Sunday, March 29, 2009

Button eyes Brawn GP improvement

Jenson Button

Button sees room for improvement

Jenson Button insists there is more to come from him and his team after leading home a Brawn GP one-two at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The Briton led from start to finish, despite two safety car periods, with Rubens Barrichello second in Melbourne.

But he told BBC Sport: "It may have looked easy but it really wasn't.

"It wasn't the perfect race and there's room for improvement, but we got the win and hopefully this is the first of many. I can't wait for Malaysia now."

The result was a remarkable one for Brawn GP, who become the first debut team to finish one-two since 1954, when Juan Manuel Fangio led home Karl Kling for Mercedes in the French Grand Prix.

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And the significance of the turn-around in fortunes for the Honda team - who as recently as a month ago were unsure of their future in Formula 1 - was not lost on the 29-year-old.

"It was an amazing day. I have to say a massive thanks to everyone because it's been a hugely traumatic few months - I can't exaggerate how tough it's been - but this is the perfect start," he said.

"I know I've said it before but it's true, we deserve this, I really feel we do."

Button showed admirable nerve in leading throughout a race littered with incidents.

Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Barrichello, Heikki Kovalainen and Mark Webber were involved in serious collisions with each other, while the likes of Kazuki Nakajima and Kimi Raikkonen spun into the wall.

I made it difficult for us today but we got there

Jenson Button

But Button, aided by having a clear run out in front, held on to lead home his team-mate.

"Without the safety car periods it'd have been a whole lot easier, but even so there were things to deal with," he said. "Being at the front should be easy but I promise you it wasn't easy at all.

"We can definitely improve our restarts and I really struggled to get temperature into the tyres as well. I also made a mistake in the first pit stop so there's more to come from both me and the team.

"I made it difficult for us today but we got there."

And with just seven days until the Malaysian Grand Prix, Button allowed himself to cast an eye to the next race, saying: "It's wicked it comes up so soon, I'm looking forward to it already."

Button's team-mate Rubens Barrichello endured an incident-packed race but was impressed with the Brawn's durability.

"The car is strong, very strong," said the veteran Brazilian, "I was hit from behind and I hit someone in front and also on the side, so it was a very tough race."

The Brazilian was hit by Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren at the first corner and had another tangle with Kimi Raikkonen in the early stages of the race.

"I thought the car was done, my nose cone was falling apart and I lost braking stability but it survived quite well. I had a lot of mixed emotions but it was fantastic, really fantastic."

More to follow.

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