Brawn is ready to rewrite Jenson Button's three-year contract in a bid to see off attempts by rival teams to lure him away, this week's AUTOSPORT magazine reveals.
Button agreed to a substantial pay-cut, to continue with the team this year after signing a new contract with Honda worth in the region of £8 million a season shortly before the marque decided to quit Formula 1 last year.Although he is committed to Brawn until the end of the 2011 season, team bosses are concerned that a big-money offer from a rival team could encourage the world championship leader to activate exit options that are in his contract.
Team CEO Nick Fry admitted that discussions will be opened up with Button later in the season with a view to offering a pay packet that rewards his status as world championship leader.
"He took voluntary a major reduction but he does have a contract for several years to come and we will discussing at some stage later this year what we do to make sure he is rewarded fairly," Fry told AUTOSPORT. "But it is not something we are discussing at the moment."These contracts are quite complicated but it is not something that is vexing us at the moment. He has done a great job and later in the year he will win more races and have a discussion."
How much the team is able to pay Button could depend on what commercial deals it is able to put together. But Fry is confident that the team has the resources not only to keep Button, but also to keep developing the Brawn BGP 001 that has won five out of six races this year.
"There is no issue whatsoever with funding through this year. Even if we didn't get another penny in sponsorship we are able to do what we need to do."We are using our money wisely, and that means spending money on the performance of the car and, for example, the whole team including Ross and I flying Easyjet."
Sunday 31 May 2009
Saturday 30 May 2009
The Turkish Grand Prix - team and driver preview quotes
The historic Monaco Grand Prix is a tough act to follow, but it’s clear that Istanbul Park, which will host next weekend’s Turkish race, is more than up to the challenge. State of the art, and featuring one of the most challenging corners on the calendar, the already legendary Turn Eight, it’s no wonder the drivers can’t wait to get started...
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 3rd, 2008 Race - 2nd
“I love racing in Turkey: it’s a real challenge because you need to attack the lap to get a good time, but you also need to be careful with your tyres - if you push too much, particularly through Turn Eight, then your tyres are going to suffer. It’s all about finding the perfect balance in practice and being disciplined in the race so you don’t overdo it. I also love the fact that it’s a new circuit that has really captured the flavour of some of the older, classic tracks - it’s got a bit of everything and is fantastic to drive. Also, as it’s anti-clockwise, it gives your neck a bit of a workout - but you just need to make sure you’ve exercised the left side of your neck a little more than usual before getting in the car.”
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 2nd, 2008 Race - 12th
“Turkey is all about Turn Eight - the high-speed, four-apex left-hander. On a good day in qualifying, it’s flat-out - and that’s a pretty good feeling when you get it right. It’s also very important to look after your tyres through Turn Eight - you put a lot of load through the tyres, particularly the fronts, so it’s a good idea to look after them during the race. The best place to overtake here is into Turn 12, the corner at the end of the back straight. You can get a good tow and slipstream past - with KERS we should hopefully see some exciting racing.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“The Istanbul Park circuit is one of the most challenging modern circuits - for both teams and drivers. Firstly, it’s a real set-up challenge - you need to find a handling balance between the high-speed corners, the slower, infield section and the long straights. In addition, tyre-wear - particularly to the heavily loaded front-right through Turn Eight - is a crucial factor in determining overall strategy. For the drivers, a combination of multi-apex and blind corners adds to the challenge. We go to Turkey in the knowledge that the track characteristics are a bit less likely to suit our package than Monaco, but we are improving all the time, have several minor upgrades for MP4-24 and look forward to assessing our competitiveness against our rivals.”
Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President
“The layout of the circuit is challenging and, in Turn Eight, comprises the longest and fastest corner on the calendar as well as very slow corners where good braking stability and good traction are needed. KERS should again be a good support to improve our lap times, but nevertheless the Turkish Grand Prix will be a demanding challenge for us.”
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 9th, 2008 Race - 5th
“I hope our dismal performance in Monaco proves to be a glitch and that it was down to that particular circuit being unsuitable for our car. After all, there were signs of a forward trend at the previous race in Spain, and the next update is ready for Istanbul - also including a double diffuser.
"The Istanbul circuit has some extremely good sections, particularly Turn Eight, of course, which is quite a challenge - very long, fast and with several apexes. For the long straight with the right-hand kink you need a good top speed. It’s a vast city, very international and fascinating.
"I’ll be there on Wednesday already for an event with our partner Intel. I’m staying at a hotel on the European side again and will take a motor scooter to carve my way through the congestion over the bridge to Asia.”
Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 5th, 2008 Race - 4th
“The track in Istanbul is totally different to Monaco. It is a very modern race track with a couple of high-speed corners. The most famous high-speed corner there is the left-hander Turn Eight. Of course, we hope to perform better in Istanbul than in Monaco.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
“Ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix our results are quite sobering. Nobody in the team expected the season to pan out as it has so far. After taking a forward step in Spain, we were clearly off the pace in Monaco. To regain our competitiveness we will have to ramp up our development speed significantly. In Istanbul we will have the next step of our development ready and will be using a multistage diffuser for the first time. After three successful years, this phase is our first setback. We can deal with it. After all, it was the same team in Munich and Hinwil that ensured our progressive advancement since the BMW Sauber F1 Team was founded. We are all determined to get ourselves back among the front runners again.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering
“We’ll be lining up in Turkey with a new development package, which also features a double diffuser. Since the F1.09 concept was not designed for this, we had to make a number of aerodynamic adjustments. There are modifications to the front wings, side bargeboards, rim shields and the rear part of the engine cover. We expect this to take us a step forward, although we know that our rivals are not standing still. After the race in Monte Carlo we also had an in-depth look at the tyre problems. For the race in Turkey, Bridgestone is providing the soft and hard compounds, which are hugely different. The harder of the two compounds in particular will pose a challenge for the engineers. The Istanbul Park circuit is run in an anti-clockwise direction and it’s as varied as it gets. It has slow sections where good traction is crucial, but there are also fast parts such as the spectacular Turn Eight with its four sections, which has to be taken in a single line at around 250 km/h. Overall, the track makes stringent demands on the car’s balance. After the disappointing outcome in Monte Carlo, we hope to come away with a positive result here.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 3rd, 2008 Race - 2nd
“I love racing in Turkey: it’s a real challenge because you need to attack the lap to get a good time, but you also need to be careful with your tyres - if you push too much, particularly through Turn Eight, then your tyres are going to suffer. It’s all about finding the perfect balance in practice and being disciplined in the race so you don’t overdo it. I also love the fact that it’s a new circuit that has really captured the flavour of some of the older, classic tracks - it’s got a bit of everything and is fantastic to drive. Also, as it’s anti-clockwise, it gives your neck a bit of a workout - but you just need to make sure you’ve exercised the left side of your neck a little more than usual before getting in the car.”
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 2nd, 2008 Race - 12th
“Turkey is all about Turn Eight - the high-speed, four-apex left-hander. On a good day in qualifying, it’s flat-out - and that’s a pretty good feeling when you get it right. It’s also very important to look after your tyres through Turn Eight - you put a lot of load through the tyres, particularly the fronts, so it’s a good idea to look after them during the race. The best place to overtake here is into Turn 12, the corner at the end of the back straight. You can get a good tow and slipstream past - with KERS we should hopefully see some exciting racing.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“The Istanbul Park circuit is one of the most challenging modern circuits - for both teams and drivers. Firstly, it’s a real set-up challenge - you need to find a handling balance between the high-speed corners, the slower, infield section and the long straights. In addition, tyre-wear - particularly to the heavily loaded front-right through Turn Eight - is a crucial factor in determining overall strategy. For the drivers, a combination of multi-apex and blind corners adds to the challenge. We go to Turkey in the knowledge that the track characteristics are a bit less likely to suit our package than Monaco, but we are improving all the time, have several minor upgrades for MP4-24 and look forward to assessing our competitiveness against our rivals.”
Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President
“The layout of the circuit is challenging and, in Turn Eight, comprises the longest and fastest corner on the calendar as well as very slow corners where good braking stability and good traction are needed. KERS should again be a good support to improve our lap times, but nevertheless the Turkish Grand Prix will be a demanding challenge for us.”
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 9th, 2008 Race - 5th
“I hope our dismal performance in Monaco proves to be a glitch and that it was down to that particular circuit being unsuitable for our car. After all, there were signs of a forward trend at the previous race in Spain, and the next update is ready for Istanbul - also including a double diffuser.
"The Istanbul circuit has some extremely good sections, particularly Turn Eight, of course, which is quite a challenge - very long, fast and with several apexes. For the long straight with the right-hand kink you need a good top speed. It’s a vast city, very international and fascinating.
"I’ll be there on Wednesday already for an event with our partner Intel. I’m staying at a hotel on the European side again and will take a motor scooter to carve my way through the congestion over the bridge to Asia.”
Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 5th, 2008 Race - 4th
“The track in Istanbul is totally different to Monaco. It is a very modern race track with a couple of high-speed corners. The most famous high-speed corner there is the left-hander Turn Eight. Of course, we hope to perform better in Istanbul than in Monaco.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
“Ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix our results are quite sobering. Nobody in the team expected the season to pan out as it has so far. After taking a forward step in Spain, we were clearly off the pace in Monaco. To regain our competitiveness we will have to ramp up our development speed significantly. In Istanbul we will have the next step of our development ready and will be using a multistage diffuser for the first time. After three successful years, this phase is our first setback. We can deal with it. After all, it was the same team in Munich and Hinwil that ensured our progressive advancement since the BMW Sauber F1 Team was founded. We are all determined to get ourselves back among the front runners again.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering
“We’ll be lining up in Turkey with a new development package, which also features a double diffuser. Since the F1.09 concept was not designed for this, we had to make a number of aerodynamic adjustments. There are modifications to the front wings, side bargeboards, rim shields and the rear part of the engine cover. We expect this to take us a step forward, although we know that our rivals are not standing still. After the race in Monte Carlo we also had an in-depth look at the tyre problems. For the race in Turkey, Bridgestone is providing the soft and hard compounds, which are hugely different. The harder of the two compounds in particular will pose a challenge for the engineers. The Istanbul Park circuit is run in an anti-clockwise direction and it’s as varied as it gets. It has slow sections where good traction is crucial, but there are also fast parts such as the spectacular Turn Eight with its four sections, which has to be taken in a single line at around 250 km/h. Overall, the track makes stringent demands on the car’s balance. After the disappointing outcome in Monte Carlo, we hope to come away with a positive result here.”
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Brawn Newsletter
After achieving pole position on Saturday, Jenson led the race 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.
Rubens made an excellent start from third on the grid to take second place from Kimi Raikkonen before the first corner. "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" said Rubens.
Both starting on the softer option tyre, Jenson and Rubens drove composed two-stop strategies, using the prime tyre for their second and third stints. "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" confirmed Ross Brawn regarding the first stint of the race.
Rubens put up a strong fight to hold off the Ferrari of Raikkonen and maintain his second position whilst Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 78-lap race for his first victory around the streets of Monte Carlo, a dream come true for the British driver. "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. 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."
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.
"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" declared Ross Brawn. "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."
Rubens made an excellent start from third on the grid to take second place from Kimi Raikkonen before the first corner. "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" said Rubens.
Both starting on the softer option tyre, Jenson and Rubens drove composed two-stop strategies, using the prime tyre for their second and third stints. "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" confirmed Ross Brawn regarding the first stint of the race.
Rubens put up a strong fight to hold off the Ferrari of Raikkonen and maintain his second position whilst Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 78-lap race for his first victory around the streets of Monte Carlo, a dream come true for the British driver. "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. 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."
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.
"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" declared Ross Brawn. "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."
Brawn budget secure for 2009
Brawn GP CEO Nick Fry says the championship-leading team has no worries over its budget for the remainder of 2009, insisting it will be able to continue to develop its car as it wants to even if it didn’t secure another sponsorship deal.
After Ross Brawn’s management buyout saved the Brackley-based squad from closure over the winter following Honda’s sudden withdrawal from Formula 1, the new team owner admitted its current financial arrangement was a “medium-term solution” and it needed to find sponsors going forwards. A high-profile tie-up with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group was subsequently sealed on the eve of new season in Melbourne, while the team has also announced several other smaller deals.
But while yet to secure a title sponsor or other major brands, Fry has confirmed that the team already has the budget it needs to keep developing the pacesetting BGP 001, and start work on the 2010 model, right through the season as it bids to claim the world titles.
“There is no issue whatsoever with funding through this year,” he said in Monaco.“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.”
Brawn’s remarkable run of success in the opening third of the season has, according to Fry, naturally helped its attempts to entice new sponsors on board.Indeed while revealing it has received a number of offers already, Fry says the team is in a position where it can afford to cherry pick the deals which offer the best long-term benefits.
“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,” he revealed.“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.”He added: “What we are trying to do is get the best business proposition and that means hanging on a little bit and 1-2s at Monaco don’t harm the situation.”
While Virgin logos have been the major sponsor presence on the team’s car and Branson has attended several races so far in 2009, the tie-up has yet to progress to the “ two-stage deal” envisaged when it was announced in Australia.Reports in the British press ahead of last weekend’s Monte Carlo race suggested rival teams had also been courting Virgin, with Brawn and Branson having yet reached agreement on a longer-term deal.
Asked about the latest state of its sponsorship search, Fry said talks with both Virgin and other potential sponsors remained ongoing.
“We are very close to several commercial agreements,” the team CEO said.“I am sure other teams are interested in Virgin and I would expect them to look with others.“But we are continuing discussions with Virgin and we are talking to many others as well.”
After Ross Brawn’s management buyout saved the Brackley-based squad from closure over the winter following Honda’s sudden withdrawal from Formula 1, the new team owner admitted its current financial arrangement was a “medium-term solution” and it needed to find sponsors going forwards. A high-profile tie-up with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group was subsequently sealed on the eve of new season in Melbourne, while the team has also announced several other smaller deals.
But while yet to secure a title sponsor or other major brands, Fry has confirmed that the team already has the budget it needs to keep developing the pacesetting BGP 001, and start work on the 2010 model, right through the season as it bids to claim the world titles.
“There is no issue whatsoever with funding through this year,” he said in Monaco.“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.”
Brawn’s remarkable run of success in the opening third of the season has, according to Fry, naturally helped its attempts to entice new sponsors on board.Indeed while revealing it has received a number of offers already, Fry says the team is in a position where it can afford to cherry pick the deals which offer the best long-term benefits.
“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,” he revealed.“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.”He added: “What we are trying to do is get the best business proposition and that means hanging on a little bit and 1-2s at Monaco don’t harm the situation.”
While Virgin logos have been the major sponsor presence on the team’s car and Branson has attended several races so far in 2009, the tie-up has yet to progress to the “ two-stage deal” envisaged when it was announced in Australia.Reports in the British press ahead of last weekend’s Monte Carlo race suggested rival teams had also been courting Virgin, with Brawn and Branson having yet reached agreement on a longer-term deal.
Asked about the latest state of its sponsorship search, Fry said talks with both Virgin and other potential sponsors remained ongoing.
“We are very close to several commercial agreements,” the team CEO said.“I am sure other teams are interested in Virgin and I would expect them to look with others.“But we are continuing discussions with Virgin and we are talking to many others as well.”
Monday 25 May 2009
No title talk, says Button
Jenson Button has denied that the world championship is 'his to lose' after his stunning start to the 2009 season.
No driver has ever lost the title having won five of the opening six rounds, but Button said it was far too early to start thinking that the championship was in the bag."I don't know how you can say that after six races," he said."You are sort of putting a bit of negative energy in there and saying it is mine to lose."I wouldn't put it like that."I am 16 points in the lead and I have more of an advantage than others to win the championship, but it is all to play for."I am doing the best I can and at the moment that is good enough."
He said he was enjoying every moment of his ultra-successful year rather than letting thoughts of the championship and what other drivers had achieved after such strong starts to seasons fill his head."Facts obviously don't excite me too much, especially after the last couple of years that I've had, but winning does and winning here is very special," said Button."I'm not thinking about the last few races, it's this race I'm feeling at the moment.
"If you stop asking me the same questions over and over again about winning the world championship I might be able to concentrate on the next race."I'm taking it as it comes. Nothing's changed."I don't know what would change if I did think about the world championship, to be fair."But I'm enjoying myself, as you can imagine and I'm just looking forward to the next weekend in Turkey."
No driver has ever lost the title having won five of the opening six rounds, but Button said it was far too early to start thinking that the championship was in the bag."I don't know how you can say that after six races," he said."You are sort of putting a bit of negative energy in there and saying it is mine to lose."I wouldn't put it like that."I am 16 points in the lead and I have more of an advantage than others to win the championship, but it is all to play for."I am doing the best I can and at the moment that is good enough."
