Brawn: Honda to retain Button and Barrichello for 2009

Honda team principal Ross Brawn has said their driver line-up of Britain’s Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello will remain unchanged for the 2009 Formula One season. Honda are experiencing a difficult 2008 campaign, but with both Button and Barrichello proven race winners, Brawn insists it is the car and not the men behind the wheel that is the team’s primary concern. “Clearly our priority is to sort the car out, because we believe with the drivers we have, if we produce a good car then they can produce from their side,” he told Formula1.com. “So we are not looking at anything major on the driver side - our main priority is the car.” Honda’s current line-up dates back to the start of 2006, and even though there has been talk of Barrichello retiring - he is now the longest serving Formula One driver in history - when asked if the same two men will be in the car next year, Brawn simply replied: “yes”.