Saturday: Brawn GP limits the damage and is satisfied

Brawn GP had accustomed us to better. Since the start of the season, the new team taken over by Brawn was always fighting for pole position, most often securing it with Jenson Button. For the eighth round of the season, at Silverstone, the team managed neither pole nor any feats. Barrichello is indeed second on the grid, on the dirty side and sandwiched by the Red Bulls, but most importantly, Button will only start 6th while he needs to fight for the title.

The two drivers struggled from Q2 onwards with a poor balance on their car. They were unable to properly heat their tires. Worse still, Button experienced both oversteer and understeer on the BGP001, which explains his 6th place time, especially considering both drivers have the same amount of fuel onboard and remain optimistic nonetheless.

Rubens Barrichello – 12th and 2nd:

« I’m very happy to be starting from the front row tomorrow. It’s a track I love, and I feel a bit at home here. After working all night, we were able to make some good changes with my engineers to get a better car for qualifying. »

« I really tried to get the most out of the car today and we were able to achieve a little more than we thought. It’s certain that the Red Bulls have made a step forward this weekend, and I am even more delighted with my performance as I will be hindering Vettel and Webber. We thought we would be third today, so we expect even better tomorrow!

Jenson Button – 5th and 6th:

Starting from sixth place is not bad in itself, even though I would have preferred to start higher on the grid for my home Grand Prix. We knew it would be difficult to keep the tires at the right temperature here and knew the car wasn’t at its best in these cool conditions.

« I struggled with understeer in fast corners and oversteer in slower corners, so I didn’t really have the best car to qualify at the top. My goal in the race will still be to score as many points as possible, and I hope we will be able to put on a good show for the thousands of spectators who came to support me and watch the race.

Ross Brawn – Director:

« Rubens Barrichello shows us an excellent performance today on one of his favorite tracks. His second place is encouraging for the future. Jenson Button, for his part, struggled to find the balance on his car and to heat his tires, more than Rubens. We also had a communication problem, and we brought him into the pits a little too early. »

« Tomorrow’s race promises to be interesting, especially if it’s a bit warmer than today. »