Brawn GP News

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.”

Qualifying in Brazil was heavily disrupted.  A rain soaked track with running rivers lead to many drivers aquaplaning off the circuit.  Early into the first session Fisichella spun and stalled.  This brought the session to a red flag, when it restarted several big names failed to get out of qualifying 1, including title contender Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

In the second session Liuzzi had a big crash at the end of the pit straight.  This brought the session to a red flag for over an hour.  When it restarted conditions had improved and the rest of the sessions were able to continue without disruption.

At the end of the sessions it came down to whether the drivers had the right set up (Hamilton and Vettel had compromised their qualifying as they set their cars up for a dry track for tomorrows race) and the right tyres, several drivers including Jenson Button were still on full wets when Intermediates would have been faster.

Rubens Barrichello had an outstanding qualifying and finished 1st!

Due to a gearbox change Liuzzi will drop 5 places to 20th position.

Pole position shootout

1. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m19.576s
2. WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.668s
3. SUTIL Force India 1m19.912s
4. TRULLI Toyota 1m20.097s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m20.168s
6. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m20.250s
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m20.326s
8. KUBICA BMW 1m20.631s
9. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m20.674s
10. ALONSO Renault 1m21.422s

Qualifying 2

1. ROSBERG Williams 1m20.368s
2. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m20.427s
3. TRULLI Toyota 1m20.635s
4. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m20.701s
5. SUTIL Force India 1m20.753s
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1m20.803s
7. KUBICA BMW 1m21.147s
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m21.378s
9. ALONSO Renault 1m21.657s
10. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m21.659s

Knocked out:

11. KOBAYASHI Toyota 1m21.960s
12. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m22.231s
13. GROSJEAN Renault 1m22.477s
14. BUTTON Brawn 1m22.504s
15. LIUZZI Force India no time

Qualifying 1

1. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.828s
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m23.047s
3. KUBICA BMW 1m23.072s
4. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m23.161s
5. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m24.100s
6. BUTTON Brawn 1m24.297s
7. KOBAYASHI Toyota 1m24.335s
8. GROSJEAN Renault 1m24.394s
9. SUTIL Force India 1m24.447s
10. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m24.591s
11. TRULLI Toyota 1m24.621s
12. LIUZZI Force India 1m24.645s
13. WEBBER Red Bull 1m24.722s
14. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m24.773s
15. ALONSO Renault 1m24.842s

Knocked out:

16. VETTEL Red Bull 1m25.009s
17. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m25.052s
18. HAMILTON McLaren 1m25.192s
19. HEIDFELD BMW 1m25.515s
20. FISICHELLA Ferrari 1m40.703s

After an eventful qualifying session which saw several drivers crash off the track, both Brawn drivers have been issued with a 5 place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags (which mean slow down incident on the track) and continuing to set faster times.  Other drivers to be penalised were Adrian Sutil, Fernando Alonso and Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sebastien Buemi.

Sebastien Buemi was penalised for returning his heavily damaged car to the pits while other drivers were completing their flying laps.

Both Jaime Alguersuari and Timo Glock were taken to the medical centre after crashing in separate incidents.  Jaime Alguersuari returned to the pit lane before the end of the qualifying sessions and told the media that he was fine.  Timo Glock suffered a minor cut to his left leg and had some back pain but there were no significant injuries in the impact his team stated.  It is still unclear whether Glock will race tomorrow.

The original qualifying times were

Pole position shootout

1. VETTEL Red Bull 1m32.160s
2. TRULLI Toyota 1m32.220s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m32.395s
4. SUTIL Force India 1m32.466s***
5. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m32.660s***
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m32.945s
7. BUTTON Brawn 1m32.962s***
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m32.980s
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren no time
10. BUEMI Toro Rosso no time***

Qualifying 2

1. VETTEL Red Bull 1m30.341s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m30.627s
3. TRULLI Toyota 1m30.737s
4. BUTTON Brawn 1m30.880s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m31.052s
6. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m31.055s
7. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m31.103s
8. SUTIL Force India 1m31.222s
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m31.223s
10. HEIDFELD BMW 1m31.260s