He said he was enjoying every moment of his ultra-successful year rather than letting thoughts of the championship and what other drivers had achieved after such strong starts to seasons fill his head."Facts obviously don't excite me too much, especially after the last couple of years that I've had, but winning does and winning here is very special," said Button."I'm not thinking about the last few races, it's this race I'm feeling at the moment.
"If you stop asking me the same questions over and over again about winning the world championship I might be able to concentrate on the next race."I'm taking it as it comes. Nothing's changed."I don't know what would change if I did think about the world championship, to be fair."But I'm enjoying myself, as you can imagine and I'm just looking forward to the next weekend in Turkey."
Sunday 24 May 2009
Button run after Monaco win
Jenson Button tightened his vice-like grip on the 2009 world championship with a dominant first Monaco Grand Prix victory on Sunday, leading team-mate Rubens Barrichello home in another Brawn 1-2.
In winning five of the season's first six races the 29-year-old matched the records of Jackie Stewart (in 1969), Nigel Mansell (in 1992) and Michael Schumacher (in 2002 and 2004) – a doubly remarkable feat given the Brawn team’s troubled winter.
Button was shadowed by Barrichello in the early laps but snuffed out the Brazilian’s challenge through superior management of the super-soft tyres as the rubber dropped off dramatically for several drivers in the first stint.As Barrichello fell back on the worn rubber, Button pulled out a big cushion and thereafter controlled the race expertly from the front to increase his championship lead over the Brazilian to 16 points.
Ferrari enjoyed by far its best race of 2009 so far, with Kimi Raikkonen taking third and Felipe Massa chasing him across the finish line in fourth.
Red Bull's Mark Webber finished just behind Massa after making good use of a long opening stint to leapfrog the Williams of Nico Rosberg, although the team will no doubt be disappointed with its weekend especially after Sebastian Vettel crashed out early on.Brawn's third 1-2 result of the season was virtually sealed at the start.
Both of its drivers made inch-perfect getaways, Button easily converting pole into the lead and Barrichello, for the second successive race, hooking things up brilliantly at the lights and outdragging Raikkonen down to Ste Devote.
Otherwise, while the usual jockeying took place on the short run down to the first corner, the grid order remained relatively stable and all 20 cars expertly navigated their way through the tight right-hander and up the hill.This wasn’t exactly the scenario Lewis Hamilton had been eyeing to make big progress from the back of the grid, the Briton and his McLaren team having decided to keep an aggressive fuel strategy rather than brim his MP4-24 up with fuel and play the often beneficial long Monaco waiting game.
While the current world champion making no progress from 19th (Timo Glock perhaps more wisely having opted to start from the pit lane), the man who currently looks most likely to succeed him, Button set about opening a first stint lead.With both Brawns starting on the grippier super-soft tyres, they pulled steadily away from Raikkonen who had started on the slower, but more durable, harder compound.
Barrichello initially kept his championship leading team-mate firmly in sight, meaning Button’s lead was just 1.7s after six laps.However, the Brazilian was soon to suffer the same fate that was quickly developing on fourth-placed man Vettel’s similarly super-soft tyred Red Bull.
Despite starting with the lightest fuel load of any of the top 10 runners, the German’s rear tyres quickly went off and he dropped over 10 seconds off the front three.His struggles became so severe that eight cars stacked up behind him as he toured around the twisty streets up to 3s off the pace, with Massa and Rosberg heading an increasingly frustrated queue of drivers.
Having made one failed move on Vettel at the harbourside chicane on the previous lap, Massa tried again on lap seven but the RBR driver positioned his car perfectly under braking and the Ferrari overshot the braking zone and straight-lined the corner.Knowing he had to give the position back to Vettel, Massa slowed on the short straight towards Tabac – but misjudged the speed and only succeed in allowing Rosberg to muscle through too.
However, both Rosberg and Massa would finally be released from behind the increasingly slow Red Bull just two laps later when Vettel’s rear tyres totally gave up the ghost and he lost all grip.
After being powerless to prevent his two rivals and team-mate Mark Webber through, he headed for the sanctuary of the pit lane to take on the harder tyres. Yet Vettel’s increasingly miserable afternoon ended soon afterwards when he slammed into the tyre barrier at Ste Devote. While all this was going on, Barrichello was now experiencing the same problems and started to fall behind Button at an increasingly fast rate of knots – allowing Raikkonen to close onto his gearbox.
Logical wisdom dictated that Button should be suffering the same fate given as he was on the same tyres yet the Briton was in total control of the situation and continued to lap some 1.5s faster than Barrichello.
Raikkonen, now climbing all over the back of the second-placed Brawn, was the first of the leading runners to stop on lap 14 to take on another set of harder tyres.Brawn then covered this on the very next lap by bringing Barrichello’s fuel stop forwards so he could finally switch to the same tyres as Raikkonen and not lose crucial track position.
Button then followed a lap later on lap 16 having opened up a 15s advantage over Barrichello, rejoining the track behind Rosberg and just ahead of Massa who had been homing in on the Barrichello/Raikkonen squabble after finally disposing of Vettel.Indeed the Williams and Ferrari had been lapping around a second faster than Button prior to the Briton’s stop, with the pair now the quickest on the circuit.However, while Rosberg was initially the man banging in the benchmark times, he would lose fourth to his Ferrari rival as a result of taking on more fuel at his lap 17 stop (in a bid to minimise the time spent on the super-softs in the final stint) and Massa staying out two laps longer.
So with the front runners first of two stops for the day out of the way, the long middle phase of the race settled into a more predictable pattern – although there were several intriguing cat and mouse games to keep drivers’ full attention on the tortuous wall-lined streets.
The first was between Button and Barrichello, as although the race leader had by this stage opened up a 16s advantage his team-mate, initially at least, Barrichello attempted to try and exert some distant pressure, getting the gap down to under 14s early in the stint.
But in truth Button was simply controlling the gap and as the laps wore on, his advantage stabilised and then even steadily increased back up again as he wound up for his final stop.Barrichello was in turn keeping a healthy distance ahead of the two Ferraris now they were all on the same rubber, with Massa in particular continuing to look racy behind Raikkonen.
Indeed the Brazilian was pushing so hard that his race engineer Rob Smedley had to tell him to on two occasions over the radio that the team had received two warnings from race control about him taking too much kerb at the chicane and turn 15.Another man showing good pace was Webber, the Australian having moved up to fifth through the pit stop phase after staying out longer than both Rosberg and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.
With passing the Ferraris on track going to be a tall order, the Red Bull driver’s only hope of improving his position was likely to come in the final stint when all three switched to the tricky super-softs.However, with far more grip down on the track than in the early laps, the ‘option’ tyres held on for longer and all three managed to hold on for the final laps.
In the end Button cruised to a brilliant victory 7.6s ahead of Barrichello, the Brazilian picking up the fourth Monaco runners-up trophy of his career.Behind the top five, Rosberg couldn’t maintain his pace from the early laps during his long middle stint and eventually claimed a solid three points for Williams.
Fernando Alonso had a lonely drive to seventh in the Renault, the Spaniard’s car not having the pace to challenge for a higher position.The final point went to Toro Rosso’s under-pressure driver Sebastien Bourdais, the Frenchman narrowly beating Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella after both made great progress on a one-stop strategy.
Toyota and BMW’s miserable weekends ended with the inevitable no-score, as did Hamilton’s who eventually wound up 12th.Having made up little ground early on, the Briton struggled with understeer throughout the race after damaging his front wing after tagging Nick Heidfeld’s BMW at Ste Devote early on. McLaren would have scored some points with Kovalainen, but the Finn clouted the barriers after dropping his MP4-24 on the exit of the Swimming Pool.
Monaco Grand Prix result - 78 laps
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. BARRICHELLO Brawn +7.6s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +13.4s
4. MASSA Ferrari +15.1s
5. WEBBER Red Bull +15.7s
6. ROSBERG Williams +33.5s
7. ALONSO Renault +37.8s
8. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +63.1s
9. FISICHELLA Force India +65.0s
10. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
11. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap
12. HAMILTON McLaren +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
15. NAKAJIMA Williams +2 laps
16. KOVALAINEN McLaren +27 laps
17. KUBICA BMW +50 laps
18. VETTEL Red Bull +63 laps
19. PIQUET Renault +68 laps
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso +68 laps
In winning five of the season's first six races the 29-year-old matched the records of Jackie Stewart (in 1969), Nigel Mansell (in 1992) and Michael Schumacher (in 2002 and 2004) – a doubly remarkable feat given the Brawn team’s troubled winter.
Button was shadowed by Barrichello in the early laps but snuffed out the Brazilian’s challenge through superior management of the super-soft tyres as the rubber dropped off dramatically for several drivers in the first stint.As Barrichello fell back on the worn rubber, Button pulled out a big cushion and thereafter controlled the race expertly from the front to increase his championship lead over the Brazilian to 16 points.
Ferrari enjoyed by far its best race of 2009 so far, with Kimi Raikkonen taking third and Felipe Massa chasing him across the finish line in fourth.
Red Bull's Mark Webber finished just behind Massa after making good use of a long opening stint to leapfrog the Williams of Nico Rosberg, although the team will no doubt be disappointed with its weekend especially after Sebastian Vettel crashed out early on.Brawn's third 1-2 result of the season was virtually sealed at the start.
Both of its drivers made inch-perfect getaways, Button easily converting pole into the lead and Barrichello, for the second successive race, hooking things up brilliantly at the lights and outdragging Raikkonen down to Ste Devote.
Otherwise, while the usual jockeying took place on the short run down to the first corner, the grid order remained relatively stable and all 20 cars expertly navigated their way through the tight right-hander and up the hill.This wasn’t exactly the scenario Lewis Hamilton had been eyeing to make big progress from the back of the grid, the Briton and his McLaren team having decided to keep an aggressive fuel strategy rather than brim his MP4-24 up with fuel and play the often beneficial long Monaco waiting game.
While the current world champion making no progress from 19th (Timo Glock perhaps more wisely having opted to start from the pit lane), the man who currently looks most likely to succeed him, Button set about opening a first stint lead.With both Brawns starting on the grippier super-soft tyres, they pulled steadily away from Raikkonen who had started on the slower, but more durable, harder compound.
Barrichello initially kept his championship leading team-mate firmly in sight, meaning Button’s lead was just 1.7s after six laps.However, the Brazilian was soon to suffer the same fate that was quickly developing on fourth-placed man Vettel’s similarly super-soft tyred Red Bull.
Despite starting with the lightest fuel load of any of the top 10 runners, the German’s rear tyres quickly went off and he dropped over 10 seconds off the front three.His struggles became so severe that eight cars stacked up behind him as he toured around the twisty streets up to 3s off the pace, with Massa and Rosberg heading an increasingly frustrated queue of drivers.
Having made one failed move on Vettel at the harbourside chicane on the previous lap, Massa tried again on lap seven but the RBR driver positioned his car perfectly under braking and the Ferrari overshot the braking zone and straight-lined the corner.Knowing he had to give the position back to Vettel, Massa slowed on the short straight towards Tabac – but misjudged the speed and only succeed in allowing Rosberg to muscle through too.
However, both Rosberg and Massa would finally be released from behind the increasingly slow Red Bull just two laps later when Vettel’s rear tyres totally gave up the ghost and he lost all grip.
After being powerless to prevent his two rivals and team-mate Mark Webber through, he headed for the sanctuary of the pit lane to take on the harder tyres. Yet Vettel’s increasingly miserable afternoon ended soon afterwards when he slammed into the tyre barrier at Ste Devote. While all this was going on, Barrichello was now experiencing the same problems and started to fall behind Button at an increasingly fast rate of knots – allowing Raikkonen to close onto his gearbox.
Logical wisdom dictated that Button should be suffering the same fate given as he was on the same tyres yet the Briton was in total control of the situation and continued to lap some 1.5s faster than Barrichello.
Raikkonen, now climbing all over the back of the second-placed Brawn, was the first of the leading runners to stop on lap 14 to take on another set of harder tyres.Brawn then covered this on the very next lap by bringing Barrichello’s fuel stop forwards so he could finally switch to the same tyres as Raikkonen and not lose crucial track position.
Button then followed a lap later on lap 16 having opened up a 15s advantage over Barrichello, rejoining the track behind Rosberg and just ahead of Massa who had been homing in on the Barrichello/Raikkonen squabble after finally disposing of Vettel.Indeed the Williams and Ferrari had been lapping around a second faster than Button prior to the Briton’s stop, with the pair now the quickest on the circuit.However, while Rosberg was initially the man banging in the benchmark times, he would lose fourth to his Ferrari rival as a result of taking on more fuel at his lap 17 stop (in a bid to minimise the time spent on the super-softs in the final stint) and Massa staying out two laps longer.
So with the front runners first of two stops for the day out of the way, the long middle phase of the race settled into a more predictable pattern – although there were several intriguing cat and mouse games to keep drivers’ full attention on the tortuous wall-lined streets.
The first was between Button and Barrichello, as although the race leader had by this stage opened up a 16s advantage his team-mate, initially at least, Barrichello attempted to try and exert some distant pressure, getting the gap down to under 14s early in the stint.
But in truth Button was simply controlling the gap and as the laps wore on, his advantage stabilised and then even steadily increased back up again as he wound up for his final stop.Barrichello was in turn keeping a healthy distance ahead of the two Ferraris now they were all on the same rubber, with Massa in particular continuing to look racy behind Raikkonen.
Indeed the Brazilian was pushing so hard that his race engineer Rob Smedley had to tell him to on two occasions over the radio that the team had received two warnings from race control about him taking too much kerb at the chicane and turn 15.Another man showing good pace was Webber, the Australian having moved up to fifth through the pit stop phase after staying out longer than both Rosberg and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.
With passing the Ferraris on track going to be a tall order, the Red Bull driver’s only hope of improving his position was likely to come in the final stint when all three switched to the tricky super-softs.However, with far more grip down on the track than in the early laps, the ‘option’ tyres held on for longer and all three managed to hold on for the final laps.
In the end Button cruised to a brilliant victory 7.6s ahead of Barrichello, the Brazilian picking up the fourth Monaco runners-up trophy of his career.Behind the top five, Rosberg couldn’t maintain his pace from the early laps during his long middle stint and eventually claimed a solid three points for Williams.
Fernando Alonso had a lonely drive to seventh in the Renault, the Spaniard’s car not having the pace to challenge for a higher position.The final point went to Toro Rosso’s under-pressure driver Sebastien Bourdais, the Frenchman narrowly beating Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella after both made great progress on a one-stop strategy.
Toyota and BMW’s miserable weekends ended with the inevitable no-score, as did Hamilton’s who eventually wound up 12th.Having made up little ground early on, the Briton struggled with understeer throughout the race after damaging his front wing after tagging Nick Heidfeld’s BMW at Ste Devote early on. McLaren would have scored some points with Kovalainen, but the Finn clouted the barriers after dropping his MP4-24 on the exit of the Swimming Pool.
Monaco Grand Prix result - 78 laps
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. BARRICHELLO Brawn +7.6s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +13.4s
4. MASSA Ferrari +15.1s
5. WEBBER Red Bull +15.7s
6. ROSBERG Williams +33.5s
7. ALONSO Renault +37.8s
8. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +63.1s
9. FISICHELLA Force India +65.0s
10. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
11. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap
12. HAMILTON McLaren +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
15. NAKAJIMA Williams +2 laps
16. KOVALAINEN McLaren +27 laps
17. KUBICA BMW +50 laps
18. VETTEL Red Bull +63 laps
19. PIQUET Renault +68 laps
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso +68 laps
Brawn continue support for Stevens
The Brawn GP team have confirmed that they will continue to support up-and-coming British driver Will Stevens on a long-term driver development programme.
The association continues Stevens’ previous relationship with Honda and will provide the platform for him to develop the level of performance that is required to potentially become part of Brawn’s Formula One programme in the future.Stevens, 17, is widely regarded as one of Britain's top rising young motorsport stars. Following a prodigious karting career, he is now competing in the Formula Renault UK Championship with Fortec Motorsport in his rookie year in single-seater car racing.Nick Fry, Brawn GP’s CEO, commented: "We are very pleased to be continuing our support of Will's motorsport career and extending the relationship that he has had with the team since 2008. We look forward to working with Will and will be keeping a close eye on his developing motorsport career."
Commenting on Thursday’s announcement, Stevens said: "I am extremely proud to be part of the Brawn GP team. What the team has achieved so far this season is incredible and the future looks very exciting."To have the opportunity to be a part of the team is amazing. I would like to thank Ross, Nick and Ron Meadows for their continued support and commitment to my future and I intend to ensure that their belief in me is rewarded."
