Brawn GP News

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

At the Monaco Grand Prix Brawn CEO Nick Fry spoke about the planned 2010 car development and budget.  Earlier in the season Brawn GP had many medium term sponsors such as Virgin who agreed a race by race deal and Brawn GP were seeking long term sponsors to provide stability.

Although for 2010 they do not have a title sponsor or major brand involvement Nick Fry has confirmed that they have the budget to start developing next season’s car now.

Nick Fry said

There is no issue whatsoever with funding through this year, … Even if we didn’t get another penny in sponsorship we’d be able to do what we need to do. … We are using our money wisely and that means spending it on the performance of the car and the whole team, including Ross and I, going EasyJet – that’s how it should be, that’s what you do in constrained economic environments…. But as far as development of the car goes we are in good shape.

Speaking of the hunt for new sponsors he said

The beauty in our situation is that we don’t need to take the first deal that comes along; indeed we haven’t taken the first deal that comes along because we don’t need to, We want to do what’s right for three years and even five years out, and that’s what we are trying to do at the moment. If we can do that it will be wonderful for us because then we can get on with the racing and be working with partners that will be developing their brands alongside and we maybe relax at least on one front.

Stage two of the Virgin deal is still yet to happen which has resulted in many rumors of other brands interested in sponsoring Brawn GP.  Nick Fry has said they are “close to several commerical agreements” but has not exagarated on this.

One noticable sponsor missing from the team is Mercedes the Brawn GP engine supplier.  It is understood that Brawn GP are just a customer of Mercedes and there is currently no sponsorship / promotion, so Mercedes isn’t able to advertise based on the fact they power Brawn GP.  Surely they must want this to change and to get the Mercedes silver star on the front of the Brawn GP cars!

Brawn GP dominated the Monaco Grand Prix today as Jenson Button led from the front to secure his fifth win of the 2009 Formula One season with team-mate Rubens Barrichello taking second place for the team’s third one-two finish of the year.

To cap a fantastic weekend for the team and engine partner Mercedes-Benz, Jenson’s win today was his third victory in a row using his current Mercedes-Benz engine, a record for modern day Formula One.

After achieving pole position on Saturday, Jenson led the race from the front with Rubens making an excellent start from third on the grid to take second place from Kimi Raikkonen before the first corner. Starting on the softer option tyre, the Brawn-Mercedes pair drove composed two-stop strategies, using the prime tyre for their second and third stints. With Jenson pulling away during the first stint as his team-mate suffered from rear graining on his options, Rubens put up a strong fight to hold off the Ferrari of Raikkonen and maintain his second position. Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 78-lap race for his first victory around the streets of Monte Carlo.

After six rounds of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, Brawn GP leads the Constructors’ Championship with 86 points with Jenson leading the Drivers’ Championship with 51 points and Rubens in second place with 35 points.

RESULTS

Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P1 01:15.190
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P2 01:15.685

Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 25-26°C Track: 42-45°C

JENSON BUTTON
“Wow Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is something that you dream about as a child and as a racing driver and the reality of taking that victory just feels awesome. To win in Monaco is truly a special feeling. With Rubens taking a superb second place, a one-two finish for the Brawn-Mercedes team in Monaco is fantastic. The race felt like it went on forever and you feel that the barriers are getting closer and closer as the end of the race approaches. But for the last couple of laps, I was able to relax and really enjoy the moment. It’s been an unbelievable day, capped with my impromptu sprint down the pit straight to the podium. I can tell you it’s a very long way But it was amazing to get such a fantastic reception from the crowd and I hope the fans enjoyed what was a great race for the team. The car felt good today but we didn’t have the best of starts to the weekend so it makes this victory even more of an achievement. For the team, for Mercedes-Benz and for my family who were here in Monaco watching the race this weekend, today has to be the high-point of what has been an exceptional season.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Another one-two for the team today is just amazing. I had a really good start on the option tyre and was able to get ahead of Kimi before the first corner which put me in a great position to challenge Jenson. I had tremendous pace but following so closely behind him affected the aero balance of my car and I suffered with massive graining on the rears which lost me a lot of time. We had a great strategy to recover and I came in earlier than planned to keep second place but by then Jenson was over ten seconds ahead. However it was a great race and I really enjoyed the challenge and the fight with Kimi. I’m still very much in the fight and collecting as many points as possible whilst pushing Jenson as hard as I can.”

