Interview with Ross Brawn

Q. Three race wins from four races. Has the start to the season gone a little better than you expected?

Ross Brawn: Yes, it has. Just getting to the first race was a huge challenge. We had a feeling the car would be competitive after what we were seeing from other car's performance, and that proved to be the case. But what we have seen in the races is really unbelievable.

Q. Were you expecting victory in Bahrain because after qualifying people were not so sure?

RB: It was a tough one today. It wasn't a given. Perhaps Australia was one we could only throw away, whereas here was one we had to win. My worry was really to look after the engine because in qualifying the engine was running too hot because of the cooling, and because it all got thrown together at the last minute we have underestimated the water cooling and since it was so hot on Saturday it was compromising the car.

They could only do one fast lap and then they had to cool the car down. And that is not great for using the tyres and getting into it. So qualifying was compromised. We felt we could cope with it in the race, and we did that. Friday had shown we could look after the tyres.

Q. So can that issue be corrected in Spain and do you have enough of an upgrade to keep yourself ahead of the field?

RB: Well, the cooling will not be a problem in the normal European climate, but there will be some races like Hungary in July/August and Abu Dhabi at the end of the year where there might be some problems. But we have got to do something about it, because when the engine runs that hot we lose some power. We will fix it, and we have a series for upgrades for Barcelona and beyond. We have to be optimistic. We have had no upgrades for the first four races, because there was nothing there. Getting to the first race was as much as we could manage and there was nothing in the cupboard. The process is starting again from the point at which we were able to buy the company and we got our programme well into the swing again and Barcelona will show us the benefit of getting it running again.

Q. How crucial was it to maximise your chances in the first four races, because you had the development advantage and now the others will catch up?

RB: Yes, it was fairly important. You always sneed to maximise your chances when you have a strong group performance. But it is also taking the points when you are not so on top of things, like we were in China. We were not fastest, and that is important as well because those points will be vital towards the end of the season. You need to strike when you've got the tools.

Q. Can you believe that you have enough budget/staff to win the title?

RB: I believe so, but I am not thinking that way. We are going out there to win races. We have got a great driver pairing and we've had a painful restructuring of the company, that is behind us now, and everyone can see what can be achieved. I am optimistic. We have some great drivers the rest is up to us.

Q. Where do you think you stand at the moment pace wise - are you the quickest?

RB: It is pretty close. There are two or three cars that are all quite similar, as we saw today. We had a good race strategy and that is what made the difference today.

Q. Do you feel they have developed more towards you in these races, or are they just getting more out of the cars?

RB: A bit of both. I think probably they are optimising the package they have and adding bits. Quite genuinely we've had nothing on the car since it was launched in Barcelona. Now is the time that we can start adding things and trying to improve.

Button - Red Bull now in front

Jenson Button believes the Red Bull Racing team has overtaken his Brawn squad in terms of performance, despite the Briton's victory in Bahrain.

Button scored his third win in four races in Bahrain, having started from fourth position after a difficult qualifying.

The Briton finished ahead of Chinese Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel, whose race was compromised after being stuck behind Lewis Hamilton in the early stages.

The Red Bull racer finished seven seconds behind Button.

Despite his win, the championship leader reckons Red Bull has already leapt ahead of Brawn.

"This one was very sweet because we didn't expect it in a way as Saturday was very poor in qualifying," said Button. "Everyone has caught up and I think red Bull has actually overtaken us, so this one is great and all credit to the guys - it has been a tough few weeks for all of us away from home.

"The parts on the car are getting very old now, so we can go back to Europe, freshen the parts up, add the aero kit to the car and hopefully make another step forward."

Team boss Ross Brawn says the Brackley-based squad will introduce updates from the start of the European season that should allow it to stay optimistic.

"We have a series for upgrades for Barcelona and beyond. We have to be optimistic. We have had no upgrades for the first four races, because there was nothing there."

He added: "Getting to the first race was as much as we could manage and there was nothing in the cupboard. The process is starting again from the point at which we were able to buy the company and we got our programme well into the swing again and Barcelona will show us the benefit of getting it running again."

Brawn was also adamant that his team has all the necessary resources to fight for the title in the long run, but the Briton admitted he's not thinking of that yet.

"I believe so, but I am not thinking that way," he said when asked if he thought his team has all the ingredients to win the title.

"We are going out there to win races. We have got a great driver pairing and we've had a painful restructuring of the company, that is behind us now, and everyone can see what can be achieved. I am optimistic. We have some great drivers the rest is up to us."

Raikkonen - Sixth place was not good enough

Kimi Raikkonen welcomed his first point-scoring finish of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the Finn admitted Ferrari's performance was still below par.

The Maranello squad avoided enduring its worst start to a Formula 1 season on Sunday thanks to the Raikkonen's sixth place finish.