The association continues Stevens’ previous relationship with Honda and will provide the platform for him to develop the level of performance that is required to potentially become part of Brawn’s Formula One programme in the future.Stevens, 17, is widely regarded as one of Britain's top rising young motorsport stars. Following a prodigious karting career, he is now competing in the Formula Renault UK Championship with Fortec Motorsport in his rookie year in single-seater car racing.Nick Fry, Brawn GP’s CEO, commented: "We are very pleased to be continuing our support of Will's motorsport career and extending the relationship that he has had with the team since 2008. We look forward to working with Will and will be keeping a close eye on his developing motorsport career."
Commenting on Thursday’s announcement, Stevens said: "I am extremely proud to be part of the Brawn GP team. What the team has achieved so far this season is incredible and the future looks very exciting."To have the opportunity to be a part of the team is amazing. I would like to thank Ross, Nick and Ron Meadows for their continued support and commitment to my future and I intend to ensure that their belief in me is rewarded."
Brawn: Button Schumacher
Ross Brawn has taken his hat off to the Michael Schumacher-type qualities that have helped Jenson Button emerge as the dominant force in Formula 1 this year.With Button taking a brilliant last-gasp pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, Brawn says that although the world championship leader has a different personality to Schumacher, they are showing remarkable similarities in their approach to the job in hand."I worked with Michael for 15 years and this is only my second year with Jenson, so it is very difficult to make comparisons," said Brawn."They are different types of character, but both are obviously highly talented. And I think this opportunity that Jenson has got has made him focus very hard on what is happening, what it is and why it is happening - so he is similar [to Michael] in that respect."
Brawn acknowledges that Button has upped his work ethic this year – with the Briton claiming earlier this weekend that success has turned him into a 'boring bastard'."Any competitive sportsperson, if he gets an opportunity, focuses on that opportunity," explained Brawn. "Of course it is like all of us – when you are at the sharp end and thinking about things, then it is in your thoughts all the time.
"Probably last year to be honest he was glad to forget about it, whereas this year he is enjoying thinking about it. I think both drivers do spend a lot of time discussing things with their engineers away from the track, so it is nice to hear – but it doesn't surprise me because last year he would be glad to forget what is going on. This year is different."
Brawn admitted he thought his team had lost the chance of pole position in the closing stages of qualifying – but that Button once again shocked him with his late effort.When asked if Button kept surprising him, Brawn said: "He does in a way. He kind of portrays an air of not going to do it, and then he does it. That is the thing that keeps surprising me.
"He just keeps doing it, and up until final qualifying I thought maybe first/second row of the grid, but the car did not look bad in race spec, so we could have an interesting race."
Brawn acknowledges that Button has upped his work ethic this year – with the Briton claiming earlier this weekend that success has turned him into a 'boring bastard'."Any competitive sportsperson, if he gets an opportunity, focuses on that opportunity," explained Brawn. "Of course it is like all of us – when you are at the sharp end and thinking about things, then it is in your thoughts all the time.
"Probably last year to be honest he was glad to forget about it, whereas this year he is enjoying thinking about it. I think both drivers do spend a lot of time discussing things with their engineers away from the track, so it is nice to hear – but it doesn't surprise me because last year he would be glad to forget what is going on. This year is different."
Brawn admitted he thought his team had lost the chance of pole position in the closing stages of qualifying – but that Button once again shocked him with his late effort.When asked if Button kept surprising him, Brawn said: "He does in a way. He kind of portrays an air of not going to do it, and then he does it. That is the thing that keeps surprising me.
"He just keeps doing it, and up until final qualifying I thought maybe first/second row of the grid, but the car did not look bad in race spec, so we could have an interesting race."
Button takes Monaco pole
World championship leader Jenson Button put himself in the ideal position to extend his remarkable 2009 winning streak by taking an exquisitely judged, last-gasp pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.The Brawn driver lurked beneath the radar in the first two knockout sessions and then pulled out all the stops on his crucial final Q3 lap to pip an on-form Kimi Raikkonen by a scant 0.025s.Brawn’s other driver Rubens Barrichello took third on the grid on his 37th birthday ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.
After showing strongly throughout practice Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying challenge ended in tears when he crashed in the first knockout session, consigning him to 16th on the grid – a bitter disappointment for the world champion who felt he had a rare opportunity to contend for victory on the Principality’s streets.As ever in Monaco qualifying sessions – where more is at stake than at any other circuit given the difficulty of overtaking and the premium on grid positions – the action was frenetic from the outset and built up to a thrilling climax.
Button was second fastest in Q1 but only snuck through Q2 in eighth place and did not look like the strongest bet for pole.But as in Spain two weeks ago, the Brit methodically adjusted his car’s set-up through the hour, found its ‘sweet spot’ at exactly the right moment, and then delivered the goods with an on-the-limit but impeccably controlled final lap to knock Raikkonen off pole.
Kimi’s performance was a testament to Ferrari’s improved form and gives the Scuderia its first realistic shot at a race win this year.Barrichello and Vettel (who it transpired was carrying a very light fuel load) were respectively 0.175s and 0.369s off the pace in third and fourth, with Massa 0.435s adrift in fifth.
The Ferrari driver was fortunate to escape from Q1 after clattering the barrier in the Swimming Pool complex and damaging the nosecone of the F60.The Brazilian regained his composure but the incident perhaps broke his rhythm and took the edge off his pole challenge.
Nico Rosberg qualified sixth for Williams, his best grid position since round two in Malaysia, but looked like he might have done better still after topping Q1.
With Hamilton on the sidelines, Heikki Kovalainen was McLaren’s standard-bearer in seventh, while Mark Webber (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) rounded out the top 10.
Hamilton’s quest to get into the pole battle for the first time this season was over halfway through Q1 when he deposited his McLaren in the Mirabeau tyre barrier.The world champion lost control as he strayed over the top of the crown in the road in the braking area for the downhill right-hander and smashed the rear corner of his MP4-24 against the tyre wall.Hamilton was unable to drag the damaged car back to the pits and therefore ruled himself out of the rest of the qualifying hour – the first Q1 exit of his F1 career.His demeanour as he despondently walked away from the car and later apologised to the team for his error spoke volumes about the golden opportunity he had squandered.
Both BMWs and both Toyotas completed a novel and high-profile cast of Q1 casualties, although given their wretched weekends to date it didn’t come as a great surprise.
Force India profited from their malaise to get both its cars into Q2, as did Toro Rosso.Rookie Sebastien Buemi again won the STR bragging rights, taking 11th with team-mate Sebastien Bourdais 14th, while Giancarlo Fisichella was an excellent 13th for Force India despite having one of his time annulled for short-cutting the chicane.
Monaco GP 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. HAMILTON McLaren
17. HEIDFELD BMW
18. KUBICA BMW
19. TRULLI Toyota
20. GLOCK Toyota
After showing strongly throughout practice Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying challenge ended in tears when he crashed in the first knockout session, consigning him to 16th on the grid – a bitter disappointment for the world champion who felt he had a rare opportunity to contend for victory on the Principality’s streets.As ever in Monaco qualifying sessions – where more is at stake than at any other circuit given the difficulty of overtaking and the premium on grid positions – the action was frenetic from the outset and built up to a thrilling climax.
Button was second fastest in Q1 but only snuck through Q2 in eighth place and did not look like the strongest bet for pole.But as in Spain two weeks ago, the Brit methodically adjusted his car’s set-up through the hour, found its ‘sweet spot’ at exactly the right moment, and then delivered the goods with an on-the-limit but impeccably controlled final lap to knock Raikkonen off pole.
Kimi’s performance was a testament to Ferrari’s improved form and gives the Scuderia its first realistic shot at a race win this year.Barrichello and Vettel (who it transpired was carrying a very light fuel load) were respectively 0.175s and 0.369s off the pace in third and fourth, with Massa 0.435s adrift in fifth.
The Ferrari driver was fortunate to escape from Q1 after clattering the barrier in the Swimming Pool complex and damaging the nosecone of the F60.The Brazilian regained his composure but the incident perhaps broke his rhythm and took the edge off his pole challenge.
Nico Rosberg qualified sixth for Williams, his best grid position since round two in Malaysia, but looked like he might have done better still after topping Q1.
With Hamilton on the sidelines, Heikki Kovalainen was McLaren’s standard-bearer in seventh, while Mark Webber (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) rounded out the top 10.
Hamilton’s quest to get into the pole battle for the first time this season was over halfway through Q1 when he deposited his McLaren in the Mirabeau tyre barrier.The world champion lost control as he strayed over the top of the crown in the road in the braking area for the downhill right-hander and smashed the rear corner of his MP4-24 against the tyre wall.Hamilton was unable to drag the damaged car back to the pits and therefore ruled himself out of the rest of the qualifying hour – the first Q1 exit of his F1 career.His demeanour as he despondently walked away from the car and later apologised to the team for his error spoke volumes about the golden opportunity he had squandered.
Both BMWs and both Toyotas completed a novel and high-profile cast of Q1 casualties, although given their wretched weekends to date it didn’t come as a great surprise.
Force India profited from their malaise to get both its cars into Q2, as did Toro Rosso.Rookie Sebastien Buemi again won the STR bragging rights, taking 11th with team-mate Sebastien Bourdais 14th, while Giancarlo Fisichella was an excellent 13th for Force India despite having one of his time annulled for short-cutting the chicane.
Monaco GP 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. HAMILTON McLaren
17. HEIDFELD BMW
18. KUBICA BMW
19. TRULLI Toyota
20. GLOCK Toyota
Monday 18 May 2009
Monaco GP preview
In a week when budget caps and how best to slash costs are causing all manner of political heartache in Formula 1, it is a little ironic that the championship is about to pitch up at its most ostentatious location: Monte Carlo.
A street race around a millionaires' paradise tax haven, along a harbourside lined with the super-yachts of the world's most wealthy, the Monaco Grand Prix is not just a tribute to excess - it's also arguably the most evocative and historic venue in all of motorsport.
Singapore demonstrated last year that modern street tracks could be a big hit, but it cannot compete with Monaco's incredible 80-year heritage.Apart from additional safety features, less dust and more advertising, many parts of the course still follow the same route as the Bugattis and Maseratis did in the inaugural race in 1929.
It doesn't matter that the race is inevitably processional, for it's the challenge of threading the cars between the barriers, coping with the constantly mutating grip levels on the treacherous public roads and the unique echo of the F1 V8s screaming off the harbour walls that makes Monaco a joy to watch even if wheel-to-wheel moments are rare in the extreme.The 2009 regulation changes will not do much to change the latter situation.
Aerodynamic turbulence is not the problem in Monaco - indeed with so many slow corners cars actually follow each other more closely here than anywhere else.
The reasons why overtaking is so scarce are purely because there isn't the space to get two cars comfortably side by side in many places, because the straights are too short to build momentum for a move, and because the track is so treacherous off the racing line.KERS might help a bit on the brief sprints between the final and first corners, and through the tunnel towards the chicane, but neither the 'boost button' nor an adjustable wing will overcome the sheer lack of space or the dirty surface.
Tyre performance variation will not be so big a factor either, for Bridgestone has decided to temporarily halt its policy of bringing two very different compounds to each race for Monaco only, instead providing the relatively similar super softs and softs.It will still be intriguing to see what difference this makes to the outcome, for tyre wear has contributed to some of Monaco's finest racing in recent years.
In 2002 David Coulthard did a masterful job to hold off a growing pack of challengers as his Michelins went through a graining phase that saw even the Minardis out-pacing the eventual winner for a while.But three years later, during the season when mid-race tyre changes were temporarily banned, the Renaults plunged down the order as their Michelins wilted, losing so much grip that even Monaco's narrow confines could not protect them from being overtaken.
Strategy is always tough to call in Monte Carlo, particularly in the current era of qualifying on race fuel.Until that system was introduced, most Monaco winners tended to make relatively late single stops.
On paper that tends to remain the fastest strategy for most, but pole position simply isn't going to happen if you're taking 40 or more laps of fuel into Q3.
The pole contenders therefore have to go light, and gamble on being able to pull away sufficiently before their first stop to ensure that they are not then stuck amongst the heavier cars - because these drivers are sure to be going much, much further before pitting, and will be almost impossible to overtake.With so many cars so closely matched on pace, those qualifying decisions will be tougher than ever.
Logically Monaco should see a continuation of Brawn and Red Bull's ongoing battle, but Ferrari is now also a factor to consider following its big leap in Spain.McLaren insists it will be in much better shape on the streets - where it has won for three of the last four years - as well.
Recent Williams chassis have tended to suit Monaco well, too (although converting that speed into results has proved harder), and the team could desperately do with getting back to its early-season level of competitiveness - as could Toyota after a poor Spanish GP.Never count out double Monaco winner Fernando Alonso either, and watch out for a star performance from Force India's Adrian Sutil - who topped final practice here in 2007 and ran an amazing fourth last year until being clobbered by Kimi Raikkonen.
It would now be startling if Jenson Button didn't win the world championship, for his four out of five record so far is just too good a start to be overcome unless something bizarre happens in the remainder of the season.But Monaco regularly delivers surprises, or trips up the otherwise dominant.
Hence Coulthard and Jarno Trulli's shock wins for McLaren and Renault in 2002 and 2004, both seasons when Michael Schumacher was looking unstoppable, or Williams turning around an anonymous start to the year to take Juan Pablo Montoya to Monaco victory in 2003.
Normally anyone who had won every dry race so far in a season could be relatively confident of success, but there are no certainties in Monte Carlo, so this will be just as nerve-wracking a weekend for Button as it will be a big opportunity for the rivals he has been summarily dismissing on-track up till now.
A street race around a millionaires' paradise tax haven, along a harbourside lined with the super-yachts of the world's most wealthy, the Monaco Grand Prix is not just a tribute to excess - it's also arguably the most evocative and historic venue in all of motorsport.
Singapore demonstrated last year that modern street tracks could be a big hit, but it cannot compete with Monaco's incredible 80-year heritage.Apart from additional safety features, less dust and more advertising, many parts of the course still follow the same route as the Bugattis and Maseratis did in the inaugural race in 1929.
It doesn't matter that the race is inevitably processional, for it's the challenge of threading the cars between the barriers, coping with the constantly mutating grip levels on the treacherous public roads and the unique echo of the F1 V8s screaming off the harbour walls that makes Monaco a joy to watch even if wheel-to-wheel moments are rare in the extreme.The 2009 regulation changes will not do much to change the latter situation.
Aerodynamic turbulence is not the problem in Monaco - indeed with so many slow corners cars actually follow each other more closely here than anywhere else.
The reasons why overtaking is so scarce are purely because there isn't the space to get two cars comfortably side by side in many places, because the straights are too short to build momentum for a move, and because the track is so treacherous off the racing line.KERS might help a bit on the brief sprints between the final and first corners, and through the tunnel towards the chicane, but neither the 'boost button' nor an adjustable wing will overcome the sheer lack of space or the dirty surface.
Tyre performance variation will not be so big a factor either, for Bridgestone has decided to temporarily halt its policy of bringing two very different compounds to each race for Monaco only, instead providing the relatively similar super softs and softs.It will still be intriguing to see what difference this makes to the outcome, for tyre wear has contributed to some of Monaco's finest racing in recent years.
In 2002 David Coulthard did a masterful job to hold off a growing pack of challengers as his Michelins went through a graining phase that saw even the Minardis out-pacing the eventual winner for a while.But three years later, during the season when mid-race tyre changes were temporarily banned, the Renaults plunged down the order as their Michelins wilted, losing so much grip that even Monaco's narrow confines could not protect them from being overtaken.
Strategy is always tough to call in Monte Carlo, particularly in the current era of qualifying on race fuel.Until that system was introduced, most Monaco winners tended to make relatively late single stops.
On paper that tends to remain the fastest strategy for most, but pole position simply isn't going to happen if you're taking 40 or more laps of fuel into Q3.
The pole contenders therefore have to go light, and gamble on being able to pull away sufficiently before their first stop to ensure that they are not then stuck amongst the heavier cars - because these drivers are sure to be going much, much further before pitting, and will be almost impossible to overtake.With so many cars so closely matched on pace, those qualifying decisions will be tougher than ever.
Logically Monaco should see a continuation of Brawn and Red Bull's ongoing battle, but Ferrari is now also a factor to consider following its big leap in Spain.McLaren insists it will be in much better shape on the streets - where it has won for three of the last four years - as well.
Recent Williams chassis have tended to suit Monaco well, too (although converting that speed into results has proved harder), and the team could desperately do with getting back to its early-season level of competitiveness - as could Toyota after a poor Spanish GP.Never count out double Monaco winner Fernando Alonso either, and watch out for a star performance from Force India's Adrian Sutil - who topped final practice here in 2007 and ran an amazing fourth last year until being clobbered by Kimi Raikkonen.
It would now be startling if Jenson Button didn't win the world championship, for his four out of five record so far is just too good a start to be overcome unless something bizarre happens in the remainder of the season.But Monaco regularly delivers surprises, or trips up the otherwise dominant.
