Brawn denies favoring Button in Spain

The leaders of Brawn GP have strongly denied all rumors that circulated after the race suggesting that team orders had favored Jenson Button’s victory in Barcelona.

Rubens Barrichello led the race from the first lap, but it was ultimately Button who triumphed in the end after changing strategy during the race, switching from 3 to 2 stops after the first round of pit stops.

This change casts doubt among observers, with some seeing a conspiracy in favor of Button, a theory categorically refuted by Nick Fry and Ross Brawn.

« No, both sides of the garage are in competition, » replies Fry when asked if the strategy was put in place to favor Button in the title race. « During the race, there was great determination, first for Jenson to take the lead, and then from Rubens’ side with a bit of frustration at the end because they didn’t succeed. »

Ross Brawn stated that the team never considered favoring Button by changing his strategy and that it was solely Barrichello’s poor pace in his third stint that cost him the victory.

« If you look at the lap times, with the tires and fuel, there was a period of the race where he was much slower than expected, » explained the team manager. « And that’s what cost him the race because Jenson, with more fuel, was faster. »

When asked if he is worried that Barrichello might think he was at a disadvantage, he replies « I hope not, because that’s not the case. You saw at the first corner that there are no team orders. Rubens had a very good start and passed Jenson. »

« I would love to see Rubens win a race and his team of mechanics win a race because it would be great for the team. There are no given priorities. »

Talking about Barrichello’s unhappy face after the race, Ross Brawn adds: « It’s natural. A driver who has been beaten and is happy doesn’t have a place in the team. »

« The fact that Rubens is unhappy is a sign of his determination because I would have found it strange if he were happy to finish second behind Jenson. »

Button thought he could break away at the front from the start of the race, but the fact that he found himself second, with less fuel than his teammate, prompted the change in strategy. It’s something we had discussed well before the race anyway, concluded Nick Fry.

Barrichello’s slow pace in his final stint is the result of an as-yet unidentified problem with his car and cost him the time he needed to widen the gap on Button. In the end, Barrichello finished the race 13 seconds behind his teammate.