2009 Formula 1 - Brazilian GP

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Race Day - Results:
Button Champion! :TROPHY::first:
Pos - Driver - Team
1 - Mark Webber - RBR-Renault
2 - Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber
3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes
4 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault
5 - Jenson Button - Brawn-Mercedes
6 - Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari
7 - Sebastien Buemi - STR-Ferrari
8 - Rubens Barrichello - Brawn-Mercedes
9 - Kamui Kobayashi - Toyota
10 - Giancarlo Fisichella - Ferrari
11 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - Force India-Mercedes
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren-Mercedes
13 - Romain Grosjean - Renault
14 - Jaime Alguersuari - STR-Ferrari
Ret - Kazuki Nakajima - Williams-Toyota
Ret - Nico Rosberg - Williams-Toyota
Ret - Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber
Ret - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes
Ret - Jarno Trulli - Toyota
Ret - Fernando Alonso - Renault


Qualifying Results:

Pos - Driver - Team
1 - Rubens Barrichello - Brawn-Mercedes
2 - Mark Webber - RBR-Renault
3 - Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes
4 - Jarno Trulli - Toyota
5 - Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari
6 - Sebastien Buemi - STR-Ferrari
7 - Nico Rosberg - Williams-Toyota
8 - Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber
9 - Kazuki Nakajima - Williams-Toyota
10 - Fernando Alonso - Renault
11 - Kamui Kobayashi - Toyota
12 - Jaime Alguersuari - STR-Ferrari
13 - Romain Grosjean - Renault
14 - Jenson Button - Brawn-Mercedes
15 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - Force India-Mercedes
16 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault
17 - Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren-Mercedes
18 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes
19 - Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber
20 - Giancarlo Fisichella - Ferrari


Qualifying - Barrichello rises to the challenge in Brazil

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Thunderstorms had been predicted for Interlagos on Saturday, and the forecast proved devastatingly accurate as heavy rain turned qualifying into the longest session ever held in Formula One history. It began at 1400 and ended two hours and 41 minutes later!

Along the way it left luminaries such as Brawn GP’s Jenson Button down in 14th, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in 16th and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in 18th, as Rubens Barrichello did his title hopes a power of good by grabbing pole position for his home race.

For a while it seemed there might not even be a qualifying session, and that it might have to be postponed until Sunday morning.

The weather had relented slightly at the start of Q1, and Vettel initially set the fastest time and Ferrari’s Giancarlo Fisichella went second. But the luckless Italian half spun in Turn One and blocked the track. Out came the red flag. When things were restarted there was a moment when the track was marginally better, and that was when the quick times were set, but Vettel was not able to take advantage of that moment, and his eventual 1m 25.009s made him the first man who failed to make the cut. Starting in 16th place, his championship chances seemed all but over barring a miracle.

Neither of the McLarens made it, either. Heikki Kovalainen was 17th on 1m 25.052s, while Lewis Hamilton spun away his chances on fresh Bridgestone full wets and will line up 18th on 1m 25.192s. BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld never got it together either, and was 19th on 1m 25.515s, with Fisichella last on 1m 40.703s.

The moment Q2 began there was another red flag after Vitantonio Liuzzi, following close behind Raikkonen, aquaplaned on a huge puddle on the pit straight, hit the pit wall, then clobbered the outer wall in Turn One backwards. Exit one Force India with seriously deranged suspension.

Then we went into a hurry up and wait situation. Out went Alan van der Merwe in the medical car to do a track inspection at 1530. Too wet. Out he went again at 1545. Too wet. At 1600. Same answer. No, wait. It was light outside. The horizon was visible again. A restart at 1610!

It proved to be the undoing of Button, who had earlier in the week ventured the opinion that qualifying matters less here than normal. He stayed out too long on his full wet tyres and wore them out, and admitted later that he should have switched to intermediates.

Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi continued his impressive progress on his debut, only a long slide stopping him getting through to the top 10, but a 1m 21.960s lap, and 11th place for his first Grand Prix, was impressive. Behind him Jaime Alguersuari lapped his Toro Rosso in 1m 22.231s for 12th ahead of Romain Grosjean on 1m 22.477s for Renault and Button on 1m 22.504s.

That left Q3, which was the only session to run to its intended 10-minute schedule. This proved a gripping one, with the fastest time changing hands between Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, Barrichello, BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, Williams’ Nico Rosberg, Barrichello again, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Webber again, then finally Barrichello. And further down the timesheet, the order was changing lap by lap too.

In the end Barrichello’s 1m 19.576s beat Webber’s 1m 19.668s, with Adrian Sutil sprinting up to third for Force India right at the end on 1m 19.912s.

Trulli’s 1m 20.097s left him fourth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen for Ferrari on 1m 20.168s, Buemi on 1m 20.250, Rosberg on 1m 20.326s, Kubica on 1m 20.631s and Kazuki Nakajima in the other Williams on 1m 20.674s. Fernando Alonso was 10th overall for Renault, with 1m 21.422s.