The former world champion, however, finished over 40 seconds behind race winner Jenson Button ahead of the start of the European season next month.

Raikkonen said he had extracted the maximum from his car in today's race, but conceded that was not good enough for Ferrari's standards.

"I am happy to have picked up a few points but I can't be that pleased with our performance level," said Raikkonen. "I've been around long enough not to get very excited about a sixth place. We are well aware we have to improve.

"In theory, the new package we will have in Barcelona should see us make a good step forward, but we won't know just how big it will be compared to the others until we are on track in Spain.

"Today, we got the most out of the F60's current potential, even if I lost a bit of time in my final pitstop because of a problem with a part of the fairing on the left front wheel which cost me the chance of exiting pitlane ahead of Barrichello."

Hamilton has meet new Mclaren boss

Lewis Hamilton says he is embracing McLaren's future with fresh optimism after meeting his new 'boss' for the first time at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The world champion has had a turbulent beginning to his title defence, which has included seeing his former mentor Ron Dennis choose to step back completely from the F1 team.

However, having committed his own future to McLaren in talks with team principal Martin Whitmarsh at the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton says he is now even more encouraged about the future after meeting new group chairman Richard Lapthorne in Bahrain.

"Ron has been a huge force in my life and we all owe him more than we could ever repay him for building this team," Hamilton said.

"It is an exciting time for him with his new focus, but also for everyone in the team.

"I met our new boss, Richard Lapthorne, in Bahrain. He seems like a great guy and he is clearly passionate about McLaren. Together with Martin and Norbert [Haug] I am confident we can go onto more things with this team in the future."

Theissen - Formula One is valuable for BMW

Mercedes may be rethinking its commitment to Formula One, but the same is currently not true of fellow German carmaker BMW, motorsport boss Mario Theissen insists.

Like Mercedes, however, the Munich marque's executive committee does regularly review its support for the Swiss-based team BMW Sauber, he admitted.

"Formula One (for BMW) is valuable," Theissen is quoted as saying by RTL.

"Before the season the project was evaluated again in detail and the financial situation was part of the analysis," he explained.

"But in the long-term we also need success," said Theissen.

So far, the 2009 ambition to fight for the championship is in tatters, with just four points on the board after the first four races.

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, who collided in the first corner in Bahrain, were ultimately lapped by the leaders and dead last at the finish, and now desperately waiting for a technical update for the Spanish Grand Prix.

iSport aims Formula One

With Lola and Prodrive eyeing a move into Formula One next year, should the proposed budget caps be agreed, there is now another new name looking to join the grid for the 2010 season.

iSport International, currently racing in the GP2 series, is reportedly bullish on its chances of taking a step up to the pinnacle of motorsport according to Motorsports-Magazine.com.

“I aim to give a few people in F1 a kick up the backside and to show them that they are chucking money out of the window for nothing,” team boss Paul Jackson told the publication.

Any decision to enter Formula One will however depend on the budget restraints being in place for next season with FIA President Max Mosley keen to see spending capped at £30 million a season.

Such a figure would mean massive changes for current ten teams as they that spend many times that level, leading Jackson to conclude that it would be better to start a new team rather than merging with an existing outfit.

“The existing teams aren’t structured to operate within a 30-million budget,” said Jackson. “So it would probably be better to start with a blank sheet. We’re accustomed to doing a great job on limited resources."

Button minor injuries

Championship leader and Bahrain winner Jenson Button revealed a minor injury after Sunday's Grand Prix - and gave key rival Sebastian Vettel another chance to display his wit.

It is well known that Brawn were concerned about how its Mercedes-powered car would cope with the scorching temperatures this weekend, amid stories that holes in the bodywork were being cut before the race.

After crossing the chequered flag first, 29-year-old Button admitted: "I've burned the top of my left buttock on a box - there's an electrical box there."

Vettel, who has named his Red Bull 'Kate's Dirty Sister' because it is even faster and more aggressive than the original RB5 he shunted in Melbourne, leaned over during the post-race press conference and stroked his British rival's shoulder.

Button retorted: "I'll get you stroking it later, Sebastian, don't worry!"

The winner of three races from four so far this year also gave a backhanded thanks to Anthony Davidson, when he was told his former Honda tester believes Bahrain was the best performance of Button's entire career.

"Thanks to the Ginger Racer, as I call him, for those nice comments," Button grinned.

Trulli still chasing Toyota first victory

It was a small case of déjà-vu with Toyota showing so well in qualifying and then fading in race conditions, something that former driver Ralf Schumacher experienced in Japan in 2005 and Jarno Trulli at Indianapolis the same year.

"We expected more from today but I'm happy with third place,” admitted Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina. “This is our third podium of the year [but] when we have conditions like these we must now aim for the centre of the podium, starting at the next race in Barcelona."

