Win in Monaco adds to Brawn GP’s remarkable story

Published 4:42 pm Monday, May 25, 2009

MONACO — Jenson Button’s victory at the Monaco Grand Prix has continued one of the most extraordinary stories in recent Formula One history — a team on the brink of collapse returning to dominate the championship.

But is that enough to keep the title race interesting?

On Sunday, Button became the first British driver since Jackie Stewart in 1973 to win the famed street race from the pole position, crossing the line more than 7 seconds ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello.

“A 1-2 finish for Brawn is exceptional,” Button said. “It is definitely going to go down in history, the performance of the team this year. It has been staggering.”

Button holds a 16-point advantage over his Brazilian teammate after six races, of which he has won five.

Only six other drivers have had that kind of start, the last being Michael Schumacher five years ago when he easily won the title for Ferrari. Then, fans turned off their TV screens as F1’s championship turned into the Ferrari show.

But Brawn GP believes its remarkable story should keep supporters watching this season, especially after calling for more competition in the last 11 races.

“What we hope happens is that several teams come back and they will steal points, not only off us but off others as well,” Brawn GP chief executive Nick Fry said.

Red Bull pair Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are the next closest challengers, with Vettel 28 points behind Button in third.

Ferrari’s strong performance at the tiny principality suggests it could be Brawn GP’s most likely rival down the stretch, considering it matched — even exceeded — Button’s pace over the second part of the race.

Felipe Massa, who finished behind teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fourth, set the fastest lap.

Asked if the championship was his to lose, Button replied: “I wouldn’t put it like that. I am 16 points in the lead and I have more of an advantage than others to win the championship, but it is all to play for. It is not mine to lose, for sure.”

Brawn GP arose out of a management buyout of the Honda team, which pulled out of F1 in December. Team principal Ross Brawn secured the deal in March only two weeks before the season-opening Australian GP with just two testing sessions available.

Brawn abandoned last season’s developments and that has clearly paid off.

“Jenson is on a flier,” said Barrichello, who came second to Schumacher for many years at Ferrari. “He’s not making any mistakes, which is really good for him. It’s really good for the team. I’m pushing him as hard as I can. I won’t stop until the very final race.”

Brawn GP’s success has been helped in no small part by a special rear diffuser design that was ruled legal after being challenged by several other teams. Brawn had worked on the governing body’s technical committee in 2007 before joining Honda.

Renault team principal Flavio Briatore said his team’s season ended in Melbourne, in part to Brawn GP’s interpretation of those regulations.

“Ninety percent of the teams thought the diffusers were not legal,” Briatore said. “I don’t want to talk about Brawn. I want to avoid such errors in the future, when we have the same conditions for everybody.”

Brawn GP, which had to lay off at least 250 of the team’s 700 employees in England after the buyout, reached its pinnacle so far this season when Button ran around the Monaco track to collect his trophy.

“It really summed everything up — a man with a spring in his step and the whole team there to receive him,” Fry said.