I was actually surprised with that result. We generally don’t have the same pace as the Red Bulls and the Ferraris so I was really surprised when I came through.

I saw that I was P4 but I didn’t know that there was loads of people behind me. I am absolutely overwhelmed with that position, I think that’s great for us, a great starting point and I hope tomorrow we can just either keep that position or take one more tomorrow.

We have got a lot of downforce to find, but I know the guys back at the factory are pushing very hard, and this is much better position to start from than we did last year so I can only be grateful and just keep working with the guys to push us forward. Lewis Hamilton.

It was getting better every run I did and I was getting more comfortable with the car. I really struggled with the fronts locking this afternoon – very different to this morning.

Through quali it was getting better and better and then in the last run something was a bit wrong. Something felt wrong, so we are going to have a look at the car now and see what that is. I’m surprised I was eighth actually because it was struggling around the last lap.

I think Red Bull are very, very fast and even the Ferraris couldn’t stay with them in qualifying.

My first run in Q2, I was in traffic and the second one was a bit better. It was getting better and better every lap so I was reasonably happy but yeah, at the end it wasn’t so good and something just feels a little bit wrong so we need to look at that. Jenson Button.

Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix in fourth, while Jenson Button could only manage eighth in qualifying.

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain 2010: Mixed Emotions In The McLaren Garage

Original article by BlogF1.

Caption Contest: #104

An interesting difference between the launch of the 25 and most others before it, is that the wraps were taken off not in McLaren’s impressive Technical Centre in Surrey, but instead at the UK headquarters of its primary sponsor, Vodafone. Although not a million miles from Woking, Newbury seemed a bit of an anti-climax, and one can read into this that the team didn’t want to be surrounded by their history and instead wanted the 2010 challenger to be born away from all this – a fresh new beginning, perhaps.

Either way, the choice of venue for the launch is irrelevant, and what really matters is the car itself. Like the Ferrari before it, the MP4-25 sports a longer wheelbase, a revised nose and front wing, tighter sidepods and an impressive engine cover that makes full use of the popular shark-fin design, first introduced by Adrian Newey to the Red Bull Racing RB4.

The tiny sidepods indicate McLaren have again got the cooling sorted, and many times in the recent past we have seen the car wait on the grid or in a gravel trap for extended periods of time with the engine still running. Normally, a Formula One car – which is designed to be moving and sucking up air – would overheat in a matter of seconds of being stationary, but for some reason, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz have this issue sorted.

The engine cover is perhaps the most pronounced difference between this and McLaren’s previous cars. The team did once try the shark-fin cover, running a version of it around Hockenheim in 2008, but alas it did not make it to the final race car. However, for 2010 the team have adopted the device with gusto and combined with the additional length of the car, the shark-fin looks impressively huge, swooping over the rear of the car and heading towards the rear wing.

The front nose is a little higher than we saw on the MP4-24, and the whole section appears much tighter and less bulbous. There isn’t much in the way of a Newey-dip as we have seen from other teams, and looking at the side view of the car, the exhausts appear to be more on the side of the engine cover, as opposed to on the top as placed on the 25’s predecessors. Thinking out aloud for a moment, this may help with getting heat into the rear tyres, although most drivers who complain of cold rubber are usually having trouble with the front pair, a Formula One car being rear-wheel driven.

The car’s livery remains pretty much the same as before, utilising the silver/chrome finish that makes McLarens so distinctive among their rivals. The splashes of red indicating the ongoing relationship with Vodafone and the black separation line which was incorporated into the team’s logo many years ago when West took over from Marlboro as title sponsors before leaving the sport when tobacco advertising was banned.

All in all, the MP4-25 looks good, has the sport’s two most celebrated drivers piloting it this year and should – in theory – be a challenger for the titles.

McLaren’s car designation system refers to the team’s original names, which depending on which story you believe, either refers to McLaren Project 4, or Marlboro Project 4. These initials are followed by an incremental numbering system that for 2010, has reached 25. Hence, MP4-25.

