Rubens Barrichello lashes out after Brawn strategy costs him more points

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Rubens Barrichello slammed his Brawn team after falling from first to sixth during the German Grand Prix:

There was a great show from the team today of how to lose a race. I did all I could today, I got first at the first corner, and they made me lose the race.

He added:

If we keep going like this we’re going to lose both championships.

To be very honest with you I wish I could get on a plane and just go home, because when I go to the team afterwards there will be a lot of ‘blah, blah, blah’ and I don’t want to hear that right now.

Barrichello took the lead from Mark Webber at the start and had a further boost when Webber received a drive-through penalty. Despite that he ended the race sixth, 24 seconds behind Webber.

How did it happen?

He lost a lot of time in his second stint getting stuck behind Felipe Massa. That allowed Webber to recover the deficit from his penalty.

More problems awaited him at his second stop, where his fuel rig didn’t work, forcing the team to use his backup rig. That allowed them to get some fuel in the car – but not enough.

That left the Brawns running line astern, Barrichello ahead, with Button behind him. Button stopped one lap later than Barrichello, and duly took the place of his team mate.

Barrichello’s final stop came ten laps before the end of the race. If the team didn’t bring him in at the last possible moment, he could realistically claim that cost him the chance to say ahead of Button. But without knowing how much fuel they actually got into his car it’s impossible to say.

Given the championship situation many will draw the conclusion that Brawn are favouring Button over his team mate. But when asked if that was the case, Barrichello denied it. On the face of it, it looks as though he was just been unlucky.

There were similar questions over Brawn’s strategy at the Spanish Grand Prix, when Barrichello lost the race to Button.

What do you think about Barrichello’s outburst? Did Brawn get his strategy wrong, or have they made a conscious decision to favour Button? Have your say below.

Read more: Did Brawn deliberately give Barrichello a poor strategy to let Button win?

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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121 comments on “Rubens Barrichello lashes out after Brawn strategy costs him more points”

  1. Good on Rubens. Ross Brawn needs to know he should let his drivers race.

    1. PrisonerMonkeys
      13th July 2009, 6:26

      He does. The problem is that Rubens Barrichello can’t produce the goods.

      1. I must agree with PrisonerMonkeys, Barrichello simply can not deliver and he must mouth off at his team and team mate all the time.

        German GP was lost for Barrichello when he got stuck behind Massa. The extra time lost due to the fuel rig problem wouldn’t have made any difference since he was on a 3 stop to begin with.

        I feel little sorry for Barrichello in terms of the bad luck that he sometimes gets. But his constant mouthing off against his team mate and his team and bloody TEAM ORDERs is bull. Clearly he was never as good driver as any of his team mates. Thats fact.

        1. I second that, I think Rubens did have some bad luck during the race but he seems to lack the consistency of fast pace that Button has and I think that’s why the championship standings are what they are and why Rubens hasn’t won in a Brawn yet

          1. rubens is an old man who’s lost his mind.

  2. Barrichello’s outburst: Uncalled for

    Brawn strategy: Wrong for both drivers

    1. agreed.but we got to accept that red bull have overtaken brawn in terms of pure pace. even if brawn had produced a flawless pit stop for rubens, i doubt wheter he would have won the race.

  3. This, I’m afraid, is the sound of a man following Schumacher for many years and now being totally unreasonable with his judgement as a result.

    Who cares if he got to the first corner first, the tyres were getting mashed and he got some bad luck with the fuel rig (no, Brawn didn’t sabotage the fuel rig).

    Very bad behaviour by Brawn.

    1. Very bad behaviour by Rubens… sorry! :)

    2. His anger is perfectly justifiable.

      Brawn GP’s first mistake was to feed Rubens back from his first pitstop right behind Felipe, which cost him a hell of a lot of time. Surely the team would have tried to avoid this by fuelling him lighter, if necessary. He was on a 3-stopper after all, there was plenty of room in terms of strategy. My guess is that the mechanics took a second too long during the pit work, enough to compromise his chances of a podium.

      Then there was the incident with the fuel rig, which cost him another 5 seconds. This is the first incident of this kind we’ve seen with Brawn and… well, it had to happen with Rubens.

      To make things worse he also had to surrender his position to his teammate, something that would not have happened unless Jenson was directly behind Rubens.

      I think I’d be pretty bloody furious as well.

    3. sorry John H. He did not “follow” Schumacher by orders. He simply could not keep up with Schumacher. And thats fact.

      Barrichello is frustrated because he is trying to constantly prove he is better than his team mate but he clearly is not.

