Formula One 2009, Round Eight: Brawn, Button Beaten in Britain

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber ensured that Red Bull Racing scored its first one-two of the Formula One season at a Silverstone Grand Prix somewhat overshadowed by an ongoing spat between the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA). Rubens Barrichello, championship leader Jenson Button’s Brawn GP teammate took third spot on the podium, while 2009’s leading contender was able to grab only three points at his home race in P6. Drivers’ Championship holder Lewis Hamilton continued a miserable third season following the highs of his first two years in sixteenth.

Meanwhile the row between the eight teams threatening to create an offshoot championship and the FIA continues, following the announcement of a budget cap system to be introduced in 2010. On its website, the FIA argues in a statement dated 16 June 2009 that the sport “cannot sustain” both “technical freedom” and “the freedom to spend without limit”, calling the ability of major car companies to do the latter “insane in the current climate”.

The statement continues, “If we wish to see innovative technology in Formula One, the only way is to limit expenditure and allow the engineers freedom to do their best within a fixed budget. This is exactly what happens in the real world and it is the only way forward for Formula One. Without technical innovation, Formula One will wither and die. Without real cost constraints, Formula One will lose its teams. This is why the FIA is insisting on cost restraint as part of the Formula One regulations.

The final and overwhelming advantage of a cost constraint regulation is that it will provide technical freedom on a level playing field. With a limit on expenditure, the cleverest and most innovative engineering team will win. It will no longer be possible to substitute a massive budget for intellectual ability. In a technological sporting contest this must surely be the right way.” (The statement is available in full at http://bit.ly/rOhHz and can be accessed from Tyrepress’ Twitter page.)

While FIA president Max Mosley appeared to be confident of settling the dispute over the race weekend, suggesting that legal action against FOTA due to be started on Monday 22 June would be at least postponed, FOTA representatives were bullish in suggesting that teams will continue to make plans for a breakaway series regardless.

Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal of McLaren, told the Press Association that no progress had been made during the race weekend, saying, “It’s difficult to make progress on a day when you’re concentrating on going motor racing,” and suggesting that the dispute could be protracted for at least a matter of weeks. Wednesday 24 June will see a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris, while FOTA plans to meet the following day to discuss the meeting’s outcomes with regard to the ongoing feud.
Second win for Vettel

Back on the racetrack, Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel scored his second race win of the season after he used a two stop, soft – soft – hard tyre strategy to win a fast-paced British Grand Prix in cool and cloudy conditions at Silverstone. Vettel finished fifteen seconds ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, who used the same strategy. Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello used a soft- hard-soft tyre strategy to claim his third place. Bridgestone commented that the soft tyre proved to be the superior race tyre for most competitors, giving a faster lap time than the hard, and giving good consistency.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, the director of Bridgestone Motorsport, congratulated Vettel and Red Bull, also commenting on the venue, which will have to wait for the conclusion of the aforementioned dispute to see whether it will hold a race in 2010: “Silverstone has a great atmosphere and we have seen a fantastic crowd here throughout the weekend in what is both a very important market for Bridgestone and an important base for our Bridgestone Motorsport operation.” Mosley, for his part, said that “it’s highly probable” that in his opinion there will be a Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2010, though it remains to be seen how much his opinion will hold sway.

Hirohide Hamashima – director of Motorsport Tyre Development for the company – concentrated on the race: “we saw very hot pace from the Red Bulls in the cool weather conditions as they used the Bridgestone hard and soft tyres very well indeed. The best lap times of both Red Bull cars were over half a second faster than anyone else. The soft Bridgestone worked very well, especially after the second stint when there was more rubber down on the track. The hard Bridgestone did take longer to deliver its best lap time and we saw a number of illustrations of this as part of some interesting battles for position. Silverstone helped serve us an exciting fast race here today.”