Original article by BlogF1.

Meet The Cars: McLaren MP4-25

Given a choice of McLaren or Brawn for 2010, the answer is probably McLaren, and therefore Jenson Button has made a wise move. Brawn came from nowhere less than twelve months ago to storm to victory through the year and take both titles, but a fairytale story always has an ending. Comparing the resources of both teams, and combined with the historical facts, you would surely have to place your eggs in the Woking basket.

For evidence of McLaren’s great skill in development, you just have to look at the respective performances of both teams during 2009. Brawn started off very strong, but faded considerably and struggled to get themselves out of the non-winning rut. Conversely, McLaren started out at the beginning of the season in a less-than-favourable position, but dedicatedly developed their way into a race winning position. This, I am sure, will be carried over to 2010.

Of course, Mercedes have now purchased a majority stake in Brawn, and with that comes significant funding and undoubtedly security and expertise. Experience is already there as Ross Brawn has once again proven that he can win world championships, and the elder gentlemen and women from the Honda days know what they are doing. But McLaren have been doing it for longer.

So it is my belief that Button has made the correct choice, but it still remains my belief that he won’t take the 2010 title, and from there, it will become increasingly harder to take any more.

The McLaren family seems to be centred around Lewis Hamilton in the sister car, and having already taken one title for his beloved team, it is understandable that the general leaning within the crew is towards Hamilton’s garage. Although they may give each driver equal opportunity, equal equipment and insist on no team orders until necessary (one driver being out of a championship-winning position), there is still that Lewis is our man ethos. One cannot blame a team for this, it is natural human behaviour to lean towards the proven winner whom you know inside-and-out.

McLaren have run two world champions in their cars before, and although this has given the team immense success in the late ’80s, the rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost did at times get played out in front of the fans on the race track. It was clear that there was little love between the two great drivers and while that may have been acceptable in an era when it is said that men were men and boys were boys, in today’s overly-corporate world, sponsors will be wanting a happy family to promote their brands. I’m not suggesting I agree with this, merely that it is a reality.

We saw a little of this in 2007 with the pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Although Hamilton was yet to win his title (the ‘07 season being his debut) the rookie’s ability behind the steering wheel soon started to make headlines. Alonso, already a double champion, probably felt slightly on edge about the unexpected competitive nature of his team mate, and soon enough, sparks flew from the McLaren camp. And much like when Senna and Prost collided at the Suzuka chicane, Hamilton held up Alonso in the Hungarian pitlane, impeding his team mate during qualifying.

Since then Hamilton has matured, as he showed the world in 2009 with some gritty drives in a car that wasn’t always a comfortable winner. In front of the media he seemed more relaxed – or at least, after the first couple of races he did – and Hamilton showed that he could work with his team and come across to all as a generally calm and focused driver. However, Hamilton’s team mate of the past two years has failed to push him like Alonso did in 2007. That element of pressure from Heikki Kovalainen’s side of the garage failed to materialise and it is a key force for any driver. You will always want to beat your team mate, but teams know it should never be easy. Kovalainen was a bit too easy for Hamilton.

Jenson Button, while a great driver and someone who has finally proven his worth in Formula One, will struggle to ultimately beat Hamilton. And if the pair somehow end up at the final race still both within shout of the title, I would feel safer putting money on the driver who is not defending his title. Having said that, Button will apply substantial pressure on Hamilton. Like in 2007, the younger Briton will be paired with a much more experienced pilot, and right now Jenson will be on Cloud-9 and will carry the number 1 on his car. Hamilton will have to make do with number 2.

As we saw in 2007, and look back even further at the late-80’s and early-90’s, team mate rivalry can win many titles, but it can also lose you some. In 2007 it was Kimi Raikkonen who crept through to finally take the title, driving McLaren’s nemesis, a Ferrari.