      1. Indeed. That’s what I meant really.

      2. i think this is the second time we are having a debate as to wheter brawn sabotaged rubens’ race. the first being at the spanish gp. rubens ,for all the talent he’s got has always been overshadowed by his team mates, be it irvine,herbert,shoemaker & now button. he was never a forceful character & lacked that killer instinct, so no he’s getting what he deserves thats all.

      3. Agree – Rubens Barrichello is and always has been a No2 driver. His outbursts are uncalled for and should be kept between himself and his team.

  4. Barichello should stop moaning and learn how to overtake, Button made at least three overtakes during the race!!!

  5. I think Rubinho will be apologising fairly soon, and that Ross will accept it and let him off with a warning. He’s just a hot-headed Latin.

    Here’s a thing though: why are all the drivers talking about themselves in the plural? I’m listening to Fernando at the moment talking about how “we had problems with the tyres” blah blah; Lewis was at it earlier too. Is this a royal “we” or are the drivers so determined to show that they are part of a team that they’re shoe-horning it in like this?

    1. Perhaps they are all members of the British royal family?

    2. They are told that they are part of a team. At the very least the driver plus his team of mechanics.

    3. A driver on his own couldn’t win a race. The Team makes it happen. The Driver is just the last link in the chain.

      To clarify, He needs someone to build, develop, service and look after the car.

      So yes, it is ‘we’.

      1. No, it’s we when it’s something bad.
        When it’s something good it’s I.
        At least for Fernando.

        1. Lol, really? Never noticed that.

          I think the first time they started saying “we”, was during the early nineties. Or at least that’s when I started noticing it.

        2. haha, true that.

    4. I am sure it is very frustrating for him but he has been around long enough to know better.

  6. Ross Brawn has this to say:

    When he looks at the numbers he’ll realise we were too slow today.

    It wasn’t a great race. I think we were trying too hard to come up with strategy solutions for out lack of performance.

    Rubens was struggling with his radio – he wasn’t getting the full briefings he usually does and we weren’t able to put him in the full picture.

    1. Ermm – A dodgy radio was always a favourite of Rubens when he didn’t want to hear ;)

      Ross knows him of old so will know how to handle it.

      1. Good thing his radio was working at Austria in 2002…

        1. lol – Yes, Keith.
          Shame that he ignored the call for 8 laps, created a drama & was responsible for the introduction of a knee-jerk, unnecessary & unpoliceable rule to be introduced. So who benefitted – nobody.
          Rubens also had a race or two when he was more than happy to have the win gifted him (eg US 2002). I didn’t see him complain then but neither did his teammate.

          I actually like Rubens but the teams pays your wages & they deserve respect. It doesn’t which team it is.

  7. One question remains: If there really was a problem with the fuel rig, why not make a 15s-pit stop and fuel Rubens to the end? They screwed him up by forcing him to do an extra stop.
    Normally I’d say that he was just unlucky, but he is unlucky a bit too often…it begins to stink…

    1. I believe the rig is pre loaded with the chosen fuel amount before its placed onto the car, its not like a petrol station with a trigger ;-)

      1. That would make it even worse.
        If that would be the case, they had planned to switch him to a 3-stopper already

      2. That’s correct. Ruben’s rig will have been set with fuel to switch him onto a 2-stopper if that was their plan (which I believe it was). The backup fueler obviously didn’t have as much fuel in it (may have been loaded ready for Jenson’s stop the following lap)…

    2. Who says they wanted to convert him to a two stop?

      1. On the radio during the race he asked if he was fuelled to the end, and the team said no because of the problem with the rig.

        1. What I understood was that, the team said that he was not fuelled till the end BUT that there was a problem with the fuel rig.

          ie an explanation that the stop didn’t take long because of a lot of fuel but because of a technical problem.

  8. I totally agree with Rubens, he doesn’t want to be #2, so he expresses it.
    Every race Barrichello is in front of Button, the team either screws up or they switch strategy in favor of Button…I’m sick of that.
    Don’t get me wrong, I’ve absolutely nothing against Button and Brawn, but I think Barrichello just doesn’t deserve that kind of “treatment”.

    1. Well I disagree respectfully. It may appear that team is muddling things up, but it comes down to the driver and his consistency.

      Rubens doesn’t want to be #2, but clearly he “is”. And its not by force but it is by fact. He is simply not as good as his team mate. Rubens may be able to pull out a hot lap even the fastest lap every now and then or qualify well, but he is not consistent, and he does not take all matters inconsideration when he drives. Like conservation of tyres, tyre choice, initial fuel strategy decision. Every driver is given the choice and input in their strategy. but he simply likes to blame others if his team mate beats him.

