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Posts Tagged Brawn

Mercedes GP Is Picking up

Apr 9

Posted by Insider in F1, Mercedes-Benz

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Mercedes GP seem quite aware of the fact that they’re not in a position to challenge the Top 3 teams in the championship - Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren - prior to the Chinese Grand Prix, but team boss Ross Brawn insisted that his mechanics and engineers are working flat out to reduce the performance gap between them and the championship front-runners.

Previewing the upcoming race in Shanghai, Brawn admitted that he is now in a position that he didn’t want to be in at the beginning of the season, but the development path picked up by Mercedes GP in recent grands prix is more than encouraging for the future (after all, Nico Rosberg did score the team’s first podium this year).

“We’ve achieved a reasonable set of results which are in line with the car’s current pace but we have to be realistic and acknowledge that we are not quick enough to compete right at the front at the moment. This is obviously not a situation that we are happy with and we are working as hard as possible to close the gap,” said Brawn.

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Brawn Against 3 car per Team

Nov 24

Posted by Insider in F1, Rumors

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We know that Williams F1 Team has been the most vocal in criticizing Ferrari’s proposition for a 3rd car per team next year, but it appears Frank Williams is not the only one who considers the idea totally unsustainable. A few weeks ago, Williams told the media that, while he is open about his decision when talking to the journalists, there are several teams within the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) that also don’t agree with Ferrari.

Ferrari’s CEO Luca di Montezemolo wanted to field a 3rd car for 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Since Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso already have ongoing contracts with the Scuderia, the only chance for Di Montezemolo to see his dream come true was by convincing the FOTA members to give their unanimous vote for the 3rd car proposition.

Without the consent of each and every member of the teams’ alliance, the proposition would not pass and the grid would continue to have 2 cars for each team.

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Schumacher Not Coming Back

Nov 23

Posted by Insider in F1, Rumors

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Ross Brawn dismissed rumors that Michael Schumacher is thinking of returning for Formula One racing for the 2010 season. Having worked with the 7-time world champion both at Benetton and Ferrari, the British official made it very clear that the 40-year old German is not interested in joining the Scuderia for a full-time season inside the Great Circle.

Brawn said that all the latest news regarding Schu’s potential comeback are simply media speculations and that the German ace was only interested in making the F1 cockpit as an emergency option for Ferrari. Following Felipe Massa accident in Budapest, the German was asked by the Ferrari bosses to replace the Brazilian driver for a half-season stint.

However, the German scrapped his F1 return off his schedule because of a previous neck injury he sustained during his motorcycle outings in the German Superbikes. Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo has reportedly tried to get FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) to accept a 3rd car per team rule in 2010, that would allow the Scuderia to field Schu next year.

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Button: I Tell You Why

Nov 20

Posted by Insider in F1, News

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Following immense criticism from most of the F1 pundits and former employers back at Brawn for his sudden switch to McLaren Mercedes, Jenson Button finally broke the silence and told the world why he chose to pack his bags and head to Woking.

The reigning world champion actually confirmed the latest reports that he would have earned more money back at Brackley than what he has signed for with McLaren, but decided to leave Ross Brawn & Co anyway because he was looking for new challenges in the sport. So it was the toughness of the challenge that drove him to seal a deal with McLaren, rather than continue with his comforting life at Brawn.

“I am actually earning less than I would have been at Brawn so it’s not about the money. It’s because it’s something new,” said Brawn in a short interview with BBC Radio Five Live.

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Stewart prefer Button stays with Brawn

Nov 20

Posted by Insider in F1

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First he warned Jenson Button not to leave his position within the Brawn GP organization - soon to become Silver Arrows F1 - for a place at Woking, now he sticks by his argument and publicly tells the reigning F1 champion that he did a mistake when going for the McLaren Mercedes money.Yes, we are talking about triple-crowned F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

Even if they do prepare him a title-winning car next year, McLaren will most certainly make it more difficult for Button to outscore fellow countryman Lewis Hamilton. Two British champions driving for a British team is surely a dream come true for most of the UK racing fans, but it won’t keep sparks from igniting during Button’s stay at McLaren - as we believe Hamilton will be there for life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Button UP !!

