Brawn GP News

Today the FIA met with the newly formed F1 commission (the F1 Commission is made up of key championship stakeholders from F1 teams, promoters, suppliers and sponsors.) to discuss changes to Formula One with the new season containing 13 teams.

The biggest change which will be put to the FIA World Motorsport Council tomorrow is to award points to the top 10 positions with 25 points available to the winning driver.

The new points system proposed would be

1st -25
2nd – 20
3rd – 15
4th – 10
5th -8
6th – 6
7th – 5
8th – 3
9th – 2
10th – 1

Is this a good thing or bad?  Leave a comment!

Full Text of FIA Statement 10/12/09

The FIA today hosted the first meeting of the F1 Commission in its new structure since the signing of the 2009 Concorde Agreement. Chaired by Commission President Bernie Ecclestone and with FIA President Jean Todt in attendance, the F1 Commission is made up of key championship stakeholders from F1 teams, promoters, suppliers and sponsors.

The F1 Commission agreed that the Brawn team will be allowed to change its chassis name from Brawn to Mercedes. The team will continue to receive payments based on its historical performance. This has been granted on a one-off exceptional basis due to Mercedes-Benz’s long-term involvement and commitment to Formula One.

The F1 Commission also proposed a number of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations, which will be put to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for final approval tomorrow morning. They include:

The next meeting of the Formula One Commission will be held on 10 March in Bahrain.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the 2009 Formula One season, takes place this weekend at the new Yas Marina Circuit on the eastern side of Abu Dhabi.

The spectacular 5.554km track, designed by renowned Formula One architect Hermann Tilke, is located on Yas Island just thirty minutes from Abu Dhabi city. Running alongside Yas Island’s new marina, the anti-clockwise circuit has many unique features including a pitlane exit which crosses under the circuit and part of the track passing under the Yas Marina Hotel.

Abu Dhabi will host Formula One’s first twilight race with the lights going out in late daylight conditions at 17:00hrs on Sunday and the chequered flag falling in the evening around ninety minutes later. With Brawn GP and Jenson Button successfully securing the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships at the last race in Brazil, the team are now looking forward to putting on a great show in Abu Dhabi this weekend at the final race of the season.

ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL

Q. After such an emotional weekend in Brazil, what are your thoughts ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

“Brazil was a fantastic weekend and to have won the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championships with Brawn GP is a very special achievement. I am incredibly proud of the whole team at Brawn GP and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. We’ve all had a few busy days since returning to the UK and it was great for both Jenson and I to get back to the factory and thank everyone in person for their contribution to our successes. At the same time, we have been looking ahead to the final race and ensuring that all our preparations are in place for Abu Dhabi which is an important weekend for the team as we look to secure second position in the Drivers’ Championship with Rubens. The new Yas Marina Circuit looks extremely impressive and we’re looking forward to getting out to Abu Dhabi and having our first look at the track. With the challenge of a new circuit, we are able to use data provided by the FIA to create a circuit map which can be used in our simulator at the factory. We went through this process for the new street circuits in Valencia and Singapore last year so it is a process that the team is familiar with. Knowing the circuit when they arrive helps the drivers to get into a rhythm quickly during the first practice sessions and allows us to check gear ratios and compare set-up items. We can also use the simulator to understand tyre behaviour. From this we get an understanding of the car balance and that allows us to determine our start set-up for the weekend.”

JENSON BUTTON

Q. What are your thoughts on the new Yas Marina Circuit?

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be going into the final race having achieved my ambition of winning the Drivers’ Championship and with the team having wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship in Brazil. We want to finish the season in style with a great result but we can be a little more relaxed in our approach to the weekend! I had a short break in the Gulf region after the Bahrain Grand Prix and went to have a look at the Yas Marina Circuit. Even back then, when the construction work was still underway, the facilities looked outstanding and the organisers have done a great job in creating a spectacular venue. It’s always fun to try a new race track, particularly one which looks as unique as Yas Marina with the unusual pitlane exit and the day/night race. I’m sure Abu Dhabi is going to host an exciting weekend and a great finale to the 2009 Formula One season.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Q. Are you looking forward to racing on a new track in Abu Dhabi?

“It’s always a good challenge to race at a new venue and the Yas Marina Circuit looks extremely impressive from the reports that I have seen. The layout of the circuit seems both fun and challenging and it will be interesting to start the race in daylight and to finish in evening conditions. Our track walk on Thursday will be important to get an initial feel for the characteristics of the circuit and we will spend the first few laps on Friday getting to grips with the layout. From then on, it will be business as usual with our standard practice programme. The team has had a great season so far and we want to finish on a high with a strong performance this weekend.”

