Ross Brawn moves to soothe Rubens Barrichello

Ross Brawn, the principal of this season's surprise package in Formula 1 racing, Brawn GP, has moved quickly to allay the fears of his driver Rubens Barrichello and to rstore calm at the all-conquering outfit.

The Brazilian driver, who is second in the drivers' championship behind teammate Jenson Button, had claimed after Sunday's Spanish GP - which Button won and Barrichello came second in - that the team was operating a policy of favouritism towards the young Briton. He felt aggrieved after Button's race strategy was changed during last weekend's race to allow Button to overtake Barrichello and ultimately win the race.

Barrichello had been the second string driver at Ferrari under Michael Schumacher for years and had quit that team, then run by Ross Brawn, in frustration in 2005 before the end of his contract. He threatened in an interview given after the Spanish GP to "hang up his helmet" if he felt that the same favouritism was going on at Brawn GP.

Brawn poured oil on the troubled waters yesterday, telling BBC radio that: "We don't have a one and a two driver. They're both on equal terms and conditions." He suggested that the media had over-hyped the row and that both his drivers would be "given equal opportunity" at winning the championship "unless there is a mathematical chance one can't do it".

After five races of this year's championship Button is way out ahead with 41 points out of a possible 45, with Barrichello back in second on 27. Brawn GP leads its nearest rival Red Bull-Renault in the constructors' world championship by 29.5 points.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Jonathan McEvoy, Daily Mail: "History tells us that Ross Brawn sees backing one man as the most straightforward way to win the drivers’ championship. He did it, of course, with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, when Eddie Irvine and Barrichello himself were the dependable supporting cast. Button won on Sunday with the performance of the day but, in the final analysis, his title challenge, which continues in Monaco on May 24, could yet hinge on the level of Brawn's backing."

Maurice Hamilton, the Guardian: "Button's race strategy had been changed from three stops to two when Brawn and his engineers realised the Englishman was likely to be trapped behind slower cars after emerging from his first pit stop. If anything, the change to Button's strategy should have favoured Barrichello but the Brazilian's race was then compromised by a tyre problem later in the race. That, coupled with Button rising to the challenge of dealing with a much heavier car, swung the balance in Button's favour." ·