Todt: Place for Schumi at the FIA

Source : www.planet-F1.com

Newly-appointed FIA President Jean Todt has revealed close friend Michael Schumacher could enjoy a role within his new regime.

Todt was elected to replace Max Mosley and is now the most powerful man in motor sport following a landslide victory that saw him secure 135 votes to 49 over rival Ari Vatanen, with 12 abstentions or invalid votes.

Although former Ferrari team principal Todt already has his team in place, including deputy presidents and World Motor Sport Council members, the 63-year-old has hinted that Schumacher may yet play a role in some capacity.

Todt suggested the possibility of the German, who won five of his seven F1 titles working with the Frenchman at Ferrari, expanding his ambassadorial role with the FIA.

"He is like a son," said Todt. "There has always been a place for him next to me and there still will be."

Despite previous concerns about Todt's former allegiance to Ferrari, the Formula One Teams' Association have welcomed his appointment.

"I am convinced Jean's presidency represents an opportunity for all Formula One's stakeholders to unite under his leadership and work together to strengthen our sport," said FOTA vice-chairman John Howett.

"FOTA is looking forward to supporting him to broaden the appeal of our sport among fans and sponsors, while respecting Formula One's great heritage to which he has contributed enormously."

Abu Dhabi GP - Sunday - Press Conference

Source: www.grandprix.com

1 NOVEMBER 2009
3. Jenson BUTTON (Brawn), 1h34m21.881s

TV UNILATERALS
Q: Jenson, that battle from your perspective and also a battle again with Kamui Kobayashi.
Jenson BUTTON: It was a fun race. For me the prime tyre was not my favourite tyre in the race and I had a lot of understeer in the car. But when Kobayashi was on a one-stopper I came out and the first big stop is turn eight and when you have got that much fuel on board it is always very difficult to judge the braking point. I slightly outbraked myself and locked the rears and the fronts and ran a bit wide and he got past. In reality it didn't make a difference to my race as he was quicker than me at that point. Then I was struggling a little bit with the prime tyre but I tried to make the best out of it. After the second stop I found I had very good grip with the option tyre. I got back the front issues I had with the prime and had very good initial turn in which meant I could carry a lot of speed through. That's why I was able to close down Mark. The last couple of laps were a lot of fun. I couldn't make the move stick. I was very excited by the battle and I thought I could pull it off but Mark is always a very difficult person to overtake. We were clean but on the edge, so it was perfect. Disappointed not to get that second place but I really enjoyed the fight today and today for me has been a bonus after winning the championship in Brazil. I have really enjoyed driving this weekend a car that has been very competitive, so I need to thank everyone at Brawn and Mercedes Benz for all their hard work. After Brazil it would have been easy to say 'right, let's just enjoy ourselves and not concentrate on Abu Dhabi' but we did and we have come away with a podium which is a nice way to end the year and everyone should be very proud of themselves for what we have achieved. But lastly I would like to say congratulations to Seb. He did a sterling job today. They had the legs on us and we just couldn't challenge them which is a pity but all round I think the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a good one and I am looking forward to coming back.

Q: Jenson, no win to round off the season but obviously an upbeat ending for you.
Button: For sure. It is always nice to end on a high but it is the same for everyone out there. It is a very competitive field. It is not just one team at the front. All season it has been up and down for us and for these guys and also for McLaren and the Ferraris. It is a very competitive and challenging season for us all, so for all three of us to be up on the podium at the last race is very enjoyable and it is a great way to round out the year. Now I am going to enjoy myself and celebrate what I have achieved this season.

Vettel: I hear you are getting married.
Button: Are you proposing?

Vettel: I heard you will get married.
Button: You know, they write great things in the press. Thank you for that one Seb, but I am going to enjoy this as we often look too far into the future and I want to just enjoy this moment and then I will look to the future after that.

PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Jenson, for you, interesting that you mentioned that the option was the better tyre. Do you think that if you did two stints on the option you might have been closer to Red Bull?
Button: Yeah, for sure but we didn't expect that to be the case. All weekend we've been running through our practices thinking that the prime was the better tyre. We've been using the prime like the option: for example, saving it for the end of practice two and practice three, so we could get a feel for it for qualifying. It was the best tyre for qualifying but in the race I was really struggling for a balance on the harder tyre. I had a lot of understeer in the car and the colder the circuit temperature got, the more difficult it was for me to get heat into the fronts. So I was suffering with that, especially in the second stint and I don't know if you could notice, but Rubens was quite close behind me at the start of the second stint, he was sitting right on my tail, but I was able to put a little bit of a gap on him before the second stop, and then when we put the soft tyre on, the car was transformed, it felt great. The lap times were reasonably good and I was able to pull Mark in. The big issue for me on the hard tyres was understeer, so putting the option on... suddenly I had this great front end that I could just carry so much more speed into the corners. I don't know if you saw on TV, but it was a little bit loose on exit but that's the way you have to drive the car round here. It was a great race, I really enjoyed it and as I said in the unilateral, this race is a bonus to me, because I got the championship in Brazil, so I came here to enjoy myself and that's exactly what I did. Qualifying wasn't perfect but the race was pretty much as good as we could have expected, I think. I had a good tussle with Mark on the last lap, a fair fight but obviously very close and enjoyed it a lot. I didn't make that move stick but I had a lot of fun. So I'm a little bit disappointed not to be second but I'm on the podium at the last race of the year, a year that's been exceptional and I'm very happy with what's happened this season and the way the team has performed. Probably when it's been toughest, I respect the team for the effort that they've put in then, so they should all be very proud of themselves and that's Brawn GP and Mercedes-Benz for what they've achieved. At the moment, I'm just going to enjoy this, this is big and I'm not going to concentrate on next year, I'm going to relax and enjoy this moment.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Anne Giuntini - L'Equipe) To all three of you: considering there is a long break before February, I suppose you won't be on holiday all the time. What is your working programme?
Vettel: Jenson's getting married, we heard. So he's busy.
Webber: And we're all invited as well.
Vettel: Yeah, everyone.
Button: Next question.

Webber: But Japan's a long way.
Vettel: Obviously I have a pretty stressful week, following up, stress and fun at the same time. We are going to Beijing, so I am looking forward to that. I'm trying to kick his (Jenson's) arse. And after that, some things to do back in Germany, yeah, and at the end of the month we will have a big party back in Milton Keynes, with all the team, so I'm looking forward to that. So November is a bit the time probably to be a bit lazy, but back in December and January obviously trying to focus on next year, on the new car. As I said, we will have time and meetings to discuss and obviously analyse what we can do better in the future and then we put our focus on next season. Obviously it's a long, long time without any testing, any driving for us, so I reckon I will do some karting, that's for sure, even though it's cold.

Webber: Yeah, similar to Sebastian. Next week is very busy. I'm going to Austria tomorrow, doing some work over there for Red Bull and then also some stuff for Renault next Thursday, so the next few weeks I've got some PR work which we've put on the backburner during the season, so a few photo-shoots here and there. Then I'm potentially going to drive the GP3 car, the new category car, do a bit in that, to see how that's going along. It's a very exciting championship next year which Christian (Horner) and I are involved in, so I might do a little bit of driving in that, but not much, just to get a little bit of press and a little bit of feeling for how it is. And then I think the third week of November I'm going to open my leg up again and get a bit more metal out, and then that's the end of that problem, so it will be a few weeks relaxing after that and then I go to Australia for Christmas, a few barbecues on the beach and go to the cricket as well, which is 100,000 Australians at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is a big highlight at the Boxing Day test match, so I've got a few good things to look forward to and then in January, come back to a European winter which is always a test, but anyway, we will do that and get ready for February.
Button: Wow, that's a lot.

Vettel: Wait until you start...
Button: I have got nothing planned this winter. I'm going to the RoC (Race of Champions) tomorrow which takes place Tuesday, Wednesday. If you're interested, head down to the Bird's Nest in Beijing. The only thing is that I am going to go and enjoy myself with the team tonight, so we will see how I perform on Tuesday and Wednesday. But I'm looking forward to that, it's always good fun. And then I'm heading to Japan to spend some time there with my girlfriend and then I will have a few more days off and then sort myself out and start thinking about next year. It's amazing how early it starts, 2010 comes up on you in a flash. I've got to sort myself out and focus on that. I'm looking forward to the new challenge, for sure, but it can wait a couple of weeks. Oh, I've got my 30th birthday in January as well. Thirty! Imagine that, Sebastian.

Vettel: It's a long way to go.
Button: Trust me, it goes by very quickly.

