Rubens Barrichello, left, was disappointed that Jenson Button's strategy was changed mid-race while his went unaltered. Photograph: Robert Ghement/EPA
The frustration expressed by Rubens Barrichello following his defeat at the hands of Jenson Button in Barcelona on Sunday has seen by team boss Ross Brawn as "a healthy sign". Barrichello, at first bemused by his failure to win despite leading for the first 19 laps, later told an American television station that he would quit immediately if there was the slightest hint that the Brawn-Mercedes team had favoured Button. But Brawn categorically denied that Button had received preferential treatment on the way to his fourth win of the season.
"Rubens's unhappiness is natural," said Brawn. "But then any driver who gets beaten and is not unhappy is not a driver I want in the team. So the fact Rubens is unhappy is a healthy sign because I would see it as very strange if he was quite content to finish second behind Jenson."
Button's race strategy had been changed from three stops to two when Brawn and his engineers realised the Englishman was likely to be trapped behind slower cars after emerging from his first pit stop, the predicted structure of the race having changed when the field was forced to run at slow speed behind the safety car for the first five laps following a multi-car collision at the first corner.
If anything, the change to Button's strategy should have favoured Barrichello but the Brazilian's race was then compromised by a tyre problem later in the race. That, coupled with Button rising to the challenge of dealing with a much heavier car, swung the balance in Button's favour. But Barrichello was not to know the precise detail of how the race had unfolded when he made his comments to the media before being able to talk to his team.
"Both sides of the garage were racing," said Brawn. "Listening to what was going on [over the radio]; there was huge determination – firstly for Jenson to make the gap, and then on Rubens's side of the garage with a bit of frustration at the end that they didn't make it happen. We knew Jenson was going to find it tough because he was carrying much more fuel than originally planned after the first stop. If you look at the lap times, there was a period of the race where Rubens was a lot slower than expected. And that's what cost him the race because Jenson on more fuel was quicker."
Having worked with Barrichello at Ferrari for six years, Brawn is a firm believer in the Brazilian's ability and experience, the prime reason Barrichello was chosen to remain with the reformed Honda team in 2009. According to Brawn, just two second places compared to four wins for Button is not a reasonable reflection of Barrichello's potential.
"I think Rubens has had a little bit of bad luck, and I know luck shouldn't come into it," said Brawn. "In China he was looking very strong. In fact, for a dry race he was in better shape than Jenson. But then in the wet he had a problem with the brakes. One of them glazed over on the rear, which made life very interesting for him. In qualifying in Bahrain, when we'd gone for a pretty aggressive strategy which meant being at the front, he didn't achieve it as he had a problem with his front wing.
"But I'm pleased with Rubens's performance this year. He's contributed an awful lot to the team, helping sort the car out. He gives very valuable technical information, and I think it just hasn't quite fallen for him this season. Jenson's doing a superb job, so that's the reference, but I'm very happy with Rubens, and I'm sure if we get a smooth weekend he'll be up there."
It will be easier said than done at the next round in Monte Carlo on 24 May, the street race proving to be one of the most demanding on the calendar. Both drivers have finished second in Monaco and a win for either would be another massive achievement in an extraordinary season for this team. Despite leading the championship by 14 points, Button has no intention of either backing off or helping his team-mate get over his disappointment.
"At this point of the season, you need to be aggressive and fight for every single point," said Button. "There's no point hanging back and expecting it to happen. We need to be very aggressive and we need to get everything out of the car at every race we go to. It might be getting boring, but it's just the way it is.
"Five races in and, after an important victory at the first race in Europe, I've a reasonably good lead and it's a good feeling. But I'm not getting comfortable because Rubens is very quick, as he proved over the weekend, as are the Red Bulls. When they get it together they've good pace, and obviously Mark [Webber] and Sebastian [Vettel] are doing a great job. So it's not easy, but we are obviously going to look for a victory in every race that comes, and for that we need to be aggressive and adopt that style of racing."
The sport's governing body has confirmed it is investigating an incident of racism before the start of Sunday's Spanish grand prix. BBC TV showed images of a fan with a blacked-up face in the enclosure behind the main grandstand at the Barcelona track, scene of racist taunts directed at Lewis Hamilton in February 2008.
"We are aware of the incident and we are looking into it," said an FIA spokesman. "We believe it involved just one person and, until we know the full facts, we do not want to blow a potentially serious incident out of proportion."
Click
No comments:
Post a Comment