F1 Tickets

Ross Brawn has enjoyed a few classics seasons in his time. After winning six constructors’ championships with Ferrari, he took a sabbatical before returning with Honda. But when the Japanese manufacturer decided to bid farewell to Formula One racing at the end of last year, Brawn’s dream of making it back to the top looked over.

Instead of wallowing, the Briton set about using his impressive talents to save the Brackley team. He’d already built a beauty of a car, and having stuck his own name on the two BGP001s, saw his team rise from the ashes to take two titles. It’s the stuff of fairytales. Here he reviews his – and Brawn GP’s – 2009 season…

Q: Ross, so miracles do happen in Formula One racing. From a team that almost didn’t exist a year ago to a double title winner …
Ross Brawn: Well, miracle is not exactly a term at home in Formula One. Our success is a combination of many things. The new regulations had a major effect, and the fact that we’d been working on that car for a long time had a major effect. But what I am probably most proud of is that the introduction of a new engine – the Mercedes engine – at such a late stage didn’t destroy the programme. Ours, and the Mercedes engineers, should be very satisfied with what they’ve achieved without compromising the car too much.

Q: How do you explain the team’s sensational success? Was it down to giving KERS the cold shoulder and generally interpreting the rules more cleverly?
RB: I think that KERS was a major challenge to the teams at the beginning of the season. We saw the two major teams – Ferrari and McLaren – had that challenge and maybe it added to their difficulties at the beginning of the season. Now with the technology maturing it’s worth three or four-tenths of a second – and if KERS were to continue going into next season you would have to have it as an essential ingredient. I think for us we were able to carry over all the advantages we gained from starting the car very early and we didn’t lose that (advantage) over the winter.

Q: Why the midseason lull?
RB: The winter did have an impact. The tremendous effort everybody made over the winter and, to be frank, because we had to ‘resize’ the team in March all had impact. The team rebounded later in the year. I think we made improvements towards the end of the year. We won in Valencia and Monza and Rubens (Barrichello) was on pole in Brazil. My experience is that all teams see ups and downs over a season, but if you are not fighting for the championship they are not so visible. We’ve managed to pull ourselves together again. But yes, there was a dip in form in the middle of the season.

Q: How helpful was it that you had experience of fighting for championships?
RB: It was helpful for me personally, and then it was helpful for the people around to see that there was no need for panic or taking radical actions, but that we should concentrate on working as we had done before. I have never been a believer in setting off fireworks. Sometimes it can work but more often it just creates a lot of confusion. We quietly got on with our plan to put ourselves back where we needed to be. Probably the fact that I’ve been involved in championships which have had those midseason dips was very helpful.

Q: A lot was written about Jenson (Button) not being up to winning titles. Did you always believe that he would pull through?
RB: Yes. I was a little surprised at some of the difficulties that we had in qualifying – for some reason, qualifying didn’t work as we had hoped – but his race performances were exceptional, so he fully deserves the championship and he will be a lot stronger because of this championship. His approach to qualifying and racing has already improved enormously. When you’ve been in Formula One for ten years and won one race and you suddenly find yourself in a completely new situation, that’s not easy to deal with. He was not prepared and has not experienced it before. But you could say that the same goes for Sebastian (Vettel). He also had some odd races. But my guess is that you have to put it down to the fact that these guys had never fought for the championship before. It definitely has an effect.

Q: You and (Brawn GP CEO) Nick Fry gambled when you took over the team. Were there sleepless nights?
RB: I am very lucky that actually I rarely suffer from sleepless nights whilst worrying about work or racing. There were possibly a few times over the winter, but I’m not a person who looks back. Once a decision has been made, let’s get on with it. So once we made the decision to do this, then we were fully committed. The good thing was that we were never going to be in a worse position than we were with Honda closing the team. So whatever came after that, even if it was only an extension of people’s careers for another year, then nothing had been lost. We always made sure we were in a position to stop racing, if we had to, in no worse condition than we were when Honda stopped. Our staff was protected. They would have got all the redundancy that would have come if Honda had closed, so there was no losing situation because it couldn’t get any worse than closing the team. We had nothing to lose and a lot to gain. And we’ve been very fortunate and gained a lot.

Q: Neither of you were entrepreneurs, but as well as running the team you’ve also had to run a business. What was the most difficult part?
RB: From the technical and racing side it’s obviously made no difference. I quite enjoy running a tight budget. That brings a lot of discipline, so that’s not a bad thing. It’s true we are running on a much tighter budget than in the last ten years or so. I think the commercial side is the one that we have to continue to strengthen because that side will be crucial to succeed in the future. Sometimes the commercial or business elements are less controllable than engineering problems. Engineering problems are relatively logical, some of the business activities aren’t. That is probably the area where we still have to learn. But we are putting in place all the things that we need for the future, and our success is quite a big help and catalyst to open doors to find commercial solutions. Luckily now, if we go to a partner or a potential partner as a Brawn GP that has won both championships, it helps enormously.

Q: What lessons can other teams learn from Brawn GP?
RB: I would not want to lecture on what people should learn from us. What I’ve seen is that we can be more economic in our costs without affecting the end results. It would be fair to say that we are a bit of a hybrid at the moment because the investments were made by Honda last year against the expenditure that has been made by Brawn GP this year. But we were able to produce a car, we were able to produce a competitive car, and we’ve produced it at probably half the budget that we had last year. It’s true, there have been certain things that we haven’t been able to do because we haven’t had the budget but those things are not dramatic, and it demonstrates that Formula One could run very effectively with teams spending a lot less than they do now. And I think that all the resource restrictions that the teams have agreed to, when those are in place, nobody looking in from the outside will see the difference. What will be seen from the inside is a healthier Formula One racing, because the costs will be reduced considerably. And probably we are out to demonstrate that.