Nov 19

Posted by Insider in F1

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Ross Brawn could hardly believe the news that his protege and favorite driver of the 2009 season Jenson Button left the team and joined rivals McLaren Mercedes for the 2010 Formula One Championship. The 29-year old Brit committed to a multi-year deal with the Woking based team, leaving his former outfit looking for a new driver to take them on top of the standings.

“I was very disappointed at the way things finished up with Jenson,” was the simple and short statement of Brawn when talking to the reporters from UK newspaper Daily Express.

While that statement alone shows how much Brawn wanted to continue his collaboration with Button, the team’s Chief Executive Officer Nick Fry was far more critic of his former employee. Fry insisted once again that he made Button a better offer than what McLaren had promised the Brit and hinted that this may just be the most stupid decision Button ever made in F1.

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Button Deal with McLaren for 3 years

Nov 17

Posted by Insider in F1, Mclaren, Mercedes-Benz

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Of course this is not official, but it seems that Jenson Button has already agreed to a 18 million pounds sterling deal with McLaren Mercedes, for the upcoming 3 seasons of Formula One. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the defending Formula One champion will sign the papers in the upcoming few days, as he has already said “yes” to McLaren’s offer.

The 29-year old driver was seen joining his manager Richard Goodard in a tour of the Woking factory over the last weekend, and the aforementioned publication cites sources close to Button who confirm the Brit was quite impressed with what he saw.

In addition, the fact that Ross Brawn is unlikely to update his offer for a contract extension even after his team was purchased by Daimler AG seems to have made all the difference in the world for Jenson. According to Nick Fry, Mercedes’ buyout will not lead to a better offer to Button, which drove the British driver away to Woking.

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Brawn -Nothing At All

Nov 13

Posted by Insider in F1

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Although they have won both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships last year, Brawn GP’s future in Formula One seems surrounded by a multitude of doubts. First of all, the Brackley based team doesn’t have a single driver confirmed for the upcoming season. Secondly, their buyout deal with Mercedes Benz doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen next season. And thirdly, their sponsorship deals are still pending for the 2010 season.

With the Jenson Button-Brawn GP dilemma already covered by us in recent days, let’s focus on the team’s other two problems. Regarding their partnership with Virgin Group, their main sponsors for the 2009 season, team boss Ross Brawn was quite frank when evaluating the chances of continuing that commitment through 2010.

“We had a great year with Virgin but they have different ambitions next year so it’s unlikely you will see their name on the car next year. They had the faith or good luck to be with us from the start and won a Championship with us but it doesn’t look like they will continue,” said Brawn.

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Brawn: That’s Enough money!!

Nov 11

Posted by Insider in F1

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The Bruno Senna example might be picked by Formula One’s very champions Brawn GP as well. Meaning they won’t necessarily pay their world champion Jenson Button a whole lot of money in 2010, but will give him more freedom to securing his own endorsements in parallel with his Brawn commitments.

As the team’s status in the negotiations with Mercedes for a takeover is still unclear, it’s rather obvious that the Brackley based team doesn’t have a lot of funds to tackle the 2010 Formula One championship. Even if their brand value has grown a lot after winning the F1 title this year, sponsors don’t seem to knock on their door that much under the current economic climate.

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Engine Battles

Nov 9

Posted by Insider in Engine, F1

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With the 2009 championship now completed, Mercedes can bask in the knowledge that its engines were the dominating force in Formula One this year, with rival Renault taking second place ahead of Toyota, Ferrari and BMW.

The main ‘Battle of the Engines’ took place between the Mercedes-powered cars of the Brawn, McLaren and Force India teams, and the Red Bull and works Renault teams fitted with the French carmaker’s engine. The Toyota supply given to Williams and the Japanese manufacturer’s own outfit came next, followed by Ferrari and its customer team Toro Rosso. BMW Sauber was the only operation to feature the German constructor’s engine, a situation evidently reflected in the numbers.

Out of the 17 races contested, Mercedes counts 21 podium finishes: Jenson Button (9), Rubens Barrichello (6), Lewis Hamilton (5) and Giancarlo Fisichella (1). On the Renault side, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber stepped onto the podium eight times each, while Fernando Alonso did so once.

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