;)
FUMES
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 11:40AM October 21, 2009
Against all odds.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
(Posted 10/20, 3:30pm) Detroit. As improbable as it was, it was great to see Jenson Button and his Brawn Grand Prix team bring home their first World Championships - for drivers and constructors - at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. It was the first time a rookie Grand Prix team had ever been able to record such an incredible achievement, redefining the very definition of what a "fairytale" season looks like in motor racing. And all this from a 29-year-old British driver who had won just one F1 race in the previous eight seasons (Hungary in 2006), but who reeled off six wins in the first seven races of this season.
Oh, it got difficult after that, but the team that was created at the very last hour from the wreckage of Honda's F1 program last December and then powered by an eleventh hour engine deal with Mercedes-Benz triumphed literally against all odds. And in this day and age of jaded, corporate sponsor-driven spec racing it was simply magnificent to see.
“It’s still got to sink in,” team principal Ross Brawn told the BBC after the checkered flag fell in Sao Paulo. “It will take a while (to sink in). It’s special - very special.”
Indeed.
The newly-minted World Champion returned home Tuesday telling the media that he wants to stay with the Brawn Formula One team next season. “I’m not really striving to be looking for a new team that can pay me a big amount of money. That’s not what I’m about,” Button said. “I just want to go and win races again. I want to be with Brawn. We just haven’t discussed it yet.” Button then disclosed that he plans to discuss a new deal in the next few days.
Congratulations to Jenson Button, Ross Brawn and the entire Brawn Grand Prix team. It may not be worthy of an Al Michaels-type "Do you believe in miracles?" play-by-play call, but it was sensational nonetheless.
Well done!
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