Q: The FIA has a new President in Jean Todt. You know him very well from your days together at Ferrari, what are you expectations?
RB: Jean takes a very strong team approach to whatever he does and he is the glue that holds the whole thing together. He does recognize in other people their talent, and he uses that talent to achieve the best results. What we are going to see with Jean is that he will probably not be very high profile as a person, but will be the conductor of an orchestra that will contain many people, and help it to move forward. Formula One has been through a fractious period over the last year or two and there was reason for that. The Formula One community is now looking forward to some stability and a quieter time. I have a lot of respect for him. He will do a great job. Max Mosley did a very good job but became controversial over the last two years. Jean will do the job perhaps in a less controversial way.

Q: How will the Brawn GP team look next year? Will it be Brawn-Mercedes?
RB: I could not possibly comment on that.

Q: If you had to judge this year against all the others you’ve spent in the sport, where would you place 2009?
RB: I sometimes say to my wife that we should enjoy those periods because they could be the best of our lives. I said that back in 2000, 2001, 2004. I have had some wonderful periods and you genuinely think that is as good as it gets. When I stopped racing at Ferrari I thought that it had been the pinnacle of my racing career, that it can’t get any better than that. Amazingly I have to say it has and that was something I never expected and something I didn’t plan. It evolved. My Ferrari time is unforgettable and sensational, but what we have achieved this year even surpasses that. It is definitely the highest achievement of my career.

It’s not often that a recent race winner and world champion ends a season without a confirmed seat for the following year, but that is just the situation that 2009 Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen is facing.

With Fernando Alonso joining the Italian team to partner Felipe Massa in 2010, Raikkonen is still to find a new cockpit in which to ply his trade. However, the Finn, who is a season shy of his 10-year anniversary in Formula One racing, doesn’t seem too anxious about his future and is instead determined to find the right drive.

And on Friday he reiterated that he is more than willing to bide his time until there’s a suitable vacancy at a team that can offer him the chance to challenge for more race victories and further titles.

“It’s hard to believe that I have been in Formula One for nine years already,” the 30 year-old said on his official website. “I am very motivated to win races and a championship again and will only remain in Formula One if I can race for a team that can give me a car to fight at the front. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Although the 2010 driver market remains pretty open, with plenty of seats still up for grabs, Raikkonen has considered taking a sabbatical next year if he can’t find an acceptable drive. And speaking in Abu Dhabi a week ago, he made it quite clear to the media that time off remained an option.

“I can do whatever I want,” he said, “but like I said before, I haven’t made my decision about what I want to do yet. Basically I have a few different options and we will see what is the best one overall and then I’ll make my decision.”

During his nine-year F1 career, which has included spells at Ferrari, McLaren and Sauber, Raikkonen has racked up one world championship, 18 wins, 16 pole positions, 35 fastest laps and 579 points.

The 2009 season has been a rollercoaster ride for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. From the lows of the opening rounds, where the MP4-24 struggled to make it into the midfield, to the highs of his victories in Hungary and Singapore, it’s been a challenging and rewarding season for Hamilton. Talking to his official website, the British driver evaluates his ’09 campaign and look ahead to 2010…

Q: Let’s look back over the season – it’s been a year of highs and lows, but what has been your highlight?
Lewis Hamilton: I think there are a few moments that will stay with me from this year. The first was at Silverstone, where I arrived knowing that I wouldn’t be able to fight for a win, and where I was just overwhelmed by the amount of support from the people at the circuit. I would never have imagined it would have been such a positive and inspiring weekend for me – even if our results weren’t that great. I’d had such an amazing race at Silverstone in 2008, and it really meant a lot to me to see that people had kept the faith and were behind me even if I couldn’t score a win for them.

On the track, one of my biggest highlights was in Germany, when we tried the upgrade package for the first time. Before I’d even driven the car, you could see that it was a big step – we’d completely changed the front wing, the top body and the floor, and there was a lot of pressure for it to be right – and it looked good, the car looked fantastic. And it only took me a few laps to realise that the car was an incredible improvement. Finally, after months of struggling, I could finally get the car to do what I wanted. I could get it turned in properly, and get hard on the power and just rely on the grip to get me out of a corner. Coming out of the Nurburgring hairpin and heading uphill into the fast esses, I accidentally left my radio switched on, and the whole team could hear me yelling and screaming because the car felt so good! I felt a bit embarrassed afterwards, especially when (team principal) Martin Whitmarsh told me he’d played the recording back to the whole team! But I can see now that that was important for everyone’s morale.

The other highlight was winning in Hungary. I’d always said that winning a race this year was going to feel sweeter than anything else we’d achieved, just because it would be such a satisfying conclusion to all our hard work. And the Hungarian Grand Prix was just a dream come true – to be able to measure my pace over the others and to get the car home first was just unbelievable. Total satisfaction…

Q: Conversely, what was your toughest moment?
LH: There were a few. The first difficulty we faced this year was during testing. We knew the car wasn’t the fastest but, at the Barcelona test in week 11, it became really clear to us that we were struggling and we just didn’t have the pace of the frontrunners. I remember phoning Ron (Dennis) and Martin and explaining to them that we had a lot of work ahead of us if we were going to turn MP4-24 into a race winner. That was a difficult call, but Ron and Martin gave me their full support and we actually started to look at a rescue plan immediately – there was no waiting. So what was a difficult experience at first actually turned into a positive one. The other tough moment happened not long after, in Melbourne and Malaysia. And that was a difficult time for me personally – but I strongly believe that I used that experience to grow as a person and to become stronger through it. I’m a firm believer that every experience you have – even the bad ones – help to define and build your character. You can’t change the past, but you can definitely learn from it, and I overcame that situation in Melbourne, I had the courage and conviction to open up about it in Malaysia and, ultimately, I came out of it stronger.

Q: A few quick questions. What was your favourite circuit this year?
LH: Abu Dhabi was an absolutely incredible place, but the best circuit I visited all year was Suzuka. Monaco still has a very special place in my heart – and it’s totally unique – but Suzuka really is the greatest race track in the world. Also, I can’t not mention Silverstone – the older circuits on the calendar all have this incredible character – places like Silverstone, Monaco, Spa, Monza – they are the best circuits we visit, and we need them on the calendar. I know that Silverstone still isn’t confirmed for 2010 – but it has to be on the calendar, I can’t imagine racing in Formula One without it being there.