Q: (Chris Lines - Associated Press) Guys, you sit up there as two representatives of the two most dominant teams this season. If we go back a year ago, it was Ferrari and McLaren and they were nowhere in the early part of this year. How confident are you guys that you will be able to carry this form into next season and not pay a price for going all the way through developing the car?
Vettel: Well, I think we are a team, we are professional. You might read here and there that other teams stopped developing for this year, looking ahead to next year, but as I said earlier on, I think the regulations aren't changing too much. Obviously the biggest change is no refuelling but other than that the cars will remain similar, similar shapes. I think the people know what they are doing back in Milton Keynes. Obviously this year was a great chance for us and as Mark said, we were able to build quite a weapon. So I'm very confident. I think we can only get stronger. Obviously it was the first time that we were in that position for us, Mark, myself and the team that we were in that position and I think we handled it quite well. We made some mistakes here and there but that's what happens. We are not the only ones who made these mistakes and if you are fighting and trying to push and trying to get the last bit out of yourself, out of the team, out of the car, then sometimes you might step over the limit. I think it's totally natural to go through that progress, so we have definitely learned a lot and the important thing is, as I've said before, to do it much better next year.
Button: Ferrari and McLaren are going to be competitive next season. They have the resources, they have the expertise, they have competitive drivers. For sure they are going to be quick. They've had a different approach over the last few races. If you look at Ferrari, they've said that they've had no development which is unusual to hear that, as there's not much that changes for next season. But it seems that McLaren have thrown everything at the car and have been very competitive over the last couple of races. So going into next year, yeah, they're going to be quicker compared to the start of this season but I don't think they're suddenly going to be stronger than Red Bull and Brawn. I think there's going to be a big battle at the front which is going to be a new thing for all of us, because having four teams fighting it out at the front, that hasn't happened - could you just keep... 'scuse me, I'm just trying to talk - you might want to listen to this.

Webber: We're just talking about your wedding day, mate. We're just trying to clear our schedules.
Button: But with four teams at the front, eight drivers fighting out for wins, I think that's exciting, so, yeah.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) What's the date for the wedding, Jenson?
Button: It's my birthday, did you say? By the way, I'm looking forward to my present, thank you very much, Bob. What did you call me before?

BMcK: The World Champion?
Button: That's the one, thank you. I'm not getting married this year.
Vettel: Why not? You don't love her?
Webber: Clear up January, clear it up.
Button: I think some things need to be kept private in your life and that's one of them. Thank you very much.

Abu Dhabi GP - Sunday - Team Quotes

Source: www.grandprix.com
Jenson Button (3rd): "It was a fun race today and to be on the podium for the last race of the year is fantastic. I've really enjoyed driving here at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend and Abu Dhabi has done a fantastic job for its first Grand Prix. We expected the prime tyre to be the better tyre in the race but I was struggling for balance especially as the track temperatures started to fall and it became more difficult to get heat into the front tyres. The car felt great when we switched to the soft tyre for the final stint. It really felt transformed and suddenly I had a great front end and could carry more speed into the corners. The last few laps were really exciting and I was giving everything to take second place from Mark. I couldn't quite make the moves stick and he's a very difficult guy to overtake but it was a good clean fight and we were really on the edge. I'm a little bit disappointed not to get second but it's still great to finish on the podium. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at the team in Brackley and at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. It really has been a fantastic year and they should all be very proud of what we have achieved together. It's nice to end the year on a high after what has been a very competitive and challenging season."

It's About Time

pic taken from: www.aboutmyarea.co.uk

Jujur sepanjang tahun ini aku terus menerus menulis tentang Jenson Button dan terus berharap ia akan meraih gelar dunia pertamanya tahun ini, tapi begitu Jenson berhasil, aku benar-benar kehilangan kata-kata (he...he... emangnya gue yang menang kok sampe kehilangan kata2? ). Aku bahkan tak tahu lagi hendak menulis apa tentang Button selain luar biasa!

Pencapaian Jenson Button tahun ini memang benar-benar luar biasa! Sebelum GP Australia tahun ini, tak ada seorang pun yang memperhatikan seorang Jenson Button. Bertahun-tahun ia terpuruk di F1 dengan saat-saat yang singkat baginya untuk memperlihatkan kualitasnya tapi bakat luar biasanya itu lebih banyak tenggelam. Bahkan tak ada yang mengira bahwa pria kelahiran Somerset, Inggris dua puluh sembilang tahun lalu ini akan berhasil meraih gelar dunia.