Yas Marina Circuit Stats

Circuit Length: 5.554km
Race Distance: 305.470km
Number of Laps: 55

Full Throttle: 60%
Brake Wear: High
Tyre Compounds: Soft / Medium
Downforce Level: High – 8/10
Tyre Usage: Medium
Average Speed: 188kph (117mph)

Race Weekend Schedule (all times are local)

Friday 30 October
Practice 1: 1300 – 1430
Practice 2: 1700 – 1830

Saturday 31 October
Practice 3: 1400 – 1500
Qualifying: 1700 – 1800

Sunday 1 November
Race: 1700

Brawn GP secured the 2009 FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos today with Jenson Button driving a superb race from 14th position on the grid to a fifth place finish to wrap up the Drivers’ Championship with one race of the season to go.

Team-mate Rubens Barrichello started his home race from pole position after an excellent performance in Saturday’s rain-delayed qualifying session but finished in eighth position after a late puncture forced an unscheduled trip to the pits and dropped him back to eighth place.

Brawn GP secured the Constructors’ Championship with 161 points with Jenson winning the Drivers’ Championship with 89 points and Rubens in third position with 72 points with the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi to take place on 1 November.

RESULTS

Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P5 01:14.353
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P8 01:13.950

Weather Dry and warm
Temperatures Air: 24-28°C Track: 30-42°C

JENSON BUTTON
“Today was the best race that I’ve driven in my career and I’m really going to enjoy this moment. For the team to win the Constructors’ and the Drivers Championships here is just fantastic and they deserve it so very much after all the difficult times that we all went through over the winter. This season has been a rollercoaster ride from the elation of the wins at the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season which has seen us grind out the results needed to take the titles. We have to say a huge thank you to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines for all of the support that they have given us over the year. Without their commitment and faith in the team, and the fantastic engine that they have provided, we would not have been able to achieve the success that we have today. The list of people that I have to thank personally is too long to mention but they all know who they are and how much their support has meant to me over the years. To everyone back at the factory in Brackley, thank you for all of your hard work and for producing such a fantastic car. It’s going to take a while to sink in but for now I’m just reveling in the achievement of a lifelong dream. It’s going to be one hell of a party tonight!”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Whilst I am obviously disappointed with the result today, I have to be pleased with our year at Brawn GP. We really have a great car and a great team and it has truly been an amazing year when you consider the situation that we were in just before the start of the season. I’m truly pleased for Jenson as a friend and he is a great champion. We have a fantastic relationship working together and that has really shown through this year. Well done to him. It was a true fight and I fought really hard but he really won it in the first half of the season. The team have been superb this year and they thoroughly deserve to win both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships today. We’re going to have a great night together and I’m pleased to have played my part in securing the Constructors’ title for the team.”

ROSS BRAWN
“What a day! I am so incredibly proud of the team and our drivers and it’s so very special to have won the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championships in our first year as Brawn GP. The second half of the year has been tough after such a successful start but getting the results in the difficult times is what counts in a Championship season. It’s really going to take a while for what we have achieved today to sink in. Jenson is a fantastic racer and he had a great race today, particularly after such a difficult qualifying yesterday. He knew what he had to do and did just that and is a very deserving World Champion. Rubens has made a fantastic contribution to this season without which we could not have won the Constructors’ Championship today. The spirit in which our two drivers have fought for the Championship makes me very proud. They have been a credit to the team and our sport. The work and the commitment that the team showed over the winter and throughout this season really has been sensational. We would like to take this opportunity to say our thanks to Mercedes-Benz who have been a fantastic partner for our team and have integrated incredibly well this season. Their contribution to our success, and the support of McLaren gave us over the winter and at beginning of season, has enabled us to be in the position that we are in today. I hope that everyone at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brackley, is very proud of what we have achieved today. I also want to thank everyone who has worked with the team over the years that couldn’t be with us this season as we had to resize the team at the start of the season. My sincere thanks go out to them because they worked so hard and should feel a part of our success.”

The Italian Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, will be held this weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza just outside of Milan and bring Formula One’s European season to its conclusion.

One of the most historic and atmospheric circuits on the Formula One calendar, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is situated in the royal park at the heart of the town of Monza. The original circuit was built in 1922 and included a banked oval course. Although this has not been used by F1 cars since 1961, it remains as a monument to the iconic races hosted over the years.

