Brawn GP - Pictures from Barcelona

Just to wet your appetite for this weekend a few pictures i've just found on http://www.f1.gpupdate.net/

ENGINE COVER (FROM THIS PICTURE THE COVER LOOKS ASYMETRICAL)

REAR WING - TERMINATOR SALVATION LIVERY

So what do these pictures tell us? Well I think we are still holding some cards close to our chest as from other pictures I have seen we have the old engine covers in place on the chassis. Whether Sir Richard has sold the advertising space he has to the Film studio or whether this is additional sponsorship I await to see. I previously posted some pictures of a front wing arrangement that I now feel may be incorrect until I have clarification I have taken them down.

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Brawn GP - Ecclestone 'Brawn GP won't get prize money'

The Independant yesterday ran a story talking to Bernie Ecclestone about a number of concerns in F1. The relevant Brawn GP story was about prize money, when Honda was renamed Brawn GP the team became a new entry.
I quote The Independant 'The Concorde Agreement, the contract committing the teams to race in F1, says prize money earned by outfits which have left the sport should be split between those remaining in the sport. However, the contract is not in force and although the teams initially agreed to give the money to Brawn, there are now objections to this given Brawn's success.'
This may well be true but is not the correct way to look at the argument, Honda did leave F1 so Honda should recieve no money and the monies split amongst the remaining teams. However when Brawn GP became a new team this meant they could not win any prize money, teams in their first year of F1 do not recieve prize money. Bernie went on to say that 'the money will not be paid to Brawn and he adds it will not be paid out at all if there is not unanimous agreement on who should receive it.'
Further to that Bernie threw a shot at BGP 'It would have been better for the team to have retained their former name. "I opposed the name Brawn," he says, claiming it is "not a good name, doesn't mean anything to the public, better being Honda than Brawn".
I wonder how Honda would have felt about a team using their name that they would no longer have input in and Mercedes power. Bernie's comments sometimes bemuse me.

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FIA Regulations for 2010, How will they impact the sport?

With the announcement of the FIA £40 million budget cap the regulations for 2010 have also been released.

FIA - 2010 - Sporting Regulations
FIA - 2010 - Technical Regulations

So what this means for the budget capped teams/F1 in brief is:

3 extra teams could be bought into F1 with a 26 car grid now agreed
Wind Tunnel testing will have no restrictions for Budget capped teams
Budget capped teams won't be restricted to engine and gearbox restrictions (unlimited engines & gearboxes)
Engine revs are unrestricted for Budget capped teams and 18,000 rpm's for the others
KERS systems are also upped for non Budget teams from 400KJ release per lap to 800KJ's (KERS is restricted to speeds lower than 300KMH)
Transmissions to budget capped teams are unrestricted (so 4 wheel drive is permitted)
KERS will be able to used all round in a 4 wheel drive scenario
Front wing driver adjustment will increased to 10 degrees for Budget capped teams
Rear wing driver adjustment will be available to budget capped teams

All teams will be affected by the next rule change: Tyre warmers will be banned for 2010

Sporting Regulations

2.1 All drivers, competitors and officials participating in the Championship undertake, on behalf of themselves, their employees, agents and suppliers, to observe all the provisions as supplemented or amended of the International Sporting Code (the Code), the Formula One Technical Regulations (the Technical Regulations) and the present Sporting Regulations together referred to as "the Regulations".
UCompetitors who have agreed to abide by the regulations governing the voluntary cost cap for the Championship year, ("Cost-Regulated Teams") will be permitted certain additional freedoms where specifically stated within these regulations.

13.6 No more than 26 cars will be admitted to the Championship, two being entered by each competitor.

22.1
a) Track testing shall be considered any track running time undertaken by a competitor entered in the Championship with the exception of :
a1) promotional or demonstration events carried out using tyres provided specifically for this purpose by the appointed supplier ;
a2) three one day young driver training tests carried out between the end of the last Event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year, any such driver having not competed in more than two F1 World Championship Events ;
a3) eight one day aerodynamic tests carried out on FIA approved straight line or constant radius sites between 1 January 2010 and the end of the last Event of the Championship.
b) No competitor may carry out more than 15,000km of track testing during a calendar year.
c) No track testing may take place between the start of the week preceding the first Event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year.
d) During all track testing cars must be fitted with the FIA ECU required by Article 8.2 of the 2010U FIA Formula One Technical Regulations. 2010 F1 Sporting Regulations 9 of 48 30 April 2009
e) No track testing is permitted at sites which are not currently approved for use by Formula 1 cars. In order to ensure that venue licence conditions are respected at all times during track testing, competitors are required to inform the FIA of their test schedule in order that an observer may be appointed if deemed necessary.
f) During all Formula One track testing :
- red flag procedures must be respected ;
- no other type of vehicle is permitted on the track ;
- every reasonable effort should be made to ensure that the recommendations concerning emergency services detailed in Article 16 of Appendix H to the Code are followed.
g) If, after an incident during track testing, the Medical Warning Light signals that threshold forces have been exceeded the driver must present himself for examination in the circuit medical centre without delay.
h) No wind tunnel testing may be carried out using a scale model which is greater than 60% of full size.
i) No wind tunnel testing may be carried out at a speed exceeding 50 metres/second.
Paragraphs a), b), c), h) and i) will not apply to Cost-Regulated Teams.

