Zoom Brawn GP fighting to protect its lead in both championships

The past two races demonstrate that Brawn GP has entered the "second phase" of the team's career in Formula One, according to an expert observer.

After dominating six of the opening seven Grand Prix this year, the Brackley-based team succumbed to the superiority of Red Bull Racing at Silverstone and the Nurburgring.

"For Brawn, the solitude and isolation since the departure of Honda is beginning to weigh," former F1 team manager Joan Villadelprat, who recently made a bid to bring his Spanish outfit Epsilon Euskadi into the sport in 2010, said.

He said that while Red Bull can list no problems whatsoever, it is a lack of funds that have made Brawn come unstuck.

"They have obtained some sponsors, but none of significance. Virgin's contribution is modest and they have already announced they will not be around in the next campaign," Villadelprat wrote in his column for the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"This is a problem, because there is no money to invest in the car," he continued. "Until now they have lived on the money of Honda; even the developments presented in Barcelona were financed by the Japanese."

"This slowness in improvements is noticeable now in comparison with the other teams, especially Red Bull," Villadelprat said.

He also believes the previous harmony within the team is beginning to suffer, as demonstrated by Rubens Barrichello's angry outburst after finishing the German Grand Prix sixth.

Source: GMM
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