I feel that the pairing will prove to be very successful for McLaren, and the team should and likely will take some constructor’s titles with the British duo. But with regards to driver’s titles…

…well, you already know how I think this is going to play out for Button. Perhaps it is time I hand this over to the capable hands of you.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jenson Button Has Won His First And Last World Championship

Jenson Button has reiterated that he wants to drive a competitive car next year, although Ross Brawn’s team have given no indication that the 2010 progress has been compromised by the dedication needed for the successful 2009 campaign. However, in recent years we have seen a troubled season follow a very successful season with Ferrari triumphing in 2008 in the constructors, only to struggle with the 2009 F60.

As I’ve said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship.

We’ve been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we’re not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we’ve given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them.

I think it’s also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season. He needs to explore all the feasible options. Richard Goddard, Button’s Manager.

The McLaren car may look very tempting for Button at the moment, and the team are proven winners in the sport with a long and successful history. The Woking team will continue with the Mercedes-Benz engine, the very same that helped propel Button to multiple wins in 2009. The team are highly organised, very dedicated and managed to turn around what was a terrible car at the beginning of the season to a race winner.

However, while driving for the famous McLaren name will appeal, particularly if a long-term deal can be struck, Button would have to face partnering fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton. For the team, this isn’t the best situation as squads prefer to have drivers of different nationalities. This helps the team appeal to a wider range of sponsors which is ultimately hoped to bring in more money and therefore a larger budget to develop the car with.

From a driver’s standpoint though, going up against Lewis Hamilton may not be the wisest career move. Hamilton is very much the number one at the team, and although recently this has come about due to his dominance over team mate Heikki Kovalainen, when Fernando Alonso sat in the sister McLaren, fireworks were whizzing and banging all year. Needless to say, the relationship soured.

And that point brings me neatly onto drivers who switch teams after winning the drivers title. History tells us that sometimes it can prove to be an inspired move, but other times it also proves to be an unmitigated disaster.

In 2006 Fernando Alonso took his second successive title with the resurgent Renault team, the fruits of his labour finally paying off. His performances for the Anglo-French squad were inspiring and the Spaniard seemed very much at home with the Enstone-based team. However, in late 2005 Alonso announced his move to McLaren and shocked the Formula One world by seemingly turning his back on the team that he had been so successful with.

Of course, Alonso’s 2007 campaign didn’t go ultimately well, with controversial moments a’plenty centred around Alonso’s relationship with the team and team mate. Despite this though, the switch could be argued as one of the more inspired moves. The McLaren MP4-22 was a race winner and both drivers narrowly missed out on the title. Both Alonso and Hamilton collected 109 points each throughout the year, while eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen stole the show with 110 – it was one of the closest championships on record.

Due to other events that occurred away from the actual event of racing on the track, McLaren failed to seal the 2007 constructors title having been disqualified. The point remains though, that Alonso made the right call in terms of car competitiveness. The highest placed Renault driver of 2007 was Heikki Kovalainen, who amassed 30 points by the time the final race was over.

In 1996, Damon Hill was ejected from the Williams team as the bosses favoured Heinz-Harald Frentzen to partner Jacques Villeneuve. Although Hill’s move from the team wasn’t of his own wishing, the Briton still switched squads immediately after winning the drivers title.

Hill was an in-demand driver at the time and although getting on in terms of age, still had plenty to offer. I remember exactly where I was when I heard which team the champion had chosen, and it wasn’t who many of us were expecting. Eddie Jordan’s team were courting the first championship-winning son of a championship winner, but when the announcement came, it was Arrows who made the headlines. More so because the small team had never won a race before and had spent much of their time towards the rear of the grids.

The 1997 campaign was difficult for Hill and although the car improved massively and a near-win in Hungary lifted spirits, Damon had finally decided that perhaps Jordan was a better move and switched prior to the 1998 season. Although Hill’s move from Williams to Arrows was courageous, it ultimately was not successful.

Just one year prior to Damon’s team move there was another that also grabbed headlines the world over. Michael Schumacher had burst on to the racing scene and had taken the 1994 and 1995 drivers titles, albeit in contentious circumstances. The second championship for Schumacher also brought with it the constructors title for his team, Benetton. However, in 1995 Michael decided that he wanted to drive for one of the sports more famous and prestigious names, Ferrari.