28.4
a) Each driver may use no more than eight engines during a Championship season. Should a driver use more than eight engines he will drop ten places on the starting grid at the first Event during which each additional engine is used.
An engine will be deemed to have been used once the car’s timing transponder has shown that it has left the pit lane.
b) If a driver is replaced at any time during the Championship season his replacement will be deemed to be the original driver for the purposes of assessing engine usage.
c) After consultation with the relevant engine supplier the FIA will attach seals to each engine prior to it being used for the first time at an Event in order to ensure that no significant moving parts can be rebuilt or replaced.
2010 F1 Sporting Regulations 14 of 48 30 April 2009
Within two hours of the end of the post race parc fermé exhaust blanking plates (with one 10mm diameter inspection hole per cylinder) and further seals will be applied to all used engines in order to ensure that these engines cannot be run between Events. Upon request to the FIA these additional seals will be removed after the start of initial scrutineering at the next Event at which the engines are required. All such engines must remain within the team’s designated garage area when not fitted to a car and may not be started at any time during an Event other than when fitted to a car eligible to participate in the Event.
d) If any of the FIA seals are damaged or removed from an engine after it has been used for the first time that engine may not be used again unless they were removed under FIA supervision.
e) If an engine is changed in accordance with Article 34.1 the engine which was replaced may not be used during any future qualifying session or race with the exception of the last Event of the Championship.
28.5
Only engines which have been homologated by the FIA in accordance with Appendix 6 may be used at an Event during the 2008-2012 Championship seasons.
28.6
For the purposes of this Article only, an Event will be deemed to comprise P3, the qualifying practice session and the race.
a) Each driver may use no more than one gearbox for four consecutive Events in which his team competes. Should a driver use a replacement gearbox he will drop five places on the starting grid at that Event and an additional five places each time a further gearbox is used.
Any replacement gearbox must be fitted with the same gear ratios that were declared under d) below and will only be required to complete the remainder of the Event in question. Any change to the gear ratios declared under d) below will incur a further five grid place penalty. In either case a new four race sequence may start at the following Event.
Unless the driver fails to finish the race (see below) the gearbox fitted to the car at the end of the Event must remain in it for three further Events. Any driver who failed to finish the race at the first, second or third of the four Events for reasons which the technical delegate accepts as being beyond the control of the team or driver, may start the following Event with a different gearbox without a penalty being incurred.
A gearbox will be deemed to have been used once the car’s timing transponder has shown that it has left the pit lane.
b) If a driver is replaced after the first, second or third of a four Event period, having finished the first, second or third Events, the replacement driver must use the gearbox which the original driver had been using.
c) After consultation with the relevant team the FIA will attach seals to each gearbox in order to ensure that no moving parts, other than those specifically permitted under d) below, can be rebuilt or replaced.
d) At each Event seals may be broken once, under supervision and at any time prior to the second day of practice, for the sole purpose of changing gear ratios and dog rings (excluding final drives or reduction gears). Competitors must inform the FIA technical delegate which ratios they intend to fit no later than two hours after the end of P2.
Gear ratios and dog rings (excluding final drives or reduction gears) may also be changed under supervision for others of identical specification at any time during an Event provided the FIA technical delegate is satisfied there is evident physical damage to the parts in question and that such changes are not being carried out on a systematic basis.
e) Other than under d) above, a replacement gearbox will also be deemed to have been used if any of the FIA seals are damaged or removed from the original gearbox after it has been used for the first time.
Articles 28.4 and 28.6 will not apply to Cost-Regulated Teams.

29.1
a) Refuelling is only permitted in the team’s designated garage area
b) Refuelling during a race is forbidden.

33.1
The qualifying practice session will take place on the day before the race from 14.00 to 15.00.
The session will be run as follows :
a) From 14.00 to 14.20 (Q1) all cars will be permitted on the track and at the end of this period the slowest eight cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session.
Lap times achieved by the eighteen remaining cars will then be deleted.
b) From 14.27 to 14.42 (Q2) the eighteen remaining cars will be permitted on the track and at the end of this period the slowest eight cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session.
Lap times achieved by the ten remaining cars will then be deleted.
c) From 14.50 to 15.00 (Q3) the ten remaining cars will be permitted on the track.
The above procedure is based upon a Championship entry of 26 cars. If 24 cars are entered seven will be excluded after Q1 and Q2 and if 22 cars are entered six cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2.

Technical Regulations

2.4 Automobiles must comply with these regulations in their entirety at all times during an Event.
Competitors who have agreed to abide by the regulations governing the voluntary cost cap for the Championship year, ("Cost-Regulated Teams") will be permitted certain additional freedoms where specifically stated within these regulations.

3.4.2 In order to prevent tyre damage to other cars, the top, forward and outer edges of the lateral extremities of any bodywork more than 450mm ahead of the front wheel centre line and more than 750mm from the car centre line must be at least 10mm thick with a radius of at least 5mm.

3.10 Bodywork behind the rear wheel centre line
3.10.3 In order to ensure that the relationship between these two sections cannot change whilst the car is in motion, other than when the upper section is being moved in accordance with Article 3.18.2, they must be bridged by means of rigid impervious supports (including any adjustment mechanism) arranged such that no part of the trailing edge of the forward section may be more than 200mm laterally from a support.

3.10.8 In side view, the projected area of any bodywork lying between 300mm and 950mm above the reference plane between the rear wheel centre line and a point 600mm behind it and more than 355mm from the car centre line must be greater than 330000mm²

3.18 Driver adjustable bodywork :
3.18.1 A single closed section situated each side of car centre line in the volume bounded by :
- lines 450mm and 800mm in front of the front wheel centre line ;
- a vertical plane which intersects these lines at a distance 250mm from the car centre line ;
- and the inboard face of the bodywork described in Article 3.7.5 ;
is allowed to change incidence while the vehicle is in motion within a maximum range of 6º, provided any such change maintains compliance with all of the bodywork dimensional regulations. This figure will be increased to 10º for Cost-Regulated Teams.
Alteration of the incidence of these sections must be made simultaneously and may only be commanded by direct driver input and controlled using the control electronics specified in Article 8.2. Except when the car is in the pit lane, a maximum of two adjustments may be made within any single lap of a circuit. UThis paragraph will not apply to Cost-Regulated TeamsU.
3.18.2 The incidence of the upper section described in Article 3.10.2 (if two sections are used) may be varied whilst the car is in motion, provided any such change maintains compliance with all of the bodywork dimensional regulations.
Alteration of the incidence of this section may only be commanded by direct driver input and controlled using the control electronics specified in Article 8.2.
This Article applies only to Cost-Regulated Team.

