Q&A - Ross Brawn

Q. Is Jenson Button as good a driver as you've ever had?

Ross Brawn: I've been very fortunate, obviously, in working with Michael, and I don't want to make comparisons. But he is quite exceptional - very fit, very dedicated, he's got a very nice approach to things. He's a really enjoyable person to work with. And he's incredibly quick. So there's not much else I can add to that.

Q. So he is around Michael's sort of level, without putting them in that order?

RB: I mean, they're not driving together in the same cars, so you can't compare them. But he is quite an exceptional driver, and certainly what he is doing now he deserves, and it's down to his ability.

Q. This car compared with 2004 Ferrari – is this car comparatively superior to the other cars on the grid?

RB: Again, they are very difficult comparisons. But you know when you've got a good car. The thing I am very encouraged by is that the incremental changes we're making are improving the car. This weekend we had a different front wing, changes to the suspension, changes to the wheel covers at the front, and they all seem to have added that little bit of performance that clearly we needed.

So that's very encouraging. And it's a car which is receptive to set-up ... we went the wrong way on Friday with Jenson, but we understand what we did. But it is a very, very good car – it responds well, is entirely predictable, and touch wood, reliable.

Q. You do everything perfect at every race, but Red Bull seem not to be able to deliver when they have the opportunity . Is it slightly disappointing for you that they are not able to take you on?

RB: I don't want to comment on other people's performance. All I know is that it is very fickle, very fine, and when you've got the confidence and when you've got the impetus behind you, you can make it look easy. But it's not. Equally, when it goes wrong, it goes wrong for the smallest reasons. They're trying to catch up, and I know, I've been in their position – when you want to catch someone up, you tend to push the boundaries a bit more.

You can't afford to be conservative; you've got to maybe take a few more risks. Certainly I have been in that position. But when you do that, you do tend to perhaps have more problems than you'd hoped. So it's very fickle, the difference between the sort of performance that we have and perhaps the performance that they had today.

Q. Tonight it must be difficult not to start thinking about the championship?

RB: It's not difficult not to start thinking about it.

Q. You have been in this situation many times – you must instinctively be feeling it?

RB: But you never do. You never engage in those thoughts, because you know that just around the corner something can happen. It can be a retirement, or it can be some other factor. And having had three seasons at Ferrari where we didn't do it, and we got very close to doing it, then I know you simply don't engage in those thoughts until they're done.

Q. What do you think of Red Bull's decision not to favour one driver?

RB: I think it's … I mean, I sat down with Rubens and Jenson today, and we all agreed that they'd be racing each other today. Whichever way it went they'd be racing each other, and I think it's a nice phase of Formula 1 that we've got two drivers that are prepared to do that. So if Rubens had been in front, he'd have finished in front.

Q. Does that go against the way you have always gone about the sport?

RB: Well, I've been lucky enough to win world championships now, and perhaps winning it in a certain way is more important to me.

Q. Are you going to give Jenson any advice?

RB: The advice, quite honestly, is to just keep doing what you're doing. One of they guys asked me today what they should do in the first corner, and I said that as soon as we get that into their thoughts, we have a problem. So all you can do is leave them. If they've made mistakes, you sit down and work out, a bad mistake, and what you need to do. But otherwise you just leave them alone. He's driving so well that there's nothing I can add to his performance.

Q. Would you rather end the season having lost because you gave both drivers a fair chance?

RB: I think there's phases. I think there's phases early in the season where you can't identify one driver one way or the other, and I think you should let the season run. Undoubtedly you may reach a phase towards the end where you have to make decisions, and we'll make those decisions if we have to. But at this stage there's no need and no wish to make those decisions.

Read more...

Q&A - Rubens Barrichello

Q. Was it the same problem you had in Melbourne what hit you at the start?

Rubens Barrichello: Yeah, it's pretty much the same thing. I had a clutch problem. There was no bite. Basically when I dumped the clutch the car didn't move forward. So when there's no bite it went into anti-stall, obviously. For me to recover from that was a big drama, because you are all set to go. I saw Jenson saying that he had a fantastic car, and I had it too. I went most of the race flat through turn eight and it was a great feeling.