Q: Favourite race?
LH: Monza was good fun, but probably either Suzuka or Brazil. I raced my heart out at Suzuka, my battle with Jarno (Trulli) in the first stint was seriously hardcore – it was like doing 20 qualifying laps in a row. But Brazil was even crazier – the car was probably the best it has felt all year and I didn’t stop pushing from the first corner until the last corner. That was probably my best drive of the whole year.

Q: Proudest moment?
LH: Taking the team back to the top step of the podium in Hungary – and then having four weeks before the next race to hold onto it! Seriously, that was the greatest achievement of our season. I’m so proud of everyone who played a role in getting us back to the front. Believe me, we really deserved that result.

Q: What do you take away from this season?
LH: I’ve learnt a lot about effort, dedication, motivation: things that you almost take for granted when you are at the front, but which mean a lot more when you are fighting at the back. I’ve grown as a man, and as a driver – I’ve faced bigger hurdles this year than in my previous two seasons and I think I now know how to cope with things better than I did – even from one year ago. I also think we are a much closer group now, too. We’ve known each other for one more season, and the physical bonds between us all are so much tighter – we’ve been through a lot together and we know each other a lot better. That’s something I really appreciate – and I think that will make us a better fighting unit next season.

Q: What’s next for Lewis Hamilton?
LH: I’m really going to start training hard. I want to start next season fitter than I’ve ever been, and I’ve been working with our team doctor to make sure that I’m better prepared than ever for the New Year. I’ll be training hard, at home in Geneva and in Finland. After that, I’ll have a short break for Christmas – I’m not planning to go away anywhere, but I’ll probably spend it with my family. After that, it will be back to work – meetings with the engineers, the launch and testing the new car – which looks fantastic. To be honest, I’m ready to go racing again next week – at the moment, I think I can safely say that I’m more in love with Formula One than I’ve ever been, and I just can’t wait to get back out there again!

Continued from Part Two

Raikkonen did give Ferrari a win, at Spa, after fending off…Fisichella! On that occasion, however, the Italian was still with Force India, whose Mercedes-powered car showed remarkable form on circuits where low downforce was required. Adrian Sutil proved very fast but wild and accident prone in the other car, but only Raikkonen’s KERS prevented Fisichella from staging a huge upset victory in Belgium. Fisi’s replacement, the underrated Vitantonio Liuzzi, was headed for a podium finish behind the Brawns at Monza when his car broke a driveshaft.

It was also at Spa that yet another scandal was unveiled. In Hungary Renault had been lucky to escape suspension when, only a week after former world champion John Surtees’ 19 year-old son Henry had been killed by an errant wheel in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch, the French team’s pit crew released Fernando Alonso from a pit stop knowing that the right front wheel had been improperly secured. It came off, and the stewards of the meeting fined them the maximum possible, US$50,000, and suspended them from Valencia.

Renault won their appeal against exclusion, but soon it became clear that they were being investigated for fixing the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix following allegations from former driver Nelson Piquet, sacked in July, that he had been told to crash deliberately there to give Alonso the safety car intervention that helped him through to victory. Subsequently, team principal Flavio Briatore was banned indefinitely from the sport, and technical chief Pat Symonds for five years.

Meanwhile, as Renault struggled on and off the track, Toyota’s performances picked up after a mid-season slump. Timo Glock was an excellent second to Hamilton in Singapore, a result that Jarno Trulli repeated on their home ground at Suzuka. That left them fifth overall, which was respectable, while a late-season charge from BMW Sauber, who had introduced a significant aerodynamic and technical upgrade for Singapore, benefited from a second place by Kubica in Brazil and Nick Heidfeld’s fifth in Abu Dhabi to jump ahead of Williams by one and a half points into sixth. The British team had its most consistent season of late, showing well on all but the low-downforce tracks, and would have gone better still had the Toyota engine had competitive horsepower.

Renault were a humbled eighth after one of their toughest-ever seasons yielded just one podium for Alonso, ironically enough in Singapore. Force India might have finished only ninth, but they showed they have the potential to run at or near the front, but Toro Rosso, in 10th overall, showed only flashes of speed with their Red Bull RB5 lookalike STR4. Sebastien Buemi looked good at times, while rookie Jamie Alguersuari replaced Sebastian Bourdais from Hungary onwards.

When Glock crashed in Japan in what would become history’s longest-ever qualifying session, he was subsequently replaced for the final two races by GP2 driver Kamui Kobayashi, who did enough with a ninth and a sixth place finish to make himself unofficial ‘Rookie of the Year’ ahead of Buemi. There were suspicions all along that he had been placed in Glock’s seat by a team that knew they were on borrowed time, and shortly after Bridgestone had announced after Abu Dhabi that they were quitting at the end of 2010, Toyota duly said they were going too, as of now. Like Honda and BMW, they blamed the economic climate and made compelling arguments why they had to stop spending so much on Formula One racing.

That in theory could clear the way for Peter Sauber and his new partner Qadbak to join the four new teams who are due to assemble on the grid in 2010: Lotus, US F1 Team, Manor and Campos Meta.

As yet some key driver placements have yet to be settled, notably whether Button stays with Brawn, and where, if anywhere, Raikkonen goes. The odds favour the second McLaren seat, but you never know with the Finn. With Red Bull staying the same, Alonso at Ferrari alongside Massa, Nico Rosberg and Barrichello being tipped to swap places (the latter is already confirmed at Williams), and Glock reportedly heading to Renault to join Kubica, the new season is already shaping up fast.

And based on what happened in 2009, it is safe to suggest that in the new era of Jean Todt succeeding Max Mosley as President of the FIA after a landslide victory against Ari Vatanen, and refuelling being banned, anything is possible.

Continued from Part One

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone in June marked the start of the spiral that threatened Button’s title aspirations. Another update put Red Bull far ahead there as Vettel led home Webber, and with third place Rubens Barrichello began the second half of season form that made him the contender he had always claimed to be.

