Assessment: Button and Brawn GP continue to rejuvenate F1

After four Grand Prix, the Brawn GP team asserts its dominance in Formula 1 by already winning three races. The English team leads the drivers’ championship with Button – victorious today in Bahrain – and the constructors’ championship by more than twenty points ahead.

Button and Barrichello once again deliver a strong performance. The Briton secures another victory for the former Honda team, now powered by Mercedes, while Barrichello brings the BGP 001 home in 5th place. Button started fourth on the grid but got the better of Vettel in the early laps and then overtook Trulli during his pit stop. From there, it was just a matter of managing the lead. Barrichello was able to employ an opportunistic strategy with three scheduled stops to gain a place from his qualifying position. Enough to satisfy the entire team and head to Europe in two weeks with optimism at its peak.

Jenson Button – 1st:

« It was a good race today, and I’m really happy to have been able to cross the checkered flag without seeing a Safety Car enter or red flags light up in front of me! Achieving a third victory is really huge, especially since we will arrive in Europe leading both world championships. I couldn’t hope for better at this stage! We didn’t have the expected pace, but we still won, and that’s great.

« I got a really good start and first lap. I knew I had to overtake Sebastian Vettel quickly and then I was able to overtake Hamilton in the last corner. Getting through the first lap in third position was very important for my strategy! Mercedes is really helping us and a big thank you to them. »

Rubens Barrichello – 5th:

« We are bringing back some important points to the team today, but it was a good race for me. I lost a lot of time behind Piquet, which wasn’t good for my three-stop strategy. Then I found myself behind Hamilton, and we decided to make my second stop earlier to avoid disrupting my rhythm. »

« It was very hot and the car slightly burned my right side, which wasn’t very practical for driving… As for Jenson [Button], it seems that luck is on his side for now. I’m really happy for the team, but I hope my turn will come soon! »

Ross Brawn – Director:

« A superb performance by Jenson Button today, but all the credit goes to him. He had a great first lap which made the victory possible! We had to compete in very high temperatures this weekend, which made it difficult for us given our lack of testing in the heat this winter. As a result, I am very happy with everyone’s work, particularly the work done by our partner Mercedes-Benz. Many thanks also to the Brackley factory which worked very hard on the new package. We will have the opportunity to celebrate all this together in two weeks for the Spanish GP, the return to Europe. »