Brawn GP 2009 Preview: Are They Set To Be F1 2009's Biggest Surprise?

STATS AND INFORMATION

Brawn GP Mercedes

Team Principal: Ross Brawn

Technical Director: TBA (formerly Shuhei Nakamoto)

Team Base: Brackley, UK

Chassis: BGP001

Engine: Mercedes V8

Tyres: Bridgestone

Grand Prix: 0

Wins: 0

Podiums: 0

Poles: 0

Fastest Laps: 0

Points: 0

2008 Position: Ninth (14pts) As Honda

Last Five Seasons

2004 – Second (119pts)*

2005 – Sixth (38pts)*

2006 – Fourth (86pts)**

2007 – Eighth (6pts)**

2008 – Ninth (14pts)**

*As BAR Honda

**As Honda Racing

First Driver: Jenson Button

Nationality: British

Age: 29

Starts: 153

Wins: 1

Podiums: 15

Poles: 3

Fastest Laps: 0

Points: 232

Best Season: 2004 (Third)

Second Driver: Rubens Barrichello

Nationality: Brazilian

Age: 36

Starts: 267

Wins: 9

Podiums: 62

Poles: 13

Fastest Laps: 15

Points: 530

Best Season: 2002, 2004 (Second)

DISCUSSION

Dcoulthard19

Finally the Honda saga has come to an end with Ross Brawn leading a management buyout of the team. The team will now be called Brawn GP. What did you make of this development?

Paul Murtagh

Not very surprising to be honest. There was many buyers touted for the team, such as Carlos Slim and Virgin, but I think all along we had a sneaking suspicion that if it was going to happen it would be down to Ross Brawn. I'm glad that someone with a racing pedigree has bought the team

Dcoulthard19

I am pleased too that Ross Brawn took over the team. Now that he owns the team he can make all the decisions. A rich businessman taking over the team with no knowledge of motorsport could well have been a negative move.

Paul Murtagh

It would have been a potential disaster had they tried to interfere with the running of the team. But Ross Brawn has the right ingredients to succeed with the team and has a proven quality.

Another positive for the team is that Honda continued to fund development while the team buyout was taking place so they didn't fall behind much

Dcoulthard19

Speaking of the car development, Honda had started work on the car way back in 2007. They clearly were banking on this season to get back on form. This meant that 2008 was a rather poor season again.

With Honda out of way now do you get the feeling the team will perform much better despite being on lesser funds. Ross Brawn will be calling all the shots with no interference or bad management from Japan

Paul Murtagh

I think that has always been a problem with Japanese teams - their top bosses interfere too much. This team had an excellent season back in 2004 as BAR, then when Honda bought a bigger share they began making changes and the team went backwards.

This buyout will give the team stability at the top which is what they have needed for a few years now

Dcoulthard19

Ross Brawn knows how to the get the best out of people, and you sense the team has really pulled together over the last few months. As an independent team now they will have even more passion for success than ever before. Ross will ensure the team makes the most of every pound they have

Paul Murtagh

What do you make of the decision to keep Nick Fry at the team? He could be an investor in the new management team, but ever since he took over from David Richards back in 2005 the team have went backwards

Dcoulthard19

Nick Fry's area of expertise is on the commercial side, not on the racing and technical side of a team. Ross Brawn is very hands on and makes many of the decisions with regards to the car. I think this sort of partnership is what F1 teams need.

An F1 boss should be spending more time with the mechanics and technicians rather than in the office doing paperwork with no idea what could be going on beneath their nose.

The arrangement at Brawn GP is the ideal one in my opinion. Fry does all the work which Ross Brawn doesn't really want to spend a lot of his time on.

Paul Murtagh

So you think it will work where Nick Fry looks after the commercial side in terms of contracts, sponsorship, etc while Ross will work on the technical side?

Dcoulthard19

I think thats how it was always intended to work when Ross took over Honda originally last season. I don't think that will change this season now the team is Brawn GP

Paul Murtagh

And what do you make about the decision to take on Mercedes engines?

Dcoulthard19

I think the team are very lucky that Mercedes have offered to supply engines. Over the past couple of seasons the Honda engine has been quite weak. In Mercedes Brawn GP now have arguably the strongest engine in the paddock, if not the strongest.

Had Honda still run the team this year they would have a weaker engine than they have acquired now. The only small drawback is the car will have had to be changed slightly in order to accommodate the engine.

Paul Murtagh

The Mercedes is a very reliable engine these days which will help the team in terms of gaining feedback over a race weekend. I think they should accommodate the engine ok considering they could have had the deal sealed a few weeks ago.