Webber won in Germany, his first Grand Prix success, then Hamilton in Hungary, Barrichello in Valencia and Kimi Raikkonen for Ferrari in Belgium. That was where Button’s salvation lay, for nobody was putting together a consistent challenge. It was as if the world championship lead was an open goal, into which nobody could place the ball. Whereas in the opening seven races Button had scored 61 of the 95 points that would secure him the crown, in the ensuing seven he scored only 23. And instead of coming in tens they came as a dribble: three, four, two, two, eight, four.

He was the victim of his own uber-smooth Alain Prost style, for Barrichello’s slightly more aggressive use of the Bridgestone tyres warmed them more. He would thus qualify and race better, adding Monza to his victory tally. Button would show race speed, but often gave himself a mountain to climb with poor qualifying pace.

Red Bull ever so slightly lacked the consistency to take the fight to Brawn at this stage, as Hamilton scored a great triumph in Singapore to set up the final four-way fight between Button, Barrichello, Vettel and Webber. The Aussie’s season simply fell apart after Hungary, where he was third, and he didn’t score any points until his second victory came, beautifully yet in Button’s shadow, in Brazil.

But Vettel’s domination in Japan set him up to challenge for the title, just when it seemed he was out of the picture after a controversial drive-through penalty for pit lane speeding in Singapore had dropped him to a fourth place finish. Button scored one point in Japan, Barrichello two, so suddenly the fight was on. But when Barrichello’s Brawn proved to lack the pace of Webber’s Red Bull in Interlagos, Button’s task became easier. And there, after an appalling wet qualifying session had left him an apparently hopeless 14th on the grid, he drove a champion’s race up to fifth, ahead of Barrichello and just behind Vettel who had started 16th, to put the title beyond reach.

To rub in the season-long strength both teams had enjoyed, Red Bull scored another Vettel-led one-two in the finale in Abu Dhabi, with only Button able to challenge after Hamilton’s dominant McLaren had retired with brake problems. The way in which McLaren turned around their season was one of the highlights, but there are still suggestions that eventually their marriage with Mercedes could be annulled as the manufacturer cast covetous eyes at Brawn, whose engines replaced Honda’s.

Ferrari’s season was patchy, and very nearly tragic, and they were the dominant headline grabbers in the summer. That began when Felipe Massa, who more often than not had the upper hand over Raikkonen again, was hospitalised after being struck on the head on qualifying in Hungary by a suspension spring that had become detached from Barrichello’s car. The Brazilian was placed in a medical coma, but thankfully made a full recovery and will race again next year. In his absence it was impossible to tell if Raikkonen did a good job, because his new team mates – Luca Badoer and then Giancarlo Fisichella – simply weren’t up to the job.

After Massa’s accident the possible return of Michael Schumacher was tantalising, but ultimately the former multiple champion was unable to regain sufficient fitness after sustaining a neck injury while racing motorcycles.

That summer story dovetailed with the bad news that BMW were also pulling out, leaving Sauber high and dry as they had not signed up to the new Concorde Agreement which had finally been hammered out in July, ending talk of teams staging their own breakaway series.

Continued in Part Three

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

1st Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1h34m03.414s; 2nd Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h34m21.271s; 3rd Jenson Button (Brawn), 1h34m21.881s.

Q: Sebastian, you took the fight to Lewis Hamilton in the early stages. You managed to get ahead of him. It was another powerful performance today.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, it was. A fantastic race. First of all the start and we had a very good launch. Obviously not good enough to out-accelerate Lewis, but I was very close. I was surprised. Then going on the long back straight he pushed a button and that’s it, he disappeared in the distance. But I was able to stay close enough. We knew that we were a little bit heavier, so the key was to catch up, especially the last sector where the car was a dream today. I was always catching him up quite a lot and I think that was the secret, to stay with him, then with the pit stops and a lot of pressure entering the pit lane, I nearly went a bit wide at the entrance. Then that scary exit through the tunnel but on the limit and enough to get past him. Unfortunately, he then had to retire but up to that point it was a fantastic race. After that I had a little bit of a cushion to Mark and Jenson behind and I was able to pace myself a bit but until the end the car was fantastic and was working brilliantly on both tyres, both compounds. I think the prime was the favoured tyre today but also on the option towards the end it was a pleasure this evening to sit in the car. To sum up the season, it is up and down. I think the second half we have been very strong with four one-two finishes for Red Bull Racing, so congratulations to the team. They have been pushing, working a lot back in the factory, and we can see that the car is getting quicker. It is a shame now that the season ends but it is a perfect day to finish the season on a high.

Q: Mark, fantastic fight with Jenson in the closing stages. Tell us all about it.
Mark Webber: Well, first of all from the start I made a pretty good launch and had a bit of a look on the outside of Seb but the main game was really trying to get back on the inside and getting a clean exit as I knew it was a long run down to turn five. I got hit quite hard in the left rear at the first corner and was worried about a puncture but the team kept telling me the tyre had enough pressure, so I was quite relieved I didn’t have a puncture. It looked like Lewis was struggling a little bit in the first few laps, so both of us were able to sit a little bit closer than we expected. Then it started to stabilise and I was pretty happy on the primes. Seb was just that little bit quicker today on both stints, all three stints, especially the last one. I had not much of a feeling on the option and it was the same for me on Friday. I was quite slow on that tyre, so I preferred the stability of the prime. I thought at the end we had a bit of a short fuel, so fortunately JB could do some good laps on the overlap and close the gap down on me. I thought ‘yeah, this is going to be quite tight at the end.’ I just had to make sure I was accurate with my braking points. We know he had a slight top speed advantage but not much and it is a credit to how he has driven all year. We had a good clean fight, on the limit, but I just want to congratulate the team for their patience with me at the start of the year coming back from what happened. It has been very enjoyable driving with Sebastian this year. Renault have given us a fantastic engine and overall Red Bull can be incredibly proud for what they achieved. We have had 16 podiums together, so it is good.