  9. Yorricksfriend
    12th July 2009, 15:56

    Goodbye Rubens, think you should start looking through the help wanted section of the newspaper

  10. I agree with Rubens… but his outburst was uncalled for. This should be discussed privately, not publicly..

    1. I too have lots of sympathy for Rubens. He is certainly a top class driver, but has never made it into the very top. Now, with his “biological clock” ticking he senses that this season in a top car is likely his last chance to shine and fulfil his life’s ambition.

      The race started great for him – he must have been ecstatic during his first stint – just to find himself parked behind Massa with his “special button” during the 2nd. Anger and frustration builds up. Then the 2nd stop – more disaster. And finally the last and most hurting blow: the 3rd stop and losing his position to the ONE person on the grid he fears and envies most – Jensen, who stated behind him (even in his anger he implied no deliberate team “orders”).

      His outburst is the final product of physical exhaustion after a race, emotional drain from a high during the first stint to a rock-bottom-low at the finish, aggravated by the realisation that the car now lost it’s superiority on the grid (at least during cold weather condtions) and his chances for a few wins this season are rapidly dwindling down to zip.
      Given this state of mind, his post-race interview was actually very ‘controlled’. The “worst” thing he said was just ” … a show of how to lose a race”. I certainly would have put in a few f*** words there somewhere …

      This is it. This is deep. The reality of the end of his career is ‘slowly’ sinking into his mind. He may hang on to it for a while longer, but I think this was a deciding race for him. I expect a broken Rubens from now on.

      Even with Ross’ ever well-tempered damage-control after Rubens’ sharing of his emotional post-race state with the ‘unforgiving’ world, I think lots of emotional damage was done both on Ruben’s and his team’s side. Rubens may have ended his career right there, unnecessarily. A rift like that won’t heal in a fortnight and now is the prime time for negotiating seats for next year.

      Farewell Rubens.

  11. Funny how so many drivers are criticised for being corporate mouthpieces who don’t express their own views, but when a driver dares to speak out against the “party line” of his team, he’s blasted for being irrational and unfair on the team.

    1. It’s one thing to be constructive in ones criticism and show some sort of spirited personality – another to always whine and blame something/someone else without actually having any evidence or showing a way forward. He is just overall slower than Button whan it counts. What can the team do about that?

    2. Agreed.

      Points to think about: Couldn’t the team predict where would he return and try to do something about it?

      After so many problems with the rear soft tyres going out so fast, it was a clever idea of Rubens to come with hard ones for a final long run, as he requested on radio and we all heard.

      Ross’ a smart guy, why didn’t he consider this option?

      I’ll wait for InfoRace2 to come with the data from this GP, will be nice to see the lap times and where Rubens could may be with 20 seconds less on his time.

      I’m not a RB fan, but it’s strange how every time he’s ahead of JB, something involving team work happens and he gets behind JB. Unlucky? Maybe…

      The only excuse i’m seeing right now is from the team with the radio and this “full picture” stuff. Looks like even from inside the cockpit RB was seeing the race better than the crew on pit-wall.

      1. I do find it very surprising that Brawn can sometimes get the strategy so right some of the time, as they did for Button in Bahrain for example, and yet other times get it so hopelessly wrong like they did for Barrichello today.

    3. My sentiments entirely. Good to see him speak his mind (even if I don’t agree with him).

      1. But surely the strategy wasn’t wrong? The Brawns had to run very light in Q3 in order to be near the front, they didn’t have the race pace to be on a 2 stop strategy, nor could they make a set of tyres last half a race without graining badly. I don’t think Rubens could have won the race, the red bulls were too strong! Hopefully the next race will be warmer, and BrawnGP can strike back :-)

        1. Massa’s strategy suggests they would have been better off qualifying lower down but using a more realistic strategy.

          Generally speaking, I’m not convinced of the merits of three-stop strategies in a championship where overtaking is hugely difficult and, consequently, track position is critical. It failed for Barrichello at Catalunya, it failed for Vettel at Istanbul, and it failed for both Brawns here.

          1. That doesn’t take into account that the Brawn cars have serious problems with their tyres.

            Button and Barrichello were struggling with their tyres even in their short stints. Let alone in longer stints.

          2. Don’t forget, though: Massa’s race was boosted hugely by KERS off the line, and by the influence of Heikki. Remember Rob Smedley on the radio near the start of the race: “Save the tyres, Felipe, this is perfect for us”.

