(AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Ross Brawn says Button is a deserving champion

By TALES AZZONI,

SAO PAULO (AP) Ross Brawn has no doubts the Formula One title is in good hands with Jenson Button, and he said his team's hard work in difficult times made the difference at the end.

Still beaming after helping Brawn GP make history as the only team to win the drivers' and constructors' title in its debut season, Brawn said he was "incredibly proud" of the team's achievement in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

It was the end of a fairy tale story for a team that was created just a few weeks before the start of the season.

Button made it all happen on Sunday with a fifth place-finish at Interlagos after starting only 14th following a disappointing qualifying run in treacherous conditions the day before.

"Jenson is a fantastic racer and he had a great race, particularly after such a difficult qualifying," Brawn said. "He knew what he had to do and did just that and is a very deserving world champion."

Button won six of the first seven races and appeared on its way to a dominant season, but Brawn's GP superiority diminished in the final part of the year and the team struggled to keep the same pace.

Brawn said that's when he was proudest of his team.

"The second half of the year has been tough after such a successful start but getting the results in the difficult times is what counts in a championship season," Brawn said. "It's really going to take a while for what we have achieved to sink in."

Brawn took over the former Honda team after it folded its F1 operations, rebuilding the team and bringing it back to life just in time for the opening Australian Grand Prix.

"This team would not exist if Ross wasn't here," Button said. "He has got his name on the side of the car and that is a lot of pressure for one person. So for him to win the constructors' and the drivers' championship it is exceptional and the guy deserves a medal for sure."

Brawn, a former Ferrari technical director, made sure he gave credit to those who worked with the team over the years but unfortunately lost their job as the team was forced to resize for the 2009 season. Brawn had to lay off at least 250 of the team's 700 staff in England after the Honda buy-out.

"My sincere thanks go out to them because they worked so hard and should feel a part of our success," Brawn said.

Updated October 19, 2009