Dunia memang sempat terhenyak ketika Jenson Button dan tim debutan Ross Brawn tampil mendominasi, tapi tak ada satupun yang mengira bahwa tim bekas Honda ini akan mampu berbicara lebih banyak di kancah F1, dan tak ada yang mengira pada balapan-balapan berikutnya, keperkasaan Jenson Button dan Brawn GP terus berlangsung meski dominasi Jenson akhirnya terhenti sampai GP Turki.

Beruntung? Tidak juga, kurasa. Keberuntungan memang diperlukan di F1, tapi di dunia yang serba pasti dengan perhitungan yang akurat, keberhasilan Brawn GP dan Jenson Button tidak bisa dipandang sebelah mata dengan mengatakan bahwa mereka tengah beruntung seperti dalam permainan lotere. Keberhasilan Brawn GP tahun ini bisa dibilang merupakan puncak dari kerja keras seluruh orang yang terlibat di tim ini sejak tim ini didirikan tahun 1998 (kalau tak salah) ketika tim ini masih merupakan tim koalisi dua pabrikan tembakau Inggris dan Amerika, BAT.

Memang prestasi Jenson yang sempat melempem di pertengahan musim sempat membuat orang mulai meragukan kemampuan Jenson meraih gelar dunia terlebih sebelum GP Brazil, Sebastian Vettel dari Red Bull berhasil membuka peluangnya sebagai kompetitor dalam perebutan gelar dunia kembali mengemuka. Bahkan tak sedikit yang mencibir putra kesayangan John Button ini.

Namun menurutku baik yang memuja maupun meragukan Jenson, kurasa semua itu merupakan wujud dukungan bagi Jenson Button yang terbukti di GP Brazil kemarin menunjukkan kembali kualitasnya sebagai pembalap yang pantas meraih gelar dunia.

Memulai start dari grid keempat belas, Button langsung memperlihatkan kepiawaiannya, ia segera melesat menuju p 9 dan terus merangsek naik namun sempat tertahan di belakang rookie dari Toyota, Kamui Kobayashi. Tapi akhirnya Jenson berhasil juga melewati pembalap pengganti Glock yang cedera ini dan sempat memimpin lomba namun sayangnya Mark Webber langsung meraih kembali posisinya setelah keluar dari pit. Tapi perjuangannya dari grid ke empat belas hingga berhasil finish di tempat kelima mestinya membuat orang-orang yang meragukan Jenson mulai mereset ulang pandangan mereka tentang juara dunia F1 yang baru ini.

Sedikit me-review GP Brazil, meski ditayangkan di tengah malam tapi GP Brazil selalu layak ditonton. Kekacauan akibat hujan lebat di sesi kualifikasi Sabtu membuatku teringat pada GP Brazil 2003 saat GP Brazil masih menjadi balapan pembuka ketiga setelah GP Australia dan Malaysia. Saat itu, hujan deras juga melanda sirkuit yang salah satu tikungannya diberi nama legenda F1 asal Brazil, Ayrton Senna yang sampai saat ini belum memiliki penerusnya (Massa tahun lalu nyaris menjadi juara dunia dan Rubens Barrichello yang sebelum GP Brazil merupakan penantang terberat Jenson tapi setelah finish di tempat kedelapan di depan publiknya sendiri, ia malah harus merelakan posisi keduanya di klasemen kepada Sebastian Vettel).

Saat itu sirkuit Interlagos ini digenangi air yang membuat banyak pembalap terpeleset dan mengakhiri balapan mereka, bahkan seorang rain master seperti Michael Schumacher terpaksa menyerah kalah setelah mobilnya juga ikut melintir. Tapi yang seru adalah kekisruhan soal pemenang lomba setelah akhirnya balapan dihentikan di tengah jalan (tapi poin yang didapat para pembalap di big eight tak dipotong seperti di GP Malaysia tahun ini yang balapannya terpaksa dihentikan karena hujan deras). Seperti balapannya yang kacau masalah siapa yang akhirnya memenangi balapan pun tak jelas. Sebelumnya ditetapkan Kimi Raikkonen yang memenangi balapan tapi setelah dilakukan perhitungan-perhitungan mengenai beberapa detik sebelum lomba dihentikan sesuai regulasi FIA, akhirnya kemenangan Kimi dianulir dan FIA menganugrahkan kemenangan itu untuk Giancarlo Fisichella dari tim Jordan. Kimi pun terpaksa memberikan trophy-nya untuk Fisi dalam upacara singkat saat sesi latihan GP berikutnya.