The 5.793km Monza circuit is the fastest of the year with four long straights enabling the cars to reach top speeds of 340kph and average lap speeds of 250kph. The emphasis is on engine power and aerodynamic efficiency which require the cars to be set up with a special low downforce aerodynamic package to minimise drag.

ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL

Q. What are the technical considerations for the race at Monza this weekend?

“Visiting Monza during the Italian Grand Prix is a very special experience and one not to be missed for motorsport fans. It’s one of those classic venues where the grandstands are always packed and the atmosphere is electric throughout the weekend. From a technical point of view, Monza should be a track where our car will work well although we do expect the KERS cars to have a significant advantage. The BGP 001 is good on both brakes and traction which are important at Monza and we have the benefit of the Mercedes-Benz engine on this power-sensitive circuit. With no in-season testing this year, we have not had the opportunity to test at the circuit prior to the race weekend so it will be interesting to see how quickly everyone can adapt to the unusually low downforce configuration with limited running. The aerodynamic efficiency of the car is crucial so we have a specific package designed to minimise drag levels and achieve the high top speeds required. Good engineering can make a significant difference at Monza so we’ll be working hard to get the car set up well to allow our drivers to be aggressive over the kerbs.”

JENSON BUTTON

Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the Italian Grand Prix?

“Monza is a fantastic track and I love the passion that the Italian fans bring to the race weekend. The circuit is very different to most of the circuits that we race on as the car will be set up with the lowest levels of drag and downforce possible to take advantage of the long straights. It always takes a few laps to get used to and as we haven’t tested at Monza this season, the practice sessions will be very important. Ascari is probably my favourite part of the track but also Parabolica where the challenge is to brake as late as possible, particularly in qualifying when you’re on a quick lap. It’s a circuit that should be reasonably good for our car if we get the handling right over the kerbs so we’re feeling positive and excited about the challenge.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Q. What do you enjoy about visiting Monza?

“There’s something very special about Monza and I have always loved racing there throughout my career. The setting in the park, the sound of the Tifosi, the speed of the circuit and the memories from my victories with Ferrari in 2002 and 2004 all make Monza one of the most exciting races of the year. It’s the quickest circuit on the calendar and our car has the potential to be strong there. The power of our Mercedes-Benz engine will be really important in maximising speed on the long straights and our car is quite good under braking which you need to be aggressive and ride the kerbs effectively. It’s been a season full of surprises so it’s impossible to predict what the weekend will bring but I hope that we can have a good one.”

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Stats

Circuit Length: 5.793km
Race Distance: 306.720km
Number of Laps: 53

Full Throttle: 67%
Brake Wear: Medium
Tyre Compounds: Soft / Medium
Downforce Level: Low – 2/10
Tyre Usage: Low
Average Speed: 245kph (155mph)

Race Weekend Schedule (all times are local)

Friday 11 September
Practice 1: 1000 – 1130
Practice 2: 1400 – 1530

Saturday 12 September
Practice 3: 1100 – 1200
Qualifying: 1400 – 1500

Sunday 13 September
Race: 1400

Round seven of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship takes Brawn GP to Istanbul Park for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Located 90kms from the Turkish capital and on the Asian side of the Bosphorus channel, the Istanbul Park circuit was designed by renowned Formula One architect Hermann Tilke and hosted its first Grand Prix in 2005. The 5.338km track, one of only two anti-clockwise laps on this year’s calendar, is technically challenging and physically demanding.

A well-balanced car is essential around the 14-turn circuit which is built on undulating ground and combines a variety of corner speeds and grip levels. The stand-out features of the lap are the fast changes of direction at the start, the long triple-apex turn eight and a slower section through the last three turns, all of which combine to make car set-up an intriguing challenge.

ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL

Q. How is the team feeling after the fantastic result in Monaco and now looking ahead to Turkey

“After a week back at the factory in Brackley to reflect on our successes in Monaco, the team is now looking forward to our next challenge at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul this weekend. The Monaco Grand Prix was a wonderful weekend with Jenson and Rubens, the team and our engine partner Mercedes-Benz, performing at the top of their game to bring home our third one-two finish of the season. However Monaco is a unique track and we know that our competitors will be very strong in Turkey this weekend. Development work on the BGP 001 car has continued apace at the factory and we will be bringing a new front wing to Turkey along with some aerodynamic updates and new rear suspension elements. Istanbul Park is a thoroughly modern race track which presents an interesting engineering challenge to get the best out of the car through the high-speed sections and the slower turns at the end of the lap. It’s hard to believe that we are already over a third of the way through this season and it’s been a very intense but immensely rewarding start for the Brawn GP team.”

