Brawn became the first Formula One team in 39 years to take pole position in its debut race when Jenson Button secured front place on the grid for today's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Button's time of 1 minute, 26.202 seconds edged out teammate Rubens Barrichello by 0.3 seconds, giving the F1 newcomers both positions on the front row for today's race.
It was the fourth pole position of Button's career — his first since the 2006 Australian GP — and completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the England-based team, which was threatened with extinction when former owner Honda pulled out of the sport after last season.
Before former Ferrari strategist and Honda team principal Ross Brawn took over the team, Button and Barichello faced the prospect of looking for a new job and watching this weekend's action on TV.
The Brawn performance may be a welcome taste of novelty for F1 fans, but rival teams were less enthusiastic. The team is racing under appeal, with a protest over the design of its rear diffuser to be heard by the sport's governing body FIA after the Malaysian Grand Prix, jeopardizing any points gained in the season's first two GP races. Williams and Toyota are also subject to the appeal.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will start from third on the grid at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit, ahead of BMW's Robert Kubica and Williams’ Nico Rosberg. Toyota pair Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli qualified sixth and eighth respectively.
None of the top six drivers are using the KERS power-boost system this year, illustrating how problematic the technology is proving for teams as they balance its power boost against its additional weight and effect on car design.
The highest of the KERS runners is Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who will start from seventh, directly in front of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who had a hydraulic failure in pre-qualifying practice.
Australia's Mark Webber will start from 10th in his Red Bull.
Brawn's achievement in taking pole on debut was the first time that had been achieved since Jackie Stewart's effort for Tyrell at the 1970 Canadian GP.
It had other teams fearing that Brawn may run away with the championship this season, unless its rear diffuser is deemed illegal.
“If they carry on like that, they will win the championship by the middle of the year,” Massa said.
Renault's Fernando Alonso qualified in 12th, but close in times to other competitors bar Brawn.
Another disappointment was reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will start from the back of the grid. The McLaren driver only scraped into second qualifying by 0.05 seconds and then elected to change his gearbox and not take part in the second session. The automatic penalty for the gearbox change means he will start from the back.
In 2006, when he had pole, Button eventually finished only 10th, blowing his engine within sight of the finishing line.
It was the first time that one team had claimed both front-row positions for the Australian GP since Barichello and his then Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher in 2004.
“The dominant time we had with Ferrari, we had probably 20,000 kilometers [of testing] before coming into the first race. This is very different. I had three tests,” Barichello said.
The Brazilian, the oldest man in the field at 36, was relishing another chance at F1 and was not satisfied with merely qualifying well.
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