Hence Coulthard and Jarno Trulli's shock wins for McLaren and Renault in 2002 and 2004, both seasons when Michael Schumacher was looking unstoppable, or Williams turning around an anonymous start to the year to take Juan Pablo Montoya to Monaco victory in 2003.
Normally anyone who had won every dry race so far in a season could be relatively confident of success, but there are no certainties in Monte Carlo, so this will be just as nerve-wracking a weekend for Button as it will be a big opportunity for the rivals he has been summarily dismissing on-track up till now.
Sunday 17 May 2009
BGP 001 - Technical Specification
Chassis
Construction: Construction Moulded carbon fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Suspension: Wishbone and pushrod activated torsion springs and rockers
Dampers: Sachs
Wheels: BBS forged magnesium
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Brakes: Brembo calipers
Brake discs/pads: Carbon/Carbon
Steering: Power assisted rack and pinion
Steering wheel: Carbon fibre construction
Electronics: FIA standard ECU and FIA homologated electronic and electrical system
Transmission
Gearbox: Seven speed unit with carbon composite maincase
Gear selection: Sequential, semi-automatic, hydraulic activation
Clutch: Clutch Carbon plate
Dimensions
Overall length: 4700mm
Overall height: 950mm
Overall width: 1800mm
Mercedes-Benz FO108W - Technical Specification
Type: Mercedes-Benz FO108W
Capacity: 2.4 litres
Cylinders: 8
Maximum rpm: 18,000 (FIA regulatory limit for 2009)
Bank angle: 90°
Piston bore: 98mm (FIA regulation)
No of valves: 32
Weight: 95kg (minimum FIA regulation weight)
Fuel: Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel)
Lubricants: Mobil 1
2009 Spanish GP - race
Brawn GP achieved the team’s second one-two result of the 2009 Formula One season today with Jenson Button taking his fourth victory of the year at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and team-mate Rubens Barrichello securing second position.
Starting from third on the grid, Rubens had a fantastic start to the race as he passed Sebastian Vettel and Jenson, who started on pole, on the run down to the first corner. A multi-car collision brought out the safety car for the first four laps of the race with Rubens and Jenson heading the field in first and second positions.
With the racing underway on lap five, the two Brawn-Mercedes drivers concentrated on building a gap at the front. Jenson pitted first on lap 18 where his planned three-stop strategy was switched to a two-stop, followed by Rubens on lap 19. Rubens pitted for the second of his three stops on lap 31 and struggled with his tyres throughout his third stint which allowed Jenson to edge ahead on strategy by the time he came in for his final stop on lap 50.
Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 66-lap race to achieve his fourth victory and fifth consecutive podium of the season. Rubens’ second position and fastest lap of the race capped a fantastic start to Formula One’s European season for Brawn GP and engine partner Mercedes-Benz. The team has now extended its lead in the Constructors’ Championship with 68 points. Jenson leads the Drivers’ Championship on 41 points with Rubens in second place on 27 points.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P1 01:22.899
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P2 01:22.762
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 23-24°C Track: 37-44°C
JENSON BUTTON
“We thought that three-stops would be the quicker strategy here and that was what we fuelled for in Q3 yesterday. I had a good start from pole but Rubens had an absolute flier and I couldn’t hold him off. Having lost the lead and with the prospect of being caught behind Rosberg, we made the decision to switch to a two-stop strategy. The car felt so heavy with the fuel on board after my first stop but I worked really hard on my final two stints to make the strategy work for me. To come away with the win is a little unexpected but it means so much to continue our run of success. Obviously Rubens is disappointed not to have got the win today and he has been a huge help over the weekend in helping me overcome the issues that I faced on Friday. His turn will certainly come. There’s a great feeling within our team and I am very proud of them for producing such a great car. A special thanks to all the guys back at the factory in Brackley and to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. They supported our team through the difficult times and we couldn’t have achieved this without them.”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“The race began really well for me and I had a great start overtaking Sebastian and Jenson to be leading the race coming out of turn one and through the safety car period. The car was feeling really good during the first stint and getting out from my first stop ahead of Nico on track set the race up nicely for me. I was quite surprised when Jenson’s strategy was switched and from then I knew that I had to go flat out to make my strategy work. However I suffered on my third set of tyres and was not able to get the lap times which would have kept me ahead of Jenson. It was a great result for Jenson and the team today but I am disappointed not to have won the race after having such a good weekend. I am a positive person however and I am confident that my victory will come soon.”
ROSS BRAWN
“A fantastic result for the team today after a great deal of hard work to maximise the performance of our new developments this weekend. Rubens had a great start to be leading the race from lap one and we asked both drivers to push as hard as possible to build a lead over the chasing pack. As we approached the window for the first pit stops, it became apparent that Jenson would come out directly behind Nico Rosberg if we went with his planned three-stop strategy. We therefore made the decision to switch Jenson onto a two-stop strategy 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. Rubens has performed extremely well throughout this weekend and it has been largely thanks to his input that we have been able to maximise our pace and achieve the successes of today. Our second one-two finish is a fantastic way to start the European season and I am extremely proud of Jenson, Rubens and the team. Our thanks as always to Mercedes-Benz and all of our team partners for their continued support.”
Starting from third on the grid, Rubens had a fantastic start to the race as he passed Sebastian Vettel and Jenson, who started on pole, on the run down to the first corner. A multi-car collision brought out the safety car for the first four laps of the race with Rubens and Jenson heading the field in first and second positions.
With the racing underway on lap five, the two Brawn-Mercedes drivers concentrated on building a gap at the front. Jenson pitted first on lap 18 where his planned three-stop strategy was switched to a two-stop, followed by Rubens on lap 19. Rubens pitted for the second of his three stops on lap 31 and struggled with his tyres throughout his third stint which allowed Jenson to edge ahead on strategy by the time he came in for his final stop on lap 50.
Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 66-lap race to achieve his fourth victory and fifth consecutive podium of the season. Rubens’ second position and fastest lap of the race capped a fantastic start to Formula One’s European season for Brawn GP and engine partner Mercedes-Benz. The team has now extended its lead in the Constructors’ Championship with 68 points. Jenson leads the Drivers’ Championship on 41 points with Rubens in second place on 27 points.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P1 01:22.899
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 P2 01:22.762
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 23-24°C Track: 37-44°C
JENSON BUTTON
“We thought that three-stops would be the quicker strategy here and that was what we fuelled for in Q3 yesterday. I had a good start from pole but Rubens had an absolute flier and I couldn’t hold him off. Having lost the lead and with the prospect of being caught behind Rosberg, we made the decision to switch to a two-stop strategy. The car felt so heavy with the fuel on board after my first stop but I worked really hard on my final two stints to make the strategy work for me. To come away with the win is a little unexpected but it means so much to continue our run of success. Obviously Rubens is disappointed not to have got the win today and he has been a huge help over the weekend in helping me overcome the issues that I faced on Friday. His turn will certainly come. There’s a great feeling within our team and I am very proud of them for producing such a great car. A special thanks to all the guys back at the factory in Brackley and to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. They supported our team through the difficult times and we couldn’t have achieved this without them.”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“The race began really well for me and I had a great start overtaking Sebastian and Jenson to be leading the race coming out of turn one and through the safety car period. The car was feeling really good during the first stint and getting out from my first stop ahead of Nico on track set the race up nicely for me. I was quite surprised when Jenson’s strategy was switched and from then I knew that I had to go flat out to make my strategy work. However I suffered on my third set of tyres and was not able to get the lap times which would have kept me ahead of Jenson. It was a great result for Jenson and the team today but I am disappointed not to have won the race after having such a good weekend. I am a positive person however and I am confident that my victory will come soon.”
ROSS BRAWN
“A fantastic result for the team today after a great deal of hard work to maximise the performance of our new developments this weekend. Rubens had a great start to be leading the race from lap one and we asked both drivers to push as hard as possible to build a lead over the chasing pack. As we approached the window for the first pit stops, it became apparent that Jenson would come out directly behind Nico Rosberg if we went with his planned three-stop strategy. We therefore made the decision to switch Jenson onto a two-stop strategy 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. Rubens has performed extremely well throughout this weekend and it has been largely thanks to his input that we have been able to maximise our pace and achieve the successes of today. Our second one-two finish is a fantastic way to start the European season and I am extremely proud of Jenson, Rubens and the team. Our thanks as always to Mercedes-Benz and all of our team partners for their continued support.”
ROSS BRAWN - SPANISH GRAND PRIX DEBRIEF
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.
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.
Season so far
Driver Team Points
1. Jenson Button Brawn GP 41
2. Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 27
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 23
4. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 15.5
5. Jarno Trulli Toyota 14.5
6. Timo Glock Toyota 12
7. Fernando Alonso Renault 9
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 9
9. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 6
10. Nico Rosberg Williams 4.5
11. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 4
12. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 3
13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 3
14. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 3
15. Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
Future of former Honda team secured - Brawn GP
Honda and Ross Brawn have confirmed that they have reached agreement to secure the future of the former Honda Racing F1 Team, with ownership passing to team principal Brawn with immediate effect. Subject to FIA approval, the team will become known as the Brawn GP Formula One Team.Brawn has agreed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, Brixworth, UK to supply the team with its 2.4 litre Mercedes-Benz FO108W Formula One engines. This too remains subject to FIA approval.The team have also confirmed that their race driver line-up for the 2009 season will combine the talents of two of Formula One's most experienced drivers in Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The race-winning drivers continue their partnership at the team for a fourth consecutive year, forming the most experienced driver partnership on the grid with 423 Grand Prix starts between them.Brawn commented: "The past few months have been extremely challenging for the team but today's announcement is the very pleasing conclusion to the strenuous efforts that have been made to secure its future. "Firstly, it is a great shame that having worked with Honda Motor Company for so long we can no longer continue together. I would like to thank Honda for the fantastic co-operation and support we have received throughout this process - particularly those members of the senior management who were closely involved with concluding our agreement - and for the faith they have demonstrated in myself and our team."I would also like to take this opportunity to pay due credit to our staff at Brackley. The levels of motivation and commitment that I have witnessed at the factory deserve the highest praise."I am delighted that Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will form our race driver line-up for the 2009 season. The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season in Melbourne on 29 March. In what will be their fourth season together, their experience with our team in Brackley, our systems and our engineers, will prove a real asset.”Hiroshi Oshima, Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. responsible for Corporate Communications and Motor Sports, commented: "Since announcing our withdrawal from Formula One racing on December 5 of last year, we have conducted various studies and discussions so that the team can continue its activities as a new team. We are very pleased that we could sell the team to Ross Brawn, with whom we have been partaking in the challenges of F1 competition, and are grateful for his decision. We offer our sincerest wishes for the new team which will be led by Ross."Brawn and the team will now focus its efforts on the remaining pre-season tests, in Barcelona (March 9-12) and Jerez (March 15-17) prior to heading to Melbourne, Australia for the start of the 2009 Formula One season
Brawn GP car makes track debut
The newly renamed Brawn GP team revealed its long-awaited 2009 car during a shakedown test at Silverstone on Friday.
On the same day that Honda finally confirmed that it had sold its Brackley-based F1 operation to existing team principal Ross Brawn to save the squad from closure, its latest car – now to be called the BGP 001 – appeared on track for the first time fitted with new Mercedes-Benz engine.Jenson Button, whose career along with that of returning team-mate Rubens Barrichello have been saved by the Brawn buyout, was behind the wheel for his first F1 track appearance since last November.The car was painted in Brawn GP’s official colours of white, black and florescent yellow, with it featuring a low, drooping front nose and heavily sculptured rear-end.
The ex-Honda Racing team has continued to work on the first car built under Brawn’s technical leadership throughout the uncertain period since its Japanese owner put it up for sale last December.Before Honda's bombshell withdrawal, Brawn had expressed confidence that its 2009 challenger had the potential to be a "front-runner" after opting to write off much of last season to focus on ensuring it was ready to take advantage of Formula 1's technical overhaul.
It is now uncertain how competitive the BGP 001 could be given the limited track time it will have between now and the Australian Grand Prix on March 29, especially with the team having had to incorporate a Mercedes engine after it was initially designed around Honda's V8.Both new owner Brawn and Barrichello were on hand in the garage at Silverstone on Friday as the team began its uphill struggle to get ready for Melbourne.It will rejoin the group testing action at Barcelona from Monday before finalising its track preparations at Jerez the following week.
On the same day that Honda finally confirmed that it had sold its Brackley-based F1 operation to existing team principal Ross Brawn to save the squad from closure, its latest car – now to be called the BGP 001 – appeared on track for the first time fitted with new Mercedes-Benz engine.Jenson Button, whose career along with that of returning team-mate Rubens Barrichello have been saved by the Brawn buyout, was behind the wheel for his first F1 track appearance since last November.The car was painted in Brawn GP’s official colours of white, black and florescent yellow, with it featuring a low, drooping front nose and heavily sculptured rear-end.
The ex-Honda Racing team has continued to work on the first car built under Brawn’s technical leadership throughout the uncertain period since its Japanese owner put it up for sale last December.Before Honda's bombshell withdrawal, Brawn had expressed confidence that its 2009 challenger had the potential to be a "front-runner" after opting to write off much of last season to focus on ensuring it was ready to take advantage of Formula 1's technical overhaul.
It is now uncertain how competitive the BGP 001 could be given the limited track time it will have between now and the Australian Grand Prix on March 29, especially with the team having had to incorporate a Mercedes engine after it was initially designed around Honda's V8.Both new owner Brawn and Barrichello were on hand in the garage at Silverstone on Friday as the team began its uphill struggle to get ready for Melbourne.It will rejoin the group testing action at Barcelona from Monday before finalising its track preparations at Jerez the following week.
F1 :Button shakes down new Brawn car at Silverstone
Just hours after it was announced that the former Honda team will compete this season, Ross Brawn’s men were already hard at work shaking down their new car ahead of the season opener later this month. Friday’s private test took place at Silverstone, close to the British team’s Brackley headquarters.Jenson Button, who has been retained to race for the new team, took charge of the Mercedes-engined BGP 001. Team principal Brawn and Button’s team mate for the 2009 season, Rubens Barrichello, were also in attendance as the team’s on-track preparations for the Australian Grand Prix finally got underway.Following Friday’s outing the team will journey to Spain, where they will join their rivals and test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya for four days from Monday.
Formula 1 - Kimi fastest, Brawn impresses in Spain
Kimi Raikkonen sent out a signal to Ferrari’s rivals ahead of the new season by comfortably topping the second day testing times at Barcelona on Tuesday.
However, the world champion team’s performance was slightly blotted by the return of reliability glitches on its F60 car – with a small leak in its KERS cooling system meaning the team had to cut short its simulation of a grand prix weekend.
Nevertheless despite completing just 55 laps Raikkonen’s time of 1m20.314s was still good enough to keep him almost 0.6s clear of Williams’s Kazuki Nakajima and the Brawn GP team, as the Brackley squad again caught the eye.
And ominously for the rest of the grid, Raikkonen – who now hands the F60 over to Felipe Massa for the remaining two days – says Ferrari has yet to unleash the car’s full raw pace."I'm happy with how the car works now, so far it's been good,” he told reporters afterwards.“We haven't pushed 100% to try to do any special lap times but car is handling well and I'm happy with it."
Behind Raikkonen it was again an interesting picture, with Nakajima putting Williams as high as it has been on a pre-season timesheet recently and the returning Rubens Barrichello starring for Brawn.Again it was the former Honda squad’s performance that will hit the headlines, with it adding a further 111 laps-worth of mileage to the BGP 001 following the 82 it racked up on its official track debut on Monday.Barrichello had been not been in an F1 cockpit since the Brazilian Grand Prix in early November but showed no rustiness on his return to shave two tenths off team-mate Jenson Button’s opening day time to clock 1m20.966s.
Jarno Trulli was a steady fourth for Toyota and yet again enjoyed bullet-proof reliability from the TF109 to complete 121 laps in total, including a series of long runs.The Italian now signs off from track duties until the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks time and is confident that when Melbourne comes around the team is ready to attack the front of the field after an impressive pre-season.
"Today was my last day of testing for the winter,” he said.“We again did a lot of laps including some interesting long runs as we finalised our preparations for Melbourne.“It's clear we will only find out the true picture in Australia but I'm happy with our work in the course of the tests we've done.“The car has been competitive and consistent so we can head into the first race with confidence. I feel ready."
Mark Webber was sixth for Red Bull and only just completed a race distance (66 laps) after the team took time to identify and resolve a mechanical gremlin on the RB5.
BMW, meanwhile, had no such reliability concerns and Nick Heidfeld wrapped up his own on-track preparations for Melbourne during a mammoth 127 laps.
The day one pacesetter didn't set a time within a second of his Monday benchmark but the team's focus was set on completing a run-through of a race, including pit stops, before evaluating further set-up options on the F1.09.