But my problem was that we got it completely wrong on the seventh gear. I was on the limiter out of turn eight and before I turned right into the straight, so I couldn't overtake anyone. I'm sure Jenson was on the limiter too, but he was in clear air. I had people in front and it was a joke. I had to risk. I couldn't do anything. In the end they saw very high temperatures on the gearbox and they said it might seize so eventually I had to come in.

Q. How disappointing it is from a championship point of view?

RB: It's very disappointing. All the talk today was how Jenson could recover from losing the position to me at the start, because basically the evidence said that I could overtake him because I had more grip on my side. And having the anti-stall at the start, something I can't do anything about, and then not be able to use all the strength of the car is extremely disappointing.

Q. Ross said before the race that you were free to race.

RB: It's more frustrating for that. I didn't have clean air during the whole race. The only positive that I'm going to take out of this race is that I fought my way until the very end. Because people could think that since I couldn't win I stopped in the pits. But I knew I had some chance of getting back into the points. It was just frustrating that I was having that limiter for some five seconds on the straight. It was really wrong.

Q. What was the point of Brawn telling you and Jenson you are free to race?

RB: We both want to win, and I wanted to understand if after the second pitstop we had to be careful and reduce the revs. So we both went into Ross's office and explained the case to him. It was very good from Jenson, very good from me, very good from Ross. It was different than in my Ferrari times, so I felt very good. I felt it was a good day to get back some of the points but unfortunately there is happiness on Jenson's face but not on mine.

Q. Do you feel better that you are allowed to race freely?

RB: Yeah, for six years I couldn't, so now that I can, I do.

Q. The momentum seems to be on the other side of the garage, how hard is it to stop that?

RB: It takes one second. It takes really one second. With all my experience I'm very cool. Basically right now I'm pissed off with the situation but tomorrow is another day and Silverstone is a great track for me and I will go there and try to win the race.

Q. Are you still open regarding the championship?

RB: Yeah, until it's mathematically (possible). Tomorrow is another day. I'm very disappointed with the situation because it was out of my hands.

Q. Silverstone seems like the ideal place to win.

RB: Yeah, I love the place, I love the track. I just don't want to do the race. I want the hat trick. I want everything. I want fastest lap, pole position... I have to look ahead. Jenson is very illuminated at this point. He's taking all the opportunities, sort of in a Michael (Schumacher) kind of way, because things are opening right in front of him without much of a problem. At one point there will be a drop and I want to be there to conquer.

I cannot see him winning all the races of the season. So whenever he doesn't win, it's time for me to conquer.

Read more...

Q&A - Jenson Button pre Monaco

Q. It's not really been your circuit here, has it?

Jenson Button: Really? Has it not? I finished second here in 2004.

Q. What about 03?

JB: I can't remember 2003, 2004 was a good year. Last year was ok as well, I qualified well, overtook three people on the first lap and then crashed into one of them at the end of the lap. It's a fun circuit, but if you look back at the stats you'd say it hasn't been fantastic, no. But nor had Barcelona really.

Q. Is the 2003 crash still your biggest accident in F1?

JB: Yes. They've moved the barrier back now, which is good. Somebody said this circuit is the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago and it is, the actual layout, but the safety is a lot better which is good. It's as safe as a street circuit can be, in a city around a port.

Q. Do you have flashbacks about the crash?

JB: Not really, no. If I'm asked about it I think about it, but it doesn't scare me in any way. If I had hurt myself, maybe. But I didn't.

Q. What would be the setback of such an accident now?

JB: Well, it would be 10 points, which just means I have to make it up in the next few races. That's the most positive way of looking at it. If you have a reliability issue or an accident, then for sure it can set you back a long way, but it's the same for all of us. It's not just me.

Q. With a good car, this could be most fun you've had in Monaco.

JB: I've had a lot of fun in Monaco [laughter]. 2004 was a fun race, chasing down [Jarno] Trulli in the Renault. It was a great race and it was very enjoyable. And last year was as well, for the first lap. I'm looking forward to it.
I think every circuit you go to, if you've got a good car, it's enjoyable. That's the way it is. It's obvious really, but having a good car around here, a car that you feel completely in control with and very comfortable with is important. If you are comfortable with it and confident in it then you can throw it around, you can find the limits of the car and also the barriers.

