Thread: Mercedes Grand Prix News and Updates

Brawn GP 'extremely pleased' with inaugural test

Friday 13th March 2009




F1's newest team owner Ross Brawn was "extremely pleased" with the inaugural test of his new BGP001 after it topped the timesheets on two successive days at Barcelona.

Just three days after purchasing the Honda Racing team, Ross Brawn and his 2009 drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, was in action at the Spanish circuit, making what many believed would be a desperate attempt to get in as much mileage as possible before the test ban kicks in and the new season starts in Australia.

All the team's doubters, though, were quickly proved wrong as the BGP001 found its way to the top of the timesheets in the hands of Button at midday on day one. By the end of the day the Brit was fourth, 0.8s off the pace.

Day two, however, saw a few reliability problems sideline Barrichello but that didn't stop the Brazilian from finishing third quickest.

It was on the third and fourth day of testing that the new car, first with Button and then with Barrichello, really showed its pace, ending both days in the P1 slot.

"We are extremely pleased with the inaugural test of the BGP 001 car in Barcelona this week," said Brawn.
Brawn GP 'extremely pleased' with inaugural test - Planet-F1 News - from planet-f1.com

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Barrichello: Car is fast and reliable

13 March 2009 / Results / Photos


Rubens Barrichello topped the time sheets on Thursday. The Brazilian was pleased after two days behind the wheel of the team's BGP001 and said he was happy to see the car is reliable and fast after just one week of testing.



On Thursday Barrichello successfully ran through a full 66-lap race distance with pit stops and using both compounds of the Bridgestone Potenza slick tyres. The car proved reliable once again with the Brazilian setting competitive lap times over the three stints. The afternoon saw Rubens complete a series of qualifying simulations during which he set the fastest time of the week - a 1:18.926.

Commenting on his first week of testing with the team's 2009 contender Barrichello said: "I'm very pleased with the mileage that we have achieved today and the completion of another full race distance. The qualifying exercises were also very useful in enabling the team and I to get fully up to speed and ready for Melbourne. The car has proved fast and reliable throughout the week so we go to Jerez feeling positive and pleased with the results of our first test outing."
Formula One news: Barrichello: Car is fast and reliable - GPUpdate.net Formula One

rawn on pole for title bombshell
Button and Barrichello upbeat for Melbourne
13/03/09 09:03


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Astounding pace – ballast or no ballast
The newly-rescued Brawn GP on Thursday continued to astound its rivals at Barcelona, on the last day of the final group test of the winter.

Not only was Rubens Barrichello atop the timesheets, he bettered team-mate Jenson Button's astonishing time of Wednesday and was nearly a full second clear of the quickest of his dumbfounded rivals.

The cynics are not now wondering if the BGP001 is fuelled light, but how much below the mandatory 605kg minimum weight it is circulating.
F1 : Brawn on pole for title bombshell - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com

Barrichello: We can win in Melbourne
Sunday 22nd March 2009

Veteran Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello believes his new team Brawn GP can win the opening race of the F1 season in Australia later this month.

"It's a very solid car, a brand new machine, with a very reliable and powerful Mercedes engine, so it's not crazy (to think of victory)," Barrichello told Spanish newspaper Marca.

The 36-year-old, who won nine grands prix with Ferrari, says that his ambition has been reignited by the emergence of Brawn GP from the ashes of the Honda team.

"I've been waiting a long time to find a team that can give me the same set-up as Ferrari (who he left in 2005), but without having to drive for (former Ferrari team-mate Michael) Schumacher," he said.

According to Barrichello, the new rules introduced to F1 this year will make the 2009 championship very open, but he thinks the McLaren team of British World Champion Lewis Hamilton may take "three or four races" to reach its top level.

Barrichello also assured that his new car was "definitely legal", after questions were raised about the car's aerodynamic set-up following some eye-catching times in the recent testing sessions in Spain.

"It's a different way of interpreting the rules, but we've made sure to respect the rules," he said.

Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota are all using new rear diffusers whose legality has been queried by Renault managing director Flavio Briatore.

Barrichello: We can win in Melbourne - Planet-F1 News - from planet-f1.com

More than Barichello i am keen to see button winning the first race if Brawn GP is going to win the Australian GP.......

rawn dismisses Ferrari claims
Reiterates BGP 001 design completely legal
26/03/09 08:25


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Brawn set to shake the establishment in Australia?
Only two years after amiably leaving Ferrari, Ross Brawn is at odds with his former team.

The 54-year-old Briton, formerly Technical Director with the famous Italian marque, now runs his own team, the ex-Honda operation Brawn GP.

The Brackley-based team has stunned its rivals with prodigious winter test pace, but as the circus congregates in Australia for the 2009 opener, rivals have questioned the legality of its (and two other teams') rear diffuser.

Red Bull, BMW Sauber and other teams are expected to lodge formal protests, but so angry is Ferrari that it is understood the Maranello marque is planning to also protest after Sunday's chequered flag.

Ross Brawn on Thursday reacted to Ferrari's stance.

"Ferrari have only woken up because someone has driven faster than them," Brawn is quoted as saying by the Mirror. "The accusations are coming from teams who did not come up with the idea and now they are getting angry."

