Contrasting feelings for Brawn drivers

Brawn GP drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button find themselves separated by nine cars on the Belgian Grand Prix grid after differing qualifying sessions at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday. With Barrichello fourth on the back of his Valencia win, championship leader Button starts fourteenth.

Row 7 was certainly not part of the game plan for Jenson Button in Belgium as the Englishman failed to make the cut to the top ten shootout for the first time this season. "I didn't expect to qualify in 14th position today but we really struggled with grip levels, particularly on the softer tyre," he explained of the Soft, green-striped Bridgestone compound.

"The car hasn't felt quite right all weekend and unfortunately I wasn't able to get any more out of it today. Rubens and I are usually very closely matched but he was quick on the Option (softer tyre) and I wasn't, so we need to look into the reasons for that. I just couldn't find any grip on the softer rubber so the rear end felt unstable and I had no confidence under braking, particularly in the middle sector. It's strange as our setups are different but not by much."

Having taken his first Grand Prix win for the best part of half a decade at the European Grand Prix, Barrichello's second row placing is far more comfortable. "I'm extremely happy with our qualifying performance today and the second row of the grid is a great starting position for the race," he smiled. "The results today have to be one of the biggest surprises of the year and it's great for Giancarlo Fisichella to be up there on pole. It's good to see that the 'old-timers' still have it!"

Source: GP Update