            A three-stop is definitely not optimal, but with the Brawns’ tyre management it was pretty much the only way they could go. Even then, the gap between the softer tyre (big degradation on a setup designed to work the hard tyres) and harder tyres (which never got up to temperature, as the clouds came in at the end of the race) was just too big.

  12. It is not pleasent to bash his team like that in public but what he said was totally true. If they switched him to 2 stops in his 1st pit stop he would have finished 2nd worst. And he ended up 6th. Brawn really screwed today.

    1. Nonsense.

      Both Barrichello and Button had serious tyre problems even in the short stints that they were doing.

      There was no way that they could have done a 2 stop strategy with their problems.

  13. I think Barrichello soon is history in F1 if he continues likethis after every race. It’s the fuel rig, the seat belt, the strategy, whatever… Please, Rubens, get over it! Every driver have their share of bad luck or annoying circumstances. But most of them keep their mouth shut in front of the media and work the problems inside the team – not at lest mentally. The way he is complaining as soon as he is out of the cockpit is to me a sign of that he knows he made an extremely lucky break when he ended up in Brawn GP with such a competitive car this late in his career, and that he is scared not being up to the task. And that attitude does not make a winner – or a driver the sponsors want to hear about.

  14. Yeah, well, I didn’t have anything against Brawn and Button before, but now I really want them to fail. I mean, Brawn could just ask to marry Rubens, so he could f**k him during nights too.

    GO VETTEL!

    1. One word FLIG……..HARSH!

      1. Hahaha, ok, that’s exactly the word in this case.

    2. Webber is better… ;)

  15. nottherealthef1fanatic
    12th July 2009, 16:06

    I think that Rubens has the right to complain as this is the second time he has been let down by the team. Firstly in Spain and now in Germany. Ross Brawn obviously favours Jenson, even though he is strugling in the cold weather more than Rubens.

    1. What do you mean with “let down by the team”? We are sitting here after the races with all the facts on the table… What happened to every driver? How did the tires work? Where there any safety car? What about weather? Were there any mechanical problems? If you know everything about the future it’s easy to make decisions. The teams do not know that during the race but they still have to make split-second decisions. Why should Brawn deliberately slow down one car? What if Button went out and needed the team mate to pick up the points from other? What if everybody thought that it would rain in the end and wanted some options? Would you all have complained about the team if Barrichellos strategy then had worked out beautifully? It may be that Brawn favors Button, but then that is because he is a faster and (obviously) a more professional driver.

  16. And for the people who still doubt that Brawn is always favoring Button, well, just look at the 2 first pit stops – Button and then Barrichello twice. Then, on the third stop, wow, magic! Barrichello first, then Button! Isn’t it a strategic miracle?
    I don’t like Barrichello either, but this is too much. I can’t wait to have real pilots fighting for the title again. Webber, Button and Barrichello are natural born losers.

    1. I agree with you about the natural born losers part, at least for webber and Barrichello. I think Button is a good driver but not good enough for the title, if McLaren and Ferrari had good cars this year, or Williams and Toyota were constantly up there then Button Barrichello and webber wouldn’t be close to winning the title.

    2. 1) Barrichello was driving very slow before his stop?
      2) He was holding Button up and Button put in a very fast lap when he finally had some clean air?
      3) Barrichello is losing time on his out lap from the pit

      =) Button passes Barrichello.

      If Barrichello wanted to keep button behind him, he shouldn’t have driven like a snail.

      1. It’s true that they switched his pit stop, but that’s because Button was clearly going much faster coming up to his final round of stops. Ultimately, Button was the one in dirty air with a grained rear tyre and if Barrichello had been able to put down a hot lap when it mattered then he would have finished in front.

  17. Thats why they should have signed Bruno Senna, he was a rookie, so obviously he would be the number 2, for at least this season

    1. And who would teach Button how to set up his little car?

      1. What is it with you?
        These comments are just unnecessary and inappropriate…how could YOU possibly judge if a driver is good or bad? From what you see on screen,lol, give me a break….
        All that self-appointed experts that know it all about F1.
        Neither Barrichello nor Button or Webber are “natural born losers”, how ridiculous is that?
        At least they made it in a F1 car and you don’t.
        Sry, should be no personal offence, but some people here should be a little more cautious with what they say.

        1. So, only ex-F1 drivers can say what they think about other F1 drivers? Hmmm, odd, because they usually are the ones we laugh at when they open their mouths!

