Daily Update Formula1 News

Button Next Schumacher

Jason Button Dominated F1 GP This 2009 with new debut team Brawn GP. Ross Brawn the head of this Team Says "I worked with Michael for 15 years and this is only my second year with Jenson, so it is very difficult to make comparisons," said Brawn.

Ross Brawn has taken his hat off to the Michael Schumacher-type qualities that have helped Jenson Button emerge as the dominant force in Formula 1 this year.

With Button taking a brilliant last-gasp pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, Brawn says that although the world championship leader has a different personality to Schumacher, they are showing remarkable similarities in their approach to the job in hand.

"I worked with Michael for 15 years and this is only my second year with Jenson, so it is very difficult to make comparisons," said Brawn.

"They are different types of character, but both are obviously highly talented. And I think this opportunity that Jenson has got has made him focus very hard on what is happening, what it is and why it is happening - so he is similar [to Michael] in that respect."

Brawn acknowledges that Button has upped his work ethic this year – with the Briton claiming earlier this weekend that success has turned him into a 'boring bastard'.

"Any competitive sportsperson, if he gets an opportunity, focuses on that opportunity," explained Brawn. "Of course it is like all of us – when you are at the sharp end and thinking about things, then it is in your thoughts all the time.

"Probably last year to be honest he was glad to forget about it, whereas this year he is enjoying thinking about it. I think both drivers do spend a lot of time discussing things with their engineers away from the track, so it is nice to hear – but it doesn't surprise me because last year he would be glad to forget what is going on. This year is different."

Brawn admitted he thought his team had lost the chance of pole position in the closing stages of qualifying – but that Button once again shocked him with his late effort.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if Button kept surprising him, Brawn said: "He does in a way. He kind of portrays an air of not going to do it, and then he does it. That is the thing that keeps surprising me.

"He just keeps doing it, and up until final qualifying I thought maybe first/second row of the grid, but the car did not look bad in race spec, so we could have an interesting race."

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Formula 1 teams failed to reach an agreement with FIA president Max Mosley about the future of the sport on Friday, despite lengthy talks that ran into the early evening.

Following a series of discussions over the course of the day, the teams met with Mosley to try and find a resolution to their unhappiness about plans for a voluntary budget cap.

However, despite talking for almost three hours no agreement was reached meaning several teams remain poised to not lodge entries for 2010 by next weeks deadline.

Although most team principals refused to comment about the situation as they left the Automobile Club de Monaco, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo revealed that more talks were needed.

"It was a long and constructive meeting," he said. "FOTA will have another meeting tomorrow, and then there will be another meeting with Mosley.

"What we want is that Formula 1 stays as Formula 1, that it doesn't become something different and go towards constant changes which confuse the public and all the others, that there should be stability and that we work over the next two years to arrive at a way of further reducing costs."

Despite the failure to reach an agreement on Friday, and with next weeks entry deadline looming, Mosley said he remained optimistic a deal could be reached.

"It was a good constructive meeting. The discussions are ongoing," he said.

When asked what the issues were, Mosley said: "They are the same issues. But I am hopeful there will be an agreement."

Ferrari, Red Bull, Toyota and Renault have all said that they will not enter the 2010 championship unless the rules are chaged.

Teams have until May 29 to lodge their entries to the championship with those missing the deadline likely to face a fine if they want to get back, providing there is space left on the grid.
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Renault boss Flavio Briatore believes a solution to the row over a two-tier Formula 1 must be achieved 'at all costs', ahead of showdown talks with the FIA in London tomorrow.
After a week in which Toyota, Red Bull, Ferrari and Renault all announced that they will quit F1 at the end of this year unless plans for a voluntary budget cap are scrapped, Briatore says that no one is keen for the situation to result in a breakaway series.