Knocked out:
11. ROSBERG Williams 1m31.482s
12. ALONSO Renault 1m31.638s***
13. KUBICA BMW 1m32.341s
14. GLOCK Toyota no time
15. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso no time

Qualifying 1

1. VETTEL Red Bull 1m30.883s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m30.917s
3. BUTTON Brawn 1m31.041s
4. TRULLI Toyota 1m31.063s
5. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m31.196s
6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m31.228s
7. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m31.272s
8. ROSBERG Williams 1m31.286s
9. SUTIL Force India 1m31.386s
10. ALONSO Renault 1m31.401s
11. KUBICA BMW 1m31.417s
12. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m31.499s
13. HEIDFELD BMW 1m31.501s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m31.550s
15. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m31.571s

Knocked out:

16. FISICHELLA Ferrari 1m31.704s
17. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m31.718s
18. GROSJEAN Renault 1m32.073s
19. LIUZZI Force India 1m32.087s*
20. WEBBER Red Bull no time**

* Liuzzi receives a 5 place penalty for a gear box change

**Webber was unable to participate in qualifying because of damage sustained during practice and will start from the pits.

***five-place penalties

It was an exciting German Grand Prix qualifying, the key was to be on the right tyres at the right time with the ever changing weather.  Webber scored his maiden pole for Red Bull with Barrichello and Button close behind.  A strong performance also for Adrian Sutil qualifying 7th in the Force India.

Pole position shootout

1.  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m32.230s
2.  BARRICHELLO   Brawn         1m32.357s
3.  BUTTON        Brawn         1m32.473s
4.  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m32.480s
5.  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m32.616s
6.  KOVALAINEN    McLaren       1m33.859s
7.  SUTIL         Force India   1m34.316s
8.  MASSA         Ferrari       1m34.574s
9.  RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       1m34.710s
10. PIQUET        Renault       1m34.803s

Qualifying 2

1.  BARRICHELLO   Brawn         1m34.455s
2.  PIQUET        Renault       1m35.737s
3.  SUTIL         Force India   1m36.740s
4.  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m38.038s
5.  BUTTON        Brawn         1m39.032s
6.  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m39.149s
7.  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m39.504s
8.  KOVALAINEN    McLaren       1m40.826s
9.  MASSA         Ferrari       1m41.708s
10. RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       1m41.730s

Knocked out:

11. HEIDFELD      BMW           1m42.310s
12. ALONSO        Renault       1m42.318s
13. NAKAJIMA      Williams      1m42.500s
14. TRULLI        Toyota        1m42.771s
15. ROSBERG       Williams      1m42.859s

Qualifying 1

1.  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m31.257s
2.  ALONSO        Renault       1m31.302s
3.  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m31.430s
4.  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m31.473s
5.  BARRICHELLO   Brawn         1m31.482s
6.  BUTTON        Brawn         1m31.568s
7.  ROSBERG       Williams      1m31.598s
8.  MASSA         Ferrari       1m31.600s
9.  TRULLI        Toyota        1m31.760s
10. HEIDFELD      BMW           1m31.771s
11. RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       1m31.869s
12. KOVALAINEN    McLaren       1m31.881s
13. NAKAJIMA      Williams      1m31.884s
14. SUTIL         Force India   1m32.015s
15. PIQUET        Renault       1m32.128s

Knocked out:

16. KUBICA        BMW           1m32.190s
17. BUEMI         Toro Rosso    1m32.251s
18. FISICHELLA    Force India   1m32.402s
19. GLOCK         Toyota        1m32.423s
20. BOURDAIS      Toro Rosso    1m33.559s

Q: Another great weekend for the team in Spain

A: Our second one-two finish was a fantastic way to start the European season and we came away with maximum points to extend our lead in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. Jenson’s pole position on Saturday and the one-two result came after a great deal of hard work to maximise the performance of our new developments and I am extremely proud of Jenson, Rubens and the whole team.