          1. I think the remark about Barrichello ‘teaching Button to set up his car’ is just slagging him off.

            they usually are the ones we laugh at when they open their mouths!

            Speak for yourself. I think Brundle, Davidson and co do a great job.

      2. hahaha, his “little” car.

      3. Offhand, I’d say Ross Brawn might know how to do that.

        I seem to recall him doing some rather good setups on another championship-winning car….ummmmm, let’s see, I think it was a red car…

        1. You’re assuming Brawn have already won this years championship?!?! ;-)

    2. Like Hamilton at McLaren in 2007… on wait, hang on… ;)

  18. lol, nice one FLIG

  19. Well, Rubens is the old guy with nothing to lose and deeply frustrated to see the same story repeat over and over again… failing to be faster than his team-mate in the crucial first races, and being both unlucky and left behind by his own team when he had the chance to win, like in Spain and in Germany…

    Dissatisfied as he might be, that isn’t the best way to change his situation…

  20. Haha @ FLIG great stuff,
    hmm British driver with commanding lead that begins to lose momentum, I swear we’ve been down this road before.

    FFS Jenson’s fighting against a team that fields 2 drivers that have never experienced a Grand Prix winnign car and/or title run, if he was up against the likes of Alonso, he wudn’t even be smelling a Championship.

    Congrats to Mark, and Props to Felipe, hasn’t put a foot wrong the last couple of races.

  21. Rubens was never in a position to win the race, he was able to lead the race after the 1st corner, that is because Brawn light fueled him, but he couldn’t use the clean track for his advantage(car too slow, Rubens too old or whatever) that’s why he got stuck behind Massa…

    Of course Brawn is going to favor Button, now that Red Bulls are much faster/dominating. Championships are wide open again, and Rubens was so much behind.

    Brawn is just too kind to Rubens, look his days at Ferrari, the way Todt had treated him, at least Todt was able to keep the whiner to the inside!

  22. First of all congratulations to Mark for winning. I honestly never thought I’d see an Australian win in my lifetime (I’m Aussie myself). To hear our anthem play at an F1 almost brought a tear to my eye….

    Anyway, to continue with the discussion, it seemed like it was Massa who caused the main disruption to Brawn today, plus their strategy (but this has already been mentioned above anyway).

    Part of me wondered why Mark didn’t actually turn and thank Massa at the press conference. I think if it wasn’t for him he wouldn’t have got his position back after that drive through.

    1. Yes, congratulations to Mark! (I’d like to see Button beaten, by Webber not Vettel)

      IMO Massa wasn’t the problem, Kovi was 3rd lapping about 1 second per lap slower the leaders, he’s the reason Webber kept his position after his DT.

      I think Red Bulls are just too fast for Brawn, after all Webber outqualified them with much heavier fuel load.

  23. I really like Rubens and would love to see him win the championship. But his outburst was uncalled for, he’s been in the game long enough to know that’s not the way to behave. Badly done Rubens, badly done.

  24. jockmcspredder
    12th July 2009, 17:06

    The lack of rain probaly didn;t help Brawn strategy – I think they were relying on it.
    Well done to Mark. Like Jenson, a nearly man now a bit nearer.
    Rubens, would you be happy anywhere?

  25. Pedro Andrade
    12th July 2009, 17:27

    It appears Barrichello already talked with the team, and is now more subdued:

    “I had a great start today and was really pleased to have got ahead of Markdown into the first corner despite our collision. After leading on the first lap, it is of course hugely disappointing to have finished in sixth position. It was a combination of things really which are now very clear to me having spoken to the team. We didn’t have enough pace compared to the Red Bulls to win but the fuel rig problem at my second stop where we had to switch rigs probably cost me a place on the podium. That dropped me out behind Rosberg and the extra lap which Jenson had at our final stops was enough for him to get ahead of me. We’ll put this race behind and work really hard ahead to Hungary to try and catch up to the Red Bulls. Congratulations to Mark for his first win.”

    http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/7/9611.html

    1. Reality bites.

      1. about time…

  26. His main problem is Button finishing ahead of him. He was happy if Button was finishing behind him.
    Main problem is that he want to escape from the fact that he is number.2

  27. Rubens is frustrated with the fact his last chance for a F1 championship is slipping away, race by race. His real career problem clearly isn’t Brawn, though, who’ve given him a wholly unexpected last shot, but his acceptance of the Schumacher dominance at Ferrari (under Brawn). There’s a price you pay for this kind of acquiescence in any walk of life: his own frustration over what might have been. Just now Webber, even with just the one win seems like he’ll probably be a lot more content with his F1 career when it comes to an end.