Q: Jenson, that battle from your perspective and also a battle again with Kamui Kobayashi.
Jenson Button: It was a fun race. For me the prime tyre was not my favourite tyre in the race and I had a lot of understeer in the car. But when Kobayashi was on a one-stopper I came out and the first big stop is turn eight and when you have got that much fuel on board it is always very difficult to judge the braking point. I slightly outbraked myself and locked the rears and the fronts and ran a bit wide and he got past. In reality it didn’t make a difference to my race as he was quicker than me at that point. Then I was struggling a little bit with the prime tyre but I tried to make the best out of it. After the second stop I found I had very good grip with the option tyre. I got back the front issues I had with the prime and had very good initial turn in which meant I could carry a lot of speed through. That’s why I was able to close down Mark. The last couple of laps were a lot of fun. I couldn’t make the move stick. I was very excited by the battle and I thought I could pull it off but Mark is always a very difficult person to overtake. We were clean but on the edge, so it was perfect. Disappointed not to get that second place but I really enjoyed the fight today and today for me has been a bonus after winning the championship in Brazil. I have really enjoyed driving this weekend a car that has been very competitive, so I need to thank everyone at Brawn and Mercedes Benz for all their hard work. After Brazil it would have been easy to say ‘right, let’s just enjoy ourselves and not concentrate on Abu Dhabi’ but we did and we have come away with a podium which is a nice way to end the year and everyone should be very proud of themselves for what we have achieved. But lastly I would like to say congratulations to Seb. He did a sterling job today. They had the legs on us and we just couldn’t challenge them which is a pity but all round I think the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a good one and I am looking forward to coming back.

Q: Sebastian, Red Bull has won the last three races of the season, so let’s look forward a little bit. What does that say about where you are going to be going into next season.
SV: It would be very good to continue like that. Now we will face a long winter, especially for all of us drivers, a long break without any testing. Back in England, back in the factory, the guys are pushing very hard. The cars do not change that much next year. The biggest change is that you are not allowed to refuel. But we will see. It is a bit unknown. I think this season was very special. I remember a couple of years back these two were driving and I was watching and it was pretty much set after the first couple of races who was going to win each race. Fair enough there were only two teams. This year it was totally different, very exciting and a lot of overtaking. Different teams on top, so I think a special season all around and hopefully the next one will be as exciting as this one, even a bit more, we will see. Definitely looking forward. I think to sum it up we had a very good season, a lot of positive things, but also some things we probably did wrong. But it is not a shame. We just need to know and understand why that happened and we should come back stronger next year.

Q: Mark, Red Bull a top team. Are you here to stay?
MW: Yes, absolutely. We have got an incredible team back at the factory. We know that we have got under Adrian Newey someone that with him leading these type of regulation changes, particularly with what we had at the start of this year, it was clear as soon as we saw the car that it was going to be a bit of a weapon. Unfortunately in a way Brawn got the start with the double diffuser and things like that but in the end our team responded well with great character and next year there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for us not to be starting at the front again. I would much, much prefer to be in our position than quite a few other teams but we can never get too complacent. This is Formula One and things can change quickly but we are positive about next year, no question about it.

Q: Jenson, no win to round off the season but obviously an upbeat ending for you.
JB: For sure. It is always nice to end on a high but it is the same for everyone out there. It is a very competitive field. It is not just one team at the front. All season it has been up and down for us and for these guys and also for McLaren and the Ferraris. It is a very competitive and challenging season for us all, so for all three of us to be up on the podium at the last race is very enjoyable and it is a great way to round out the year. Now I am going to enjoy myself and celebrate what I have achieved this season.
SV: I hear you are getting married.
JB: Are you proposing?
SV: I heard you will get married.
JB: You know, they write great things in the press. Thank you for that one Seb, but I am going to enjoy this as we often look too far into the future and I want to just enjoy this moment and then I will look to the future after that.

Q: Sebastian, you are the first winner of the first day-night race in Abu Dhabi. Sum up the weekend for you.
SV: Unbelievable. We came here and we tried to prepare as much as possible, looking at the lay-out, doing some laps in the simulator. But driving the first couple of laps it was extremely slippery. It is a new track but it has rubbered in perfectly well. Really enjoyable all race. It is a challenging circuit. Every lap you need to focus and keep up the concentration. It is pretty easy to do a mistake and it can cost a lot of time. There are some corners that are quite tricky and they are made to lead you into mistakes, so you really need to be careful but all in all, starting at day, finishing at night is special. We have a dark tear-off and the moment you rip it off it is like someone has switched on the light, so it is quite unique. All in all a great place. Amazing what they have done here in that short period of time, so winning the race, one-two for Red Bull Racing, I think it cannot be much better.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, this gives you an excellent position with second in the championship. What are your feelings about that?
SV: I am very proud. First of all I think there was a misunderstanding in Brazil and didn’t have the chance: so congratulations to Jenson, to Brawn. I think they truly deserve it. Over the season they did the better job. But after Brazil coming here we knew that we had a very, very strong package and the priority for myself was to secure second in the drivers’ championship and we succeeded. To do it with the victory is the best possible result. I am very, very happy. It was a fantastic race. It was a good start but not enough to catch Lewis but good enough to stay close. When we went on the back straight he pushed the button and disappeared. It was quite shocking to see how much it is worth, but we were a little bit heavier but still able to go his pace, stay with him. It is not easy when you follow another car. Even though you are a couple of seconds behind you still feel it is not as if you are on your own in clean air. But that was the key, pushing very hard and then obviously when I had the two overlaps on him it was quite exciting to leave the pits through the tunnel. It was very slippery and on new tyres you have silicon on the surface and it takes a little while. You go through the tunnel and it is very easy to make a mistake. Knowing I am fighting for the lead I knew I had to push. It was enough to get him. Unfortunately he then had to retire. I heard he had a braking problem, but up to that point I enjoyed it very much. It was a nice fight even though it wasn’t wheel-to-wheel but both of us were pushing very hard. After that I had a bit more of a cushion and was able to set my pace according to the pace of the guys behind, so all in all the car was fantastic, both compounds worked surprisingly well. I think the majority favoured the prime, so did we, but even on the option the last stint was great and to win here I am very proud. Starting the race at day time and finishing at night is very special. Great circuit. A great job they did here. Now I think I have said enough.