Q: What was your strategy for the Spanish Grand Prix

A: Our strategy in Spain was for both drivers to have three pit stops. That was clearly the quickest strategy from our calculations and it gave us the advantage of a light fuel load for qualifying which paid off with Jenson on pole and Rubens in third position. Rubens had a fantastic start to the race to overtake Sebastian Vettel and Jenson before turn one and to be leading the race when the safety car came out. As the race developed and we approached the window for the first pit stops, it became clear that Jenson, who was stopping earlier than Rubens, would come out directly behind Nico Rosberg if we went with his planned three-stop strategy. That meant our strategy would have failed and therefore we changed him to two stops, as a conservative approach, to ensure that he could run in clean air. Rubens was going extremely quickly at the front at that time and his three-stop strategy was clearly the quickest option for him. Unfortunately his tyres did not perform well after his second stop which compromised his pace and ultimately cost him the race.

Q: How did Rubens feel immediately after the race

A: Straight after the race, when the adrenaline is still pumping like mad and they are immediately into the press conference and speaking to the media, the drivers often don’t know the full perspective of what happened during the race. They are in a little cocoon, effectively a goldfish bowl, during the race. All they see is what they are staring at through their visor. They don’t see all of the perspective of the race, they don’t know where the other cars are and they don’t know where they are going to come out after the pit stops. Rubens was naturally very angry and frustrated that he didn’t win the race. And in a way, I’m pleased that he’s angry and frustrated, as I don’t want drivers who are happy to concede. When Rubens got back and we had a full debrief, he was absolutely fine. Rubens has a Latin temperament and he wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s what led to his comments after the race and once he understood what had happened, those feelings disappeared completely.

Q: The team has always maintained that it does not have a number one driver. Is that the case

A: Yes. We do not have a number one driver and we do not intend to have one. Jenson and Rubens are on equal terms and conditions and they both get exactly the same equipment as best as we can.

Q: How is the atmosphere within the team

A: We are a small and close-knit team, both at the race track and at the factory, and our success is largely due to the fact that everyone is working so well together. Jenson and Rubens have been with the team for a few years now and they are fully integrated. Both are great team players. One of the key factors in creating such a good atmosphere comes from complete honesty. We have been, and will continue to be, completely honest with the drivers. They know the situation, their engineers know the situation, the team knows the situation. There is no favouritism.

The Bahrain Grand Prix is the fourth race of the season and once again a different team is on pole.  Jarno Trulli in the Toyota has taken pole position with his team mate Timo Glock beside him in second.  Jenson Button is back in 4th and Barrichello in 6th.

Perhaps the best placed driver is Vettel, although in 3rd he will be full of enthusiasm from his win last week and has slightly more fuel on board than those car’s around him.

The track temperature is 50 degrees Celsius with an air temperature of 36 degrees Celsius.  Quite a change from the last few races!
The Start

All the cars get away safely for the formation lap, today the teams are worried about car’s overheating.  The five lights go out and the cars fly of  the line.  Both the Toyota’s get through cleanly and it’s Hamilton that makes the biggest gain into the first corner up to 3rd, he tries for 2nd but losses it after running wide.

Glock is in the lead at the end of the first lap, Trulli second, Hamilton, Button, Vettel and Barrichello.  On lap 2 Button does a perfect overtake on Hamilton to move up into 3rd.

Massa pits on lap 3, this can’t be scheduled, and could really affect his race.  Apparently this is an issue with the KER’s device, Massa had a new nose and tyres on the car.

5 laps in, Trulli has set the fastest lap 1:34.710 and is 1.5 seconds back from Glock, Button is 3.4 seconds behind Trulli and Hamilton starting to slip back 3.3 seconds behind Button but lapping slower.  Vettel is right up behind Hamilton who must be holding him up.

Lap 10 – Trulli has set another fastest lap, he doesn’t want to let Glock get too far ahead before the first pit stops.  Hamilton is now 6 seconds back from Hamilton, Vettel is still stuck behind.

Lap 11 – Glock has come into the pits from first place, a quick pit stock and he rejoins in 9th behind Rosberg.

Just one lap later Trulli pits, and Jenson Button comes out into the lead.  Trulli re-enters the race in 7th ahead of Alonso and importantly his team mate Glock.