Force India took seventh courtesy of Adrian Sutil, with the German again lapping faster than both Renault and the team's technical partner McLaren Mercedes in a best time of 1m21.834s.
The Silverstone-based squad tried out some aero tweaks on its VJM02 and Sutil believes the team is making good progress with both reliability and tyre management."We could do a lot of running again today, which was the main aim of the programme," Sutil said after 82 laps."I feel a lot more confident in the car now we have got some reliability and can start to look at different set-ups and making the tyres work."We know we have a lot of work to do, particularly with the tyres as we still struggle to bring them in, but we now have a good idea of how the car is behaving."I'm looking forward to Melbourne now."
Former world champion Fernando Alonso was making his first appearance of the week for Renault but his best effort of 1m21.937s was well off Raikkonen's pace.
However both team and driver appeared content with it's day's work following 111 laps.
McLaren’s second consecutive appearance towards the foot of the order may raise speculation that all is not well with the team’s MP4-24, although Heikki Kovalainen was much closer to the rest of the field than was the case on Monday – albeit still over 1.5s back on Ferrari.
The Woking squad continued to assess the merits of the new front wing, floor and top body it has introduced onto the car for this week, with managing director Jonathan Neale saying Kovalainen's two days in the car had been "very productive" ahead of Lewis Hamilton's return on Wednesday.
The team was spared another day at the foot of the timesheet by Toro Rosso who endured a problematic second full day of running with the STR4.
Sebastien Bourdais had his day cut short after 14 laps after the team discovered a problem with the car’s front suspension, with parts needed to be shipped in from its Faenza base to fix the issue.
So with its development plans for the day out of the window, it decided to give Sebastien Buemi his first experience of the 2009 car with the 20-year-old completing just six ‘in’ and ‘out’ laps in total.Testing times from Barcelona (Tuesday 10 March)
1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m20.314s
2. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m20.907s
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m20.966s
4. TRULLI Toyota 1m21.182s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m21.347s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m21.615s
7. SUTIL Force India 1m21.834s
8. ALONSO Renault 1m21.937s
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m21.991s
10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m23.039s
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso no time
However, the world champion team’s performance was slightly blotted by the return of reliability glitches on its F60 car – with a small leak in its KERS cooling system meaning the team had to cut short its simulation of a grand prix weekend.
Nevertheless despite completing just 55 laps Raikkonen’s time of 1m20.314s was still good enough to keep him almost 0.6s clear of Williams’s Kazuki Nakajima and the Brawn GP team, as the Brackley squad again caught the eye.
And ominously for the rest of the grid, Raikkonen – who now hands the F60 over to Felipe Massa for the remaining two days – says Ferrari has yet to unleash the car’s full raw pace."I'm happy with how the car works now, so far it's been good,” he told reporters afterwards.“We haven't pushed 100% to try to do any special lap times but car is handling well and I'm happy with it."
Behind Raikkonen it was again an interesting picture, with Nakajima putting Williams as high as it has been on a pre-season timesheet recently and the returning Rubens Barrichello starring for Brawn.Again it was the former Honda squad’s performance that will hit the headlines, with it adding a further 111 laps-worth of mileage to the BGP 001 following the 82 it racked up on its official track debut on Monday.Barrichello had been not been in an F1 cockpit since the Brazilian Grand Prix in early November but showed no rustiness on his return to shave two tenths off team-mate Jenson Button’s opening day time to clock 1m20.966s.
Jarno Trulli was a steady fourth for Toyota and yet again enjoyed bullet-proof reliability from the TF109 to complete 121 laps in total, including a series of long runs.The Italian now signs off from track duties until the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks time and is confident that when Melbourne comes around the team is ready to attack the front of the field after an impressive pre-season.
"Today was my last day of testing for the winter,” he said.“We again did a lot of laps including some interesting long runs as we finalised our preparations for Melbourne.“It's clear we will only find out the true picture in Australia but I'm happy with our work in the course of the tests we've done.“The car has been competitive and consistent so we can head into the first race with confidence. I feel ready."
Mark Webber was sixth for Red Bull and only just completed a race distance (66 laps) after the team took time to identify and resolve a mechanical gremlin on the RB5.
BMW, meanwhile, had no such reliability concerns and Nick Heidfeld wrapped up his own on-track preparations for Melbourne during a mammoth 127 laps.
The day one pacesetter didn't set a time within a second of his Monday benchmark but the team's focus was set on completing a run-through of a race, including pit stops, before evaluating further set-up options on the F1.09.
Force India took seventh courtesy of Adrian Sutil, with the German again lapping faster than both Renault and the team's technical partner McLaren Mercedes in a best time of 1m21.834s.
The Silverstone-based squad tried out some aero tweaks on its VJM02 and Sutil believes the team is making good progress with both reliability and tyre management."We could do a lot of running again today, which was the main aim of the programme," Sutil said after 82 laps."I feel a lot more confident in the car now we have got some reliability and can start to look at different set-ups and making the tyres work."We know we have a lot of work to do, particularly with the tyres as we still struggle to bring them in, but we now have a good idea of how the car is behaving."I'm looking forward to Melbourne now."
Former world champion Fernando Alonso was making his first appearance of the week for Renault but his best effort of 1m21.937s was well off Raikkonen's pace.
However both team and driver appeared content with it's day's work following 111 laps.
McLaren’s second consecutive appearance towards the foot of the order may raise speculation that all is not well with the team’s MP4-24, although Heikki Kovalainen was much closer to the rest of the field than was the case on Monday – albeit still over 1.5s back on Ferrari.
The Woking squad continued to assess the merits of the new front wing, floor and top body it has introduced onto the car for this week, with managing director Jonathan Neale saying Kovalainen's two days in the car had been "very productive" ahead of Lewis Hamilton's return on Wednesday.
The team was spared another day at the foot of the timesheet by Toro Rosso who endured a problematic second full day of running with the STR4.
Sebastien Bourdais had his day cut short after 14 laps after the team discovered a problem with the car’s front suspension, with parts needed to be shipped in from its Faenza base to fix the issue.
So with its development plans for the day out of the window, it decided to give Sebastien Buemi his first experience of the 2009 car with the 20-year-old completing just six ‘in’ and ‘out’ laps in total.Testing times from Barcelona (Tuesday 10 March)
1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m20.314s
2. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m20.907s
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m20.966s
4. TRULLI Toyota 1m21.182s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m21.347s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m21.615s
7. SUTIL Force India 1m21.834s
8. ALONSO Renault 1m21.937s
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m21.991s
10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m23.039s
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso no time
Barcelona day three - Button stuns in Spain
Jenson Button was the man to beat as this week’s test continued at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday. Button, driving the Brawn GP 001, was the only runner to dip below the 1m 20s mark, clocking a best time of 1m 19.127s around the Spanish track to better the Ferrari of Felipe Massa by over a second.
Third fastest was Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber. As it was Kubica’s first day at the test, he concentrated on carrying out a variety of different race-related situations to fine tune the working relationship between him and his pit crew. He also worked to find solutions for the F1.09's set-up and covered 109 laps in total.“Today was very productive,” said the Polish driver. “We tried various solutions we weren’t able to complete last week in Jerez because of the unfortunate weather conditions. Obviously our main target today was to do a lot of evaluations for the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix.”More details to follow.
Unofficial Wednesday times from Barcelona:1. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.1272. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.1683. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.2174. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.4105. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.8636. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:21.1657. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:21.3248. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.5459. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.56910. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:21.657
Third fastest was Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber. As it was Kubica’s first day at the test, he concentrated on carrying out a variety of different race-related situations to fine tune the working relationship between him and his pit crew. He also worked to find solutions for the F1.09's set-up and covered 109 laps in total.“Today was very productive,” said the Polish driver. “We tried various solutions we weren’t able to complete last week in Jerez because of the unfortunate weather conditions. Obviously our main target today was to do a lot of evaluations for the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix.”More details to follow.
Unofficial Wednesday times from Barcelona:1. Jenson Button, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.1272. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.1683. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.2174. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.4105. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.8636. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:21.1657. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:21.3248. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.5459. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.56910. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:21.657
Brawn confirms Fry retains CEO role
Ross Brawn has confirmed that Nick Fry will continue in the role of chief executive officer following his buyout of the former Honda Racing team.
Speculation in recent days has suggested that CEO Fry had been marginalised following the creation of Brawn GP last Friday.Indeed Fry was not mentioned in Honda’s press release confirming the sale to Brawn, despite appearing as the team's representative at FOTA's press conference in Geneva the day before.
However, speaking to journalists for the first time about his new challenge as a team owner at the Barcelona test on Tuesday, Brawn put the rumours to bed by insisting Fry had been instrumental in helping secure the team’s rescue and that he remained a key player at the new squad."Nick has been a key member of the team, he retains his position as CEO and his position hasn't changed, despite the speculation,” Brawn told reporters.“He's been a vital part of putting this all together."
While the former Ferrari technical mastermind may be the figurehead for the newly-renamed team, Brawn admits the Brackley-based squad would have closed had the management not stuck together and seen the buyout through.
"It's been stressful for the management, if we hadn't stayed together as a group it would have been very difficult to achieve, because there were some very black days in trying to keep this team alive,” he said.
“But I'm glad to say here we are and we are going to Melbourne."If I'm frank there were no choices.“Because if the management group hadn't taken this task on all of the team would have been made redundant.”
Although Honda was believed to be willing to part with its F1 operation for a token sum following its decision to quit the sport last December, no confirmed details have yet emerged about how Brawn GP will finance its first season or structure its budget going forwards.
Reports have suggested that Honda will continue to fund the squad to a large extent during 2009, as it remains a cheaper option to shutting the whole team down, with further income coming from commercial revenues from Formula One Management.
Speaking on Tuesday Brawn didn’t go into details on his team's financial state, but did admit that although it had a solid budget to complete this year a long-term plan needed to be devised to ensure the squad’s survival well into the next decade.
And while he insisted this didn’t necessarily mean finding a longer-term owner, he did concede that his team needed to secure sponsors to boost its budget – hinting that the on-track performance of its so-far promising BGP 001 car this year would be key to doing that.
“Things can go wrong, but we are optimistic, but if we can capitalise on the performance of the car, and the car looks good, then the team has a future,” he said.
"This is a medium term solution and we need to find a solution for the long term.“We are comfortable for the season.“We need to find partners and sponsors to support the team.“We need to be flexible on what we do but we will have proper structure going forward.”
Brawn's BGP 001 car has run without branding in its early pre-season test appearances with the team's lack of sponsors a legacy of Honda's decision to forgo on-car sponsorship since 2007 to promote environmental issues via its 'Earth Dreams' concept.
Speculation in recent days has suggested that CEO Fry had been marginalised following the creation of Brawn GP last Friday.Indeed Fry was not mentioned in Honda’s press release confirming the sale to Brawn, despite appearing as the team's representative at FOTA's press conference in Geneva the day before.
However, speaking to journalists for the first time about his new challenge as a team owner at the Barcelona test on Tuesday, Brawn put the rumours to bed by insisting Fry had been instrumental in helping secure the team’s rescue and that he remained a key player at the new squad."Nick has been a key member of the team, he retains his position as CEO and his position hasn't changed, despite the speculation,” Brawn told reporters.“He's been a vital part of putting this all together."
While the former Ferrari technical mastermind may be the figurehead for the newly-renamed team, Brawn admits the Brackley-based squad would have closed had the management not stuck together and seen the buyout through.
"It's been stressful for the management, if we hadn't stayed together as a group it would have been very difficult to achieve, because there were some very black days in trying to keep this team alive,” he said.
“But I'm glad to say here we are and we are going to Melbourne."If I'm frank there were no choices.“Because if the management group hadn't taken this task on all of the team would have been made redundant.”
Although Honda was believed to be willing to part with its F1 operation for a token sum following its decision to quit the sport last December, no confirmed details have yet emerged about how Brawn GP will finance its first season or structure its budget going forwards.
Reports have suggested that Honda will continue to fund the squad to a large extent during 2009, as it remains a cheaper option to shutting the whole team down, with further income coming from commercial revenues from Formula One Management.
Speaking on Tuesday Brawn didn’t go into details on his team's financial state, but did admit that although it had a solid budget to complete this year a long-term plan needed to be devised to ensure the squad’s survival well into the next decade.
And while he insisted this didn’t necessarily mean finding a longer-term owner, he did concede that his team needed to secure sponsors to boost its budget – hinting that the on-track performance of its so-far promising BGP 001 car this year would be key to doing that.
“Things can go wrong, but we are optimistic, but if we can capitalise on the performance of the car, and the car looks good, then the team has a future,” he said.
"This is a medium term solution and we need to find a solution for the long term.“We are comfortable for the season.“We need to find partners and sponsors to support the team.“We need to be flexible on what we do but we will have proper structure going forward.”
Brawn's BGP 001 car has run without branding in its early pre-season test appearances with the team's lack of sponsors a legacy of Honda's decision to forgo on-car sponsorship since 2007 to promote environmental issues via its 'Earth Dreams' concept.
Barcelona day four - dazzling Barrichello ends test on a high
The potent pace of the Brawn BGP 001 continued to impress at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, as this week’s multi-team test - the last major session before the season opening Australian Grand Prix later this month - drew to a close.Rubens Barrichello finished fastest in the newly-launched car, clocking a best time of 1m 18.926s to finish eight-tenths of a second ahead of Williams’ Nico Rosberg. After an initial delay due to heavy fog, the Spanish track basked in sunshine and Barrichello was able to cover 110 laps as he completed a race simulation.
The team will test again at Jerez next week."We are extremely pleased with the inaugural test of the BGP 001 car in Barcelona this week,” said team owner Ross Brawn. “The team made a very late start to our pre-season testing programme with only seven days in which to run the car before the first race in Melbourne, therefore our focus has been on reliability and achieving as much mileage as possible. “Both of these aims have been successfully achieved this week. That the car has run so reliably 'out of the box' is a tribute to the strong team that we have at our factory in Brackley and they have done a great job during a very difficult period. The car is performing to our expectations and the feedback from Jenson (Button) and Rubens has been positive with both drivers completing full race distances.”Rosberg in second completed 120 laps in the FW31, as he carried out set-up work and reliability tests.
Third quickest was Toyota’s Timo Glock, who covered 128 laps. Glock’s programme focused on the TF109’s set-up, and even though he stopped on the circuit with a mechanical problem on his last lap, the German was pleased. "That was another useful day to round off our good winter of testing,” he said. “We did more work on set-up and long runs and everything went well until the very last lap! Still, overall the car feels strong and we seem to have good pace so we can look forward to Australia. Of course we'll only see the real results on Saturday in Melbourne but everyone at Toyota can be happy with our work so far.”Sebastian Vettel completed 83 laps on his way to fourth in the times, as Red Bull completed their pre-season testing.
Finishing just under a tenth down on the German was Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who ran 64 laps in the R29. Alonso evaluated components in an effort to improve the car's mechanical balance.“We had a problem at the beginning of the afternoon and so we lost some track time, but overall I think it was an interesting day and we improved our understanding of the car,” said the Spaniard. “We tried some new development solutions and so today was not about outright performance but simply exploring new ideas for developing the car into the season.
”Felipe Massa finished sixth on Ferrari’s final test day. Massa worked through a programme of set-up adjustment checks and completed 92 laps. Seventh quickest was Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber. Kubica carried out a race simulation and covered 134 laps, bringing the F1.09’s total mileage for the week to 2,162 kms."Our final pre-season test was very productive,” said BMW Sauber's technical coordinator Willy Rampf. “We worked on the mechanical set-up of the car as well as the aero configuration. In addition, we also improved our KERS. Our second goal was to prepare for the season's first Grand Prix in two weeks in Melbourne. We simulated a proper race day on Tuesday with Nick Heidfeld and today with Robert Kubica, each covering a complete race distance without any technical problems."McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth.
Hamilton covered 70 laps and concentrated his attentions on mechanical set-up. The team will test again at Jerez next week. Just over a tenth down on Hamilton was Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who covered 62 laps in the STR4 before handing it over to team mate Sebastien Bourdais after lunch. Bourdais eventually finished in 11th. Sandwiched between the two Toro Rosso drivers was Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella in tenth. As it was the team’s last day in action before the Australian Grand prix, Fisichella carried out a race weekend simulation and completed a mammoth 141 laps. “It was a very good conclusion to the eight days of testing,” said Force India’s James Key.
“Over the week we have completed more than 2,000km and have a very strong basis to start the season from. We don't have any major concerns and the car is now very reliable so we can really start to look at areas that will improve performance."With the Barcelona test complete, the majority of teams will head back to their respective factories to continue preparations before travelling to Melbourne. For McLaren, Renault, Williams and Ross Brawn’s team, however, the on-track work will continue in Spain at Jerez next week.
