Spanish GP debrief with Ross Brawn

F1 Grand Prix, GP Spain, Circuit de Catalunya

Team owner Ross Brawn looks back at the Spanish GP after another 1-2 result, and a fourth race win for Jenson Button. Along with the usual congratulations for the excellent results came the questions about team orders and if there is a number one driver or not...

Our second one-two finish was a fantastic way to start the European season and we came away with maximum points to extend our lead in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. Jenson’s pole position on Saturday and the one-two result came after a great deal of hard work to maximise the performance of our new developments and I am extremely proud of Jenson, Rubens and the whole team.

Our strategy in Spain was for both drivers to have three pit stops. That was clearly the quickest strategy from our calculations and it gave us the advantage of a light fuel load for qualifying which paid off with Jenson on pole and Rubens in third position. Rubens had a fantastic start to the race to overtake Sebastian Vettel and Jenson before turn one and to be leading the race when the safety car came out. As the race developed and we approached the window for the first pit stops, it became clear that Jenson, who was stopping earlier than Rubens, would come out directly behind Nico Rosberg if we went with his planned three-stop strategy. That meant our strategy would have failed and therefore we changed him to two stops, as a conservative approach, to ensure that he could run in clean air. Rubens was going extremely quickly at the front at that time and his three-stop strategy was clearly the quickest option for him. Unfortunately his tyres did not perform well after his second stop which compromised his pace and ultimately cost him the race.

Straight after the race, when the adrenaline is still pumping like mad and they are immediately into the press conference and speaking to the media, the drivers often don’t know the full perspective of what happened during the race. They are in a little cocoon, effectively a goldfish bowl, during the race. All they see is what they are staring at through their visor. They don’t see all of the perspective of the race, they don’t know where the other cars are and they don’t know where they are going to come out after the pit stops. Rubens was naturally very angry and frustrated that he didn’t win the race. And in a way, I’m pleased that he’s angry and frustrated, as I don’t want drivers who are happy to concede. When Rubens got back and we had a full debrief, he was absolutely fine. Rubens has a Latin temperament and he wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s what led to his comments after the race and once he understood what had happened, those feelings disappeared completely.

Yes. We do not have a number one driver and we do not intend to have one. Jenson and Rubens are on equal terms and conditions and they both get exactly the same equipment as best as we can.

We are a small and close-knit team, both at the race track and at the factory, and our success is largely due to the fact that everyone is working so well together. Jenson and Rubens have been with the team for a few years now and they are fully integrated. Both are great team players. One of the key factors in creating such a good atmosphere comes from complete honesty. We have been, and will continue to be, completely honest with the drivers. They know the situation, their engineers know the situation, the team knows the situation. There is no favouritism.