    1. Pedro Andrade
      12th July 2009, 18:31

      There’s no denying it that Barrichello was forced to play second fiddle to Schumcaher, and there were times when Barrichello was denied with the chance of beating him, but he did not lose any of those championships because of the team. He may have lost races but that was it.

      The fact that he is being so soundly beaten by Button further shows that he just does not have what it takes to take that last step.

      1. I agree Pedro. But the question is how Rubens sees all this, which explains his outburst today I guess. I also think he can’t blame anyone else for being comprehensively outperformed by Button in the first half of the season – apart from the fact maybe the Brawn (in hot weather) suits Jenson more.

        But – and I’m not commenting on today’s race as such – Brawn must be seriously worried Jenson’s lead will be whittled away by Red Bull and a resurgent Ferrari and even McLaren in the second half of the season. If so they really will have to back Jenson fully. Any other team would do the same.

      2. Well, I think it’s clear that Button > Barrichello, and I think it’s clear too that Schumacher > Button. I like Rubens, he’s a cool guy but to me, I think that (except for some races) he was clearly behind Schumacher.
        Even if there were no team orders back in Ferrari, he probably would never had won any championship. Maybe Schumacher would have lost some, but I don’t see Rubens as a WC winner

  28. Reubens can say whatever he wants. (Right or wrong) We all say we are tired of “corporate” type drivers. When someone speaks out we are so quick to analyse the comments to death and read way more into it than there really is. I do think Reubens will calm down a bit when he gets the full story and sees the telemetry. Is he a little frustrated ’cause he dropped two places in the driver standings today? Well yeah! Also, I do think he will be looking for a drive at the end of the season. (or does he have a two year contract?)

    1. Jenson and Rubens both have just 1 year contracts I think. I think I know which one I would extend.

  29. Poor barri.He always tries not be in some ones shadow .But always ends up being the sidekick only.

  30. The difference between Ferrari 2002 and Brawn 2009, is that Ferrari doesn’t try to hide things.

    Seriously it’s a shame for Brawn GP.

  31. What is there to debate ? I have said it many times already from race #1 of this season. Brawn is Button’s team. A British team w/ a British owner, a British sponsor and of course a favorite British driver. This discussion should be over by now. Let’s all accept w/ it and live w/ it. This is Button’s team for as long as he is in it.

    1. Are you serious?

      Barrichello was ahead of Button, but he slowed down to a crawl and he actually held up Button.

      Are you suggesting they told Barrichello to slow down and let Button by?

      Barrichello blew it again. He just cannot manage his tyres properly. Which makes it especuially silly that he was calling for a 2 stop strategy. Imagine him doing even more laps on those tyres after he ruined them in.

      What we should get used to is that Barrichello overestimates his abilities and is unable to take strategies into account. For instance he thinks he’s just as fast as Webber, but in reality he’s of course only as fast since his 3 stop strategy is making him .5s a lap faster.

      and of course that he a chronical whiner.

  32. Don’t they usually throw things away that are past their sell by date? Go on Roob, shut up or put up. Button is going to win the championship, so get over it.

    1. No he won’t. Vettel will win. I can’t believe someone else named Brian thinks that Button will win. I had always liked my name till then, but now I think i might have to change it. lol.

      1. I would, you talk nonsense.

  33. I have to agree with the argument that Rubens Barrichello still remembers only too well the Michael Schumacher years at Ferrari. I firmly believe that Rubens felt by moving to Honda in 2006 he would escape this kind of situation, in which he feels his team mate is getting the thicker end of the wedge from the team.
    When the cracks begin to appear between team mates, they often manifest themselves into bigger ones as time goes by. We saw that at McLaren in 2007 during the fallout from Hamilton’s outburst following the Monaco Gp, which certainly led the the events in Hungary later in the year.
    A blind man could see, following the Barcelona race this year, just how aggrieved Rubens was. During the press conferance, the Brazilian did well to keep his composure.
    One could argue he may well should have been better
    prepared for this. After all, his boss and team owner, Ross Brawn, played a massive role in Schumacher’s dominance not only of F1 but within Ferrari.
    The way I see it, Rubens had the perfect excuse at Ferrari not to win grands prix. Michael Schumacher! At Brawn Gp, the pundits have been less forgiving of his lack of performance.
    For nearly a decade, Jenson Button wallowed in the midfield in poorly concieved cars, yet in 2009 has claimed six grands prix victories. The bottomline is that a good strategy and team decisions maybe one thing, but only the driver can truly maximise his machine.
    Rubens lost the race behind Felipe Massa. Mark Webber had been handicapped by a penalty, yet still won. That tells its own story.