4.1 Minimum weight :
The weight of the car must not be less than 620kg at all times during the Event.

5.1.3 Crankshaft rotational speed must not exceed 18,000rpm.
This Article will not apply to Cost-Regulated Teams

5.2 Other means of propulsion :
5.2.1 The use of any device, other than the 2.4 litre, four stroke engine described in 5.1 above and one KERS, to power the car, is not permitted.
5.2.2 With the exception of one fully charged KERS, the total amount of recoverable energy stored on the car must not exceed 300kJ. Any which may be recovered at a rate greater than 2kW must not exceed 20kJ.
5.2.3 The maximum power, in or out, of any KERS must not exceed 60kW.
Energy released from the KERS may not exceed 400kJ in any one lap.
Measurements will be taken at the connection to the drivetrain.
For Cost-Regulated Teams only the following will apply :
- the power in is unrestricted ;
- the power out is limited to 120kW ;
- the energy released per lap is limited to 800kJ ;
- measurements will be taken at any FIA approved point in the drivetrain.
5.2.4 The amount of stored energy in any KERS may not be increased whilst the car is stationary during a race pit stop.
Release of power from any such system must remain under the complete control of the driver at all times the car is on the track.
The KERS may not be operated whilst the car is travelling above 300km/h.
5.2.5 All KERS energy storage devices must be situated between the front face of the engine and the driver's back when viewed in lateral projection. When establishing the front face of the engine, no parts of the fuel, oil, water or electrical systems will be considered.

9.1 Transmission types :
No transmission system may permit more than two wheels to be driven.
This Article will not apply to Cost-Regulated Teams.

9.9.1 The KERS must connect at any point in the rear wheel drivetrain before the differential.
The restriction to only the rear wheel drivetrain will not apply to Cost-Regulated Teams.

11.7 KERS brake valve :
The pressure generated by the driver in the rear brake circuit may be reduced during KERS operation by the use of a brake pressure reducing valve. The valve must be manufactured, installed and operated in accordance with FIA specifications, details of which may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.

12.5.1 All tyres must be used as supplied by the manufacturer, any modification or treatment such as cutting, grooving, the application of solvents or softeners, the fitting of heat retaining devices or pre-heating is therefore prohibited. This applies to dry, intermediate and wet-weather tyres

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Brawn GP - Sakhir, Bahrain Qualifying & Weights

Hi BGP fans apologies for my lack of posting yesterday one of our vans snapped its cambelt 150 miles away so I had to go and rescue it. Another great job done by the team however it does seem that the field is starting to equalise and for the 1st time this season a KERS car is in a place to make a threat. Qualifying and Weight positions are as follows

1 Jarno Trulli 648.5 - 12 Laps
2 Timo Glock 643 - 10 Laps
3 Sebastian Vettel 659 - 15 Laps
4 Jenson Button 652.5 - 13 Laps
5 Lewis Hamilton 652.5 - 13 Laps - KERS
6 Rubens Barrichello 649 - 12 Laps
7 Fernando Alonso 650.5 - 12 Laps KERS
8 Felipe Massa 664.5 - 17 Laps KERS
9 Nico Rosberg 670.5 - 19 Laps
10 Kimi Raikkonen 671.5 - 20 Laps KERS
11 Heikki Kovalainen 678.5 - 22 Laps KERS
12 Kazuki Nakajima 680.9 - 23 Laps
13 Robert Kubica 698.6 - 29 Laps KERS
14 Nick Heidfeld 696.3 - 28 Laps KERS
15 Nelson Piquet Jnr 677.6 - 22 Laps
16 Sebastien Buemi 678.5 - 22 Laps
17 Giancarlo Fisichella 652 - 13 Laps
18 Mark Webber 656 - 14 Laps
19 Adrian Sutil 679 - 22 Laps
20 Sebastien Bourdais 667.5 - 18 Laps

The obvious immediate threats are Hamilton and Alonso but looking further down the field you would be wrong to write off Kubica and Heidfeld both of which are going 10 laps further, have KERS and can manage their tyres quite well. A great race in prospect.

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Brawn GP - Sahkir, Bahrain - Free Practice 2

Yet another tight practice session with the times reflecting this, only a 1.4 margin between top and bottom driver


Rosberg 1:33.339
Alonso 1:33.530
Trulli 1:33.616
Vettel 1:33.661
Webber 1:33.676
Button 1:33.694
Sutil 1:33.763
Glock 1:33.764
Barrichello 1:33.885
Nakajima 1:33.899
Hamilton 1:33.994
Fisichella 1:34.025
Buemi 1:34.127
Bourdais 1:34.366
Piquet 1:34.411
Massa 1:34.564
Kubica 1:34.605
Räikkönen 1:34.670
Kovalainen 1:34.764
Heidfeld 1:34.790

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Brawn GP - Sakhir, Bahrain - Free Practice 1

Well the F1 circus has arrived in Sakhir and at least we can say that we won't have a rainstorm, however we may get a sandstorm. It seems some teams have come to Sakhir with some interim updates before the teams converge back in Europe. Free Practice 1 was business as usual with times all over the show and not really giving an indication of any real true pace.

Times are as follows:

Hamilton 1:33.647
Heidfeld 1:33.907
Kubica 1:33.938
Rosberg 1:34.227
Button 1:34.434
Kovalainen 1:34.502
Barrichello 1:34.531
Massa 1:34.589
Webber 1:34.827
Raikkonen 1:34.827
Nakajima 1:34.880
Vettel 1:34.938
Piquet 1:34.974
Sutil 1:35.021
Trulli 1:35.036
Fisichella 1:35.042
Glock 1:35.333
Alonso 1:35.348
Bourdais 1:35.353
Buemi 1:35.369

It just goes to show how close the teams are lining up at the minute with only 1.722 seperating the top driver to the last. It would appear from the footage that turns 9 and 10 are where most drivers are having trouble dialling in and I would suggest that cross winds here at Sakhir are playing havoc with setting up the cars.