Now, if we regard only the 1996 season, Schumacher’s move was a complete disaster. Ferrari had completely redesigned the car in anticipation of the arrival of the world champion and Schumacher’s season spent behind the F310 will be one he may want to forget. The German still managed three victories, one of which came at the saturated Spanish Grand Prix and is often regarded as one of the sport’s greatest drives. Although the actual move was a disaster, we cannot really consider it to be one over the longer term though, simply because Schumacher went on to take five further titles with Ferrari and dominate the sport for many years.

Of course, there are many more champions who have sought greener grass after being awarded the drivers title, some of whom found greater success while others found more time to polish the trophy they received the year previous. If Jenson has been offered a drive at McLaren, it will take a lot of thought and deliberation before a decision can be reached. Needless to say though, the Formula One world waits with abated breath.

Original article by BlogF1.

Speculation Rife Over Jenson Button’s Future

Mark Webber took the victory, Robert Kubica came home second and Lewis Hamilton drove to a superb third, but all eyes were on the Brawn camp as the Australian and Austrian national anthems rang out over Interlagos. With a rendition of We Are The Champions as he crossed the finish line screamed over his radio to the team, Button takes over the mantle from compatriot Lewis Hamilton. Brawn have also clinched the constructors title and after having been withdrawn from the sport less than a year ago, Ross Brawn is understandably overwhelmed.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jenson Button: 2009 Formula One World Champion

Of course, the media in Singapore and around the world are focusing their attention on the performance of Fernando Alonso and his team, but as their is a race going on this weekend, BlogF1 will be turning its attention to the fact the Formula One is essentially about a few drivers thrashing finely tuned motors around a track, this time around on the artificially lit streets of Singapore.

Singapore 2009 Friday Free Practice One		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	1m50.179s	19 Laps
2.	Jenson Button Brawn	1m50.356s	22 Laps
3.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m50.416s	21 Laps
4.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m50.567s	16 Laps
5.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m50.614s	16 Laps
6.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m50.699s	21 Laps
7.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m50.715s	17 Laps
8.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m50.815s	15 Laps
9.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m50.865s	19 Laps
10.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m51.089s	25 Laps
11.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m51.427s	23 Laps
12.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m51.544s	14 Laps
13.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m51.643s	28 Laps
14.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m51.656s	15 Laps
15.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m52.083s	20 Laps
16.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m52.135s	20 Laps
17.	Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari	1m52.390s	24 Laps
18.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m52.905s	23 Laps
19.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m53.232s	25 Laps
20.	Romain Grosjean Renault	1m53.458s	9 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Singapore 2009: Friday Practice One

Original article by BlogF1.

Caption Contest: #98

The opening lap on a very hot Istanbul Park circuit was dramatic as Button moved away from the dirty side well and maintained P2 behind Vettel. However, behind the leading duo Jarno Trulli rocketed off the line and challenged Webber for P3, passing the Australian into T1. Experiencing a more troubled start was Barrichello though, whose clutch suffered a problem and he over-torqued the gearbox after the anti-stall kicked in. Rubens went backwards on the first lap to the point where Lewis Hamilton who started in P16 was challenging him.

Barrichello’s dramas weren’t over though, but before the Brazilian suffered further headaches, Vettel would cause one for himself that would ultimately decide the rest of race. Running over the kerb at T10 the RB5’s rear-right wheel dragged itself over the astro-turf and when Vettel was able to rejoin, he ran wide on the exit. Vettel’s moment gifted Button the opportunity to pass, which the Briton took.

Also on the opening lap, Kimi Raikkonen suffered a poor start and in the final complex, the Finn tagged Fernando Alonso and damaged his front wing. Rubens Barrichello found himself boxed up behind Heikki Kovalainen and in a much faster car, Barrichello was all over the McLaren’s gearbox. However, without KERS, Rubens was finding it impossible to pull alongside the MP4-24 as Heikki pressed the go faster button on the steering wheel.

