Barrichello keeps his gearbox

The Brawn GP team, in consultation with Rubens Barrichello, has decided not to change the gearbox of his car, which means the Brazilian will indeed start from fifth place on the grid.

The team worked and thought all night until this morning, in order to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this gearbox change by analyzing all the information and conducting numerous Grand Prix simulations. The gearbox was slightly damaged when Rubens Barrichello’s car caught fire during the final laps of the Belgian Grand Prix due to an oil leak from the Mercedes engine block.

Brawn GP confirmed this morning that it will not replace the gearbox, thus avoiding a five-place grid penalty.

This decision must delight Rubens Barrichello, who stated last night that he wanted to avoid a penalty and have every chance for victory today, even at the risk of facing reliability issues.