BGP have fielded some livery on the car for Virgin which in all honesty should have stayed as it was. This new livery has no definition and you can't make it out when they are out on circuit. I'll try to grab some pics of it.

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Brawn GP - Jenson on Bahrain and his closest competition

Q: Jenson, for so many years you’ve been the ‘maybe guy’ and now - almost out of the blue - you’re a championship contender. Has your mind been able to keep up with this rapid development?

Jenson Button: Well, the last couple of years have been quite difficult but I wouldn’t say that made me a ‘maybe guy’! Formula One is all about being part of a team and if the team as a whole is not doing well you’re not going to be competitive. Now it is fantastic to be with a team that is very competitive and I am able to do a good job - and for sure it is overwhelming to lead the championship by six points. That is where I should be, and I am very happy. This was always my belief that I belong there, because if you lose that belief in yourself you won’t be in Formula One any more.

Q: There are currently a few drivers in the paddock who have gone ‘from hero to zero’. You’ve done the opposite. Did you ever dream that your career could still have such a stunning turnaround in store?

JB: That’s always what you hope and the reason why you continue in Formula One. Even if you’ve had a couple of bad years you always think that there is a possibility. I always knew that we had a competitive car for this season - sure, not how competitive - but that is why I pushed so hard to be on the grid. Q: In nine years you won one Grand Prix - and then you won two within the space of a week, followed by a third place in China. Will the podium be your new home? JB: Hopefully! In Formula One the way is you want to win every race - although there is always the consistency question. In 2004 I had 11 podiums but I didn’t get anywhere near to winning the championship. This year my belief is that we can do much better than that and be on the top spot more often.

Q: According to Renault boss Flavio Briatore, the wrong guy in the wrong car is leading the championship. What’s your stance on that?

JB: I think it is the wrong guy making an opinion. Flavio is a very outspoken man and if he means that us leading the championship is wrong for the sport then his comments might be wrong for the sport. He doesn’t understand the way Formula One is in the way of how a car performs and how a driver performs, because I think that I am the right man to lead the championship and us as a team being competitive has made Formula One a bit more exciting. Seeing new drivers at the front, on the podium and winning races is good for the sport. The feedback that I have had from people underlines that. Hopefully it continues a long way because I have worked my ass off for this and nobody can take that away from me.

Q: The Brawn was declared legal by the FIA. What if the verdict had been a different one?

JB: It wasn’t! That’s the way I always work! The verdict has shown that we’ve made the best out of the regulations and the good thing is that most teams have realized that and they’ve had to actually start working hard on improving their cars to be competitive.

Q: You didn’t win in China, but how welcome was that Vettel victory? It demonstrated that a different diffuser on its own does not guarantee a winning car, and that anyone who did their homework over the winter now has a chance to win…

JB: Well, in the first two races we’d been very competitive. In the wet in China that wasn’t the case. It is nice having competition up there in the front, and the Red Bulls were very quick in China. We couldn’t get anywhere near them. And also Toyota is showing very strong performance, so it wasn’t the runaway victory that I had in the first two races. The first race was still tough, as we had the safety car and at the second race there was a downpour of rain, so neither victory was a walk in the park. It will be very interesting to see where we stand this weekend.

Q: Are you surprised that the usual frontrunners are experiencing such a slump?

JB: Yes, for sure I’m surprised that Ferrari so far hasn’t scored any points, but we saw McLaren doing a very good job in Shanghai with both drivers, so they have made quite an improvement. No doubt the top teams of last year will improve - the question is when. My guess is that when we get back to Europe we will see McLaren much stronger - but whether it’s enough for the front I don’t know. At the moment we’re looking more at the Red Bulls and the Toyotas.

Q: At the first two races the Brawns clearly dominated - in China the situation was slightly different. Did the others catch up or did the BGP001 let you down a bit?

JB: In Australia the car was quick, for sure. In China there were also other teams that were competitive, especially in the wet conditions which made it very difficult for us. Last weekend I don’t think that we were able to get the maximum out of the car - and even if we had I doubt that we would have been as quick as the Red Bulls. It is just the way their car is built. It works better in the wet conditions. We have to look at the reasons and try to improve.

Q: What will we see from you this weekend? And from the three races so far, who do you think is your biggest challenger?

JB: I am pretty sure we will be competitive here - and our competition will again be Red Bull and Toyota. For sure, my team mate will also be a big challenger. But I am looking forward to the race and it is important to be on the podium. But this time I want to be on the top step again!

Source: www.f1.com

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Brawn GP Race Review - Shanghai, China

