Button's Brawn Brilliance!

Saturday Practice, 4th April 2009

Saturday did not get off to a good start as yesterday Rubens was handed a penalty for needing a new gearbox after Friday practice. This meant that poor old Rubens would drop five places on the grid as a result of the change.

 This was an annoying development, but expected, as the team warned us of gear troubles coping with the new engine.  

The practice wasn’t much better, with Jenson finishing tenth and Rubens ninth. This worried me a bit, but I was still very excited about Qualifying. Could Jenson do it again?

Saturday Qualifying, 5th April 2009 

Qualifying One

This weekend both Brawns were out relatively early, perhaps through a fear of rain (that never came). Kimi was first to set the pace with a 1:35:596 (on super softs).  Button’s first competitive lap saw the British No. 1 shoot up to P2.

At this stage Rubens was in P6 and Kimi seemed to be a threat. Then the magic began and my smile widened by the second! Jens was fastest in both first sectors and rocketed to P1 with a brilliant time of 1:35:173.

With 12 minutes left, Rubens (who seemed to be struggling), clawed his way up to P4. Just one lap later, Jenson went faster still on a 1:35:058, but by this stage the Toyotas were going well.  

Rubens then began to slip down the grid; at one point he was in a worrying P19! But before long my worry turned to joy as the Brazilian shot straight back up to P2. With just two exciting minutes left Trulli was rocketing around and put in a time fit for pole.  

Then within seconds Webber had gained P2. Finally, with me off of my chair and jumping for joy...with 38 seconds on the clock to go...Rubens put in a 1:34:681! The Brazilian, who had looked to be in trouble, had done it and was in P1 for Q1!

Q1

Rubens Barrichello: P1: 1:34:681

Jenson Button: P7: + 0.377

Qualifying Two

The Williams car of Nakajima was now the car to beat with a pace setter of 1:35:118. Having left it quite late in Q1, the BMWs were out early and looked fast! The top runners jostled for position until Jenson put in a pole time, which was franticly beaten seconds later by Trulli’s Toyota!  

Then Rubens entered the equation shooting up to P2. The Brawns then wrestled for second place before Vettel turned their fight into one for P3. At this stage it became apparent that both Brawns were in fact the only runners on the hard compound tyres! Simply amazing!

I was beaming away, thinking that if the white chargers were this fast on hard tyres, what the hell would they do on softs in Q3?  

With just three thrilling minutes left Jenson had changed to softs and sped to P1 with a mesmerising 1:33:784 (which proved to be the fastest time set on Saturday!).  Rubens was strong but couldn’t go any higher than P6.

Q2    

Jenson Button: P1: 1:33:784

Rubens Barrichello: P6: +0.603

Qualifying Three

By this stage I was on cloud nine; was Jenson going to achieve his first ever back to back pole position?  The answer was of course...YES! Kimi was out first in the sole remaining Ferrari, but he didn’t look strong and neglected to use his KERS.

Then, Rosberg, Trulli, Button and Barrichello all fought it out for P1, each with a turn on top! By the end of round one, (the first flying lap), Jens was the man to beat with a time of 1:35:773, but Trulli was very close behind!  

For round two Rubens was initially in charge, but then he seemed to go off the boil. Trulli flew around the circuit, but Jenson was on another planet. The Brit put in fastest sectors and rocketed to an impressive second pole of the year (out of two!, with a great time of 1:35:181.

Trulli ended up second with Vettel putting in a time fit for third. Rubens had troubles and could only manage P4, which wasn’t a disaster, but when you remember the five place penalty it means the Brazilian will start in ninth.

Q3

Jenson Button P1: 1:35:181

Rubens Barrichello: P4 (9): + 0:470

Another fantastic Saturday for me and all Brawn fanatics! I am once again on top of the world and counting the seconds until the race tomorrow. I always knew Jenson had this skill; all that is left for him to do now is bring it home and try for a back to back win.

Here’s hoping I can write about Jenson tomorrow as Drivers World Championship leader again!