Q & A with Ross Brawn

Source: www.autosport.com
By Mark Glendenning

Q. Is Jenson Button as good a driver as you've ever had?

Ross Brawn: I've been very fortunate, obviously, in working with Michael, and I don't want to make comparisons. But he is quite exceptional - very fit, very dedicated, he's got a very nice approach to things. He's a really enjoyable person to work with. And he's incredibly quick. So there's not much else I can add to that.

Q. So he is around Michael's sort of level, without putting them in that order?

RB: I mean, they're not driving together in the same cars, so you can't compare them. But he is quite an exceptional driver, and certainly what he is doing now he deserves, and it's down to his ability.

Q. This car compared with 2004 Ferrari – is this car comparatively superior to the other cars on the grid?

RB: Again, they are very difficult comparisons. But you know when you've got a good car. The thing I am very encouraged by is that the incremental changes we're making are improving the car. This weekend we had a different front wing, changes to the suspension, changes to the wheel covers at the front, and they all seem to have added that little bit of performance that clearly we needed.

So that's very encouraging. And it's a car which is receptive to set-up ... we went the wrong way on Friday with Jenson, but we understand what we did. But it is a very, very good car – it responds well, is entirely predictable, and touch wood, reliable.

Q. You do everything perfect at every race, but Red Bull seem not to be able to deliver when they have the opportunity . Is it slightly disappointing for you that they are not able to take you on?

RB: I don't want to comment on other people's performance. All I know is that it is very fickle, very fine, and when you've got the confidence and when you've got the impetus behind you, you can make it look easy. But it's not. Equally, when it goes wrong, it goes wrong for the smallest reasons. They're trying to catch up, and I know, I've been in their position – when you want to catch someone up, you tend to push the boundaries a bit more.

You can't afford to be conservative; you've got to maybe take a few more risks. Certainly I have been in that position. But when you do that, you do tend to perhaps have more problems than you'd hoped. So it's very fickle, the difference between the sort of performance that we have and perhaps the performance that they had today.

Q. Tonight it must be difficult not to start thinking about the championship?

RB: It's not difficult not to start thinking about it.

Q. You have been in this situation many times – you must instinctively be feeling it?

RB: But you never do. You never engage in those thoughts, because you know that just around the corner something can happen. It can be a retirement, or it can be some other factor. And having had three seasons at Ferrari where we didn't do it, and we got very close to doing it, then I know you simply don't engage in those thoughts until they're done.

Q. What do you think of Red Bull's decision not to favour one driver?

RB: I think it's … I mean, I sat down with Rubens and Jenson today, and we all agreed that they'd be racing each other today. Whichever way it went they'd be racing each other, and I think it's a nice phase of Formula 1 that we've got two drivers that are prepared to do that. So if Rubens had been in front, he'd have finished in front.

Q. Does that go against the way you have always gone about the sport?

RB: Well, I've been lucky enough to win world championships now, and perhaps winning it in a certain way is more important to me.

Q. Are you going to give Jenson any advice?

RB: The advice, quite honestly, is to just keep doing what you're doing. One of they guys asked me today what they should do in the first corner, and I said that as soon as we get that into their thoughts, we have a problem. So all you can do is leave them. If they've made mistakes, you sit down and work out, a bad mistake, and what you need to do. But otherwise you just leave them alone. He's driving so well that there's nothing I can add to his performance.

Q. Would you rather end the season having lost because you gave both drivers a fair chance?

RB: I think there's phases. I think there's phases early in the season where you can't identify one driver one way or the other, and I think you should let the season run. Undoubtedly you may reach a phase towards the end where you have to make decisions, and we'll make those decisions if we have to. But at this stage there's no need and no wish to make those decisions.