Speaking about the possibility of a rebel category, Briatore told Gazzetta dello Sport: "It is a remote hypothesis that everyone wants to avoid.
"We are living in a difficult moment and we must find a solution at all costs. I hope [Max] Mosley and his men will mend their ways, in order to start over in full harmony."
Briatore says that the teams are angry at both the rules that have been introduced for 2010, and the manner in which they were forced through without direct consultation with the teams.
"The teams are F1 and the international federation should simply be the referee, the rules should be written by us, they can't be imposed by Max without him speaking to anyone," he explained. "That's an unacceptable way to work.
"The FIA throws at us a new thing every week: we've gone from medals to diffusers with embarrassing thoughtlessness. We can't go on like this. We must protect the work of our employees."
He added: "It must be clear that we, Ferrari, and the others have no intention of breaking with FIA. We want to be there, to participate, and to preserve the future. We are setting logical conditions to Mosley."
Briatore also said that he believed the desire to attract new teams to the sport was misplaced, because manufacturers are ready to keep a full grid.
"We don't accept F1 to be distorted by a set of rules that has no reason to exist," he said. "The arrival of new teams that lack the characteristics to be admitted to a world championship is not acceptable either.
"Maybe he's [Mosley] had the support of some small teams and he got excited. However, what will happen with the championship he had the World Council voting for, is that the teams with the capped budget will be ahead of the ones that didn't accept that limit, thanks to more technical and design freedom.
"That can't be. That way you'd tarnish not just the image but also the value of who invests money in F1. A world championship with two sets of rules doesn't make sense."
Members of the Formula One Teams' Association will meet in London tomorrow morning, prior to their talks with Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone in the afternoon to discuss a way forward.
When asked if he was optimistic a solution could be found, Briatore said: "I must be."
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Two racer Red Bull Racing Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber bring Red Bull racing team in top performance break the dominated of Two Racer Brawn GP Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in two series. In 3th, GP China, Vettel and Webber with briliant performance goes to podium in one and two.
The Heavy Rain in shanghai make the circuit going very wet the safety car bring the racer start behind them. The Blind spot in heavy rain is reason why the race start with safety car front.

After The safety car out race began, but the rain still going and the 1st racer going in pit stop is fernando alonso he goes to pit to chage the strategy.
Very heavy rain make blind spot, wet circuit make some racer such as Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg, Sebastien Buemi, Sebastian Bourdais dan Adrian Sutil out of track cause can see the track or slip in wet circuit.

The advantage now went back to Vettel, but a slick refuelling stop by Brawn got Button back out in second place ahead of Massa, whose Ferrari rolled to a silent halt on the 21st lap. The race resumed on Lap 23, and with a lighter fuel load Vettel sprinted away from Button and Webber.
“Vettel is only quicker by fuel effect,” the Brawn team told Button, “and Webber is also shorter.” But the Australian moved ahead as Button missed his braking for Turn 14 on the 29th lap. Now it was a Red Bull one-two, but Button snatched second back two laps later when Webber ran wide in the final corner on a track slipper than a skating rink. Not to be outdone, however, Webber snatched the place back within a lap with a terrific counter-attack.
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Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1h57:43.485
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 10.970
3. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) + 44.975
4. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) + 1:03.704
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1:05.102
6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1:11.866
7. Glock Toyota (B) + 1:14.476
8. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1:16.439
9. Alonso Renault (B) + 1:24.309
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:31.750
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1:34.156
12. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 1:35.834
13. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 1:46.853
14. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 1 lap
16. Piquet Renault (B) + 2 laps

Fastest lap: Barrichello, 1:52.592
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 51
Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 44
Massa Ferrari (B) 23
Trulli Toyota (B) 19

World Championship standings, round 3:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Button 21 1. Brawn GP-Mercedes 36
2. Barrichello 15 2. Red Bull-Renault 19.5
3. Glock 10 3. Toyota 18.5
4. Vettel 10 4. McLaren-Mercedes 8
5. Webber 9.5 5. Renault 4
6. Trulli 8.5 6. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 4
7. Alonso 4 7. BMW Sauber 4
8. Heidfeld 4 8. Williams-Toyota 3.5
9. Hamilton 4
10. Kovalainen 4
11. Rosberg 3.5
12. Buemi 3
13. Bourdais 1