ROSS BRAWN
“Fantastic drives from Jenson and Rubens, outstanding pit stops from the team and the performance of our Mercedes-Benz engine secured an amazing one-two victory for Brawn GP here in Monaco today. Jenson gave himself the best possible chance of victory after achieving pole position with his flying lap yesterday and he was able to control the race from the front today. Bringing the car home in one piece after 78 laps is no easy feat in Monaco but Jenson was calm and assured throughout the race and drove with real finesse. Rubens had a great start to get ahead of Raikkonen and was showing excellent pace before his first set of rear tyres began to grain heavily as a result of following Jenson so closely. Unfortunately that compromised his chance of fighting it out with his team-mate but he did superbly well to keep Raikkonen at bay and bring home maximum points for the team’s championship challenge. The Monaco Grand Prix is an incredibly special race and to win here means so much to everyone here at the track, at the factory in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth. Special congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for supplying an engine that has now won three Grands Prix, a modern day record in Formula One.”

After the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix Ferrari have climbed up into fourth position in the constructors championship.  Brawn’s lead is now 44.5 points clear of Red Bull.  In the Drivers championship Jenson Button has 51 points after winning 5 of six races this season.

The Formula One World Championship has arrived in Monaco for the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix.  The Monaco Grand Prix is the place to be or to be seen.  The grid is a mixed one for British drivers.  A fantastic pole for Jenson Button on a heavy fuel load, but a crash in qualifying and a gearbox change means Lewis Hamilton starts in 20th (though Timo Glock starts from the pits so he is 19th car but on the 20th slot.)

The cars make the formation lap and line up on the grid.  The five lights go out and Jenson Button and Barrichello make a solid start with Barrichello getting past Raikkonen for a Brawn 1 and 2.

Hamilton is now in 18th after one lap, that’s already 14.6 seconds behind the leader Jenson Button.

On lap 3 Barrichello posts the race’s fastest lap.  He doesn’t want to let Jenson Button too far ahead, Barrichello is hungry for his first Brawn win.  Then on lap 4 Button responds with a new race fastest lap.

Lap 7 – Massa has been all over the back of 4th place Vettel and tries to take him after the tunnel, but cannot stop and goes straight over the chicane, as he lifts to let Vettel back past Rosberg takes advantage and passes Massa.  Vettel who started with a very low fuel load is already 17.6 seconds behind Button the race leader as his rear tyres have gone off.

Lap 10 and Rosberg, Massa and Kovalainen, all get past Vettel.

Buemi breaks late and goes straight into the back of Piquet, taking him into the wall.  Piquet limps back to the pits and retires and Buemi retires into the wall.

Lap 12 Barrichello’s tyres are destroyed, both Brawns started on the super softs.  Raikkonen is now all over the back of Barrichello but he stays out.  All the time he is out he is falling back from Button, and Rosberg is catching him and Raikkonen.  Rosberg in 4th is now flying 2 seconds a lap quicker than the race leader.

Lap 15 and Raikkonen has to pit for fuel.  Rosberg is now up to third, 7 seconds away from Barrichello who is 12.5 seconds away from Button.  Raikkonen returns to the track in 7th.

Lap 16 Vettel retires after hitting the Barrier, Barrichello pits, he’ll be pleased to get hard tyres on the car.  Barrichello is out in 6th staying ahead of Raikonen.

Jenson Button now pits from first. and returns in second ahead of Massa. and in sight of Rosberg who takes 1st.

Lap 18 and Rosberg pits so  Jenson Button is back into 1st place.  Rosberg returns to the track in 8th place.

Lap 20 Massa now pits from second place and returns to the track in 8th.

Kovalainen pits from second place.  He has been having a solid race in the McLaren so far.

Lap 36, not even halfway and Jenson Button laps Lewis Hamilton.