JENSON BUTTON

Q. What do you enjoy about the Turkish Grand Prix

“The Turkish Grand Prix is always a race that I look forward to as I really enjoy driving the Istanbul Park circuit and have been quite competitive there in the past. Hermann Tilke did a great job with the layout of the track here and the changes in gradient are great fun and quite challenging for the drivers. We’ve seen some excellent racing at Istanbul Park with good overtaking opportunities at turns one and three. You can also pass down the hill into turn nine and at turns twelve and thirteen if you brake late enough and get it just right. Turn eight is obviously the corner that everyone talks about and it’s probably the longest corner that I’ve ever driven. It’s quite high G-force, up to 5G for seven seconds, which puts a lot of stress on your neck. You have to be as smooth as possible through the triple apex and if you get it right and take it flat, then it is one of those corners where you exit with a huge smile having made up a lot of time.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO

Q. What are the particular characteristics of the Istanbul Park circuit

“Istanbul Park is quite a challenging circuit as it is one of very few tracks which runs anti-clockwise, just like my home circuit of Interlagos in Sao Paulo. It’s tough driving an anti-clockwise track as the muscles on that side of your neck aren’t used as much throughout the year so we do some extra training to prepare as some of the quickest corners at Istanbul Park are also left-handers. The lap itself has a nice flow allowing you to find a good rhythm and the highlight is the high-speed turn eight which is a quick and blind triple apex corner with the additional challenge of some very bumpy tarmac. The circuit is one of the best modern tracks on the calendar and I have been very impressed since we started racing here in 2005. The facilities are fantastic but most importantly from a drivers’ point of view the track has produced some really good races.”

Istanbul Park Stats

Circuit Length: 5.338km
Race Distance: 309.396km
Number of Laps: 58

Full Throttle: 62
Brake Wear: Medium
Tyre Compounds: Soft / Hard
Downforce Level: Medium 6/10
Tyre Usage: Medium / Hard
Average Speed: 220kph 137mph

Race Weekend Schedule all times are local

Friday 5 June
Practice 1: 1000 – 1130
Practice 2: 1400 – 1530

Saturday 6 June
Practice 3: 1100 – 1200
Qualifying: 1400 – 1500

Sunday 7 June
Race: 1500

Brawn GP have announced a competition on their official site to win a signed mini replica of Rubens Barrichello’s helmet.

Find out more at BrawnGP.com

To enter this competition you have to sign up to their members area (Free) and answer three questions.

1. In which race did Rubens score his first Formula One points?
2. What is the capacity of the Mercedes-Benz FO108W engine?
3. Where is Brawn GP’s team partner M I G Investments based?

The competition closes on Monday 8th June

Clue

All of these questions are answered here on Brawn GP News.  Just use the search box, or look for the logical place where this information would be!

Good Luck!!

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button secured his fourth pole of the season and his best qualifying position ever for the Monaco Grand Prix around the iconic Monte Carlo street circuit today. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello put his Brawn-Mercedes car on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 78-lap race with an excellent third position.

A tight qualifying hour began with an interrupted Q1 as the session was briefly red-flagged to clear a car on track. The Brawn GP drivers completed two runs, firstly on the prime and then the softer option tyre, to end the session with Jenson in second position and Rubens in fifth place.

Favouring the option tyre for the remainder of the qualifying hour, Jenson struggled with understeer and a lack of front grip in Q2, finishing the session in eighth place with Rubens ahead in fourth position. An intense Q3 saw the pair lying in third and fourth positions after the first runs, before Jenson snatched pole from Kimi Raikkonen in the dying seconds of the session.

RESULTS

Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Free Practice Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Qualifying 3
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P2 P2 01:15.210 P8 01:15.016 P1 01:14.902
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P4 P5 01:15.425 P4 01:14.829 P3 01:15.077

