Formula One news
No team orders given, stress Brawn
11 May 2009 / Results / PhotosThe Brawn team has quashed rumours that deliberate team tactics changed the order of its two drivers during the Spanish Grand Prix. Rubens Barrichello, who had been leading, eventually finished second after team-mate Jenson Button's initial pit stop strategy was changed during the race.
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| "I'm disappointed because I haven't won the race" - Rubens Barrichello during the post-race press conference |
With both drivers starting the race on three-stop strategies, Barrichello - despite running a heavier car - passed Button for the lead at the start, having being third on the grid. After the drivers' first pit stops, however, the Brazilian received a radio call informing him of his team-mate's strategy modification. With the Paulista unable to pull out enough of a lead with his lighter fuel load, Button kept first place after Barrichello's third and final stop of the afternoon.
"We were both going in that direction (three-stops) but they (the team) switched me to a two-stop just to cover all our bases," Button said in the post-race press conference. Barrichello also gave his version of events: "It was running quite well and then I heard that they'd changed Jenson's strategy and I had to keep on pushing…it was just a big, big struggle to keep the car on the track and I'm relieved to come second."
With paddock reports suggesting the runner-up to be angered on Sunday night, however, team sporting director Nick Fry summed up the situation. "Both sides of the garage were racing," he insisted to Autosport. "Listening to what was going on there was huge determination - firstly for Jenson to make the gap, and then on Rubens' side of the garage, with a bit of frustration at the end that they didn't make it happen."
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| Team owner Ross Brawn |
"If you look at the lap times on the tyres and the fuel, there was a period of the race where he (Barrichello) was a lot slower than expected," continued team principal and owner Ross Brawn. "And that's what cost him the race because Jenson, on more fuel, was quicker; you saw at the first corner that there are no team orders - Rubens made a great start and got past Jenson.
"I'd love to see Rubens win a race and see his crew win a race because it would be great for the team. There is no priority being given; it's natural - any driver who gets beaten and is happy is not a driver I want in the team. The fact that Rubens is unhappy is a healthy sign because I'd feel very strange if he was quite content to be second behind Jenson."
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