Another great result in qualifying by Rubens & Jenson taking 4th & 5th respectively and following on later news that the positions were vindicated with Vettel, Alonso and Webber all carrying much less fuel to the grid. Hopes were high that with the strategy in place and the BGP performing at a great pace that the pair may be able to slip forward throughout the race. Sunday came and so did the rain along with another safety car. A procession of cars followed the safety car around the first 8 laps all desperately trying to keep some heat in the tyres. All the time behind the safety car Alonso's race was being compromised as his first stint was only to take him to around lap 10. Lewis was the 1st to make a move, taking a place off of Kimi in the first real lap of the race. Vettel with a clean road ahead and no spray immediately began to pull away from the pack, pulling out a 2.4 sec lead over 2nd place Webber. Lap 10 and Lewis has hauled in Jarno and puts a brave move in just lightly touching the grass before the corner. Lap 11 and Lewis dropped off the road and seemingly couldn't get the car back upto operating speed too quickly. Buemi put a move on Kimi and next to do the same thing was Felipe baby on Kimi. It wasn't long before everyone was overtaking Trulli as he slid further down the pack. Lap 14 and Webber made his 1st stop luckily for him he emerged just in front of Trulli and the train of cars in his wake. Next lap in and Vettel made his scheduled stop taking just over a second less in the box to stay in front of his team mate. Lap 17 and Robert Kubica decided to mount Jarno Trulli's Toyota coming into the last corner totally finishing Jarno's race. This left a huge amount of carbon fibre littering the circuit at this turn so once again the safety car ventured out onto the circuit. BGP took the opportunity to make both drivers pit stops before everyone caught upto the back of the safety car. Vettel and Buemi both had a lucky escape slowing down for the safety car when Buemi ran into the back of Vettel taking off his front wing. Whilst the safety car was out Felipe came to a grinding halt out on track it is believed he had an electrical problem. Lap 22 and we were back under way and Vettel soon started to pull away again. Jenson and Webber then began sparring for 2nd place with each driver dropping the car in corners and being over taken by the other. Webbers car in the wet was behaving much better than Jenson's and finally he overtook Jenson on the outside of turn 3 from there in Jenson tried his hardest to stay with Webber but couldn't keep pace with the RB5. Having now made his 2nd stop and Jenson still only having stopped once Vettel was once again coming to overtake showing the RB5's superior pace at Shanghai in the wet. Lap 42 saw Jenson making his 2nd stop whic put him back into 4th behind Vettel, Webber and Rosberg with the latter being out of sequence. With 6 laps to go Sutil got the car a little sideways between corners and ploughed into the barrier taking the front end off the Force India.
With the chequered flag falling Sebastian Vettel took a maiden win for Red Bull Racing followed by Mark Webber followed by both BGP001's of Jenson (3rd) and Rubens (4th). I must just say congratulations to Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and the whole Red Bull Racing team for their first GP win. A great result for BGP once again with the weather compromising the strategy and both Jenson and Rubens driving excellently to pick up the points/positions they did.

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Brawn GP - Shanghai, China Race

Hi BGP fans another race another safety car issue. It seems to me FOM's race schedule adjustment is playing havoc with the weather situation. Anyway onwards from that discussion, I will provide the usual full blown race analysis later but I would just like to say congratulations to Jenson, Rubens and the team for another great performance. With the issues under safety car and the weather I see the finishing positions we got as a best performance we could achieve without Vettel and Webber having incidents. Strategy went out the window as gaps couldn't be opened in the field during pit windows so to take 3rd and 4th I think we should be pleased and it fortifies our position up top. Kudos to Red Bull Racing for their 1-2 and a round of applause to Sebastian Vettel for his 1st race win for RBR. I will follow up later with the press conference details.

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Car Weights - Shanghai China

As we all know the car weights give a good indication as to the fuel loads carried by the teams, the weights have been announced as follows:

Sebastian Vettel 644 KG's - 15 laps
Fernando Alonso 637 KG's - 13 laps
Mark Webber 646.5 KG's - 16 laps
Rubens Barrichello 661 KG's - 21 laps
Jenson Button 659 KG's - 20 laps
Jarno Trulli 664.5 KG's - 22 laps
Nico Rosberg 650.5 KG's - 17 laps
Kimi Raikkonen 673.5 KG's - 26 laps
Lewis Hamilton 679 KG's - 28 laps
Sebastian Buemi 673 KG's - 26 laps
Nick Heidfeld 679 KG's - 28 laps
Heikki Kovalenien 697 KG's - 34 laps
Filipe Massa 690KG's - 31 laps
Timo Glock 652 KG's - 18 laps
Kazuki Nakajima 682.7 KG's -29 laps
Sebastian Bourdais 690 KG's -31 laps
Nelsihno Piquet 697.9 KG's - 34 laps
Robert Kubica 659 KG's - 20 laps
Adrian Sutil 648 KG's - 16 laps
Fishichella 679.5 KG's - 27 laps

I have guestimated at a 2.8KG per lap fuel usage (then rounded up) as a guide to how far into the race they will go

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Brawn GP - Qualifying - Shanghai, China

Well well well, what an absolutely fantastic qualifying session! Although we haven't put the cars on the front grid as we did in the previous races we still see some fantastic pace from our cars. I have to say Kudos to the teams and drivers in front (P1 - Vettel, P2 - Alonso and P3 Webber) we take P4 with Rubens on a 1:35.503 and P5 with Jenson on a 1:35.553.

Full timings for all drivers can be found here: FIA Timings

I have to say that the race stratergies are what will be shown in the race tomorrow. As soon as the car weights are announced I will have them published to the site.

I have to ask myself how much wind speed and cross winds have an effect on this circuit. It would be interesting to see a speed trap for the long straight on the circuit too as I think that extended shark fin that the RBR's are running may be helped by side winds.

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Situation Diffused Finally - Brawn GP

So what does this mean now?

It means that while the others have been objecting against the BGP design but still pushing on to build their own varients we have been busy carrying on with our own developments. While the team has been racing out East the team back at Brackley will have been readying a raft of developments for Barcelona. Although the Merc package was a better fit than its Ferrari counterpart it was still a design compromise. The team will have been working to negate any differences caused by the retro fit of the engine and also utilise any advantages the Merc engine brings. Cooling has been mentioned by the team as a way to extract more time, although are sidepods are already quite radical compared to the competition the new varients are said to take this even further. Balance will be another key factor with the engine being positioned more favourably now that more time has been able to be spent on setup.

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Brawn GP - Diffusers Legal!

As all Brawn GP fans thought would happen the diffusers have been given the thumbs up by the court of appeal.

A statement issued by the FIA on Wednesday morning said: "The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to deny the appeals submitted against decisions numbered 16 to 24 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 March at the 2009 Grand Prix of Australia and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.

