Ross Brawn Q&A

"I think we were the only Bridgestone runner on the hard tyres, and while we knew it would compromise qualifying a bit, I think in terms of a race tyre it was a very good tyre. Michelin seem to have gone the other way. They've certainly been beating us in qualifying, and we certainly paid the price for that in Monaco. But I think in the last couple of races maybe they've gone a bit too far towards qualifying, and not enough towards the race. It's certainly a very pleasing performance for us."



"I was really. We always have a look at the previous year's race, and we looked at last year's race, and it was quite a tough race. Ralf had a problem which made it a little bit easier, but up until then it was a very tough race. So I was expecting a tough race this weekend. We saw the times they were doing in practice, and the times they were doing in the warm-up, and we didn't truly understand what was going on. So were a little bit surprised in the race to find there was such a margin."



"Rubens after Friday was fairly keen on the soft tyre, but on Saturday morning after practice we convinced him to go with the hard tyre for the race, because the soft tyre was a little bit marginal. So he went into qualifying not really having driven the hard tyre properly, and he was trying to get his car sorted out for usage on the hard tyre. It wasn't easy for him, and he probably suffered a little bit because of it."



"There was a key area, which was after the second stop. It was about 15 seconds, and then more than that by the end of the race. But the problem was if you got stuck on the first stint, then it could get a bit tight on the second stop, because we expected their tyres to get very good before the end of their usage, although the opposite happened. So we were a bit concerned that we might get blocked early on, so both Michael's and Rubens' performance at the beginning of the race was fantastic, because they knew they had to get out in front if they were going to make the strategy work."



"With Rubens it was really all about the start. I gather talking to him now that Ralf and Montoya had a little coming together on the second corner, and he was able to take advantage of that and get past. And then Michael had lots of grip in the complex at the back and was able to draft Ralf relatively easily, and we didn't think it was that easy. But he was able to do it, and it was a great move."



"It was a little bit, but what we were worried about if we had gone for a one stop was to find them driving away from us at the end of the first stint, because their tyres were coming good and maybe ours weren't. We knew out tyres would be there from the very first lap, we didn't go through a bad period with the tyres. It was a little bit brave, but the drivers were enthusiastic and it all worked well."



"Yes. Their times this morning suggested they were on a one-stop, but I wasn't sure about Montoya. I thought with the softer compound he was going to consider two, but obviously the race started to develop and you could see what they were doing. It was up to us to build a sufficient gap."



"No. It was very straightforward, because we discussed these things before the race, so everyone knew what the position was. We let the drivers race until the second pit stop, and then we told them they had to look after the equipment. We weren't prepared to risk the cars at that stage. But up until the second pit stop they had a free range on what they did."



"Well, the championship has moved on since then, and I think we've learned from that experience as well. We're all human, and we learned from the experience of Austria, and out judgement will probably be different in the future in the way we handle these things. Given that Michael is a reasonable amount ahead now we're quite keen on Rubens securing a good position in the championship, and it wasn't the thing to do today."



"We learned from it, let's put it that way, and it's not something I want to speculate on. If Michael has had the misfortune that Montoya's had in the last few races, then you could see a situation where Montoya's leading the championship now. You have to understand the reasons why we think the way we do and do the things we do. We gave both drivers the same strategy, they both knew what they had to do. We don't want the drivers to knock each other off, and it was open until after the second pit stop."



"It was a bit of a shock, but talking to Rubens it sounds as though there was some oil or something down on that corner, because Rubens almost lost it. We would have been treated to another synchronised spinning by two Ferraris again. He said he almost lost it, and then Michael did actually lose it, so there was something a bit strange about that corner. I know they were racing, but we didn't expect him to lose it there."



"I don't know. Rubens obviously did what he had to in the circumstances, so you don't know what Rubens would have done. He knew because the strategies were the same that he needed a couple of seconds before the pit stop. I think Rubens did one or two good laps in just before the pit stops, so that really sealed it for him."



"Well, yes, I have to say. If anything the car's performance is getting stronger this year. Of course, you don't know which way it's going to go. We're not getting complacent, we're not getting over confident, but of course we're a little bit more comfortable now than we were in Austria. But as I say just speculate on what would have happened if Michael had the last three races that Montoya's had, and vice versa. Montoya would have been in the lead of the championship, or certainly very close."



"Yes, naturally, we're able to start on next year's car now. As I say we're not getting complacent, but you are always looking to divide your resources between the current programme and the future programmes. Obviously we'll put more emphasis on the future programmes right now. We've got to maintain reliability, we've got to maintain good performance, but we don't have a performance shortfall. It won't be the case at every race, and I'm sure there are going to be lots of very tough races this year. But we've been able to start the new car and put more of our resources into it perhaps earlier than we did last year."