  34. I feel for Rubens but these outbursts against the team have to stop. He was not in possession of all the facts as was the case he last dumped on the team that has him where he is today. He seems to forget up and until December he was destined to hang up his helmut and be a spectator of the sport.
    No doubt he is anxious about his chances at a driver’s championship being so close and yet so far away it would seem.
    The fact is that the Brawn was not expected to do well yet has been very competitive, got off to a great start and now is slipping back into the hands of others who have progressed more than Brawn has in the last few races. As Ross says, 11th fastest lap speed is not going to win races. Ruben’s assumption is that they were 5th and 6th by essentially a pit stop which is true on the surface. However what he and the rest of us do not know is what would their fortunes been loaded with fuel for a long second stint in a 2 stopper? On their 4th stint they were both light on fuel, graining the rears badly and Alonzo was right there. They could well have finished poorer than where they did.
    Rubens needs to shut up, be a team player and be thankful for what Ross has given him.
    The guy who won today has suffered long and hard not winning is something over 130 races. Take a lesson Rubens and stop whinning or retire.

    1. hear hear

    2. hear hear indeed

  35. hhmm – just reading that last rather harsh comment.

    As far as I know there is nothing to stop Ruebens from spraking his mind (having his outbursts)he’s well known for wearing his heart on his sleeve and this shouldnt suprise anyone.

    He may actually have been in possession of even more facts than we are, even now – he does know a thing or two about racing.

    He was not destined to hang up his helmet last Decemeber, he was actually determined that if
    he didnt have an F1 seat he would race in a different series.

    Im in the something smells bad camp, and not just in Brawn but possibly in F1 – there are so many
    incidents that seem designed to generate headlines that it becomes more about the politics than the sport.

  36. Simone, don’t get me wrong. I felt Rubens suffered while at Ferrari during Schumacher’s reign and Massa did as well until MS retired.
    Rubens may have thought he would race in another series but where were the offers? He could say that but what was the reality?
    There were none from NASCAR, Indy Car, and I did not see his name on any press release saying that the LeMans series was interested. He sure would not go to any lesser stature series. He is too proud a man and rightfully so.
    The fact is he is getting on in age for F1 and his ability to race in it is a function of Ross Brawn’s faith in him which any smart guy would appreciate. If he has an issue the press is the last place to air it. That is my point.

  37. I agree with Rubens completely, although I don’t think he’s right to voice it publically. This was one of the few times that he had been out-performing button and if it weren’t for the pit stop error he would have finished ahead of button, even with a 3 stopper. If they had done a 2 stop strategy he would have at least been on the podium, but its hard for us to criticize Brawn for that strategy call when we don’t know if the car couldve done that long of a second stint with their tire wear issues. Either way I think Rubens gets more of a hard time thatn he deserves, and recently has been proving himself a match (or at least close to a match) for the much younger Button.

    1. Williams 4ever
      13th July 2009, 14:15

      and recently has been proving himself a match (or at least close to a match) for the much younger Button.

      And by recently you mean through 2007-08 when team had come up with Dog of Car, and Brazilian was working around the problem, out performing the team-mate while his much Favored Brit Team-mate was on mental vacation :-?

  38. I like simone’s “conspiracy” twist ;)

    I’m with the camp who don’t mind a bit of emotional display and believe that too much was made out of this non-story. We all know Rubens’ frustration. I agree that Rubens has never been “championship” material, but let’s give him some slack, afterall he has driven to win a few respectable (if not fantastic) races, overtaking almost the entire field from the back.

    I did watch the race today from start to end, was interesting purely due to strategy and tyres. But until F1 goes back to the fundamentals, i.e. having on-track fights and overtaking for the top 3 positions, we’ll be licking the bones of stories like this.

    “Hello F1” magazine anyone? :)

    1. well said!

    2. I thought that was here..lol.

  39. 3 stop was bad.I believe Barrichello is a bit frustrated because of his unlucky situation.Choosing number 1 is not the right time.He out paced Button on the last two races that proves that he still has a long way to go.

  40. In a way, Rubens is still showing lots of fire and desire to succeed. But surely slagging off his team like that is not helping him one bit.

    Without Brawn, Rubens would be watching the races in his retirement home.

    But guys, give him a break. At least we’re able to hear from red-misted drivers speaking his mind at spur of the moment, and not some post race press release mickey mouse stuff.

