Brawn drivers getting used to the heat
Just five days after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Brawn GP's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took to the track at the Sepang International Circuit in the first of the practice sessions ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
In hot and humid conditions, with air temperatures peaking at 33°C and 71% humidity, the Brawn GP drivers completed 110 laps of the 5.54km circuit, ending the afternoon practice session with Rubens in sixth position and Jenson in seventh place on the timesheets.
The pair worked through the team's Friday programme of set-up work and tyre evaluations with the soft and hard compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres which will be used this weekend. Rainclouds gathered overhead throughout the afternoon but the conditions remained dry for the duration of the two ninety-minute practice sessions.
Rubens Barrichello: "We achieved a good day's work today on a challenging track where it is always difficult to find the right balance with the car and tyres. Our evaluations with the prime and the option tyre were particularly useful and although we still have some work to do on the balance, overall it was a positive day."
Jenson Button: "We completed some useful running today to work on improving the balance of the car. My biggest problem was that we are locking the tyres and brakes very easily so we
need to have a good look at this. We're not quite there yet but we are going in the right direction and I'm confident we will achieve the optimum set-up ready for qualifying tomorrow."
Ross Brawn: "The practice sessions in Malaysia today have been our first experience of higher track and air temperatures so we made the most of the available running to learn how the car, tyres and engine work in these conditions. We struggled a little with the balance of the car and at the moment it is not performing quite as well as in Australia last weekend. However I am confident that we are on the right path and with some hard work overnight, we should be in a good position for the rest of the weekend."
Rubens Barrichello (BGP001-01)
FP1: 4th, 01:36.487, 22 laps
FP2: 6th, 01:36.161, 37 laps
Jenson Button (BGP 001-02)
FP1: 3th, 01:36.430, 20 laps
FP2: 7th, 01:36.254, 31 laps
Weather: Hot and humid Temperatures: Air: 28-33°C / Track: 33-48°C