Frustration soon set in for Barrichello though and heading into the final complex, the Brazilian charged forward as Kovalainen ran wide. Rubens edged through, but Heikki recovered and was able to repass thanks to his KERS-enabled car. The following lap, Barrichello tried his move again, this time at T9. The pair tangled and Rubens came off the worse, spinning his Brawn around while Kovalainen was able to continue. Shortly after his incident, Barrichello radioed his team to say he had no seventh gear as his race went from bad to worse.

Moving through the race the pack settled and it soon became about the strategy of the Red Bull and the leading Brawn. It was expected by many for Vettel to change to a two-stop race after he lost the advantage of the lead. Not being able to maximise his lighter car and pull out a gap, the obvious choice was to switch the pilot’s pitstops. However, Red Bull chose to continue with a three-stopper, even to Vettel’s surprise as he stated after the race.

In the second stint after both leaders had pitted, Vettel found himself in a very fast car in comparison to Button, with less fuel meaning a lighter car, Vettel cruised up behind the Brawn driver and wiped out the lead the Briton had built up prior to the first stops. Not being able to pass though as the RB5 does not perform well in the dirty turbulent air of another car, Vettel stayed on three stops and pitted again.

Elsewhere in the field, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock found themselves battling each other at times, but being on different strategies, Trulli released Glock so as to not hamper his race. By 58, everything had worked out as Trulli finished in the points ahead of this team mate.

Lewis Hamilton, who was only stopping the once, changed to the soft tyres on L33, but with a very heavy car and cold boots found himself having to defend to a charging Nelson Piquet Jr. The Renault pilot forced his way through in the end with some solid driving. The fact the pair didn’t make any serious contact in credit to them both.

On L48 Rubens Barrichello finally retired his Brawn, the car getting harder and harder to drive. It is Brawn’s first retirement in 2009 and the Brazilian driver has endured possibly his worse race of the season so far. Rubens joined the only other retiree of the event, Giancarlo Fisichella.

The only real other point of interest was the final battle between Vettel and Webber. The German pilot, on three-stops, ended up chasing his team mate in the final stint. However, Vettel was catching Webber very quickly and it looked to be a showdown finish between the pair.

Wanting to preserve the result of second and third though, Red Bull informed Vettel that Webber was faster (although clearly he wasn’t) and that Sebastian should save his car. The message was clearly an instruction from the team to tell the drivers to stop racing each other, and Vettel stated after the race that he wanted to respond to the team, but resisted. Of course, Vettel has crashed in to the back of Webber before, so perhaps the team were correct in wanting to avoid any potential incident, even if it did mean frustration for viewers.

By L58, Button had backed off and his 20s lead over Webber had been reduced by half. Jenson comfortably won in Turkey, made even more impressive by the fact it wasn’t from pole position but instead from the dirty side of the grid in P2. Barrichello’s retirement will cause concern for the team, but ultimately the result is still very good for the Brackley squad.

Red Bull Racing also leave Istanbul with a healthy dose of points and Webber edges closer towards Vettel and moves ahead of Trulli in the championship. Other drives of note go to Nico Rosberg who eventually finished in P5 and Robert Kubica who finally scored some points this year with a drive to P7.

• The race result can be viewed here: Turkey 2009: Race Result.
• The live race notes can be viewed here: Turkey 2009: Live Race Notes.

Original article by BlogF1.

Turkey 2009: Jenson Button Takes Sixth Victory From Seven Attempts

Despite racing drivers essentially sitting down and only really moving their arms and legs while competing, they are actually incredibly fit athletes who train all year. Formula One drivers need to have strong muscles around the neck and back and their arms and legs take a beating as well from the constant application of the controls under forces of up to 4G.

Last year at Silverstone when the three participating British drivers were answering questions in a press conference, Lewis Hamilton remarked about Jenson’s fitness after learning that his rival had just completed the Windsor Triathlon, finishing in 117th of the 1700 entrants. This led to Button suggesting that both Hamilton and himself should compete in same triathlon to see who is fitter, and the then-Honda driver even promised a sizable donation to charity.