  41. I miss james hunt cracking marshalls and drivers fighting, screw the corporate crap .
    Don’t think ruebens wanted to do the team job this year but button is leading the championship so he will have to consider how his season is going to pan out now he has slipped back and redbull are closing in he may have to be a no.2 all over again .

  42. His comments are not flattering, and he should of weighed his words.

    with respect to the team, i still don’t understand why they didn’t keep him in the pit for an extra 3 seconds and fuel him to the end. that would have made up a point or 2. i think even with the primary fuel rig, the fuel amount was set as it was with the second, so the 3 stop strategy would have been the same, his 2nd stop would only have been shorter…

    in hindsight, Brawn’s worst enemy were the tires, they just can’t heat them up efficiently. this was the first time i see not one but two cars snaking around to heat their tires mid race….

  43. honestly, webber was too fast, barrichello had no chance regardless. good on ya mark!

  44. I wish Rubens would have thought a little more about what he was saying. He was among my favourite drivers until this year, but he just keeps making statements to the press when he doesn’t have all the facts.

    I’m all for drivers speaking their minds, but I would expect them to at least check what the facts of the situation before slagging off the team to the press.

    That said, I’d love to know how (in the minds of those supporting the theory that the team conspired to cost Rubens the race) how they managed to make Jenson so much faster that he could catch Rubens up before the final stops…

  45. I think what Ross Brawn said to the BBC in response to Barrichello’s after the race was spot on. Despite the reporters best attempts he didn’t publically lash out at Barrichello without speaking to Barrichello first and knowing all the facts.

    I think Barrichello’s comments were down to frustration and when he has had time to reflect and look at all the information I would have thought that his opinions would change.

    The Brawn just didn’t seem quick enough to win the race even with Webber’s penalty. I think what cost Barrichello a podium was his failure to pass Massa during his second stint.

    The problem on his second stop did cost him places but not as much as the period spent behind Massa. As the Brawn had trouble with it’s tyres I wonder if they could have made a two stop work anyway?

  46. Bottom line, Rubinho couldn’t shake Webber in the first stint with a hugely lighter car—a chassis that is first or second in performance on the grid. That was match. It was only a matter of time before Webber overhauled him. And given the ultimate performance gap, at times 1.5-2 seconds (!), Webber could have even lapped him if he had clear air and the motivation. So all of Brawn’s strategic noodling was moot. Brawn is now racing Williams, Ferrari, maybe McLaren.

    For real F1 fans, this is such a classic battle: two great designers, Brawn and Newey, going at it race by race, struggling for the next performance breakthrough. Pushing each other to produce a technical masterpiece every race day, pushing the drivers to extract every new hundreth they put in the car.

    This reminds me of the 91 Group C season, when Ross Brawn’s XJR-14 was so innovative and dominant, but the Peugeot 905, copying furiously and improvising, caught him up creating a tight season finish.

    1. From Hamilton’s times and the look of the car up until the start of the race, I’d have to say that McLaren appear to have leap-frogged Williams and Ferrari at this type of circuit with their latest upgrades. I also wouldn’t say Brawn have fallen that far behind the Red Bulls, despite a poor performance this weekend.

  47. This is not a justified complain from Bachirrelo, at one time during the race i notice Button making mockery of him by warming his tyres on the start finish so that everybody could see it properly.

  48. You know what I’d do if I was Ross Brawn?

    I would let Rubens make all his own strategy decisions – let him run a 2 stop strategy when his tyres won’t last that long. Show him that actually the team isn’t hampering his chances, that he’s just not fast enough. Then, tell him that he’s going to have to support Jenson’s title bid or they’ll replace him straight away with someone who can…

  49. Rubens was talking out of his **** to be honest. The time sheets show how his pace was way out of whack with the Red Bull’s. We could debate all day but there was no way he could have won. And Adrian, its a nice idea letting Rubens make his own strategy decisions but there is a constructors championship at stake. Brawn has won championships, Rubens hasn’t. Whilst I think drivers should be free to speak there mind and I don’t think Rubens did anything unprofessional he was straight up wrong.

  50. Rubens is partially right, he could have finished 3rd if the team had not messed up his pit stop. He still needs to pick up his pace, though.

  51. Rubens should seek to end his career at another team. Obviously he’s still competitive. Ross was there during the #2 days at Ferrari. Why would anything change now? I think a Latin connection would do him well. I think Flavio and Carlos should hire him. Sponsors linked to Piquet can stay on.

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