Button uses Brawn wind tunnel to test triathlon bike

[John S]

When I first saw this I thought "thats not cricket mate" but I suppose Jens is right, you have to use whatever is available to you. Have a good Triathalon Jens, try not to fall off - you are leading the WDC.

With formula one in a summer slumber, Brawn's Brackley wind tunnel was in action last week

But the focus of the aerodynamic efforts was not Jenson Button's Mercedes-powered car, but rather the Briton himself on the saddle of a bicycle

Button is taking part in the London Triathlon this weekend, and he made use of the F1 wind tunnel to assess the aerodynamic efficiency of his Brawn-branded time-trial bike and attire

He smilingly denied that his access to the facility gives him an unfair advantage

"No way," the 29-year-old said in an interview with the Telegraph. "People should use everything they can, with the new bike, new helmet and position I'll shave off one and half minutes."

onestopstrategy.com, Today

[Scott]

I've heard that the electrical costs alone can exceed £500/hr in a smallish windtunnel.  I wonder who paid the bills while modelled his bike?

[Alianora La Canta]

If Brawn can't switch the wind-tunnel off because the National Grid won't let them turn it off and on again every week (due to the drain on resources), then Brawn are better off testing Button on a bike than having it just sitting there using electricity to no effect whatsoever.