Lap 49, No change in the lead, Button is now 15.8 seconds clear of Barrichello and sets the fastest lap of the race.  Rubens Barrichello is only 2.2 seconds ahead of the Ferrari of Raikkonen.

Lap 50 – Barrichello pits from second place, has a perfect stop and comes out in 5.

Lap 51 – Jenson Button now pits from 1st place.  He has 19 seconds on Raikkonen, a clean stop and he returns to the track in second place, just behind Raikkonen.  Raikkonen still has to pit before the end of the race.  Whereas Jenson Button can go to the finish.  just 27 laps.

Lap 52 Kovalainen retires after hitting the wall.  A great shame, he was in a points position but bounced over a kerb which pushed the back out.

Raikkonen pits and returns in 5th place.  He is now on the Super Soft tyres which Barrichello struggled to do the first 13 laps on.  There are 26 laps to go.

Lap 71 – Button is safe in 1st place 11 seconds clear of Barrichello behind who has a 6 second lead on Raikkonen.

On the final lap Nakajima goes into the wall, but Jenson Button takes a marvollous win for another Brawn GP 1,2 – Thats 5 wins out of 6 now!

McLaren have changed the gear box in Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren.  A gear box change incurrs a penalty of 5 places.  This will move Lewis from 16th to 20th for today’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Here is the revised starting grid.

1. BUTTON Brawn
2.  RAIKKONEN Ferrari
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn
4. VETTEL Red Bull
5.  MASSA Ferrari
6. ROSBERG Williams
7.  KOVALAINEN McLaren
8.  WEBBER Red Bull
9.  ALONSO Renault
10. NAKAJIMA  Williams
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso
12. PIQUET Renault
13. FISICHELLA Force India
14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso
15. SUTIL Force India
16. HEIDFELD BMW
17. KUBICA BMW
18. TRULLI Toyota
19. GLOCK Toyota
20. HAMILTON McLaren*

* penalised for gearbox change

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.”

Monaco is the jewel in the crown of Formula one, cars sweep majestically down the waterfront past the yachts, through the incredible tight street circuit.  Often a giant killer, Monaco has produced highly unexpected results in the past and qualifying is so important because of the difficulty in overtaking.

In qualifying session one cars have 15 minutes to set lap times, at the end of 15 minutes the cars with the slowest time will be dropped.  Things started well for many drivers,  Lewis Hamilton initally set a quick time showing new form in the McLaren but in his second flying lap he braked badly in a corner and couldn’t stop the car in time.  The back slid round and hit the wall hard with retiring Lewis Hamilton.  At this point he was in 8th.  In the last few minutes of the session car after car beat his time dropping him to 15th.

A good first session for the Force India’s who for the first time were not dropped from qualifying one, however the Toyota’s who not so long ago were fighting for race wins had a terrible qualifying with Trulli and Glock in 19th and 20th respectively.

Qualifying 1

1. ROSBERG Williams 1m15.094s

2.  BUTTON Brawn 1m15.210s

3. WEBBER Red Bull 1m15.260s

4.  MASSA Ferrari 1m15.340s

5.  BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.425s

6.  KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.495s

7.  RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m15.746s

8. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m15.834s

9. ALONSO Renault 1m15.898s

10. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.915s

11. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m15.930s

12. PIQUET Renault 1m16.013s

13. FISICHELLA Force India 1m16.063s

14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m16.120s

15. SUTIL Force India 1m16.248s

Knocked out:

16. HAMILTON McLaren 1m16.264s

17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m16.264s

18. KUBICA BMW 1m16.405s

19. TRULLI Toyota 1m16.548s

20. GLOCK Toyota 1m16.788s

Qualifying 2

Qualifying two was not without incident either, at the last corner of the track Nelson Piquet also braked late and spun in the last corner.  The car narrowly missed the wall but Piquet took some time to get going again with yellow flags out on the track.  The Brawn duo of Button and Barrichello haven’t dominated qualifying as much as they had previously.  Button finished 2nd Qualifying in just 8th place, hardly a safe position and Barrichello 4th

