Brawn praises 'fantastic racer' Button

The ex-Ferrari technical chief, who formed his own squad out of the ashes of the Honda team earlier this year, was in tears after Button crossed the line.

"We made hard work of it over the second half of the year," he told BBC TV. "But we've done it, and it's very special. It's going to take a while to set in.

"As for Jenson, he's a fantastic racer and on the day he had a great race. He knew what he had to do.

"We've lost a little bit of pace in the car compared to some of our rivals over the second half of the season, but he's stuck with it and deserves everything he's got."

Brawn was quick to congratulate the whole Brawn team, including the former Honda staff who were forced to leave the Brackley-based squad during a period of downsizing earlier in the year.

"The work they [everyone] did over the winter was sensational," he added. "And I have to say to all of those that couldn't be with us because we had to resize the team, my thanks goes out to them because they worked so hard.

"I hope they can be very proud with what they achieved for the team because they've been a part of everything we've done."