Weather Hot and sunny
Temperatures Air: 24-25°C Track: 39-45°C

JENSON BUTTON
“It’s so important to qualify well in Monaco and I am really happy to have achieved pole position here today. It means a lot to me, they all do, but this one is so important for the race tomorrow. It was definitely a lap to remember and I was really on the edge the whole way round It was a real fight today and I thought that Rubens would have the upper hand in qualifying as he has been so strong all weekend. I struggled on Thursday to find a good balance and we had a few issues that needed to be worked on, however we made some changes since then. I really have to thank everyone at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz for producing such a strong and responsive car which allows us to make progress quickly. It’s not going to be easy in the race tomorrow as Monaco is just so unpredictable but starting from pole is without doubt the best position be in.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Well I had a great lap today at the end of the final qualifying session so Jenson’s lap must have been fantastic I’m very happy with my position for the race tomorrow and really got everything possible out of the car today. Of course I’m sorry that I didn’t get pole position but the car has felt really good all weekend and we have a great chance for the race tomorrow. This is my seventeenth Monaco Grand Prix but the special feeling that you get from driving around here never changes and it is such a great challenge. It will be a really close and exciting race tomorrow and I’ll be giving my all for the win.”

ROSS BRAWN
“A very good day’s work from the team with great laps right at the end of the final qualifying session from Jenson and Rubens. To achieve pole and third position on the grid in the most important qualifying hour of the season is a real achievement and puts us in a strong position for the race tomorrow. Jenson had to work quite hard on his set-up as he has been struggling with the balance and a lack of front grip all weekend so he knew that the lap had to be extra special to make the difference and he delivered very impressively. Rubens, as ever, excels around Monaco and he is very well placed to take the fight to Jenson tomorrow. The cars around us are also looking strong so it is going to be a very interesting race.”

Brawn GP have released the following statement after their 1,2 victory at Melbourne in the 2009 Australian Grand Prix today.

RACE
Jenson Button led the Brawn GP team to victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix today, achieving his second Grand Prix win and capping a stunning debut race weekend for the British-based team. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello brought his BGP 001 car home in second position to achieve the first one-two finish for a new team since Mercedes-Benz in 1954.

The two Brawn-Mercedes cars started from the front row of the grid after dominating Saturday’s qualifying session. Jenson had a good start, maintaining his advantage into the first corner and establishing a strong lead over the field. From there he controlled the race, responding well to the first safety car period and recovering from a slow second stop which reduced his lead over Vettel to 1.5 seconds, before taking the chequered flag for a well-deserved victory at the end of the 58-lap race

Rubens had a somewhat more dramatic race with a difficult start off the line dropping him a few places and he subsequently sustained damage to his front wing and nose in a first corner collision. He battled with the damage for the first stint, survived a further collision with Raikkonen, and passed Rosberg on track to be up to fourth by lap 53.

Rubens took his podium finish when an incident between Vettel and Kubica put both cars out of the race with three laps to go promoting Rubens to second and bringing out the safety car which brought the field home.

JENSON BUTTON
“What an amazing day! This is just a fairytale ending to the first race of our career together at Brawn GP. It may have looked like an easy victory but it really wasn’t easy at all out there today but we brought the car home and that’s all that matters. This win is for me, my family and my team. It’s been a traumatic few months and I want to say a massive thank you to them all for being so strong and never losing belief. This weekend we have achieved everything that we deserve for all of our hard work over the past few months. And what’s so exciting is that there is so much more to come from myself and from this team. I can’t wait to get to Malaysia!”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Well you could say that I had an eventful afternoon! I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race and honestly I am so delighted to have achieved second. It was really tough for me at the start as the anti-stall kicked in which cost me a few places off the line and then I was hit heavily from behind going into the first corner and thought my race was over. Thankfully the car survived and I was able to battle my way up to fourth and be in the position to take advantage of the accident between Vettel and Kubica. It just goes to show that you should never give up! Congratulations to Jenson for a fantastic win today and my heartfelt thanks to the team for providing us with such a good car. This is the start of a very exciting journey for us.”
ROSS BRAWN
“We have worked incredibly hard for this victory today and to see the dedication, commitment and sheer hard work come to fruition with Jenson and Rubens bringing home a one-two finish for Brawn GP at the first race of the season is immensely rewarding. After everything that our team has been through over the past four months, this is quite simply a sensational result. It is just the beginning for us and it wasn’t a perfect race by any means so we will learn from today and continue to improve. We have to keep developing the car throughout the season if we want to challenge for further wins and the championship. I would like to express our sincere thanks to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines who have been so supportive over the past few months and have worked closely with the team to ensure we were in a position to go racing this year. Thanks also to Virgin, Henri Lloyd and
all our team partners for having the vision to see what the team could do before today and wanting to be a part of it. It’s difficult to put into words what this win means to our team but I’m sure that I speak for every single one of them, here at the track and back at the factory in Brackley, when I say it has been a wonderful weekend.”