Qualifying 2

1.  RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m14.514s

2.  KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m14.809s

3. WEBBER Red Bull 1m14.825s

4. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m14.829s

5. ROSBERG Williams 1m14.846s

6. VETTEL Red Bull 1m14.879s

7.  MASSA Ferrari 1m15.001s

8. BUTTON Brawn 1m15.016s

9.  ALONSO Renault 1m15.200s

10. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m15.579s

Knocked out:

11. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m15.833s

12. PIQUET Renault 1m15.837s

13. FISICHELLA Force India 1m16.146s

14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m16.281s

15. SUTIL Force India 1m16.545s

Qualifying 3

Qualifying 3 sees the cars with race fuel loads.  Traditionally in Monaco you want to pit as late as possible so that you have less risk of coming out of the pits among a crowd of cars.  However grid position will be just as important on this hard to overtake track so will cars fuel heavy of low?

Jenson Button puts in a brilliant lap to take pole just 2 tenths quicker than Raikkonenn in the Ferrari, sandwiched between the other Brawn of Rubens Barrichello. With Brawn’s, Ferrari’s and the Red Bull all up near the front it will be an exciting race tomorrow

Pole position shootout

1. BUTTON Brawn 1m14.902s

2.  RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m14.927s

3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.077s

4. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.271s

5.  MASSA Ferrari 1m15.437s

6. ROSBERG Williams 1m15.455s

7.  KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.516s

8.  WEBBER Red Bull 1m15.653s

9.  ALONSO Renault 1m16.009s

10. NAKAJIMA  Williams 1m17.344s

Saturday morning practice is the final chance to perfect the car’s set up before qualifying.  Some very fast times were posted possibly indicating that the Ferraris and McLaren’s would be back in the mix for qualifying.  Alonso set the fastest practice 3 time with a 1min 15.164secs.

Monaco Grand Prix free practice session three

1. ALONSO Renault 1m15.164s

2.  BUTTON Brawn 1m15.233s

3. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.278s

4.  BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.286s

5. MASSA Ferrari 1m15.293s

6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m15.382s

7.  HAMILTON McLaren 1m15.389s

8. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.722s

9.  ROSBERG Williams 1m15.758s

10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m15.985s

11. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m16.103s

12. SUTIL Force India 1m16.228s

13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m16.301s

14. FISICHELLA Force India 1m16.317s

15. PIQUET Renault 1m16.382s

16. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m16.432s

17. GLOCK Toyota 1m16.527s

18. KUBICA BMW 1m16.599s

19. HEIDFELD BMW 1m16.661s

20. TRULLI Toyota 1m16.810s

When in Monaco it is traditional that the practice session is on Thursday and not Friday. Rubens Barrichello topped the practice times in the first session for Brawn GP.  Here are the full timings.

Monaco Grand Prix free practice session one

1. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m17.189s
2.  MASSA Ferrari 1m17.499s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m17.578s
4.  KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m17.686s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m17.839s
6. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m18.000s
7.  ROSBERG Williams 1m18.024s
8. BUTTON Brawn 1m18.080s
9.  ALONSO Renault 1m18.283s
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m18.348s
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m18.695s
12. PIQUET Renault 1m19.204s
13. VETTEL Red Bull 1m19.233s
14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m19.255s
15. FISICHELLA Force India 1m19.534s
16. KUBICA BMW 1m19.560s
17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m19.579s
18. SUTIL Force India 1m19.600s
19. GLOCK Toyota 1m19.698s
20. TRULLI Toyota 1m19.831s

Monaco Grand Prix free practice session two

1. ROSBERG Williams 1m15.243s

2.  HAMILTON McLaren 1m15.445s

3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.590s

4.  BUTTON Brawn 1m15.774s

5. MASSA Ferrari 1m15.832s

6. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.847s

7.  KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.984s

8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m15.985s

9.  NAKAJIMA Williams 1m16.260s

10. PIQUET Renault 1m16.286s

11. ALONSO Renault 1m16.552s

12. WEBBER Red Bull 1m16.579s

13. SUTIL Force India 1m16.675s

14. TRULLI Toyota 1m16.915s

15. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m16.983s

16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m17.052s

17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m17.109s

18. GLOCK Toyota 1m17.207s

19. FISICHELLA Force India 1m17.504s

20. KUBICA BMW no time