Assessment: Brawn GP scores valuable points!

The Brawn GP team can be completely satisfied this evening with their race weekend in Spain at Valencia. They achieved their 7th victory of the season not with Jenson Button but with the ‘old’ Rubens Barrichello. 37 years old and yet not a wrinkle! Five years after the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, the Brazilian stands on the top step of the podium in honor of his friend and accident victim, Felipe Massa. A fine victory just slightly aided by McLaren’s poor coordination. Nonetheless, it’s ten points and Barrichello is back to 10th place in the championship tonight.

Jenson Button had a different fate on this urban track with a 7th place and still two points added to his team’s tally. The Englishman was unlucky to get caught in traffic, and on this kind of circuit, it’s unforgiving.

Rubens Barrichello – 1st:

« What a fantastic day. I am so happy about the victory after a very tough race. It is simply incredible and it is a weekend I will never forget. Winning after five years is such a good feeling! Although being heavier than the McLaren, I knew I would have to push very hard throughout the race. My engineer Jock was great today, he really encouraged me and helped me maintain the pace. The team did a great job with two excellent stops. I want to thank everyone who supported me and this victory is dedicated to the whole of Brazil, especially my great friend Felipe Massa. I hope he will be back racing soon. »

Jenson Button – 7th:

Rubens [Barrichello] did an excellent job this weekend and he deserves the victory. It’s been a long time and I’m happy for him, of course, I would prefer to be on the podium myself. The small mistake in qualifying and a difficult start behind Vettel cost me today because I was caught in traffic. It was really difficult to overtake on this circuit. Nonetheless, we did what we needed to do this weekend, which was to beat the Red Bulls, our main rivals for the titles. So I’m not too disappointed with the seventh position. We’re going to think positively about the next race at Spa and be ready to have a good race.

Ross Brawn – Team Principal:

« It was a fantastic performance by Rubens today, his first victory with Brawn, marking their seventh win this season. We knew that having a heavy fuel load wouldn’t give us an advantage over the cars at the front, but Rubens drove at his best to claim the victory. He attacked where it was needed. It’s a great performance that is well deserved. We are all happy for him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good afternoon for Jenson [Button] who had a fast car but got caught in traffic, preventing him from achieving the hoped-for result. In hindsight, perhaps we could have been more aggressive in qualifying, but today, his two points are valuable and we’ve increased our lead in both championships. Thanks to everyone at the track today and to the Brackley factory for all their work over the past two weeks and to our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz in Brixworth for their dedication and the performance of their engines. »