"For anyone who has read the rules it was quite obvious," Brawn concluded

F1 : Brawn dismisses Ferrari claims - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com

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utton unveils bright yellow helmet
A new look for a new season with Brawn
26/03/09 11:26


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Going yellow with Brawn GP in Australia
Jenson Button is to use a new helmet livery to coincide with the debut of Brawn GP.

The British driver, wearing the Brackley-based team's new white and black overalls design at Albert Park on Thursday, also showed off his new crash helmet colours.

Incorporating the basic design of his usual Union Flag-coloured design, the helmet now features the Brawn corporate colours incandescent yellow and black.

F1 : Button unveils bright yellow helmet - BUTTON - F1-Live.com

Virgin set to sponsor Brawn GP
Extensive branding announcement imminent
26/03/09

Sir Richard Branson is on his way to Melbourne to unveil his Virgin brand's sponsorship of the Brawn team for 2009, Britain's Times newspaper reports.

It is claimed a deal has been reached between the Brackley-based team and the British billionaire, which according to a 'senior source' will involve 'extensive Virgin branding' on the BGP 001.

The unsponsored Brawn cars in Melbourne, however, were on Thursday sporting essentially the same blank yellow and blank liveries as in winter testing.

A further indication of the eleventh-hour nature of a Virgin deal is that Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello had their official photographs taken on Thursday, sporting plain white and black overalls with no significant sponsor branding.


The Times, reporting that Bernie Ecclestone 'confirmed that a deal was reached,' reports that the Virgin agreement is not a title sponsorship and that the precise size of the backing is still being discussed.

Last month, Branson and Virgin reportedly considered buying the former Honda team outright.

F1 : Virgin set to sponsor Brawn GP - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com

Since winning the 1st GP race on debut i believe more sponsors now will be interested to join Brawn GP.........

All credit to Ross Brawn and hats off to him........

If Vijay Mallya waited for 1 more year......he could have acquired brawn gp.........

Current Brawn-Virgin deal ends after Malaysia
Additional involvement to be worked out
30/03/09

Despite the Melbourne fanfare and the prominent presence of Sir Richard Branson, Brawn GP's Virgin deal could theoretically end after the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.

SportsPro magazine reports that, despite Branson indicating that full naming sponsorship and team ownership are possibilities, the current deal is only for the Australia-Malaysia double header at the rate of $250,000 a race.

That deal, however, stands only in its current form due to the lateness of its completion, with Branson signing it before boarding a plane to Melbourne, having cut short a family skiing holiday.

The Virgin logos on the winning Mercedes-powered cars, meanwhile, had been sent by email from London and cut into vinyl stickers in the Australian city.


Billionaire Branson admitted at Albert Park that the agreement is likely to be extended shortly, unless the newly winning team gets a better offer.

"We are a virgin bride, and they may find that someone comes in and offers them something even better before we marry up with them," he said.

F1 : Current Brawn-Virgin deal ends after Malaysia - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com

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Brawns could win every race – Alonso
If the design of the car does not change !
30/03/09

If the design of the 2009 Brawn car does not change, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello could win every race this season.

That is the suggestion of double world champion Fernando Alonso, whose Renault crossed the finish line sixth in Sunday's season opening Australian grand prix.

The Mercedes-powered BGP001 car - and also the Toyota and Williams - is the subject of high controversy, with many teams questioning the legality of its so-called 'double diffuser' at the rear.

The piece is the subject of a hearing on April 14 of the International Court of Appeal.

"They (Brawn) are on another level to everybody else," Spaniard Alonso told his native country's AS sports newspaper. "They're running rings around us because they are playing in another division. If the Court does nothing on April 14, you can assume that they will win 17 races."

It was rumoured that McLaren might be set to join or actively support the appeal, but Mercedes' Norbert Haug told Germany's SID news agency that the team instead needs to put all its energy into making the MP4-24 more competitive.


But he said: "We agree totally with the protesting teams that a wrong interpretation of the regulations has been done."

Haug pointed out, however, that only four per cent of cases before the Court of Appeal succeed.

Former triple world champion Niki Lauda said it is simplistic to put the speed of the Brawn car entirely down to its diffuser. "It has many precise, innovative and detailed solutions that altogether makes the car very strong," the Austrian told Germany's Sport Bild.

"To say that the diffuser alone is the secret is complete rubbish," he added. "That's a cheap excuse. The fact is, Ross Brawn has simply done the best job."

F1 : Brawns could win every race – Alonso - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com

rawn's financial future still unclear - Button
''We haven't got the budget...''
31/03/09 09:30


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Jenson Button Jenson Button was all smiles as he lapped up the sun and spoils of victory before jetting to Malaysia, but he admits winning the Australian grand prix is no guarantee of a sound future for Brawn GP.

As he took in a light lunch near the beach with his new girlfriend Jessica at the Stokehouse restaurant near Albert Park, he told reporters he is so excited about the 2009 season that he is having trouble sleeping at nights.

But although reaping the benefits of departed Honda's huge investment last year, the long development path of the BGP001 car, and a power boost in the form of customer Mercedes-Benz engines, 29-year-old Button admits the car's mostly blank livery tells another story.
F1 : Brawn's financial future still unclear - Button - BRAWNGP - F1-Live.com