With David Coulthard egging him on, Lewis agreed to the man challenge. However, a couple of hours later Lewis’s father pulled his son from the challenge saying that they had a championship to focus on. Needless to say, it didn’t go down too well with the press.

Fast forward to 2009, and it is Jenson Button who finds himself in a potential championship winning season with a title to focus on. However, with experience comes wisdom, and Jenson being his own man, he has decided that there is little reason why he should not participate in a grueling triathlon. After all, Button is fit and healthy and competing in another discipline could serve to help him.

Of course, it could go terribly wrong, as Mark Webber realised in November when the Australian, while competing in his own Mark Webber challenge in Tasmania, collided with a car while riding his bike. Webber broke a leg and needed surgery to have some metal inserted.

The thing is though, racing drivers are sports people, and competing is in their nature. Button will want to take part in the London Triathlon to push himself further – it is undoubtedly about his own desire to do well rather than the positive media it will generate. Button is also raising money for the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’, and you can sponsor Jenson on his page at the JustGiving.com website.

As you probably know I’ve been taking part in triathlons over the past couple of years as a way of keeping fit for my racing. As we are so busy this year, I won’t be able to do as many triathlons as I would like but thought that I would give the London Triathlon a go.

It’s the biggest triathlon in the world so I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to raise money for a charity that is very close to my heart. Jenson Button.

BlogF1 wishes the best of luck to Jenson, and also to his two engineers who are taking part in the half distance triathlon.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jenson Button To Compete In London Triathlon

Rubens Barrichello enjoyed a great start as the Brazilian squeezed his Brawn ahead of his team mate. Elsewhere down the grid, Hamilton too had a great start initially, but as the Briton tried to get his McLaren between the wall and Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard edged over, clearly unaware that Hamilton was there and forced the Briton onto the grass and out of the throttle.

Hamilton and Alonso wasn’t the biggest incident of the start though as the pack threaded their way through the first and second corners. Jarno Trulli ran out wide as his Toyota leaned out of the left hander and over to the right for the long right-hander. Skating over the gravel Trulli was effectively off the track.

Behind, Adrian Sutil was having his own issues as the German skipped the left hander and crossed the run-off. As both drivers rejoined the track, Sutil cut into Trulli and forced the Toyota into a spin. Sebastien Bourdais got out of the throttle to avoid the accident ahead of him, but this only meant that Sebastien Buemi plowed into the back of him.

Trulli, Sutil and both Scuderia Toro Rossos retired on the spot as the field struggled to get through the carbon fibre that was flying up in the air and scattering itself over the tarmac.

Also suffering from the word go was Kimi Raikkonen, who on the grid-forming lap radioed his team to say he was having a problem with the KERS on his Ferrari F60. It later turned out that Raikkonen couldn’t see the light properly in his car and was therefore unsure when he could use the power boost.

The first corner incident brought out the safety car, although it did take a few moments before race control finally made the decision. The pack closed up and followed Bernd Maylander in the Mercedes-Benz sports car. The safety car was only out for a few laps though but the restart looked worrying for the leading Brawns.

Felipe Massa had managed to get himself into P3 from the line thanks to KERS. And once again, with KERS enabled and charged, Massa could attempt to gain another position, especially as the cars are already travelling at the 100km/h limit for the device to be used. Alas, Barrichello closed the pack up well and jumped on the throttle as he lead the field through the final sequence of corners. The Brawns maintained their lead.

Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso shared some tarmac on the restart as the pair battled their way down to the first corner. Alonso managed to draw alongside the Australian, positioning himself between the RB5 and pitwall as they dragged each other down to T1. Comfortably ahead thanks to the KERS on the R29, Alonso moved back over the left to take a more standard line into the corner only to find that Webber had darted back under the Renault and braked desperately late. Webber somehow managed to make the car stick to the road, hit the apex and reapplied the throttle, retaking the position from the double world champion and leaving myself gawping at the scene.