Unofficial Thursday times from Barcelona:1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.9262. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:19.7743. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.0914. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:20.5765. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.6646. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.6777. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.7408. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:20.8699. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.01310. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.04511. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.629
The team will test again at Jerez next week."We are extremely pleased with the inaugural test of the BGP 001 car in Barcelona this week,” said team owner Ross Brawn. “The team made a very late start to our pre-season testing programme with only seven days in which to run the car before the first race in Melbourne, therefore our focus has been on reliability and achieving as much mileage as possible. “Both of these aims have been successfully achieved this week. That the car has run so reliably 'out of the box' is a tribute to the strong team that we have at our factory in Brackley and they have done a great job during a very difficult period. The car is performing to our expectations and the feedback from Jenson (Button) and Rubens has been positive with both drivers completing full race distances.”Rosberg in second completed 120 laps in the FW31, as he carried out set-up work and reliability tests.
Third quickest was Toyota’s Timo Glock, who covered 128 laps. Glock’s programme focused on the TF109’s set-up, and even though he stopped on the circuit with a mechanical problem on his last lap, the German was pleased. "That was another useful day to round off our good winter of testing,” he said. “We did more work on set-up and long runs and everything went well until the very last lap! Still, overall the car feels strong and we seem to have good pace so we can look forward to Australia. Of course we'll only see the real results on Saturday in Melbourne but everyone at Toyota can be happy with our work so far.”Sebastian Vettel completed 83 laps on his way to fourth in the times, as Red Bull completed their pre-season testing.
Finishing just under a tenth down on the German was Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who ran 64 laps in the R29. Alonso evaluated components in an effort to improve the car's mechanical balance.“We had a problem at the beginning of the afternoon and so we lost some track time, but overall I think it was an interesting day and we improved our understanding of the car,” said the Spaniard. “We tried some new development solutions and so today was not about outright performance but simply exploring new ideas for developing the car into the season.
”Felipe Massa finished sixth on Ferrari’s final test day. Massa worked through a programme of set-up adjustment checks and completed 92 laps. Seventh quickest was Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber. Kubica carried out a race simulation and covered 134 laps, bringing the F1.09’s total mileage for the week to 2,162 kms."Our final pre-season test was very productive,” said BMW Sauber's technical coordinator Willy Rampf. “We worked on the mechanical set-up of the car as well as the aero configuration. In addition, we also improved our KERS. Our second goal was to prepare for the season's first Grand Prix in two weeks in Melbourne. We simulated a proper race day on Tuesday with Nick Heidfeld and today with Robert Kubica, each covering a complete race distance without any technical problems."McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth.
Hamilton covered 70 laps and concentrated his attentions on mechanical set-up. The team will test again at Jerez next week. Just over a tenth down on Hamilton was Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who covered 62 laps in the STR4 before handing it over to team mate Sebastien Bourdais after lunch. Bourdais eventually finished in 11th. Sandwiched between the two Toro Rosso drivers was Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella in tenth. As it was the team’s last day in action before the Australian Grand prix, Fisichella carried out a race weekend simulation and completed a mammoth 141 laps. “It was a very good conclusion to the eight days of testing,” said Force India’s James Key.
“Over the week we have completed more than 2,000km and have a very strong basis to start the season from. We don't have any major concerns and the car is now very reliable so we can really start to look at areas that will improve performance."With the Barcelona test complete, the majority of teams will head back to their respective factories to continue preparations before travelling to Melbourne. For McLaren, Renault, Williams and Ross Brawn’s team, however, the on-track work will continue in Spain at Jerez next week.
Unofficial Thursday times from Barcelona:1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:18.9262. Nico Rosberg, Williams FW31, 1:19.7743. Timo Glock, Toyota TF109, 1:20.0914. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB5, 1:20.5765. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:20.6646. Felipe Massa, Ferrari F60, 1:20.6777. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:20.7408. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-24, 1:20.8699. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.01310. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India VJM02, 1:21.04511. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:21.629
Barrichello heads start of final test in Jerez
Rubens Barrichello was the leading runner around Jerez on Sunday, as the final pre-season test got underway at the Spanish circuit. Barrichello made sure Ross Brawn’s was again the fastest team of the three present, with a best lap of 1m 19.236s.
As in Barcelona last week, the Brawn BGP001 looked both quick and reliable. Barrichello’s time was over half a second quicker than nearest rival, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, and the Brazilian completed 107 laps as he worked on a series of set-up and tyre evaluations, in addition to a number of race start simulations."We had a good day of testing today,” said Barrichello. “It is hotter in Jerez than it was in Barcelona last week and therefore more representative of the temperatures that we can expect for the first few races, so it is good preparation for myself and the car. The car ran very well once again and we are increasing our understanding of its characteristics every day.
"Alonso’s day got off to a bad start, with a trip through the gravel early on causing damage to his R29. The team got him back out in the afternoon, but the Spaniard managed just 40 laps in total."Unfortunately I made a mistake this morning which was a shame as we lost a lot of track time, but sometimes this happens in testing when you are looking for the limits of the car,” said Alonso.“This afternoon the team put the car together as soon as possible and we tried to complete our main priorities for the day, which was testing some new parts on the car. In the end we managed to do it and we were pleased with the results, although we certainly would have liked more laps.
”Williams tester Nico Hulkenberg completed the line-up for Sunday, which saw fine and sunny conditions throughout the day. The German covered 69 laps in the FW31 and finished two-tenths down on Alonso.
The Brawn team, Renault and Williams are all due to continue at Jerez until Wednesday, with McLaren also expected to run from Monday to Thursday.
Unofficial Sunday times from Jerez:1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.2362. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:19.8193. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams FW31, 1:20.015
As in Barcelona last week, the Brawn BGP001 looked both quick and reliable. Barrichello’s time was over half a second quicker than nearest rival, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, and the Brazilian completed 107 laps as he worked on a series of set-up and tyre evaluations, in addition to a number of race start simulations."We had a good day of testing today,” said Barrichello. “It is hotter in Jerez than it was in Barcelona last week and therefore more representative of the temperatures that we can expect for the first few races, so it is good preparation for myself and the car. The car ran very well once again and we are increasing our understanding of its characteristics every day.
"Alonso’s day got off to a bad start, with a trip through the gravel early on causing damage to his R29. The team got him back out in the afternoon, but the Spaniard managed just 40 laps in total."Unfortunately I made a mistake this morning which was a shame as we lost a lot of track time, but sometimes this happens in testing when you are looking for the limits of the car,” said Alonso.“This afternoon the team put the car together as soon as possible and we tried to complete our main priorities for the day, which was testing some new parts on the car. In the end we managed to do it and we were pleased with the results, although we certainly would have liked more laps.
”Williams tester Nico Hulkenberg completed the line-up for Sunday, which saw fine and sunny conditions throughout the day. The German covered 69 laps in the FW31 and finished two-tenths down on Alonso.
The Brawn team, Renault and Williams are all due to continue at Jerez until Wednesday, with McLaren also expected to run from Monday to Thursday.
Unofficial Sunday times from Jerez:1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:19.2362. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:19.8193. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams FW31, 1:20.015
Button 'open minded' about Oz chances
Jenson Button is remaining cautious about Brawn GP's chances in the season-opener in Melbourne, but is confident that the team will be among the front-runners.
After a winter of turbulence and uncertainty, the former Honda squad's future was secured just weeks before the season - and the Mercedes-powered BGP 001 chassis then stunned the paddock by dominating winter testing once it hit the track.
That pace has made Button many people's favourite for Australian Grand Prix victory, but while pleased to have a competitive package after two years of misery, he isn't taking anything for granted yet."It's not a pressure, it's a nice feeling," he said.
"We've done seven days of testing and I've done three days."We've been reliable, I feel comfortable in the car and I've made it quite personal to myself."We come here with an open mind - testing is one thing, we've been reliable and done good lap times.
"But in 2006 we did well in testing and then got to the first race and were blown away by the Ferraris, so you never know."We are not going to be slow, I know that."But how quick, we'll have to wait and see."
Brawn's prospects have been clouded today with the confirmation that several rival teams have lodged official protests against its diffuser design.
Toyota and Williams have also had their cars challenged for the same reason.
After a winter of turbulence and uncertainty, the former Honda squad's future was secured just weeks before the season - and the Mercedes-powered BGP 001 chassis then stunned the paddock by dominating winter testing once it hit the track.
That pace has made Button many people's favourite for Australian Grand Prix victory, but while pleased to have a competitive package after two years of misery, he isn't taking anything for granted yet."It's not a pressure, it's a nice feeling," he said.
"We've done seven days of testing and I've done three days."We've been reliable, I feel comfortable in the car and I've made it quite personal to myself."We come here with an open mind - testing is one thing, we've been reliable and done good lap times.
"But in 2006 we did well in testing and then got to the first race and were blown away by the Ferraris, so you never know."We are not going to be slow, I know that."But how quick, we'll have to wait and see."
Brawn's prospects have been clouded today with the confirmation that several rival teams have lodged official protests against its diffuser design.
Toyota and Williams have also had their cars challenged for the same reason.
No weight advantage for Brawn GP cars
The Brawn GP cars, which locked out the front row of the grid for the Australian Grand Prix, have been revealed to have had no weight advantage in qualifying after the FIA published a list of each car's race-start load.
With each car's minimum weight set at 605kg (including driver), the Brawns of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello weigh in at 664.5kg and 666.5kg respectively. This suggests an opening race stint for the pair of more than 20 laps, depending on safety car intervention.
By comparison, Sebastian Vettel weighs in at 657kg from third on the grid, with fellow second-row starter Robert Kubica at 650kg. This means that the BMW Sauber driver is the lightest car in the field, helping him to qualify well despite not showing that kind of pace in free practice.Of the top 10 in Q3, only Toyota's Timo Glock was on a heavier fuel load than the two Brawns, although Toyota's times have been disallowed.
Nelson Piquet's Renault is the heaviest car on the grid at 694.1kg, which should allow him to run more than 10 laps longer than the Brawns, with both Nick Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen also tipping the scales at over 690kg.Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima's weight has been officially declared to be 612.5kg, although it is understood that figure could be amended to around 685kg.
The 10 cars who made it through to Q3 all qualified at their declared race-start weights, plus the fuel needed for them to complete that session, while those who fell in Q1 and Q2 have been allowed to choose their start loads after qualifying.
Branson: Virgin could be new team name
Richard Branson has revealed that his Virgin Group’s sponsorship of Brawn GP could soon include the brand taking over the naming rights of the team.
The expected tie-up between Virgin and Ross Brawn’s new squad was announced in the Albert Park paddock on Saturday, with both parties anticipating that the tie-up will develop into a “broader relationship” in the coming weeks.
Speaking to journalists after the announcement, Branson revealed details of how the tie-up could quickly move forwards – with Virgin replacing Brawn as the name of the former Honda Racing outfit an option under consideration.“It’s a possibility, we’ll see what happens over the next three or four weeks,” he said. “The team don’t want to waste the name of the team on something that is not promoting anything. “Everyone knows that it has a great engineer, the team doesn’t need to be named after an engineer and that may well change."
And asked if he agreed that any such move would necessitate a long-term commitment to the sport from Virgin, Branson replied: “If it happened we’d be committed for a long time.”Branson flew into Melbourne on Friday to seal the deal with Brawn, with the Virgin logos immediately on the car in Saturday afternoon's final practice and qualifying sessions.And after the agreement was reached just hours before he boarded the plane, Branson said more time would be needed to flesh out the full scope of the sponsorship deal – but that he was confident it would be quickly established.
“We all need more time,” he said.“We are a Virgin bride and someone else may come in and offer something even better before this bride marries them. “But I’m sure we will get something together.”
Branson was initially rumoured to be considering buying the former Honda outfit outright last month, but said he wouldn’t bring Virgin into the sport until it became both cheaper and greener.
However, with FOTA confident of slashing budgets by 50% and the FIA planning on introducing an optional budget cap to entice new teams into F1 by 2010, Branson believes the time is right for Virgin to enjoy a successful relationship with Brawn.
“I’ve enjoyed it [F1] for years and in past got tempted but it’s been such an expensive sport,” he said.“But the recession has been bringing the cost of entry down to a more reasonable level and the new rules that are coming out to encourage new teams to come in for more sensible amounts of money will make it a more exciting sport.
“When the Honda team got into trouble and it looked like a possibility of it disappearing altogether we spoke with Honda. “I think we’ve ended up with the best of all worlds with a fantastic engineer and a great brand like Virgin. “It’s something which could develop into something exciting in the years to come.”
The expected tie-up between Virgin and Ross Brawn’s new squad was announced in the Albert Park paddock on Saturday, with both parties anticipating that the tie-up will develop into a “broader relationship” in the coming weeks.
Speaking to journalists after the announcement, Branson revealed details of how the tie-up could quickly move forwards – with Virgin replacing Brawn as the name of the former Honda Racing outfit an option under consideration.“It’s a possibility, we’ll see what happens over the next three or four weeks,” he said. “The team don’t want to waste the name of the team on something that is not promoting anything. “Everyone knows that it has a great engineer, the team doesn’t need to be named after an engineer and that may well change."
And asked if he agreed that any such move would necessitate a long-term commitment to the sport from Virgin, Branson replied: “If it happened we’d be committed for a long time.”Branson flew into Melbourne on Friday to seal the deal with Brawn, with the Virgin logos immediately on the car in Saturday afternoon's final practice and qualifying sessions.And after the agreement was reached just hours before he boarded the plane, Branson said more time would be needed to flesh out the full scope of the sponsorship deal – but that he was confident it would be quickly established.
“We all need more time,” he said.“We are a Virgin bride and someone else may come in and offer something even better before this bride marries them. “But I’m sure we will get something together.”
Branson was initially rumoured to be considering buying the former Honda outfit outright last month, but said he wouldn’t bring Virgin into the sport until it became both cheaper and greener.
However, with FOTA confident of slashing budgets by 50% and the FIA planning on introducing an optional budget cap to entice new teams into F1 by 2010, Branson believes the time is right for Virgin to enjoy a successful relationship with Brawn.
“I’ve enjoyed it [F1] for years and in past got tempted but it’s been such an expensive sport,” he said.“But the recession has been bringing the cost of entry down to a more reasonable level and the new rules that are coming out to encourage new teams to come in for more sensible amounts of money will make it a more exciting sport.
“When the Honda team got into trouble and it looked like a possibility of it disappearing altogether we spoke with Honda. “I think we’ve ended up with the best of all worlds with a fantastic engineer and a great brand like Virgin. “It’s something which could develop into something exciting in the years to come.”
Button: More to come from Brawn GP 2009
Jenson Button believes there is more to come from Brawn GP after the team dominated the Australian Grand Prix and says it will improve its performance in Malaysia.
The Briton led home team-mate Rubens Barrichello in a one-two for Ross Brawn's team on its debut, but highlighted areas for improvement such as his slow second pitstop.
"I am looking forward to getting back in the car and building it into something even more special, because we are not there yet," . "It is not perfect and we didn't get the best out of it this weekend.
"I won the race, but our pitstops, I lost six seconds at the second pitstop. So we have a few areas we are weak in and that was always going to be the case because we haven't done any testing, so it has been very, very difficult for everyone to be perfect.
"There is room for improvement and that is what I am looking forward to achieving."
Button also expects a greater challenge from the likes of McLaren and Ferrari at Sepang and in the coming races and is eager to make the most of the opportunity his team has now."We don't know who is going to be quick there [Sepang] as it is such a different circuit. You would say we are going to be competitive, but it is a question of who else is going to be up there with us.
"I think people will start to make big leaps forward. I don't know if it is going to be at the fly away races, but when we get back to Barcelona people will have new aero packages and they will be on our arses."So we need to make the most of this and get the best out of everything, which we haven't quite done. But it is nice to have had not quite a perfect weekend and come away with a pole position and a win."
The Briton led home team-mate Rubens Barrichello in a one-two for Ross Brawn's team on its debut, but highlighted areas for improvement such as his slow second pitstop.
"I am looking forward to getting back in the car and building it into something even more special, because we are not there yet," . "It is not perfect and we didn't get the best out of it this weekend.
"I won the race, but our pitstops, I lost six seconds at the second pitstop. So we have a few areas we are weak in and that was always going to be the case because we haven't done any testing, so it has been very, very difficult for everyone to be perfect.
"There is room for improvement and that is what I am looking forward to achieving."
Button also expects a greater challenge from the likes of McLaren and Ferrari at Sepang and in the coming races and is eager to make the most of the opportunity his team has now."We don't know who is going to be quick there [Sepang] as it is such a different circuit. You would say we are going to be competitive, but it is a question of who else is going to be up there with us.
"I think people will start to make big leaps forward. I don't know if it is going to be at the fly away races, but when we get back to Barcelona people will have new aero packages and they will be on our arses."So we need to make the most of this and get the best out of everything, which we haven't quite done. But it is nice to have had not quite a perfect weekend and come away with a pole position and a win."