Lap 13 – Alonso takes the outside line and manages to get past Trulli, for 6th place.  Barrichello pits for supersoft tyres and a 7.1 second pit stop.  He rejoins in 10th behind the Renault of Piquet.

Lap 15, both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton come into the pits, Jenson gets out first and rejoins in 4th place behind Raikkonen.  Hamilton rejoins in 7th.

Vettel now has the lead, he had the most fuel on board at the start of the race.  Jenson Button is only 16.3 seconds behind so could take the lead after the end of the first set of pit stops.

Lap 18 Back in 8th Piquet is really holding up Barrichello, Piquet is still to pit so their not really racing for position, but Piquet is blocking at every corner.

Lap 19 Vettel Pits from 1st but where will he rejoin.  He rejoins in 4th.  Raikkonen has the lead but hasn’t pitted yet.  Barrichello has now got past Piquet but is 33 seconds back from the leader but closing on Glock fast.

Raikkonen pits on lap 21 and rejoins in 9th.  Jenson Button is now in the lead with a 6.6 second gap to Trulli.

Barrichello is now doing personal best laps as he tries to get closer to the front, now in 5th, 14 seconds adrift.

lap 23 Massa down in 14th for Ferrari seems to have difficulty with the KER’s.  Team mate Raikkonen is now in 7th, if Ferrari score no points today it will be their worst ever start to a championship year.

Lap 26 – Barrichello Pits, a good strategy from Brawn, he has made up a lot of time and now he has met traffic he has pitted, a long 9.1 second pit stop, is he 3 stopping?  Barrichello returns in 8th.

Lap 29 – Button has pulled a 12.8 second gap to Trulli.  Positions 2,3,4 are close and then Glock is another 16.6 seconds back in 5th

Lap 31 – impressively all cars are still in the race, no failures and no accidents.

Lap 33 – Glock puts and Barrichello moves up to 7th

Lap 36 – Jenson Button laps the Ferrari of Massa, but Button is due in this lap.

Lap 37 – Button Pits as does Trulli in 3rd and Hamilton in 4th.  It looks like Button is 2 stopping.

Lap 39 – Vettel leads but has only pitted once, followed by Button, Raikkonen, Trulli, Barrichello, Hamilton.

Lap 40 – Vettel pits and Button retakes the lead.  Vettel rejoins in 3rd, ahead of Trulli.  Raikkonen in 2nd still has to pit.

Lap 44 – Raikkonen pits from second moving Vettel up to 2nd, Trulli to 4th.  Raikonnen rejoins in 7th after a brief squabble with Glock over the position.

Lap 46 Kubica spins after trying to get past Nakajima.

Lap 47 – Barrichello takes his 3rd pit stop and comes out in front of Raikkonen for 5th position.

Lap 50 – Just seven laps to go and Button is 12.6 seconds ahead of Vettel, Trulli is only 1 second behind, Hamilton in 4th and Barrichello a way back in 5th.

Nakajima pits and retires in the William Toyota.  The first retirement of the race due to falling oil pressure.

Lap 54 – Just 3 laps to go and Button has a lead of 8.7 seconds.  Brawn have played a tactical race benefiting from their pit stop strategy proving you don’t have to be fastest to win.

Lap 57, Jenson Button completes the final lap and crosses the line for the win, that’s 3 out of 4 races this season!

Full Race Classification

1. BUTTON Brawn

2. VETTEL Red Bull +7.1s

3. TRULLI Toyota +9.1s

4. HAMILTON McLaren +22.0s

5. BARRICHELLO Brawn +37.7s

6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +42.0s

7. GLOCK Toyota +42.8s

8. ALONSO Renault +52.7s

9. ROSBERG Williams +58.1s

10. PIQUET Renault +1m05.1s

11. WEBBER Red Bull +1m07.6s

12. KOVALAINEN McLaren +1m17.8s

13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +1m18.8s

14. MASSA Ferrari +1 lap

15. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap

16. SUTIL Force India +1 lap

17. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap

18. KUBICA BMW +1 lap

19. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap

20. NAKAJIMA Williams +9 laps

Fastest lap: TRULLI  1m34.556s