Brawn GP extends lead in championship
Brawn GP extended the team’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix this evening with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello bringing their Brawn-Mercedes cars home in fifth and sixth positions respectively.
Both drivers had good first laps to set up the points-scoring opportunity with Rubens gaining two places to be running in seventh position and Jenson making up one place to tenth position. Rubens pitted first on lap 19, gaining a place over Mark Webber, whilst Jenson was held up behind Heikki Kovalainen before pitting earlier than planned when the safety car came out on lap 21.
A problem with engaging neutral at his second stop on lap 46 cost Rubens valuable time allowing Jenson, who was fuelled five laps longer, to gain fifth place when he stopped on lap 51. After a below-par qualifying performance on Saturday, the team recovered well to add a further seven points to its Championship tally with three races of the season remaining.
Jenson Button: “It was a good race for me and I’m happy with fifth position and four more points today. Getting ahead of Kazuki off the line was key and that really made my race. The first stint was quite frustrating as I could see Rubens getting away from me whilst I was stuck behind Heikki with a heavier fuel load. The safety car then made it very difficult as I still had fuel for a few more laps and should have been able to make up two places at my first stop. I had to put in some quick laps before my second stop to close up to Rubens and then we were pushing to catch Sebastian before deciding to save the brakes and settle for the fifth position. The weekend hasn’t been quite what we expected but it’s good to come through from 11th on the grid to score points today. I’ll go to Japan tomorrow feeling very positive and looking forward to the next race.”
Rubens Barrichello: “It was a pretty eventful weekend for me and a tough race today. I had a great start to make up two places and everything was going well in the first stint. It’s a shame that the safety car didn’t play into my hands but I was in a good position. Unfortunately I had a problem on my second pit stop when I couldn’t engage neutral and the engine stalled which lost me the crucial time needed to stay ahead of Jenson. After that my brakes were struggling and I couldn’t fight anymore so we came home with sixth position. It could have been a better weekend but I only lost a point to Jenson in the championship despite everything that happened so I’m staying positive.”
Ross Brawn: “Jenson, Rubens and the team put in a very good performance today to achieve two points-scoring positions after what was a disappointing qualifying result for us yesterday. Both drivers did exactly what they needed to do at the start with Jenson getting ahead of Nakajima and Rubens taking two places from Kubica and Kovalainen. From there, the pace was good and whilst the safety car didn’t play in our hands particularly for either driver, we were able to make steady progress up the field. A longer than planned pit stop for Rubens when the car stalled as he entered the box lost him some time however the pit crew recovered the situation superbly and he was safe for sixth position. Jenson put in some quick laps before his stop to make up the required time for fifth place which we settled for and decided to bring both cars safely home. We will go away from Singapore with further valuable points in the championship having done as we intended and recovered well from qualifying.”