The only thing that could be a drawback is sharing engine resources with fellow customers Force India

Dcoulthard19

I don't see that being a huge issue. Ferrari supplied two engines last season too (Toro Rosso and Force India) and that didn't seem to be a major inconvenience to any of the parties involved

Paul Murtagh

I'm sure you are right. Let's go to the drivers now, and start with Barrichello. Do you think it was the right move by the team to retain Rubens?

Dcoulthard19

I have grown a lot of respect for Ross over this decision. I think many other team bosses in Ross's position would have gone for Senna due to the name, and all the funds that it would have brought to the team.

However, Barrichello is vastly experienced and still very quick.

That is what the team need this season rather then putting a rookie in the car. Senna's time will come but it wouldn't have been the right move for him, nor Brawn GP this season.

Paul Murtagh

Do you think that Rubens was only retained because Senna might not be ready, or do you think that the team believe he still has something left? He worked very well with Ross Brawn at Ferrari and showed at Silvestone last season that he still has some skill left

Dcoulthard19

Last season showed that Barrichello is still a brilliant driver. Plus he still has plenty of enthusiasm for F1, and that showed despite having a dog of a car. I think he still has at least two seasons left and maybe more.

In Barrichello Brawn GP have a driver who is reliable, and will deliver the results, and that is what will attract more sponsors in the future, strong race results. Senna may have struggled to provide that.

Paul Murtagh

Do you think that Rubens has much more left in him at the top level, or could this year be his farewell season?

Dcoulthard19

I think he will remain at Brawn GP for the next one or two seasons. Where he goes after that we will have to wait and see. He is still driving well. Many drivers have done well in their late 30s. These days in F1 being over 30 is ancient because everyone wants the next Lewis Hamilton.

Being 30+ doesn't lose you speed. You perhaps lose some of your passion, and motivation but Rubens clearly has both still. Moving onto Jenson Button now. What sort of season do you think he will have in 2009?

Paul Murtagh

I think Jenson could have his strongest season since 2004. He is in his his 6th year with the team and knows the team inside out, and I think the new regulations with less downforce and slick tyres will suit his driving style well. He could well spring some surprises this season

Dcoulthard19

Last season he was definitely de-motivated. However since the takeover he seems happier than at any time in his career. I think this could give him a new leash of life, which has been missing recently for him.

I agree that the new cars could suit his style. He is very smooth and won't be hard on his tyres, and with these 2009 slicks that could end up being a big advantage for him. Jenson will drive very well this season and probably edge ahead of Rubens.

Paul Murtagh

I always thought that Jenson was overrated in the British press to be honest, but in the last two years you have had to admire his work rate with a poor car. I think he will get his rewards this year, and rather like Sato at Super Aguri, needed a bad spell to mature a bit more. We will see a better Jenson Button this season I feel.

Dcoulthard19

Ultimately how competitive do you think Brawn GP will be in their first season? This is a car that has been developed for a long time, and in testing so far the pace is pretty promising, albeit it's only testing.

The team must have been doing a decent job over the Winter despite the huge cloud being hung over them.

Paul Murtagh

They have done well in testing, but we don't know whether they have been running underweight in order to attract sponsors, or running low fuel. They should do a good job, but the loss of all that track time over the winter is bound to have an effect, and they will suffer later in the season especially with the ban on in-season testing

Dcoulthard19

It will clearly be a tough season but I think they will fare better than expected. They will get a lot of points and maybe a few podiums, too.

Although they may lose out in the development races as the season goes on due to being lessly funded compared to the giants in the sport currently. Points and the odd podium would be classed as a brilliant season after months of bad news

Paul Murtagh

I think a good reliable season could be an achievement and a good points haul. I think the team do have high hopes for the car, but getting on the grid is an achievement in itself, and if they are competitive on top of that it would be even better

Dcoulthard19

Let’s hope that Brawn GP have a long term future. If they can secure a long term-future then with Ross Brawn soley in control then Brawn GP can do better than Honda ever did despite less funds.

I think this will end up being a very efficient operation just like Renault who have acheived major honours despite far less funds than the other big teams.

MARKS

Scores (out of 10):

Chassis: 8

Engine: 9

Aerodynamics: 8

Mechanical grip: 8

Drivers: 7.5

Reliability: 6.5

THREE KEY QUESTIONS

Was picking Barrichello over Senna the right move?

Can Brawn GP achieve more than Honda ever did?

Can Brawn GP survive beyond 2009?

OTHER 2009 PREVIEWS

FORCE INDIA
WILLIAMS

RED BULL

TORO ROSSO

TOYOTA

RENAULT