Brawn salutes 'sensational' Barrichello drive

Ross Brawn was over the moon to see Rubens Barrichello finally back on the top step of a Formula One podium in Valencia. The win for the Brazilian was his first since the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix in 2004 and sees him become Jenson Button's closest challenger for the title.

With Red Bull enduring a dismal day on the Spanish streets, Brawn stretches its Constructors' Championship lead to 27.5 points as the Brackley-Milton Keynes battles looks set to continue at Spa next weekend.

"It's just a sensational performance," team owner and principal Brawn said to the BBC following the European Grand Prix, which Barrichello wins for the second time. "We have had these races where Rubens was very good in qualifying and it hasn't quite come together in the race but today he was perfect.

"He pushed exactly where he needed to and kept the gaps at exactly what he wanted; then, when we got on the radio and said we had to push, the little red lights came up so it was just a fantastic performance. In retrospect, we should have been more aggressive in the strategy to put our guys at the front because he got bogged down in traffic and had a quick car he couldn't do anything with - it worked for Rubens and didn't work for Jenson."

Button finished the race seventh but loses only half a point of his championship advantage, with the gap now being 18 points over his team-mate.


Source: GP Update