Q. You wouldn't think of it as a track where you could throw it around.

JB: No you wouldn't, but then again that's the problem. People come here and they think that you can't. In a way, in the past when I arrived here I always thought the same. But you learn over the weekend that you have to be aggressive, you have to give the barriers respect for sure - they are very hard and there is no runoff. But you have be aggressive as well. There's no pussyfooting around. It doesn't work in Monaco.

Q. Is there a psychological barrier?

JB: You can't go out of the pit lane here and just think, "Right, I'll do a few laps and see how the car balances". You've got to go out and think, "Right, I'm going to drive aggressively here". You either get the best out of the car, or you are a long way off getting the best out of it.
There's a big difference in laptime, so it's a circuit where when you start the weekend, you don't want to be stupid the first run, you don't want to throw it in the wall there. But after that, you need to be consistent but also be aggressive. If you don't push the car to the limit you're not getting the best out of it, and it's a big difference here if you don't get the best out of the car.

Q. How much of a dream is it to win here?

JB: It was a dream just to win again after Hungary. It would be great to win here, but for me the most exciting race to win would be my home grand prix, for atmosphere's sake, with the British fans. You would hope at your home grand prix you've got more fans there than any other, so Silverstone would be the most special.
Monaco is up there and it's such a unique circuit - it's very different to anything else. You win here and it doesn't mean you're going to win the championship, but there's nothing else like this circuit. It's a fun circuit to drive and when you cross the line at the end of this race, it's a bonus in a way.
Every lap is 100 per cent around here and you have to be totally focused and as precise as possible, but also with aggression. So winning here would be pretty special and when you cross the line it's just a feeling of relief. Afterwards you're so tired, mentally and physically drained around here, so that would make it extra special.

Q. The Monaco GP carries with it the most kudos, though.

JB: Yeah, maybe, but whatever race you win it's pretty spectacular, finishing in front of everyone else, seeing the chequered flag first. It is a special race, but when you are looking at the races over a season, I wouldn't put this as the race that stands out for me - it's my home grand prix at Silverstone.

Q. Is it different coming to this race now compared to when Flavio asked if you were looking to buy a place here?

JB: The bit about the boat was probably correct, but that bit was a little bit wrong. That's the way Flavio is, he is very outspoken. But things have changed a lot, although they changed the next year for me. Things turned around. I come here very confident in the team, the car and myself. I'm really looking to getting out on the circuit.
But this season is weird because after the last couple of races I've won, I've obviously enjoyed the weekend, but I wake up on a Monday morning and I'm already thinking about the next race. It's quite a strange feeling, very different to the rest of my Formula 1 career, winning four races out of five, but you do get used to it very quickly.
I will never forget how difficult it can get, how tough it can get, but when you're winning, finishing second is a disappointment. So you have to learn to think it's not a disappointment, that it's not a bad result, otherwise you could go mad.
Over the last few weeks, I've been non-stop thinking about the next race, running through it in my mind, getting all the data. It's been quite a stressful few weeks, you wouldn't think so, but it is more stressful.

Q. You say stressful. Is that part of the pressure of being championship leader?

JB: Stressful is probably not the right word, I'm just always thinking about racing. Before, I tried to take my mind away from it when it wasn't going well and think about something else. But now I'm always thinking about racing, it's always running through my mind.

Q. We're seeing a different side to you this season.

JB: I'm probably a right boring bastard at the moment, I really am. My girlfriend will tell me when she turns up tomorrow. It's different because things are going well and you want to be thinking about how you can improve. But when things aren't going so well, you know you need to improve the car and where you are, but you also need to get away from the racing, to forget about it for a few days. At the moment, that's not possible.

Q. It's a bit more difficult to do that in Monaco.

JB: Yeah, this week especially. I've been here since the last race and it's been pretty busy.

Read more...