So that was a remarkable, prolonged qualifying session. The forecast is for better weather on Sunday, with the possibility of showers rather than thunderstorms. Vettel, for one, will be praying for more rain to increase the likelihood of a race of attrition. Button, 14th with his team mate on pole, will just be praying.

source (http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/10/10106.html)


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Practice Two - Alonso and Buemi spring a surprise

Sebastien Buemi appeared to have the fastest time in the bag as the second practice session drew to a close in Interlagos on Friday afternoon, but Fernando Alonso had other ideas and banged in a lap of 1m 12.314s for Renault to depose the Toro Rosso driver.

Buemi's 1m 12.357s held up for second fastest, as Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello vaulted past Jenson Button in the closing minutes. The Australian lapped his Red Bull in 1m 12.514s to beat the Englishman's 1m 12.523s for Brawn, but the Brazilian's 1m 12.459s aced them both as he moved up to third in the second BGP001.

Jarno Trulli was sixth for Toyota in 1m 12.605s as morning pacesetter Sebastian Vettel managed 1m 12.611s in the second Red Bull. Nico Rosberg was eighth for Williams with 1m 12.633s with Adrian Sutil ninth for Force India on 1m 12.720s. Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10 with 1m 12.749s for McLaren, ahead of Romain Grosjean on 1m 12.806s in the Renault and Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber on 1m 12.862s.

The performance of the session came from rookie Kamui Kobayashi, who lapped his Toyota in an excellent 1m 12.869s for 13th place, ahead of fellow countryman Kazuki Nakajima on 1m 12.929s for Williams. Kobayashi may well have done enough to stake his claim to a regular seat with the team for 2010.

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was 15th on 1m 12.948s ahead of Force India's Tonio Liuzzi on 1m 12.950s, while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen completed the sub-1m 13s runners with 1m 12.992s.

Kimi Raikkonen was 18th on 1m 13.026s for Ferrari, who had a disappointing afternoon as Giancarlo Fisichella was 20th on 1m 13.275s after his F60 developed a technical problem and stopped on the exit to the pit lane. The two red cars sandwiched Jaime Alguersuari, who posted 1m 13.041s in the second Toro Rosso.
source (http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/10/10098.html)

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Button and Barrichello prepare for battle

As the battle for the world championship heads to the final wire in the last two races, points leader Jenson Button has admitted that he would ‘hate’ his Brawn GP team mate Rubens Barrichello were he to snatch the title from his grasp at the 11th hour.

Button is currently 14 points ahead of the Brazilian, and 16 ahead of Red Bull's German driver Sebastian Vettel.

"If Rubens won the championship, I would absolutely hate him," said Button, with a nervous laugh, ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix. "We come here for one thing only and that's to win the world championship. That's what we are all here to do. We are working well together but you come here to win and we are very competitive people. If Rubens won, I'd be very disappointed. But I'd also respect that he did a better job over the 17 races."

The odds favour Button, who only needs six points for third place to put the title beyond reach, regardless of whether Barrichello or Vettel win the final two races. And during the press conferences on Thursday, and again when he entertained the British media in the evening, he seemed as relaxed as ever after admitting that he had slept well on Wednesday night.

"I woke up very happy this morning, as I’d had some pretty good dreams," he said. "I woke up with a smile on my face. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I don't think it adds pressure knowing that you could win the world championship this weekend. It's a positive."

He also admitted that, having been beaten on his home ground at Silverstone by Barrichello back in July, when the tide of the championship began to flow against him, he would like nothing better than to return the favour on the track close to where Barrichello grew up.

"Rubens beat me at Silverstone and I'd like to do the same to him here," he smiled. "It's never a nice feeling when you get beaten by your own team mate in your home country.”

Past inter-team contests, notably those between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna when they were together at McLaren in the late Eighties, or Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell just before that, have a habit of ending in tears such are the stakes, but Button added: "We understand the situation, we are all fighting for something that is far greater than we have achieved in the past and I think we will respect that."

Barrichello said: "It's something that I have been dreaming of for a long, long time. So hopefully the car will be back into the performance that we want. Hopefully here I can just put everything out and go for the win - because I need it and because I want it so badly."

If Button ties up the title this weekend, he will become Britain's 10th world champion.