"Based on the arguments heard and evidence before it, the Court has concluded that the Stewards were correct to find that the cars in question comply with the applicable regulations."

This means that BGP keep all points currently awarded and can look forward to China with the prospect of our full package still intact. The other 7 teams will now have to catch up and i'm sure a big proportion of the teams will come armed with a new design diffuser this weekend with a full update ready for Barcelona.

The diffuser row has led to confrontations between the teams – with Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn being on the receiving end of attacks from Renault and Ferrari about his use of the diffuser concept. Ross stood firm in his belief that the design was legal – and confirmed recently that he offered rivals the chance to close off the regulations to prevent teams exploiting the diffuser designs, but they rejected the opportunity.

"In March 2008 that was offered," said Brawn, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the matter.

"If I'm frank I didn't say 'look we are going to do this diffuser if you don't accept this rule' because I'm not going to tell people what we're doing, but I explained that I felt that we should have a different set of rules to simplify what needs to be done.

"I offered them and they were rejected, so my conscience is very clear. And those rules that I put on the table would have stopped a lot of things. It would have stopped the diffuser, it would have stopped all those bargeboards around the front, and it would have cleaned the cars up.

"Because it was clear that when we started to work on the regulations that there were things that you could do, and we needed to perhaps clean them up, but nobody was interested. They are interested now."

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BRAWN GP Aero/Diffuser - Video Intepretations

I have found a few videos from the media relating to the aero package and diffuser arrangement on the BGP001.

Would be great if someone could email me an interpretation of the videos in other languages so I can remake them into English speaking versions.

Remember that these are not made by the team so certain elements will have been surmised.

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Sepang - Brawn GP - Race Review

Firstly I would just like to say a huge congratulations to the Team, Jenson, Rubens and Ross for another great GP and another victory for Jenson. The Sepang GP always had weather issues written all over it. Teams were reporting rain for the start of the GP and when it rains there it pours. With Jenson starting from Pole position and Rubens back in 8th (5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change) we were looking in a great position. Jenson had a bad start from the grid and lost ground to Rosberg, Trulli and Alonso who all had fantastic starts. Rubens however had a little better start and pitched the car into 6th by the 2nd corner. Rubens quickly dispatched of Kimi and started to hunt both Alonso and Jenson. Turn 13 and Jenson dispatched of Alonso who had really put himself out of sync in the race as he was running with a substantial fuel load. Alonso was really easy pickings in this part of the field due to his weight disadvantage, Rubens passed him before having to yeild as he ran wide into the last corner on lap 2. He used the slipstream down the pit straight following this corner to easily sail past Alonso into turn 1.
With Rubens released from behind the slower Renault he could lead an assault on the 3 in front, Jenson meanwhile also released from the Renaults grasp set a fastest lap and charged towards Jarno.
Rubens responded to Jenson recording the next fastest lap, trying to reel in the front 3. The next few laps are the front 4 trading fastest laps and sector times, all of which are running similar fuel strategies.
Lap 10 and Alonso can no longer keep Kimi at bay and goes to deep into a corner allowing the Finn to fly past.
Some great racing followed in the midfield with Webber, Alonso and Glock all battling for 5th position.
Lap 15 and Rosberg is the first frontrunner to make his pitstop taking on fuel and new tyres (soft tyres) This promoted the BGP's to 2nd and 3rd still to stop. Jenson at this stage started to step rather loudly on the loud pedal and reeled in Jarno at a staggering pace. Jarno peeled away to the pits another lap later at the end of lap 17. So commencing lap 18 Jenson has an open field and pushes the BGP001 to it's limits for the next 2 laps. Rubens meanwhile now in 2nd also has some clean air and is pushing hard.
Kimi decided at the end of lap 18 to pit and go to the full wet weather tyre, a gamble (although in the opposite direction) we have seen him make at Silverstone last year. The rain although spitting was not warranting the full wets.
Jenson came in at the end of lap 19 for fuel and new tyres taking another set of the soft tyres and a little less fuel than Rosberg and Trulli, Jensons pitstop timing in at 8.7 secs compared to the nearer 10 secs stops of Rosberg and Trulli. This coupled with the storming 2 laps in clean air allowed Jenson to easily clear the Williams and Toyota's of Rosberg and Trulli. The pit stop timings were something that were clearly missed in the UK commentary and I believe this was a crucial tactical decision taken by Ross and the team to get Jenson out in clear air at the front of the field. Ultimately this is what gave Jenson the win in my opinion.
Rubens came in for his pitstop at the end of the next lap and took a 9.4 sec stop, unfortunately for Rubens the slippy gearbox situation reared its ugly head as he tried to exit the pit box and lost him some valuable seconds. Had he cleared the stop cleanly he would have jumped Jarno in the pit stop instead he came out level with Jarno into turn 1 and had to yield the position and take 4th.
Lap 21 and Rubens was starting to make a charge on Jarno but the heavens started to open and put pay to any overtake being able to stick.
Jenson was the first to come in and change onto the wet weather tyres (with the exception of Kimi and Bourdais who had previously gambled and not paid off) The same lap saw everyone coming in for a change of tyres. Almost everyone going for full wets (Except for Glock).
The next few laps saw a great battle emerge between Webber and Hamilton with Lewis using all his might and KERS to keep Mark at bay all until Lewis had a problem reaching the rev limiter in 6th and Mark went passed.
In this stage of the race RBR and Glock really starting to relish the conditions and seemingly putting in some great lap times.
Rubens still pushing hard and on lap 26 he passes Jarno for 3rd, Rubens then at the end of lap 26 puts a move on Nico for 2nd place and with that Nico goes into the pits (taking intermediate tyres) and leaves Rubens in 2nd, the grid starting to turn upside down as the wet weather tyres on a dryish surface starting to fade. Glock is storming through the field even passing his team mate Jarno and taking 4th place behind Webber. Rubes unfortunately couldn't hold on in one corner due to tyre degradation and let Webber and Glock through. A great bit of racing between Mark and Timo followed where Timo overtook Mark and then we saw the side of Timo's car from Mark's perspective as they exit the last corner onto the pit straight.
Just behind this battle Rubens comes to the pit box and takes the inters and also loses out to Jarno in the pit stop. On their outlap Rubens manages to squeeze Trulli out and take back the position.
The following lap sees Jenson come into the pits for a set of inters and a tweak on the front wing and due to Timo's timely change of tyres he now takes charge of the race with Jenson slotting in 2nd. Jenson made up the 3.3 sec deficit in the following lap to take the lead from Timo once more. Timo decided to yield and went on into the pit lane to take a set of full wet weather tyres.
The rain is really lashing down now along with some lightning, and the track is starting to get quite trechorous with cars flying off all over the place. Jenson and the team make the sensible decision to jump in for Full wet weather tyres again and manages to jump both Timo and suprisingly Nick Heidfeld who's long fuel stratergy played into his hands and is now placed 3rd (But struggling on inters). Rubens follows everyone else into the pits taking the full wets option.