GP Brazil juga sepertinya merupakan GP penentu bagi juara dunia. Di tahun 2007 dan 2008, Kimi Raikkonen dan Lewis Hamilton berhasil meraih gelar dunia di GP Brazil ini. Bahkan tahun ini, meski bukan lagi merupakan GP penutup tetap saja gelar dunia baru lahir di GP ini.

Satu lagi fakta yang kuperhatikan. Rubens Barrichello tak pernah mengalami nasib baik di GP negaranya ini. Seperti Jenson Button di GP Inggris, begitu pun dengan Rubens Barrichello. Bahkan ketika Rubens masih bersama Ferrari dengan mobil yang mumpuni sekalipun, Rubens Barrichello tak pernah menjuarai balapan di depan publiknya sendiri ini. Bahkan tahun ini, ia mengalami nasib lebih tragis dari rekan senegaranya, Felipe Massa, yang meski tahun lalu ia tak berhasil menjadi juara dunia tapi ia berhasil tampil dominan di depan rekan-rekan sebangsa dan setanah airnya. Sementara Rubens Barrichello meski berhasil menjadi pole sitter tapi strategi balapannya yang dikacaukan oleh kemunculan safety car setelah kecelakaan di awal lomba membuat posisi keduanya di klasemen direbut oleh Sebastian Vettel yang berhasil finish di tempat keempat, dan di GP Abu Dhabi, Rubens Barrichello masih harus bertarung lagi untuk meraih gelar kedua di belakan rekan setimnya, Jenson Button dan melengkapi sukacita Brawn GP yang juga berhasil meraih gelar dunia konstruktor. Dan jika Rubens Barrichello berhasil merebut kembali posisi keduanya dari tangan Vettel di Abu Dhabi, maka berarti Brawn GP memang pantas berpesta.

Ya, balapan memang masih menyisakan satu lagi. Button dan Brawn GP telah berhasil melalui jalan yang panjang dan berliku itu. Memang hanya masalah waktu bagi Jenson untuk memperlihatkan bahwa ia memang pantas meraih gelar dunia dan waktu itu adalah sekarang. It's Jenson's time! Congratulations Jenson and Brawn GP!

Terakhir, aku ingin menyampaikan kalimat Nick Fry yang kukutip dari Autosport.com mengenai keberhasilan Jenson Button ini, "I think he's just demonstrated to everyone what he can do, and the doubters who said he couldn't overtake or he wasn't aggressive enough, hopefully they're now eating humble pie."
pic taken from: www.dailymail.co.uk
Jenson Button - Race Driver of Brawn GP

Nationality: British
Date of birth: 19 January 1980
Place of birth: Frome, Somerset, England
Lives: Monaco
Height 1.83m
Weight 70.5kg
Marital status: Single
Hobbies: Water sports, cycling, ski touring, cars and music
Website www.jensonbutton.com


GP debut: Australia 2000
Best World Championship position: 3rd - 2004
First win Hungary 2006
Last win Turkey 2009
Pole positions: 7
GP starts: 168
GP wins: 7
GP points: 317


2009 Formula One: Brawn GP Formula One Team - Race Driver, Car No. 22
2008 Formula One: Honda Racing F1 Team - 18th in Drivers’ Championship
2007 Formula One: Honda Racing F1 Team - 15th in Drivers’ Championship
2006 Formula One: Honda Racing F1 Team - 6th in Drivers’ Championship
2005 Formula One: B·A·R Honda - 9th in Drivers’ Championship
2004 Formula One: B·A·R Honda - 3rd in Drivers’ Championship
2003 Formula One: B·A·R Honda - 9th in Drivers’ Championship
2002 Formula One: Renault F1 - 7th in Drivers’ Championship
2001 Formula One: Benetton - 17th in Drivers’ Championship
2000 Formula One: Williams - 8th in Drivers’ Championship
1999 British Formula 3 Series: 3rd in Championship & Top rookie driver
1998 British Formula Ford Series: Winner
European Formula Ford Series: 2nd
1997 European Supercup A Kart Series: Winner
Ayrton Senna Memorial Cup: Winner
1996 World Cup & American Kart Series: 3rd
1995 Senior ICA Italian Kart Series: Winner
1994 British Junior Kart Series: 4th
1993 British Open Kart Series: Winner
1992 British Open & British Junior TKM Kart Series: Winner
1991 British Open & British Cadet Kart Series: Winner
1990 British Cadet Kart Series: Winner
1989 British Kart Super Prix: Winner

(NB: Stats correct post 2009 Japanese GP)