On L6, Heikki Kovalainen slowed on track and eventually pulled into the pitlane to retire his McLaren, the Fin enduring a very difficult start to the season having only finished one race so far in 2009. This time it was the gearbox on his MP4-24 that caused the retirement.

Rubens Barrichello edged out a small gap over Jenson Button as the team switched the strategies of their cars. Button went onto a two-stopper while Barrichello remained on the original plan of a three-stopper. Because both cars had been fuelled relatively light before the race, it meant that Button would have to endure a long middle stint before he could pit for the final time. However, the plan worked out for the Briton in the end.

Behind the leaders, it became clear that Felipe Massa was holding Sebastian Vettel up and although the German was running very close behind the Ferrari, Vettel couldn’t make any moves stick and the Red Bull pilot spent most of the race studying the rear wing of the Ferrari F60.

Further back, Kimi Raikkonen was also being held up as he couldn’t find a way pass the BMW of Nick Heidfeld. The Finnish pilot was struggling with his KERS and although Raikkonen had a couple of looks, he just couldn’t make one stick. By L19 though, Raikkonen’s race was over as he slowed down and pulled off the track. Another retirement for Ferrari is not good, especially as they have made a big improvement in pace for this weekend, not being able to capitalise on it is disastrous.

On L19, Button pitted for tyres and fuel, and the amount of fuel that was pumped into the Brawn meant that he lost a lot of time to the leader Barrichello. However, the plan was that Jenson would be able to regain this by having to make one less stop than his team mate. Barrichello pitted on the following lap and reemerged in the net-lead, which six laps later would be more than 10s.

If Barrichello was to win the race he had to set some stunning laps and pull out a margin to Button in the middle stint. By L30, Rubens pitted for the second time, but the lead was only 13.5s and wasn’t enough to cover the stop. With each driver having one more stop to make, the race was Jenson’s barring any other problems.

Further back Sebastian Vettel was still looking at the back of Massa’s Ferrari. The pair duelled for most of the race and even a wheel-cover flying off the F60 didn’t help the Red Bull pilot much.

As the second round pitstops happened, Mark Webber managed to leapfrog Massa, which was important for his race. On L43, both Massa and Vettel pitted, leaving once again in the order that they came in. Webber got the hammer down and pumped in some good laps and by the time the Australian had completed his second stop, was ahead of the pair in essentially a net-P3.

It was after the final round of pitstops that a communication from Rob Smedley to his driver Felipe Massa that caused concern. Ferrari had not pumped enough fuel into Massa’s car during both stops due to a problem with the rig. Thus, Massa was light on fuel and had to conserve. The problem for the Brazilian is that he was vigorously defending his position from the frustrated Vettel directly behind. If Massa backed-off and short-shifted through the gears, Vettel would simply drive by.

A few laps later, with the fuel issue becoming critical for the safety of Massa’s race – he would either have to splash-and-dash and fall out of the points, or retire – Smedley ordered Felipe to let Vettel go. With 16s to Fernando Alonso further back, it would be touch and go if even P5 would be safe for the Ferrari pilot. Alas, it was not and by the end of the race, Alonso had simply driven around the Ferrari for fifth.

Although some of the gaps between the drivers closed up towards the end of the race, with Lewis Hamilton having to defend to Timo Glock and Mark Webber having caught up with Rubens Barrichello, the positions remained and Jenson Button crossed the line to take his fourth victory of the year, a win he wasn’t expecting. Brawn felt the two-stop strategy was not the fastest, and with Button struggling with the car’s balance all weekend, the pole position on Saturday that was converted to victory on Sunday will undoubtedly be very sweet.

Mark Webber completed the podium while team mate Sebastian Vettel came home fourth to give Red Bull another dose of points. Fernando Alonso had his fans on their feet as the local hero finished in P5, unexpectedly finding himself ahead of the Ferrari. Massa collected three points, his first of the year and equal now to team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Although the F60 did splutter to a halt on the slow-down lap. Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg complete the top eight finishers.