Lap 31 and the safety car is deployed as its just terrible out there with some corners looking more like rivers. With that the race is red flagged and everyone dispatched back to the grid slots to await a restart. This leaves Jenson in 1st, Glock 2nd and Heidfeld 3rd. The race was abandoned after the red flag due to poor weather conditions and the inability to make 75% race distance.

In this circumstance the result goes to count back by one lap and only half the championship points are given out.

1st Jenson Button 5 Points
2nd Nick Heidfeld 4 Points
3rd Timo Glock 3 Points
4th Jarno Trulli 2.5 Points
5th Rubens Barrichello 2 Points
6th Mark Webber 1.5 Points
7th Lewis Hamilton 1 Point
8th Nico Rosberg 05. Points

Something I noticed from some of the in board views of Vettel is just how much flex is in the top fence of the RBR's front wing. Questionable legality?

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Brawn GP - Post race press conference - Sepang

Q. Jenson, it is never easy. Very difficult at the start and what calls you had to make with changing weather conditions as your pit stop approached.

JB: What a crazy race. It really was. My start was pretty bad. I had a lot of oversteer in the car. I don't think I got heat into the rear tyres and went back to fourth, got up to third and eventually got back to the front and I was pretty happy with that. Our pace was good and then the rain started but choosing the tyres was very difficult. Normally here when it rains it pours but it didn't to start with.
We went for the full wet tyre and it just destroyed itself and we saw Timo flying up behind us on the inter, so we put the inter on. Then just as he came by I saw his tyres were bald and it was raining out the back and he was struggling quite a bit on it and had to pit. I got one lap in on the inter with reasonable pace and I was able to get in and put the wet tyre on and come out in front. A very interesting race and I still haven't seen the chequered flag without a safety car in front.

Q. Jenson, in those closing laps just before the safety car came out you were racing with Timo in dreadful conditions.

JB: It was really bad conditions and you could not actually see the circuit. I mean it was that bad. We were behind the safety car and my team, who did a fantastic job, said all you have got to do is drive around and that was difficult enough. A few moments I was almost off the circuit. We are going around at running pace, that slow. The safety car was pulling away from us. All I had to do was drive around and stay on the circuit. But how slow it looks. It is embarrassing but that was as quick as we needed to go and if I'd gone any quicker I'd think I would have ended up in the gravel.

Q. Jenson, you had a bit of a moment on the outside of turn one?

JB: I mean all weekend the circuit has been quite similar but there was such little grip I was really, really surprised and I went a little bit deep into turn one and got a big snap of oversteer and that carried throughout the first lap. I was really, really struggling with the rear end as (Fernando) Alonso was in front of me. I have never seen a car so sideways before. But I eventually got past Alonso coming into the second to last corner and then I had to chase down Jarno (Trulli) and Nico (Rosberg). An exciting race. I would rather have a boring race but we had an exciting one today and I came out on top, so I am happy.
One final thing. Can I just say a massive thank you to my engineer who was on the podium with me today. We have been through a lot of tough times but he has been wicked and today as we saw we came out on top and a lot of it was down to him, so ‘thank you very much.'

Q. Jenson, this could become a habit.

JB: Finishing behind the safety car you mean. Wow, what a race. We had everything in that race. It was very enjoyable. It was not the easiest start for me and I had a big snap of oversteer, pretty much at every corner on the first lap from the grid. I really struggled with the rear end. But then I closed up to Jarno and Nico and knew I was going longer and when they pitted I could put in a couple of quick laps. It got me in front and it was looking like it was going to be fine until I looked up and saw the clouds come over and it started raining. Unusual for Sepang it just started spitting and we went for the full wets thinking it is going to chuck it down.
But it didn't to start with. A few other people made the correct choice but we had a 16-18 second lead at that point. So I carried on and it started chewing itself up, so I pitted for inters as this guy (Timo) was flying. I came out just behind him but my inter was obviously new and his was very old and I was able to get past him on the wetter part of the circuit just before he pitted.
I got one good lap on the inter but then it started chucking it down, so I came in for the full went but then it was the safety car. It was a tough race and it was tough keeping it on the circuit. We were driving around it as if it was walking pace and you are still scared that you are going to chuck it off because you could not see the circuit to start with. It was not like it was rivers, it was a lake.

Q. You were worried about going off the grid anyway because you were on the dirty side of the grid?

JB: Yeah, it was true. Timo also suffered from the grid. I didn't get a bad start. The start was reasonable but the right hand side just shot past and the KERS cars came up, so I lost time there and turn one was messy really. I got a massive snap of oversteer at the exit and I couldn't get back from there.