Q: Mark, tremendous amount of pressure at the end; what was the circuit like to race on, especially as you were having to defend. We also saw you make a little mistake and go off the circuit; how difficult was it to race on?
MW: Well, it was pretty dusty off-line, not massively but a little bit dirty. I got a little bit hot into turn one on one of the laps. Once you get on the Astroturf you just have to open the steering and get behind the kerb. And then at the end, fighting with Jenson, I knew that the two big stops were key to the lap – obviously he wasn’t going to do much anywhere else but Jenson’s form in overtaking this year has been pretty good, so I knew I had to be perfect with my braking points and do the best I could with the last few laps. I turned out to be OK. My last stint clearly wasn’t one of my best this year in terms of I didn’t have a great feeling on the option and that made it a bit more difficult, a few more grey hairs for everyone, but the option was difficult for me on Friday as well, so in the end, second place was as good as I was ever going to get today. Congratulations to Sebastian on the win, he’s had the measure of me in the last sector probably most of the weekend, so I presumed it to be the same again in the race. We did the best job as we could as a team, capitalised on other people’s lack of preparation and we delivered a one-two which is exactly what we came here to achieve. As I said before, I think that’s 16 podiums for the team and that’s something that everyone can be extremely happy about. I’m certainly happy, obviously, off the back of my best season ever. Of course, I would have liked to have had some more points here and there but it could have been a hell of a lot worse for me, so I will take this season, let me tell you.

Q: Jenson, for you, interesting that you mentioned that the option was the better tyre. Do you think that if you did two stints on the option you might have been closer to Red Bull?
JB: Yeah, for sure but we didn’t expect that to be the case. All weekend we’ve been running through our practices thinking that the prime was the better tyre. We’ve been using the prime like the option: for example, saving it for the end of practice two and practice three, so we could get a feel for it for qualifying. It was the best tyre for qualifying but in the race I was really struggling for a balance on the harder tyre. I had a lot of understeer in the car and the colder the circuit temperature got, the more difficult it was for me to get heat into the fronts. So I was suffering with that, especially in the second stint and I don’t know if you could notice, but Rubens was quite close behind me at the start of the second stint, he was sitting right on my tail, but I was able to put a little bit of a gap on him before the second stop, and then when we put the soft tyre on, the car was transformed, it felt great. The lap times were reasonably good and I was able to pull Mark in. The big issue for me on the hard tyres was understeer, so putting the option on… suddenly I had this great front end that I could just carry so much more speed into the corners. I don’t know if you saw on TV, but it was a little bit loose on exit but that’s the way you have to drive the car round here. It was a great race, I really enjoyed it and as I said in the unilateral, this race is a bonus to me, because I got the championship in Brazil, so I came here to enjoy myself and that’s exactly what I did. Qualifying wasn’t perfect but the race was pretty much as good as we could have expected, I think. I had a good tussle with Mark on the last lap, a fair fight but obviously very close and enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t make that move stick but I had a lot of fun. So I’m a little bit disappointed not to be second but I’m on the podium at the last race of the year, a year that’s been exceptional and I’m very happy with what’s happened this season and the way the team has performed. Probably when it’s been toughest, I respect the team for the effort that they’ve put in then, so they should all be very proud of themselves and that’s Brawn GP and Mercedes-Benz for what they’ve achieved. At the moment, I’m just going to enjoy this, this is big and I’m not going to concentrate on next year, I’m going to relax and enjoy this moment.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Sebastian, now that the season is over, do you have any regrets from the previous Grands Prix?
SV: No. We can’t change yesterday, we can change tomorrow. The key now is obviously, looking back, five races where we didn’t finish. Sometimes we should have brought some points back home and we didn’t, so we need to understand why that was and as I say, change tomorrow, obviously learn, learn a lesson and try to come back stronger for next year. Overall, I think the circumstances sometimes weren’t easy to accept. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it’s just not supposed to be. Sometimes little mistakes happen from whoever’s side. I’m not here to blame anyone in particular. Nevertheless, I think it was a very, very strong season. If anything, I think Mark and myself and the whole team got very, very strong towards the end, we have won the last three races as a team. I think we have learned already, but there is still a lot we can improve for the future, and hopefully we will do so and come back stronger next year.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Mark, you struggled on the options at the end; was it because you had a busy out lap where you had overstressed the tyre or what could have been the reason?
MW: Not really. I think the movement of the tyre was the same on Friday for me. I didn’t really feel the tyre that well. It was just not as stable as the prime and I felt that immediately on Friday and I was hoping that it would be a lot better with a rubbered-in circuit but I couldn’t commit. It was half a tenth every corner, one tenth every corner and it adds up to be a lot, compared to the prime. And then, when you’re getting caught you obviously have to really make sure that you’re not making any mistakes to give him even more of a chance to pounce, so I had to then go into a bit more of a conservative mode and make sure that I didn’t give it too easily. He had to make sure he worked for it. That’s what happened in the last 15 laps.

Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) To all three of you: considering there is a long break before February, I suppose you won’t be on holiday all the time. What is your working programme?
SV: Jenson’s getting married, we heard. So he’s busy.
MW: And we’re all invited as well.
SV: Yeah, everyone.
JB: Next question.
MW: But Japan’s a long way.
SV: Obviously I have a pretty stressful week, following up, stress and fun at the same time. We are going to Beijing, so I am looking forward to that. I’m trying to kick his (Jenson’s) arse. And after that, some things to do back in Germany, yeah, and at the end of the month we will have a big party back in Milton Keynes, with all the team, so I’m looking forward to that. So November is a bit the time probably to be a bit lazy, but back in December and January obviously trying to focus on next year, on the new car. As I said, we will have time and meetings to discuss and obviously analyse what we can do better in the future and then we put our focus on next season. Obviously it’s a long, long time without any testing, any driving for us, so I reckon I will do some karting, that’s for sure, even though it’s cold.
MW: Yeah, similar to Sebastian. Next week is very busy. I’m going to Austria tomorrow, doing some work over there for Red Bull and then also some stuff for Renault next Thursday, so the next few weeks I’ve got some PR work which we’ve put on the backburner during the season, so a few photo-shoots here and there. Then I’m potentially going to drive the GP3 car, the new category car, do a bit in that, to see how that’s going along. It’s a very exciting championship next year which Christian (Horner) and I are involved in, so I might do a little bit of driving in that, but not much, just to get a little bit of press and a little bit of feeling for how it is. And then I think the third week of November I’m going to open my leg up again and get a bit more metal out, and then that’s the end of that problem, so it will be a few weeks relaxing after that and then I go to Australia for Christmas, a few barbecues on the beach and go to the cricket as well, which is 100,000 Australians at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is a big highlight at the Boxing Day test match, so I’ve got a few good things to look forward to and then in January, come back to a European winter which is always a test, but anyway, we will do that and get ready for February.
JB: Wow, that’s a lot.
SV: Wait until you start…
JB: I have got nothing planned this winter. I’m going to the RoC (Race of Champions) tomorrow which takes place Tuesday, Wednesday. If you’re interested, head down to the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. The only thing is that I am going to go and enjoy myself with the team tonight, so we will see how I perform on Tuesday and Wednesday. But I’m looking forward to that, it’s always good fun. And then I’m heading to Japan to spend some time there with my girlfriend and then I will have a few more days off and then sort myself out and start thinking about next year. It’s amazing how early it starts, 2010 comes up on you in a flash. I’ve got to sort myself out and focus on that. I’m looking forward to the new challenge, for sure, but it can wait a couple of weeks. Oh, I’ve got my 30th birthday in January as well. Thirty! Imagine that, Sebastian.
SV: It’s a long way to go.
JB: Trust me, it goes by very quickly.

Q: (Chris Lines – Associated Press) Guys, you sit up there as two representatives of the two most dominant teams this season. If we go back a year ago, it was Ferrari and McLaren and they were nowhere in the early part of this year. How confident are you guys that you will be able to carry this form into next season and not pay a price for going all the way through developing the car?
SV: Well, I think we are a team, we are professional. You might read here and there that other teams stopped developing for this year, looking ahead to next year, but as I said earlier on, I think the regulations aren’t changing too much. Obviously the biggest change is no refuelling but other than that the cars will remain similar, similar shapes. I think the people know what they are doing back in Milton Keynes. Obviously this year was a great chance for us and as Mark said, we were able to build quite a weapon. So I’m very confident. I think we can only get stronger. Obviously it was the first time that we were in that position for us, Mark, myself and the team that we were in that position and I think we handled it quite well. We made some mistakes here and there but that’s what happens. We are not the only ones who made these mistakes and if you are fighting and trying to push and trying to get the last bit out of yourself, out of the team, out of the car, then sometimes you might step over the limit. I think it’s totally natural to go through that progress, so we have definitely learned a lot and the important thing is, as I’ve said before, to do it much better next year.
JB: Ferrari and McLaren are going to be competitive next season. They have the resources, they have the expertise, they have competitive drivers. For sure they are going to be quick. They’ve had a different approach over the last few races. If you look at Ferrari, they’ve said that they’ve had no development which is unusual to hear that, as there’s not much that changes for next season. But it seems that McLaren have thrown everything at the car and have been very competitive over the last couple of races. So going into next year, yeah, they’re going to be quicker compared to the start of this season but I don’t think they’re suddenly going to be stronger than Red Bull and Brawn. I think there’s going to be a big battle at the front which is going to be a new thing for all of us, because having four teams fighting it out at the front, that hasn’t happened – could you just keep… ‘scuse me, I’m just trying to talk – you might want to listen to this.
MW: We’re just talking about your wedding day, mate. We’re just trying to clear our schedules.
JB: But with four teams at the front, eight drivers fighting out for wins, I think that’s exciting, so, yeah.

Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) What’s the date for the wedding, Jenson?
JB: It’s my birthday, did you say? By the way, I’m looking forward to my present, thank you very much, Bob. What did you call me before?
BMcK: The World Champion?
JB: That’s the one, thank you. I’m not getting married this year.
SV: Why not? You don’t love her?
MW: Clear up January, clear it up.
JB: I think some things need to be kept private in your life and that’s one of them. Thank you very much.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on how brake issues ruled him out of the running; Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Brawn GP’s Jenson Button on their dramatic fight over the last laps; and Sebastian Vettel on ending Red Bull’s season on a high with his dominant victory. The drivers and team personnel review Sunday’s race action…

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel (1st):
“That was a fantastic race. We had a very good start, it wasn’t good enough to overtake Lewis, but I was surprised I was so close to him. Then, when Lewis (Hamilton) was on the long straight, he pushed a button and disappeared ahead, but I was able to stay close. We knew we were a little bit heavier and we were always able to catch him up, especially in the last sector. The car was a dream today. There was a lot of pressure, I nearly went a bit wide in the pit lane entrance during my first stop and then there was the scary exit through the tunnel, but I was on the limit and it was enough to get past Lewis. Unfortunately he then had to retire, but up to that point it was a fantastic race with him. After that I had a little bit of a cushion to Mark (Webber) and Jenson behind and I was able to pace myself, but the car was fantastic until the end. It worked brilliantly on both tyre compounds and it was a pleasure to sit in the car this evening. To sum up the season, what can I say? I would say up and down, we are currently very strong and have just gained our fourth one-two finish, so congratulations to the team. They have been pushing a lot, working very hard back in the factory. It’s a shame now that the season ends, as we are on a roll! It’s just perfect to finish the season in this way on such a high.”