David Tremayne

[URL="http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2009/10/10095.html"]source (http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/10/10106.html)

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Brazil race analysis - Button and Brawn get the job done

Mark Webber drove a near perfect Brazilian Grand Prix, but his win was too little too late to keep Red Bull in the hunt for the constructors’ title. Similarly, there was nothing the Australian could do to prevent team mate Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of the drivers’ crown evaporating. Instead it was Brawn’s Jenson Button who was singing ‘We are the champions’ as the chequered flag fell. He’d made up nine places on his P14 grid slot, while team mate and polesitter Rubens Barrichello had lost seven, sealing the destiny of both championships in the process…

Red Bull
Mark Webber, P1
Sebastian Vettel P4
Webber had an almost perfect day, preserving his Red Bull’s rubber in the early going as he chased Barrichello and fended off Kubica, then pulling out a big gap after out-running them in the first round of pit stops. Thereafter it was just a matter of bringing the car home, his only real problems being to rein in his natural urge to push, and the fact that his second success was overshadowed by Button’s. Vettel made ground fast in the opening laps, and felt that fourth was the best he could have expected after his qualifying drama. Like Barrichello, he was philosophical that his title chance was over, but was also happy to have overtaken the Brazilian. Red Bull were likewise resigned to Brawn wrapping up the constructors’ championship.

BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, P2
Nick Heidfeld, Retired lap 22, fuel rig problem
Kubica admitted that he was surprised by his BMW Sauber’s pace, especially as he had to wind down the revs from the 15th lap when the engine showed signs of overheating. He was also unlucky to get stuck behind four cars after his first pit stop, which allowed Webber to increase his lead, but otherwise he was grateful for a strong result in what has been a really tough season. Heidfeld was one of several drivers who qualified way down to get the breaks on the opening lap. He was pushing Vettel hard when he made his first stop, and thereafter he ground to a halt out of fuel after his refuelling rig short-changed him.

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P3
Heikki Kovalainen, P9, penalised to P12
Hamilton benefited when McLaren changed their refuelling strategy under the safety car, and got the hammer down in a fabulous but tough drive that took him from 17th on the grid to the podium by the chequered flag. It was a typical feisty showing from the world champion. Kovalainen’s race was ruined at the start when Vettel tapped him into a spin, then came the early release from his pit stop which left him trailing his rig’s hose. McLaren were fined $50,000 for making an unsafe release, while Kovalainen was subsequently adjudged a drive-through penalty after the race; 25s was hence added to his race time, dropping him from ninth to 12th.

Brawn
Rubens Barrichello, P8
Jenson Button, P5
Button was absolutely delirious after a fantastic drive brought him the fifth place points that he needed to cement his world championship. After a few wobbly races his was a fighting performance that made him a worthy champion. It also sealed the constructors’ championship for an emotional Ross Brawn, making his team the first in history to win the title in its first season. Poor old Barrichello led initially from pole, but lacked the ultimate pace to fend off Webber after the first stops, or Kubica. Later, while fighting for third with Hamilton, his BGP001 sustained a puncture that dropped him down to an unhappy eighth place finish and finally killed his own world title aspirations.

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P6
Giancarlo Fisichella, P11, classified P10
Raikkonen had an adventurous race, with a first-corner swipe from Sutil which punctured his left rear Bridgestone, then a clash in which he wrecked his front wing hitting Webber. After his forced pit stop at the end of that opening lap he literally had to run through fire after Kovalainen’s premature exit from the McLaren pit. All things considered, the Finn did well to take sixth place. Fisichella had to avoid a spinning Kovalainen at the bottom of the first turn on the opening lap, switched to a one-stop strategy, and then suffered when his KERS operated intermittently.

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, P7
Jaime Alguersuari, P14
Once again Buemi drove a nice race, and deserved his two points after a strong showing for Toro Rosso. They were his first since China. Alguersuari was happy just to finish after his dramas in Japan.

Toyota
Kamui Kobayashi, P10, classified P9
Jarno Trulli, Retired lap one, collision
Button was quite critical of Kobayashi’s tactics, especially under braking, but the Japanese rookie did a good job to finish 10th on his debut after running ahead of the champion-elect for a while. He survived a major brush with Nakajima along the way, and generally acquitted himself well. Trulli was livid with Sutil after their first-lap clash, but the stewards sided with the German and fined the Italian $10,000 for disobeying marshals’ orders and remonstrating with Sutil.

Force India
Tonio Liuzzi, P12, classified P11
Adrian Sutil, Retired lap one, collision
Sutil had a brush with Raikkonen in the first corner as the KERS system in the Ferrari boosted it into third place. Then he got hit by Trulli, and exited the race in spectacular style. Liuzzi made a first-lap pit stop to get rid of his supersoft tyres which would not have lasted long on a car with so little downforce. His first stint on mediums was good, but subsequently he had oversteer on his second set of them.

Williams
Nico Rosberg, Retired lap 27, gearbox
Kazuki Nakajima, Retired lap 31, collision
Brazil seemed to promise so much for Williams, but it all went wrong again. Rosberg was running fourth when his gearbox malfunctioned, while Nakajima was eliminated in spectacular style after a clash with Kobayashi.

Renault
Romain Grosjean, P13
Fernando Alonso, Retired lap one, collision
Grosjean gained experience bringing his R29 home 13th, complaining that it lacked grip, but Alonso was the innocent victim when Sutil came back on track after his clash with Trulli, and was a first-lap retirement.