Brawn GP to shed around 270 jobs
Australian Grand Prix winner Brawn GP will make around 270 members of its staff redundant this year.The team, saved by an 11th-hour buyout led by Ross Brawn, will be reducing its staff by a third in order to return to 2004 levels, when the squad was known as BAR, before Honda bought it.
Brawn led a successful management buyout less than a month ago to keep the team alive, but the Brackley-based outfit is unlikely to have the same budget it had when owned by Honda.Most F1 teams have made, or will be making, staff redundant as a result of the in-season testing ban and the need to reduce costs.
"It's about 270 (jobs)," the team's CEO Nick Fry told Reuters. "We are about 700 people at the moment and we talked to the staff about going down to about 430, something like that, which is where we were in 2004."It's very unfortunate that we've got to do that but it's the change of technical regulations and obviously we are now a private team."
Despite the uncertainty over its future, Brawn GP dominated its maiden race on Sunday, with Jenson Button leading team-mate Rubens Barrichello to a one-two victory.
Brawn led a successful management buyout less than a month ago to keep the team alive, but the Brackley-based outfit is unlikely to have the same budget it had when owned by Honda.Most F1 teams have made, or will be making, staff redundant as a result of the in-season testing ban and the need to reduce costs.
"It's about 270 (jobs)," the team's CEO Nick Fry told Reuters. "We are about 700 people at the moment and we talked to the staff about going down to about 430, something like that, which is where we were in 2004."It's very unfortunate that we've got to do that but it's the change of technical regulations and obviously we are now a private team."
Despite the uncertainty over its future, Brawn GP dominated its maiden race on Sunday, with Jenson Button leading team-mate Rubens Barrichello to a one-two victory.
Button storms to pole again in Malaysia
Jenson Button showed Brawn GP’s fairytale start to Formula 1 life is not about to end any time soon by storming to his second successive pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The winner of last week’s season-opener in Melbourne had run under the radar for much of practice but again demonstrated his and the team's stunning speed by coming to the fore when it really mattered to pip Toyota’s Jarno Trulli to the top spot at Sepang.
Button’s stunning final Q3 lap of 1m35.181s initially put him half a second clear of his rivals, but Trulli so nearly matched it on his own final run and finished just under 0.1s slower to claim a still impressive front row berth.
Sebastian Vettel again showed strong speed in the Red Bull to set the third best time, outpacing the second Brawn car of Rubens Barrichello.
However, both drivers had penalties hanging over them heading into qualifying and will drop down the order to 13th and eighth places respectively, promoting the second Toyota of Timo Glock to third and Williams's Nico Rosberg to fourth.
Again like the Australia season-opener, the appearance of the Brawn, Toyota, Red Bull and Williams cars at the front of the grid shows a new order is beginning to emerge in F1's new era.
Reigning world champion team Ferrari had been tipped to join them here after showing stronger pace in practice following its dismal showing last week.
But the threat did not materialise as Raikkonen struggled towards the bottom of the top 10 (his ninth place becoming seventh courtesy of the penalties) while Felipe Massa was knocked out early and will start 16th after a Q1 gamble spectacularly backfired.
The Brazilian and his engineers thought his two early flying laps on the softer compound rubber would be enough to safely see him through to the second stage, especially as he returned to the garage fourth on the times.
But while Ferrari prepared Massa’s car for Q2 in the garage, over half of the field were in a scramble to ensure they weren’t knocked out as they moved onto the softer tyres in the closing minutes.
Ferrari’s worst nightmare then played out as driver after driver posted a quicker time than Massa and, with the track picking up grip all of the time, the pole-sitter here for the past two years was shuffled below the cut line.
Indeed Raikkonen was lucky not to suffer the same fate as he walked the same tightrope, but his slightly faster flying lap meant he just stayed above the elimination line in 14th.
The Finn's F60 didn't pick up much as the hour progressed and he will now be pinning his hopes on his KERS system catapulting him past the cars directly ahead of him on Sunday's grid.
The drivers most at risk will be Mark Webber, who will lead Red Bull's challenge after Vettel's penalty, in fifth and BMW's Robert Kubica.
Behind Barrichello in eighth will be Fernando Alonso, who showed commendable battling spirit to haul his previously uncompetitive Renault into the top 10 despite struggling with an ear infection.
Vettel’s demotion means Nick Heidfeld will start 10th, but the German again failed to follow team-mate Kubica into the pole position shootout despite being the sole BMW driver carrying the advantageous KERS unit.
Still, there was little to choose between Alonso, Heidfeld and the second Williams of Kazuki Nakajima on the Q2 cut line – with the Renault man finishing ahead of the pair by under 0.1s.
Nakajima will share the sixth row with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren man putting the trauma of the previous day behind him to show the MP4-24 appears to be be making progress after finishing just 0.2s shy of the top 10.
The penalised Vettel slots in to 13th, ahead of the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen.
Sebastien Bourdais earned Toro Rosso its first Q2 appearance of the season after a fine lap on the soft tyres in the first phase, the Frenchman starting 15th.
Massa’s first Q1 elimination for three years means he starts from the unusual position of 16th and with it all to do if he is to open his points account for 2009.
Nelson Piquet Jr is a more regular driver to make up the Q1 drop zone and the Brazilian, under pressure for much of his debut season due to continued qualifying struggles, may be able to about to come under renewed scrutiny from his Renault bosses after failing to get beyond the first phase for the second race in a row.
He was joined again by the Force India duo, although Fisichella got off the back row and briefly put himself in a position to make Q2 until the dramatic late shuffle of the order knocked him back down to a more familiar position.His team-mate Adrian Sutil will join Toro Rosso rookie Sebastien Buemi on the back row, the latter enduring the first disappointment of his F1 career after outqualifying Bourdais and scoring two points on his debut.Buemi was 0.3s up on his best time following the first sector of his final lap, but fell of the road at turn eight.
Malaysian GP starting grid
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. TRULLI Toyota
3. GLOCK Toyota
4. ROSBERG Williams
5. WEBBER Red Bull
6. KUBICA BMW
7. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
8. ALONSO Renault
9. BARRICHELLO Brawn*
10. HEIDFELD BMW
11. NAKAJIMA Williams
12. HAMILTON McLaren
13. VETTEL Red Bull**
14. KOVALAINEN McLaren
15. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso
16. MASSA Ferrari
17. PIQUET Renault
18. FISICHELLA Force India
19. SUTIL Force India
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso
* five-place penalty for gearbox change
** 10-place penalty carried from Melbourne
The winner of last week’s season-opener in Melbourne had run under the radar for much of practice but again demonstrated his and the team's stunning speed by coming to the fore when it really mattered to pip Toyota’s Jarno Trulli to the top spot at Sepang.
Button’s stunning final Q3 lap of 1m35.181s initially put him half a second clear of his rivals, but Trulli so nearly matched it on his own final run and finished just under 0.1s slower to claim a still impressive front row berth.
Sebastian Vettel again showed strong speed in the Red Bull to set the third best time, outpacing the second Brawn car of Rubens Barrichello.
However, both drivers had penalties hanging over them heading into qualifying and will drop down the order to 13th and eighth places respectively, promoting the second Toyota of Timo Glock to third and Williams's Nico Rosberg to fourth.
Again like the Australia season-opener, the appearance of the Brawn, Toyota, Red Bull and Williams cars at the front of the grid shows a new order is beginning to emerge in F1's new era.
Reigning world champion team Ferrari had been tipped to join them here after showing stronger pace in practice following its dismal showing last week.
But the threat did not materialise as Raikkonen struggled towards the bottom of the top 10 (his ninth place becoming seventh courtesy of the penalties) while Felipe Massa was knocked out early and will start 16th after a Q1 gamble spectacularly backfired.
The Brazilian and his engineers thought his two early flying laps on the softer compound rubber would be enough to safely see him through to the second stage, especially as he returned to the garage fourth on the times.
But while Ferrari prepared Massa’s car for Q2 in the garage, over half of the field were in a scramble to ensure they weren’t knocked out as they moved onto the softer tyres in the closing minutes.
Ferrari’s worst nightmare then played out as driver after driver posted a quicker time than Massa and, with the track picking up grip all of the time, the pole-sitter here for the past two years was shuffled below the cut line.
Indeed Raikkonen was lucky not to suffer the same fate as he walked the same tightrope, but his slightly faster flying lap meant he just stayed above the elimination line in 14th.
The Finn's F60 didn't pick up much as the hour progressed and he will now be pinning his hopes on his KERS system catapulting him past the cars directly ahead of him on Sunday's grid.
The drivers most at risk will be Mark Webber, who will lead Red Bull's challenge after Vettel's penalty, in fifth and BMW's Robert Kubica.
Behind Barrichello in eighth will be Fernando Alonso, who showed commendable battling spirit to haul his previously uncompetitive Renault into the top 10 despite struggling with an ear infection.
Vettel’s demotion means Nick Heidfeld will start 10th, but the German again failed to follow team-mate Kubica into the pole position shootout despite being the sole BMW driver carrying the advantageous KERS unit.
Still, there was little to choose between Alonso, Heidfeld and the second Williams of Kazuki Nakajima on the Q2 cut line – with the Renault man finishing ahead of the pair by under 0.1s.
Nakajima will share the sixth row with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren man putting the trauma of the previous day behind him to show the MP4-24 appears to be be making progress after finishing just 0.2s shy of the top 10.
The penalised Vettel slots in to 13th, ahead of the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen.
Sebastien Bourdais earned Toro Rosso its first Q2 appearance of the season after a fine lap on the soft tyres in the first phase, the Frenchman starting 15th.
Massa’s first Q1 elimination for three years means he starts from the unusual position of 16th and with it all to do if he is to open his points account for 2009.
Nelson Piquet Jr is a more regular driver to make up the Q1 drop zone and the Brazilian, under pressure for much of his debut season due to continued qualifying struggles, may be able to about to come under renewed scrutiny from his Renault bosses after failing to get beyond the first phase for the second race in a row.
He was joined again by the Force India duo, although Fisichella got off the back row and briefly put himself in a position to make Q2 until the dramatic late shuffle of the order knocked him back down to a more familiar position.His team-mate Adrian Sutil will join Toro Rosso rookie Sebastien Buemi on the back row, the latter enduring the first disappointment of his F1 career after outqualifying Bourdais and scoring two points on his debut.Buemi was 0.3s up on his best time following the first sector of his final lap, but fell of the road at turn eight.
Malaysian GP starting grid
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. TRULLI Toyota
3. GLOCK Toyota
4. ROSBERG Williams
5. WEBBER Red Bull
6. KUBICA BMW
7. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
8. ALONSO Renault
9. BARRICHELLO Brawn*
10. HEIDFELD BMW
11. NAKAJIMA Williams
12. HAMILTON McLaren
13. VETTEL Red Bull**
14. KOVALAINEN McLaren
15. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso
16. MASSA Ferrari
17. PIQUET Renault
18. FISICHELLA Force India
19. SUTIL Force India
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso
* five-place penalty for gearbox change
** 10-place penalty carried from Melbourne
F1 grid for malaysia 2009
1 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:35.181
2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.273
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:35.518
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:35.651
5 Timo Glock Toyota 1:35.690
6 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.750
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.797
8 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:36.106
9 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:36.170
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:37.659
11 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:34.769
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:34.788
13 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.905
14 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren- 1:34.924
15 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:35.431
16 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.642
17 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1:35.708
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:35.908
19 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.951
20 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.107
2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.273
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:35.518
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:35.651
5 Timo Glock Toyota 1:35.690
6 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.750
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.797
8 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:36.106
9 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:36.170
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:37.659
11 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:34.769
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:34.788
13 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.905
14 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren- 1:34.924
15 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:35.431
16 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.642
17 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1:35.708
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:35.908
19 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.951
20 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.107
F1 malaysia 2009 Button and Brawn win Grand Prix
Jenson Button continued Brawn GP’s sensational start to 2009 by winning in Malaysia after a Biblical downpour forced the race to be abandoned after 31 of the 56 laps.
Officials initially hoped the race could be resumed but continuing rain, the volume of standing water and the fading daylight made that impossible.
With the official clock and timekeeping system continuing to run, the race ultimately hit its two-hour cut-off point and the result was declared – albeit with half-points being awarded to the top eight.Button had slipped from pole position to third on the opening lap, but regained the lead with two stunning laps prior to his first pit stop.
Timo Glock was lying second at the time the red flag was shown, but the result was based on the last full lap of green-flag racing and he was shuffled back to third behind German compatriot Nick Heidfeld.Glock had carved his way up the order thanks to a tactical masterstroke from Toyota, which put him on intermediate tyres in the earlier damp conditions when everyone else opted for full-wets.
Heidfeld’s progress was typically stealthily. The BMW veteran, who started 10th and heavily laden with fuel, profited from making a single pit stop for wet tyres compared to at least three for all his rivals.Jarno Trulli finished fourth to complete a fine day for Toyota, while Rubens Barrichello made it an even better one for Brawn GP with fifth place.Red Bull’s Mark Webber emerged with sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Nico Rosberg (Williams).
Officials initially hoped the race could be resumed but continuing rain, the volume of standing water and the fading daylight made that impossible.
With the official clock and timekeeping system continuing to run, the race ultimately hit its two-hour cut-off point and the result was declared – albeit with half-points being awarded to the top eight.Button had slipped from pole position to third on the opening lap, but regained the lead with two stunning laps prior to his first pit stop.
Timo Glock was lying second at the time the red flag was shown, but the result was based on the last full lap of green-flag racing and he was shuffled back to third behind German compatriot Nick Heidfeld.Glock had carved his way up the order thanks to a tactical masterstroke from Toyota, which put him on intermediate tyres in the earlier damp conditions when everyone else opted for full-wets.
Heidfeld’s progress was typically stealthily. The BMW veteran, who started 10th and heavily laden with fuel, profited from making a single pit stop for wet tyres compared to at least three for all his rivals.Jarno Trulli finished fourth to complete a fine day for Toyota, while Rubens Barrichello made it an even better one for Brawn GP with fifth place.Red Bull’s Mark Webber emerged with sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Nico Rosberg (Williams).
Malaysian GP results
Jenson Button Brawn GP 0h55m30.622
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 22.722s
Timo Glock Toyota + 23.513s
Jarno Trulli Toyota + 46.173s
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP + 47.360s
Mark Webber Red Bull Racing + 52.333s
Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes + 60.733s
Nico Rosberg Williams + 71.576s
Felipe Massa Ferrari + 76.932s
Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso + 102.164s
Fernando Alonso Renault + 109.422s
Kazuki Nakajima Williams + 116.130s
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault + 116.713s
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari + 142.841s
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing + 1 lap
Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 lap
Adrian Sutil Force India + 1 lap
Giancarlo Fisichella Force India + 2 laps
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber + 30 laps
Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes + 31 laps
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 22.722s
Timo Glock Toyota + 23.513s
Jarno Trulli Toyota + 46.173s
Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP + 47.360s
Mark Webber Red Bull Racing + 52.333s
Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes + 60.733s
Nico Rosberg Williams + 71.576s
Felipe Massa Ferrari + 76.932s
Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso + 102.164s
Fernando Alonso Renault + 109.422s
Kazuki Nakajima Williams + 116.130s
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault + 116.713s
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari + 142.841s
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing + 1 lap
Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 lap
Adrian Sutil Force India + 1 lap
Giancarlo Fisichella Force India + 2 laps
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber + 30 laps
Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes + 31 laps
Brawn predicts formbook shake-up during 2009 grand prix season
Ross Brawn believes it is only a matter of time before struggling champions Ferrari and McLaren get to grips with the 2009 regulations and catch up with the current pace-setters.
Brawn’s team has sensationally dominated the opening two grands prix, despite being on the brink of extinction until March following Honda’s withdrawal from F1 at the end of last year.
Meanwhile perennial title rivals Ferrari and McLaren have barely troubled the scorers, with a single point between them courtesy of Lewis Hamilton’s seventh place in the rain-shortened Malaysian GP last Sunday.
But rather than heralding a ‘new world order’ in F1, Brawn reckons the shake-up in the pecking order is simply a logical consequence of teams’ differing priorities last year.“I think it's a reflection on what's gone on over the last year or two with such a big change in regulations,” he said at Sepang.“McLaren and Ferrari had a championship to fight over and I can understand that it was very difficult for them to say 'we'll stop pushing this year and put all our effort into next year'.
“For us it was a very easy decision. It wasn't a clever decision, it was a very easy one.“We didn't have a good car so why waste time on it?”While his team has clearly stolen a march on the field, Brawn feels the intrinsic quality of Ferrari and McLaren means they will rapidly make up ground in the development race.“They're both very strong and fantastic engineering companies, so I'm sure they will sort it out, but I think they're just paying the price for winning the championship last year,” he said.
