British F1 driver Jenson Button took his ex-Honda car to the top of the time sheets yesterday whilst testing the new Brawn GP BGP 001.
The car had already shown promising pace earlier in the week, but this run put a marker down. Jenson went over a second quicker than Ferrari man Massa and 2.5 seconds faster than reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Yes, it’s likely the Brawn was running in low-fuel qualifying trim, but the data suggests they were quick all day across various set-ups.
Not bad for a car that first turned its wheels less than seven days ago.
From Honda Racing F1 to Brawn GP
The newly formed Brawn GP has risen remarkably quickly from the ashes of the Honda F1 Team.
Honda announced in December that they were pulling out of the sport and that the team would be sold on to the most eligible buyer. Many speculated about who would buy the team, but it was just last week that it was announced that Ross Brawn (Honda team principal) had been successful in leading a management buyout.
Alongside the new ownership came confirmation of the driver line-up, with Button joined by experienced Grand Prix veteran Rubens Barrichello for the 2009 season.
A Championship Contender?
Based on early testing, there’s growing belief across the paddock that Brawn could be more than just a feel-good story, and could be one of the teams most likely to challenge for the Championship.
Fernando Alonso has been quoted by the Spanish Press as saying, “Ferrari, Brawn, or BMW are, right now, unreachable.” This isn’t surprising, as the 2009 car began development in 2007, and improvements to the 2008 car were sacrificed to work on the 2009 challenger.
Ross Brawn, who helped Michael Schumacher to seven World Championships, has rejuvenated the team, which was drifting to the back of the grid in 2007. The turnaround is starting to look very real.
It’s still early, and testing times don’t always translate into race results. But let’s hope Brawn GP can continue this form, and maybe, just maybe, we might get another British World Champion in Jenson Button.
Feature image: Rubens Barrichello at pre-season testing by Jose Mª Izquierdo Galiot is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
- Lotus Eletre: Still for the Drivers? - 25 April 2022
- Fujifilm X-T4: All the Camera You Could Need? - 25 April 2022
- Lotus Eletre Is an Electrifying Leap Into the World of Hyper SUVs - 30 March 2022