In fairness to the German-based team, the pole position for Trulli alongside team-mate Timo Glock was much more convincing than their previous efforts, but with a light fuel load both drivers were soon in the pits in Bahrain to relinquish their first and second positions to eventual winner Jenson Button.

"I am a little bit disappointed because I was waiting for the first win for Toyota," said Trulli after finishing in third position at the Sakhir circuit. "I was following my team-mate. I was going longer and then during the second stint we used a very long stint on the hard tyres, so I was trying to fight and it was really hard fighting with a lot.”

The second stint on the harder prime tyre cost Trulli and Toyota between half and a second a lap to their rivals and allowed Sebastian Vettel to take over second position in the second and final pitstop, something Trulli acknowledges.

“I was not extremely quick but competitive being on the hard tyres and then eventually Sebastian took the position after my last stop,” Trulli continued. “He was on the hard tyres and I was on the soft and I was pushing him. I was quicker but there was no way to overtake him, so that was how the race was."

Trulli was keen not to blame the team for switching him to the relatively slower prime tyre at the first pitstop, a decision that would cost him the runner-up spot in Bahrain, saying that it would be an issue he would go through with his engineers. “I think all in all the strategy wasn’t too bad but we needed a little bit more pace,” he concluded.

Button - Three from four

Three wins from four races, it could not be going much better for Jenson Button and the Brawn Mercedes team.

"This was a tough race for us," Button began. "You might say I was leading for most of it but this race we had not the pace we had in the first three races. I don’t know where it has gone. I guess these guys have just caught up and maybe passed us. But the first lap of the race I knew was very important because Sebastian (Vettel) was going longer, so I made it work and I came out of the first corner in third. From then on it was a tough race but very enjoyable."

After starting the Bahrain Grand Prix from fourth position, the championship leader battled hard with the fast-starting Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap before retaining the position behind the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.

Talking of his crucial pass on the defending champion for third position at the start of the race, Button explained: "I must say because he was blocking very well but then at the last corner he made a slight mistake, so I pulled alongside him on the straight and I knew as soon as we got to the start-finish line he was going to push his KERS button and he did and he pulled away again, so I had to jump in behind and then did him into turn one.

“The first lap was what made the race really. I’d certainly say it was the finest first lap of my career, for sure."

As the first Glock and then Trulli pitted early courtesy of their light fuel load, Button was able to take advantage of his longer first stint and Toyota’s decision to switch to the harder prime tyre to ensure that he emerged at the head of the field following the first round of pitstops.

From that point, the Brawn racer was able to build a cushion of up to 15 seconds on the field and duly recorded his third win of the season as the chequered flag flew at the end of the 57-lap race.

"A fantastic performance today from Jenson and all credit is due to him for an outstanding opening lap which made today's victory possible," said Team Principal Ross Brawn with reference to Button's pass on Hamilton. "We have had a challenging weekend in dealing with the extreme temperature conditions which was made more difficult by our lack of hot weather testing prior to the season. I am very proud of the way that the team here in Bahrain has worked together to overcome the issues that we faced and how they performed in the race today."

Button’s latest success sees him extend his championship advantage from team-mate Rubens Barrichello to 12 points and 13 ahead of Sakhir runner-up Sebastian Vettel. Brawn Mercedes dominate the constructors’ championship as they lead Red Bull Renault by 22.5 points.

The team may well however facer a stiffer challenge in Barcelona in two weeks time as the big guns wheel out their latest double-diffuser designs. This is something that Button recognises.

"We’ve had four races; they’ve been pretty important to us, especially at the start of the season when people have got reliability issues or making mistakes, we’ve been able to pick up the points which is great,” Button explained. “When we get to Europe we don’t know where anyone is going to be. We know that these two teams alongside me here are going to be competitive but we don’t know how and the same for McLaren. We have an upgrade coming in Barcelona, I just hope it’s enough. We have to wait and see. Nobody knows..."

Whitmarsh to face FIA by himself

McLaren Mercedes will face the FIA next Wednesday without its usual swathe of lawyers.

Amid the 'lie-gate' scandal, the British team has been summoned to the World Motor Sport Council to face multiple charges of fraud.

But, as indicated in boss Martin Whitmarsh's leaked letter to FIA President Max Mosley, McLaren is simply prepared to face the consequences for lying to the stewards in Australia and Malaysia.

The team's approach to the Paris hearing means Whitmarsh will simply front up alone, not contesting the charges. The approach is expected to net a points deduction and suspended race ban, but not harsher penalties like exclusion or draconian fines.

"I will go into the hearing alone.

But I have yet to take the advice of the stakeholders and the FIA," Whitmarsh said in Bahrain on Sunday.

"It's not a complicated hearing. We have chosen not to contest the charges and that makes the process simpler," he added.