“Because normally if you're fighting for a championship you develop a car and that same car goes forward into next year so you don't lose anything.“Everything they did last year for the championship last year was in the bin after the last race. It was gone.“We had slick tyres, new aerodynamics, so virtually everything they ended last year with they could throw away.”
Brawn’s team has sensationally dominated the opening two grands prix, despite being on the brink of extinction until March following Honda’s withdrawal from F1 at the end of last year.
Meanwhile perennial title rivals Ferrari and McLaren have barely troubled the scorers, with a single point between them courtesy of Lewis Hamilton’s seventh place in the rain-shortened Malaysian GP last Sunday.
But rather than heralding a ‘new world order’ in F1, Brawn reckons the shake-up in the pecking order is simply a logical consequence of teams’ differing priorities last year.“I think it's a reflection on what's gone on over the last year or two with such a big change in regulations,” he said at Sepang.“McLaren and Ferrari had a championship to fight over and I can understand that it was very difficult for them to say 'we'll stop pushing this year and put all our effort into next year'.
“For us it was a very easy decision. It wasn't a clever decision, it was a very easy one.“We didn't have a good car so why waste time on it?”While his team has clearly stolen a march on the field, Brawn feels the intrinsic quality of Ferrari and McLaren means they will rapidly make up ground in the development race.“They're both very strong and fantastic engineering companies, so I'm sure they will sort it out, but I think they're just paying the price for winning the championship last year,” he said.
“Because normally if you're fighting for a championship you develop a car and that same car goes forward into next year so you don't lose anything.“Everything they did last year for the championship last year was in the bin after the last race. It was gone.“We had slick tyres, new aerodynamics, so virtually everything they ended last year with they could throw away.”
Branson working on new Brawn F1 Advertising deal
Richard Branson has made an offer to up his Virgin Group's sponsorship involvement with Brawn GP - but has insisted he will not break the bank to have a bigger presence on the team's cars.
Virgin announced at the Australian Grand Prix that it was to become a sponsor of Brawn, and Branson said at the time that there was a chance of him expanding the deal - to potentially become title sponsor.
Discussions about such plans are still ongoing, and Branson said in Bahrain on Saturday that he has laid out the terms to the team – and was now awaiting an answer.
"The team have become very popular since the beginning of the season," said Branson. "We are negotiating, as are other people, and we may or may not end up doing a full branding exercise."If we end up not doing it, we will obviously be the sponsor for this year and would be delighted with the way it has gone. If we end up doing it, even better.
"Let's see how it goes. Someone could come in and pay a silly price, and we will bow out gracefully if that happens. But we've made an offer we feel we can afford."Team principal Ross Brawn did not rule out a deal happening as soon as the Spanish Grand Prix, but said no decision had been made about what they were going to do.
"It's still in discussion," he explained. "We are looking to try and develop a bigger longer term relationship and it is understanding what they want and what we want. So it is still ongoing. The right deal could happen any time.He added: "Any team is looking for medium term commitments particularly in this environment so it would be nice to have our principal funding in place for the next few years."
Virgin announced at the Australian Grand Prix that it was to become a sponsor of Brawn, and Branson said at the time that there was a chance of him expanding the deal - to potentially become title sponsor.
Discussions about such plans are still ongoing, and Branson said in Bahrain on Saturday that he has laid out the terms to the team – and was now awaiting an answer.
"The team have become very popular since the beginning of the season," said Branson. "We are negotiating, as are other people, and we may or may not end up doing a full branding exercise."If we end up not doing it, we will obviously be the sponsor for this year and would be delighted with the way it has gone. If we end up doing it, even better.
"Let's see how it goes. Someone could come in and pay a silly price, and we will bow out gracefully if that happens. But we've made an offer we feel we can afford."Team principal Ross Brawn did not rule out a deal happening as soon as the Spanish Grand Prix, but said no decision had been made about what they were going to do.
"It's still in discussion," he explained. "We are looking to try and develop a bigger longer term relationship and it is understanding what they want and what we want. So it is still ongoing. The right deal could happen any time.He added: "Any team is looking for medium term commitments particularly in this environment so it would be nice to have our principal funding in place for the next few years."
Button and Brawn capture a F1 Bahrain victory
Jenson Button reasserted his grip on the 2009 world championship with a brilliant victory in searing desert heat in Bahrain – his third win in four races extending his title lead to 12 points.The Briton and his Brawn team turned around the form book from qualifying to beat pre-race favourites Sebastian Vettel and Jarno Trulli thanks to a perfect strategy and inch-perfect driving, the Red Bull and Toyota drivers finishing second and third respectively
Button had expressed optimism that his BGP 001 remained a force to be reckoned with over a race distance after only qualifying fourth and after jumping the front-row Toyotas during the first pit-stop phase, a strong middle stint ensured he wouldn’t be caught at the front.Toyota’s hopes of finally scoring its maiden Formula 1 victory faded after both its drivers made early pit stops, Chinese GP winner Vettel eventually vaulting ahead of pole-sitter Trulli into second place.
Lewis Hamilton completed McLaren’s best weekend of the season so far to take a morale-boosting fourth, ahead of the second Brawn of Rubens Barrichello who now slips more than a win behind team-mate Button in the points standings.Meanwhile, Ferrari managed to avoid the worst start to a Formula 1 season in its history by finally getting on the scoreboard at the fourth attempt, Kimi Raikkonen racing hard to sixth place.
As had been the case all weekend at Sakhir teams were faced with sweltering race-day conditions and as the 20 cars lined up on the grid under the beating sun the track temperatures nudged 50 degrees.
At the lights, the significantly lighter-fuelled Glock outdragged pole-sitting team-mate Trulli off the line to take the lead into the first corner.And while this may have been a pre-planned arrangement given Glock’s inferior fuel strategy, Trulli came under attack for real by a predictably fast-starting Hamilton – the world champion’s KERS system's power boost having helped him catapult past Button and Vettel off the line from fifth.
Hamilton then put his KERS to good effect again on the long uphill straight betweens turns three and four to speed past Trulli.
But the world champion didn’t stay here for long, running wide under braking which allowed the Toyota to regain the position.Hamilton was then demoted to fourth at the start of the next lap by Button, the Brawn driver judging an out-braking move to perfection down the inside of the first turn.
The pass turned out to be crucial as it ensured the championship leader could keep the Toyotas in sight over the first stint.Glock, meanwhile, had immediately opened up a one second advantage at the front, but despite his lighter fuel load he never shook Trulli off by more than two seconds.
Indeed by the time he dived into the pit lane at the end of lap 10 his lead was only 1.8s and, after the published fuel loads suggested Trulli would be carrying on for several more laps, his team-mate now seemed set to take the race by the throat.
Surprisingly however the Italian headed for service himself at the end of the very next tour, Toyota seemingly bringing its driver’s planned stop forwards.
Whatever the reason for the change of strategy, it changed the complexion of Trulli’s afternoon and gave Button – who had remained just 1.5s adrift of the Italian – the chance he needed to flex his BGP 001’s muscles.
For Trulli, while he exited the pit lane ahead of Glock – the German just starting a mysterious slide down the order after switching to the medium tyres – he encountered problems in the shape of Fernando Alonso’s KERS-equipped Renault.Having held off his old team-mate on rejoining the track, Alonso quickly showed he was in no mood to have his crucial laps before his own pit stop spoiled by a heavier-fuelled Toyota by sensationally muscling his way around the outside of the Italian at turn four.
That certaintly wasn't in Trulli's gameplan but in any case as things turned out this made little difference to the Italian's hopes of staying ahead of Button, the Brawn driver using his extra four laps-worth of fuel to easily leapfrog the Toyota.
This was also the stage of the race when Vettel turned around his afternoon following a difficult first stint spent behind Hamilton in fifth.
Carrying the most fuel of the leading runners, the German’s RB5 had looked less balanced than it had done when he sped to the fastest time in low-fuel Q2 on Saturday but, as his fuel burned off, he began to push on as the cars ahead of him peeled into the pits.
By the time he eventually pitted from the lead by lap 18 – promoting Button to the head of the field – he had done enough to not only jump Hamilton, but get himself tagged onto the back of Trulli.However, the re-appearance of the notorious ‘Trulli Train’ scuppered his hopes of taking the fight to Button on the super-soft tyres.While Trulli was lapping up to a second slower on the medium compound, frustratingly for Vettel all he could do was follow the Toyota around the 3.3-mile track again, again and again – the German and Hamilton running under a second behind the Italian for most of the next 18 laps.
This was a god-send for Button, who had no similar road-block preventing him exploiting the full potential of the soft tyres and he duly scampered away into the distance.
The championship leader’s advantage was 16.8s when he pitted for the second and final time on lap 36, the Brawn driver exiting the pit just as Trulli and Hamilton entered for their own respective final stops.With Vettel again stopping later than his respective rivals, the Red Bull star almost inevitably was going to move up to second and his three extra laps on track were indeed enough to allow him to stop and then rejoin ahead of Trulli.
The situation was now reversed, however, with the Toyota driver now the one on the super-soft rubber. Trulli duly made a renewed charge and closed onto Vettel’s gearbox, but it was too little and too late and the pole-sitter had to settle for the lowest rung of the podium.As long as the now faster Toyota remained tucked up behind the RBR, Button was always going to cruise to the flag and ultimately clocked off the final laps to take the win 7.1s ahead of Vettel.
Hamilton struggled on the harder tyres in the closing stages but nevertheless finished a comfortable fourth, with Barrichello fifth after his gamble on a three-stop strategy never paid dividends despite some impressive overtaking moves.
Early leader Glock eventually came home right behind Raikkonen in seventh, thus maintaining his 100% points-scoring record in 2009.But he and Toyota will be seeking answers as to how his race unravelled in the middle stint so badly.
Alonso may have taken the honours for ‘overtaking move of the race’ with his move on Trulli earlier in the day, but a single point was not what the Spaniard or Renault would have been hoping for this weekend after making big progress last week in China.
Felipe Massa, however, is still waiting for his first points of the season after last year’s championship runner-up finished a lap down in 14th. The Brazilian made a poor start from eighth despite having KERS and then had to pit for a new nosecone after lap one contact. But while his Ferrari team can take comfort from Raikkonen’s result, rival BMW will want to forget its Bahrain weekend as quickly as possible after its most uncompetitive race showing as an F1 team owner.
Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished last of the classified runners after both picking up damage to their F1.09s on the opening lap, each having to pit for new front wings.A driver who enjoyed a more positive day, however, was the under-pressure Nelson Piquet Jr who produced his best race performance of his tough season so far to move up from 15th to the top 10 for Renault.
Bahrain Grand Prix result (57 laps)
1. BUTTON Brawn 1h31m48.18s
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 (lap 10)
Button had expressed optimism that his BGP 001 remained a force to be reckoned with over a race distance after only qualifying fourth and after jumping the front-row Toyotas during the first pit-stop phase, a strong middle stint ensured he wouldn’t be caught at the front.Toyota’s hopes of finally scoring its maiden Formula 1 victory faded after both its drivers made early pit stops, Chinese GP winner Vettel eventually vaulting ahead of pole-sitter Trulli into second place.
Lewis Hamilton completed McLaren’s best weekend of the season so far to take a morale-boosting fourth, ahead of the second Brawn of Rubens Barrichello who now slips more than a win behind team-mate Button in the points standings.Meanwhile, Ferrari managed to avoid the worst start to a Formula 1 season in its history by finally getting on the scoreboard at the fourth attempt, Kimi Raikkonen racing hard to sixth place.
As had been the case all weekend at Sakhir teams were faced with sweltering race-day conditions and as the 20 cars lined up on the grid under the beating sun the track temperatures nudged 50 degrees.
At the lights, the significantly lighter-fuelled Glock outdragged pole-sitting team-mate Trulli off the line to take the lead into the first corner.And while this may have been a pre-planned arrangement given Glock’s inferior fuel strategy, Trulli came under attack for real by a predictably fast-starting Hamilton – the world champion’s KERS system's power boost having helped him catapult past Button and Vettel off the line from fifth.
Hamilton then put his KERS to good effect again on the long uphill straight betweens turns three and four to speed past Trulli.
But the world champion didn’t stay here for long, running wide under braking which allowed the Toyota to regain the position.Hamilton was then demoted to fourth at the start of the next lap by Button, the Brawn driver judging an out-braking move to perfection down the inside of the first turn.
The pass turned out to be crucial as it ensured the championship leader could keep the Toyotas in sight over the first stint.Glock, meanwhile, had immediately opened up a one second advantage at the front, but despite his lighter fuel load he never shook Trulli off by more than two seconds.
Indeed by the time he dived into the pit lane at the end of lap 10 his lead was only 1.8s and, after the published fuel loads suggested Trulli would be carrying on for several more laps, his team-mate now seemed set to take the race by the throat.
Surprisingly however the Italian headed for service himself at the end of the very next tour, Toyota seemingly bringing its driver’s planned stop forwards.
Whatever the reason for the change of strategy, it changed the complexion of Trulli’s afternoon and gave Button – who had remained just 1.5s adrift of the Italian – the chance he needed to flex his BGP 001’s muscles.
For Trulli, while he exited the pit lane ahead of Glock – the German just starting a mysterious slide down the order after switching to the medium tyres – he encountered problems in the shape of Fernando Alonso’s KERS-equipped Renault.Having held off his old team-mate on rejoining the track, Alonso quickly showed he was in no mood to have his crucial laps before his own pit stop spoiled by a heavier-fuelled Toyota by sensationally muscling his way around the outside of the Italian at turn four.
That certaintly wasn't in Trulli's gameplan but in any case as things turned out this made little difference to the Italian's hopes of staying ahead of Button, the Brawn driver using his extra four laps-worth of fuel to easily leapfrog the Toyota.
This was also the stage of the race when Vettel turned around his afternoon following a difficult first stint spent behind Hamilton in fifth.
Carrying the most fuel of the leading runners, the German’s RB5 had looked less balanced than it had done when he sped to the fastest time in low-fuel Q2 on Saturday but, as his fuel burned off, he began to push on as the cars ahead of him peeled into the pits.
By the time he eventually pitted from the lead by lap 18 – promoting Button to the head of the field – he had done enough to not only jump Hamilton, but get himself tagged onto the back of Trulli.However, the re-appearance of the notorious ‘Trulli Train’ scuppered his hopes of taking the fight to Button on the super-soft tyres.While Trulli was lapping up to a second slower on the medium compound, frustratingly for Vettel all he could do was follow the Toyota around the 3.3-mile track again, again and again – the German and Hamilton running under a second behind the Italian for most of the next 18 laps.
This was a god-send for Button, who had no similar road-block preventing him exploiting the full potential of the soft tyres and he duly scampered away into the distance.
The championship leader’s advantage was 16.8s when he pitted for the second and final time on lap 36, the Brawn driver exiting the pit just as Trulli and Hamilton entered for their own respective final stops.With Vettel again stopping later than his respective rivals, the Red Bull star almost inevitably was going to move up to second and his three extra laps on track were indeed enough to allow him to stop and then rejoin ahead of Trulli.
The situation was now reversed, however, with the Toyota driver now the one on the super-soft rubber. Trulli duly made a renewed charge and closed onto Vettel’s gearbox, but it was too little and too late and the pole-sitter had to settle for the lowest rung of the podium.As long as the now faster Toyota remained tucked up behind the RBR, Button was always going to cruise to the flag and ultimately clocked off the final laps to take the win 7.1s ahead of Vettel.
Hamilton struggled on the harder tyres in the closing stages but nevertheless finished a comfortable fourth, with Barrichello fifth after his gamble on a three-stop strategy never paid dividends despite some impressive overtaking moves.
Early leader Glock eventually came home right behind Raikkonen in seventh, thus maintaining his 100% points-scoring record in 2009.But he and Toyota will be seeking answers as to how his race unravelled in the middle stint so badly.
Alonso may have taken the honours for ‘overtaking move of the race’ with his move on Trulli earlier in the day, but a single point was not what the Spaniard or Renault would have been hoping for this weekend after making big progress last week in China.
Felipe Massa, however, is still waiting for his first points of the season after last year’s championship runner-up finished a lap down in 14th. The Brazilian made a poor start from eighth despite having KERS and then had to pit for a new nosecone after lap one contact. But while his Ferrari team can take comfort from Raikkonen’s result, rival BMW will want to forget its Bahrain weekend as quickly as possible after its most uncompetitive race showing as an F1 team owner.
Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished last of the classified runners after both picking up damage to their F1.09s on the opening lap, each having to pit for new front wings.A driver who enjoyed a more positive day, however, was the under-pressure Nelson Piquet Jr who produced his best race performance of his tough season so far to move up from 15th to the top 10 for Renault.
Bahrain Grand Prix result (57 laps)
1. BUTTON Brawn 1h31m48.18s
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 (lap 10)
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