Q. And you have never driven on the wets before?

JB: No, and the balance was definitely not right on the full wet. The circuit was reasonably dry, so it was difficult to get a balance. But I had massive oversteer on the first couple of laps and then the front started graining. There is a lot of work we need to do to sort our pace and balance out on the wet tyres but as I said it is just nice to get to the end of the race and we ended up on the top because, I think, of a good strategy and also looking at what other people were doing on the different types of tyres and we ended up on top. Congratulations to all the guys who work on the car but also the engineers and the strategy guys who got us here really.

Q. (Paulo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Do you think the decision to stop the race came a little bit too late? Do you think that a five o' clock start is still a good idea?

JB: We thought it was a fantastic idea before. The reason for it in Melbourne was because of the light and the poor light and the reflection you get on the visor, I found it very difficult to see the corner exits. But here, it obviously gets dark very quickly and as we all know, there's normally rain storms here at five or six o' clock in the evening and that proved to be correct. The race was way too wet and I think that the call was correct. It rained so hard so quickly that I think they did the right thing. It was very difficult for them to judge how wet the circuit is and in Fuji, for me, two years ago it was too wet but this year I think they made the right call to stop it at the right time.

JB: When the safety car is pulling away at 20 seconds a lap, you know that it's too wet for an F1 car.

Q. (Paulo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Two wins in a row, is it more than you expected?

JB: For me I think it's more amazing that we've done it in these conditions, because Australia wasn't easy with the safety cars and here with the changing weather conditions it made it a lot more difficult. These two here were not the guys that were fighting me at the start of the race, so the great thing is that we could see what was going on behind us and we could react to it and react to it quickly and that's why we're sat here at the moment. I'm very happy and it would be nice going to Shanghai leading by a few points, I think five points, and hopefully we can have a straightforward race and we can see where we stand.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) To all of you, when you stopped the cars on the straight after the red flag, did they listen to you regarding the possibility of continuing the race?

JB: Yes, that was always a possibility and as far as I knew we were always planning for a restart, that's why all the cars were moved around, but the problem was that so many cars span off on the last lap that I think it was very difficult understanding who was in what position.
So that was why we were all moving around a lot on the grid, but we were all planning to start the race again. I am happy it didn't start again because we would have spent ten laps behind a safety car and every lap, every corner you got to you would be scared that you were going to throw it off the road, it's out of your control, it matters what position the river is in on the apex, you can't see it. So I think it was the right thing to do for sure. But we were planning for a restart.

Q. (Paulo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) If it was up to you, would you want to start again?

JB: No, I would obviously love to have the ten points, but this is the best we could have done, I think, and realistically it was the right thing to do. I'm sure some people will say ‘we didn't see the whole race and it's disappointing' but you have to think about the safety sometimes. I am here to race, as we all are but there are limits to what we can do with the cars that we have.

Q. (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Jenson, if I'm not wrong, I think it's the first time you drove the Brawn in wet conditions. How was the behaviour of the car and can we say that the Brawn is suitable for every situation?

JB: Yeah, I'm sure it is but the conditions that we were running in today was a very unusual situation to have: full wets, or the extremes as they were, in slightly greasy conditions. We had to go for that option because we thought it was going to rain. There was no use taking a gamble being in the lead, so we took that tyre and obviously it felt pretty terrible. At high speed, you were slowing the car down to third gear because you just couldn't carry any speed because the rear was always trying to break away.
So the balance felt pretty awful but I think that's more down to the conditions we ran the tyres in, it was not the correct conditions. When we put the intermediates on for one lap, the car felt reasonably good. I had a good balance, because that was the correct conditions for that tyre until it started raining hard and then obviously no tyre was useable.

Excerpt taken from http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74310

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Brawn GP Blogspot Milestone

Today we have achieved the 10,000 visitor milestone (14,534 pageloads). So I must say thank you to all the Brawn GP fans around the world for visiting my site. I'm still aiming to be as informative as when I first started the site just 3 and a bit weeks ago. I'm looking at some more progressions to the site for the future, with a Podcast as my initial thoughts. Please let me know your thoughts on how I could improve by posting a comment here or sending me an email via KontactR.

I would also like to say a HUGE congrats to the team out in Sepang and back in Brackley for the massive achievements the team have made thus far and long may they continue.

Thanks Brawn GP's No1 Fan

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Brawn GP - Sepang Race Summary

Well we all thought the weather would play a massive part in the proceedings of this race and we were not dissapointed. I have to say that I was impressed by the wheel to wheel action on display before and during the rainfall. I will add a full blown race account to this post later on but please leave any comments on this post regarding the race.

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Jenson Takes win No 2 in Sepang

Congratulations to Jenson after another sterling victory, he showed the raw pace of BGP001 as he caught and passed Trulli and Rosberg in the pit window. Rubens did very well too and took 5th place. This puts Jenson on 15 points and Rubens on 10 Points. I will add a standings board to the Blog later. I will also do a race summary as per the Melbourne one later.

"What a crazy race," said Button, who had won the Australian Grand Prix behind the safety car.

"My start was pretty bad. I don't think I'd got enough heat in the tyres and had a lot of oversteer. But I went back to fourth, got up to third, eventually got back up to the front, and I was pretty happy with that, our pace was pretty good."

"Choosing the tyres was very difficult, because normally here when it rains it pours, but it didn't to start with. We went for the full wet tyre and it destroyed itself, and then I saw Timo (Glock) flying up behind us with the inter, so we put the intermediates on."

"Just as he came by I saw his tyres were bald and it was raining out the back, so he was struggling quite a lot and had to pit."

"I got one lap in on the inter at a reasonable pace and was able to get in and put the wet tyre on and get back in front."

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Brawn GP - Sepang - Race - Chat

As per yesterday I'm adding the chat section for during the race. Please be aware that your comments aren't added instantly as moderation is in place.

So you all know a tropical storm happened at Sepang this morning

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