you should need to make sure your delta is positive over the safety car line. After the safety car line the delta doesn’t matter but no overtaking. No overtaking.

Lewis Hamilton: The Toyota went off in a line at the second corner, …, is this OK?

Team: Understood, Lewis. We’ll confirm and get back to you.

LH: He was off the track. He went wide.

Team: Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now.

LH: OK.

LH: He’s slowed right down in front of me.

Team: OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get back to you. We are talking to Charlie.

LH: I let him past already.

Team: OK, Lewis. That’s fine. That’s fine. Hold position. Hold position.

LH: Tell Charlie I already overtook him. I just let him past.

Team: I understand Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5, yellow Golf 5.

LH: I don’t have to let him past I should be able to take that position back, if he made a mistake.

Team: Yes, we understand Lewis. Let’s just do it by the book. We are asking Charlie now. You are in P4. If you hold this position. Just keep it together.

Team: OK Lewis, your KERS is full, your KERS is full. Just be aware. You can go back to black F2, black Foxtrott 2.

LH: Any news from Charlie whether I can take it back or not.

Team: Still waiting on a response Lewis, still waiting.

Team: Lewis, work on your brakes please. Front brakes are cold.

Team: If we are able to use one KERS that would be good. If you deploy KERS please do so now.

Team: OK, Lewis, this is the last lap of the race. At the end of the lap the safety car will come in, you just proceed over the line without overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing, but just hold position.