Mark Webber (2nd):
“I made a pretty good start and had a bit of a look on the outside of Sebastian, but I knew I had to get back on the inside and get a good exit, as it was a long run down to Turn five. My car got hit quite hard on the left rear after the first corner and I was worried about a puncture. My race engineer, Ciaron, told me the tyre had enough pressure and I was relieved. It looked like Lewis was struggling a little bit in the first few laps and Sebastian and I were able to get a bit closer to him than we expected. Things then started to stabilise and I was pretty happy on the prime tyres. Sebastian was a bit quicker today in the second two race stints, especially the last one. I didn’t have much of a feeling on the option tyre and it was the same for me on Friday. I was quite slow on that and preferred the stability of the prime. Towards the end of the race, Jenson was able to close the gap to me and I thought ‘this is going to be tight’! We knew we had a slight top-speed advantage, but not much and I had to make sure I was accurate with my braking points. We had a good clean fight on the limit and the battle was a credit to how Jenson’s driven all year. I want to congratulate the team on what they have achieved and thank them for their patience with me at the start of the year when I was coming back from my accident. It’s been very enjoyable driving alongside Sebastian this year, Renault has given us a fantastic engine and overall Red Bull can be incredibly proud of what they have done. It’s been my best season to date; we’ve had 16 podiums together; it’s very good.”

Christian Horner, team principal:
“That was the most brilliant way to finish the season, by gaining our fourth one-two finish and our sixth win. Both our drivers were supreme today. Sebastian drove an immaculate race and we managed to jump Lewis through good strategy, good pace and good work with the pit crew. Mark also had enough fuel to get Lewis at the next pit-stop – however, that came sooner than expected when Lewis retired. Thereafter both guys were really strong on the prime tyre. Mark lost quite a bit of time with some difficult traffic just before his final stop and then he was struggling a little bit for traction on the option tyre, so Jenson was able to close in. It was a really exciting last lap of the year and Mark did a brilliant job to hang on to second place, so congratulations to the whole team – it’s been an excellent year. Thank you to Red Bull, to Mr Mateschitz for all his support, to our engine partner Renault and all the people who have worked so hard in Milton Keynes this year for this fantastic result. We’ve learned a great deal this year and we’ll come back stronger in 2010.”

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support:
“That’s it, the season is over and it’s time to reflect on what we have achieved. Firstly, I think we’ve had a very good season: the team is second in the championship, ahead of teams with far more experience than ourselves and we have twice as many points as McLaren or Ferrari. This is a big achievement and I would like to thank Red Bull for the excellent car they made. I also would like to thank the drivers who did a fantastic job, both in and out of the car. I mention the work they did out of the car, because both drivers stayed team members when we had difficult technical and political times with our engine. Our group team effort paid off and we only used the permitted number of engines this year. Sebastian didn’t need to use any extra engines, which is a true achievement and he even scored two more wins after he had no fresh engines left. Thank you also to all the guys in Viry and Aubigny for the good engines they have provided us. And finally, thanks to my Renault team who have worked for Red Bull at the races and tests. They did a fantastic job and they can be proud of what we have achieved this year, I am proud of them.”

Brawn GP
Jenson Button (3rd):
“It was a fun race today and to be on the podium for the last race of the year is fantastic. I’ve really enjoyed driving here at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend and Abu Dhabi has done a fantastic job for its first Grand Prix. We expected the prime tyre to be the better tyre in the race but I was struggling for balance especially as the track temperatures started to fall and it became more difficult to get heat into the front tyres. The car felt great when we switched to the soft tyre for the final stint. It really felt transformed and suddenly I had a great front end and could carry more speed into the corners. The last few laps were really exciting and I was giving everything to take second place from Mark (Webber). I couldn’t quite make the moves stick and he’s a very difficult guy to overtake but it was a good clean fight and we were really on the edge. I’m a little bit disappointed not to get second but it’s still great to finish on the podium. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the team in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. It really has been a fantastic year and they should all be very proud of what we have achieved together. It’s nice to end the year on a high after what has been a very competitive and challenging season.”

Rubens Barrichello (4th):
“We had a pretty competitive race today. The start was quite exciting and I went to the inside at turn one but unfortunately I collided slightly with Mark (Webber) and he took a chunk of my front wing with him. It lost me a lot of downforce initially which let Jenson past but I was able to live with the understeer so we decided not to change the nose and I just pushed as hard as possible. I was quicker than Jenson in the middle stint but it’s very difficult to overtake, even more so when it’s your team-mate in the same car, so there was nothing I could do to get past him. Still it was a competitive race throughout and a lot of fun so I have to be pleased with fourth position today. It’s truly been a great season and I have to thank the team for giving me a car that has been so competitive this year and the opportunity to return to winning ways again.
We’ve had a great year together.”

Ross Brawn, Brawn team principal:
“A strong race from both drivers today and another podium finish is a great way to round off what has been a very successful season for the team. Jenson and Rubens both drove extremely well with Jenson providing a fantastic last lap of racing to bring the 2009 Formula One season to its conclusion. Abu Dhabi has provided a fantastic venue for the final race of the season and the sport can be very proud to have such a stunning facility on the calendar. 2009 really has been an incredible year for Brawn GP. To go through the trauma of the winter months and make it to the first race and then achieve eight Grand Prix victories and the constructors’ and drivers’ championships in our first year is an outstanding achievement. I would like to thank all our staff here and at the factory in Brackley for their hard work and dedication this year and Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth for the support that they have given us since the start of the year and the powerful and reliable engine that they have provided us with.”

BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (5th):
“I am very happy with my fifth place. It was a good race in which I was able to get the maximum out of the car and score four points, which was enough to reach our target for the end of the season to overtake Williams in the constructors’ championship. After I have been a little unlucky in recent races, this time I was really able to exploit the car’s potential. For quite a long period I was able to go at the same speed as the world champion’s car, the Brawn. The strategy to go for a rather long stint paid off and the track was even more fun when it had more rubber on it. It is a pleasing end to our last season together. It now becomes very emotional. During the last laps I had to pull myself together in order to keep my concentration.”

Robert Kubica (10th):
“I lost the race in the second stint when I was very slow, while in the first stint I was able to go at quite a good pace, similar to Rubens. The car was working very well. After changing tyres I had no grip at all. The track was getting quicker and I just could not go at the pace of the other drivers. This was very strange. My fight with S