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Jenson Button's brilliant passing move on Lewis Hamilton at the end of the opening lap was the key to his triumph in Sunday's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, said Brawn team chief Ross Brawn.
Brawn, the man who created his team out of the ashes of the defunct Honda outfit last year, said it was important for the 29-year-old Englishman to be in front of the world champion in the early stages of the race.
"I was happy enough to see Jenson behind the two Toyotas, but he needed to be in front of Lewis and running in some clean air," Brawn said. "It was important and he did a great move to out-brake him and take that position.
"That put him in a position where we could cool the car down a bit and we turned the engine down a bit for a while and then turned it up again later on when we needed it."
Brawn said he was delighted with the victory and the team performance in which Button claimed his third victory in four races this year and team-mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello finished fifth.
"We have not had it all our own way here this weekend," said Brawn. "We had some issues in qualifying, we have been over the limit with the temperatures, so it was not easy.
"We knew it would be a tough race and we needed to make our strategy work for Jenson. We knew we had an advantage in Melbourne, but here the others had caught us up.
"They had narrowed the gap so for us to win here is very satisfying. Sometimes it is the races you are not sure about that are the best to win."
Button's victory established both he and his team at the top of the drivers' and the constructors' championships, and left the team boss promising new parts and upgrades for the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, in two weeks' time.
Asked about Barrichello, he said the veteran Brazilian felt uncomfortable about his car and its braking power in the heat and had opted for a three-stop strategy.
"In hindsight, we could have done better and maybe it was not the right strategy."
Brawn added that he had nominated veteran team member Ron Meadows to go on the podium and collect the winning constructors' trophy because he wanted to show how much he valued all the members of the team.
"In all the years and all the victories I had at Benetton, you know I never once went to the podium, so that is why I gave it to Ron - I want to give all the boys a chance."
Brawn said he wanted to congratulate Ferrari, his old team for finally scoring points. "I have a lot of personal friends there," he said.
