Barrichello hits out at Button’s smooth ride

Rubens Barrichello

Brawn GP

(GMM) Rubens Barrichello has expressed irritation that, while teammate Jenson Button seemingly strolls to the 2009 world championship, the sister Brawn is not proving such a smooth ride.

After 15 laps of the Istanbul circuit on Sunday, runaway leader Button, before going on to equal Michael Schumacher's record run of six wins from the opening seven races of a season, said he was tempted to radio the pits and hail the BGP001 "outrageous".

That word, however, could also have been used by 38-year-old Barrichello, but more literally, for he had nearly stalled at the start, found himself stranded in the pack with a malfunctioning gearbox, and got involved in wheel-to-wheel clashes.

When he parked in the garage, it was the former Honda team's first retirement of the 2009 season, leaving the veteran Brazilian 26 points behind in the title race.

"I had clutch trouble at the start, the same as Australia — it was the wrong calculation for the clutch once again on my side.

"Then the engine limiter was coming in on the straights and I couldn't overtake. I'm not criticizing the team but I think we have to be more careful with my stuff," Barrichello said after the race.

"The bad luck seems to be happening too much on my side," he added.