All timing unofficial
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These drawings illustrate the position of the two holes (bottom left drawing - highlighted in bright yellow) in the underbody of the Brawn, in the vertical section where the reference and step planes meet. These boost the efficiency of the rear diffuser, but also need careful gearbox and suspension...
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Even with Brawn GP’s trick diffuser having been declared legal, championship leader Jenson Button expects to have to fight really hard for his Formula One hat-trick in Shanghai this weekend, as the Chinese Grand Prix moves to the third slot on the calendar for 2009.
“I am understandably delighted with how our season has begun, but we are only two races in and everyone at the team is aware that our competitors will not stand still,” the 29 year-old Englishman says. “We fully expect a tough fight from here if we want to continue our early successes.
Brawn, along with Toyota and Williams, come to Shanghai boosted by news that they can continue to race their disputed rear diffusers, after they were declared legal by the FIA’s International Court of Appeal on Wednesday. It’s a decision that leaves rivals scurrying to add similar designs to their cars as soon as possible - and one that leaves Button eager to get racing again before they have a chance to catch up.
“The Shanghai International Circuit (SIC) is an enjoyable one for the drivers and a good technical challenge to find the right set-up,” he adds. “I particularly enjoy the high-speed sections and the overtaking opportunities going into the tight right-hander at turn five and at the end of the back straight."

Meanwhile, after a high-powered meeting in Maranello, Ferrari have reacted to their disappointing start to the season - and their disaster in Malaysia - by making internal team changes. Team manager Luca Baldiserri has changed to a factory-based role, and his position at races will be taken by Chris Dyer, who was formally Michael Schumacher’s engineer and has recently acted as chief track engineer.
Baldiserri will now work with technical director Aldo Costa to fast-track developments on the F60. The pressure is really on Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, who must score good finishes this weekend.
Likewise McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. “I really enjoy racing in Shanghai,” says the reigning world champion, who won the race last year. “The track is a good blend of fast and slow stuff and it throws up a few nice challenges for the drivers. Finding the right set-up is important, you need speed and balance through the high-speed corners but decent mechanical grip for the hairpins.
“We got it spot-on last year, and while I don’t expect us to enjoy that sort of performance advantage this season, I think we’re all looking forward to a good showing. Hopefully, some of the upgrades we’ve added to MP4-24 for this race will have a benefit: it would be very encouraging if we could qualify a little further up the grid and be regularly challenging for points.”
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: “We have reasons to be both disappointed and optimistic about our performance in the opening races: disappointed because we do not yet possess the necessary technical package to enable us to fight with the leaders, but optimistic that our rate of progress is sufficiently rapid that we should be able to fight for points finishes on a regular basis. This weekend’s race will see a number of new components introduced to MP4-24, and while we do not expect them to radically transform the car’s potential, they should move us a little closer to the front.”
Toyota, Williams and BMW Sauber are feeling more bullish about their chances this weekend.
"I am really optimistic about the Chinese Grand Prix because we have started the season very strongly,” Toyota’s Jarno Trulli says. “It shows how much progress we have made since last season that in Malaysia I was a little disappointed with fourth because I wanted to finish on the podium and fight for the win. Last year in Malaysia I finished fourth and that was more than we expected. We are second in the constructors' championship so it's clear we are one of the top teams and both Timo (Glock) and I have consistently been fighting at the front which is great. So the goal for me in China is to fight for the podium again and I think we have a really good chance.”
"Shanghai's a driver's track," says Williams’s Nico Rosberg, who led early on in Malaysia. "There's a great mix of corners and then there are those two long straights so plenty of overtaking opportunities around the lap which will be good for the racing. Sepang showed that the team seem to have fixed the problem we had last year on these types of circuits so it's now looking like we have consistency. I'm confident that we'll have another competitive weekend in China. Top eight for sure."
BMW Sauber, like Renault, will be hoping to exploit their KERS advantage (at least on Nick Heidfeld’s car) on the SIC’s long straights.
The track is 5.451 kilometres long and shaped like the Chinese character 'shang,' meaning 'high' or 'above'. It has an equal number of left and right turns - seven apiece - and presents several overtaking opportunities. Among them are Turn One and the corner at the end of the 1.1 km back straight where the cars brake from more than 320km/h on the section between Turns 13 and 14.
It is a low to medium-downforce track, and this weekend Bridgestone will be supplying their medium and super soft compound slick tyres, a combination which presented interesting challenges to the teams in Australia.
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