Brawn now have a very healthy lead in the constructors championship and Button leads the drivers from Barrichello by fourteen points. Red Bull extend their lead over Toyota who did not score today, while Ferrari doubled their tally thanks to Massa nursing his emptying fuel tank to the finish. Those extra three points from the Brazilian mean that the Scuderia have moved ahead of Scuderia Toro Rosso and Williams and now sit in P7 in the constructors.

The circus will now fly to Monaco, a race that is often considered the jewel on a drivers CV. Jenson Button would love to win around the streets of Monte Carlo, but as we have seen in Barcelona, the others are catching up a little and it is getting harder for the Brackley squad to maintain the lead. However, a little bit of hard work, some good strategy calls from the pitwall and clearly Brawn are the team to beat. With an awesome chassis though, I think Monaco might lean towards the favour of the Red Bull squad, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

• The race results can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Race Result.
• The live race notes can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Live Race Notes.
• The current championship standings can be viewed here: Championship Standings.
• The pitstops and fuel strategies can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Pitstop & Fuel Strategies.

Original article by BlogF1.

Spain 2009: Button Leads One-Two For Fourth Win Of Year

Qualifying is important at the Circuit de Catalunya as overtaking can be difficult. All the cars test in Barcelona over the winter and therefore each driver has an optimum set up and they all know the track very well. Despite this though, Sebastien Buemi still left the tarmac in Q2 and Heikki Kovalainen struggled all the way through Q1.

The first session started slowly with only the Force Indias and Kovalainen running for the first few minutes, and immediately it was clear that the number-2 McLaren was not behaving well for its Finnish driver. Kovalainen was running wide through some corners, missing apexes and even skating over some and being forced to correct a tank-slap on the exit. Needless to say, the Finn was one of the names in the bottom five after the first twenty minute stint was up. Kovalainen did say after qualifying that Nick Heidfeld held him up slightly on his final run, but also admitted that it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.

However, Kovalainen wasn’t the biggest surprise of Q1 as Ferrari once again fell foul of their strategy and Kimi Raikkonen was forced to vacate his car and take no further part in qualifying. The team miscalculated Raikkonen’s lap time in comparison to the others and decided that he didn’t need to run again, presuming he was safe for the second part of qualifying. Unfortunately, both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr improved their times towards the end and Raikkonen was pushed down to P16 and out.

Both Williams pilots looked very handy in Q1 as Nico Rosberg managed P5 and Kazuki Nakajima managed P6. Unfortunately for the Grove team, the performance slipped the further into qualifying they went, but the initial running was fairly impressive, especially as Nakajima was only 0.073s off his team mate’s pace.

Also failing to make the grade in Q1 were Sebastien Bourdais in the Scuderia Toro Rosso (his team mate Sebastien Buemi managed P11) and both Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella, who line up P19 and P20 respectively. Felipe Massa managed the fastest lap, which was in stark contrast to the efforts of the sister Ferrari.

Q2 is where it started to unravel for the second Scuderia Toro Rosso, as Sebastien Buemi skated over the gravel at T9 after losing his car on the entry. Buemi just missed the barrier and was able to rejoin the track. It wasn’t a great confidence booster though and the Swiss pilot only managed P15, 0.262s slower than Lewis Hamilton ahead of him.

Once again, the BMW drivers left it until late in the 15 minute session before venturing out on track. It looked troublesome for the German squad to begin with, but Robert Kubica managed to string together a decent time. Nick Heidfeld though couldn’t and left qualifying after his final attempt at improving. Heidfeld finished in P13, just behind Nelson Piquet Jr.

The battle at the front was hotting up as Sebastian Vettel managed a fastest time of 1m20.220s. Team mate Mark Webber eclipsed this with a 1m20.007s which was then obliterated by Rubens Barrichello who became the only driver in qualifying to dip into the sub-80s lap times, setting a 1m19.954s. Felipe Massa came close as did Jenson Button, but it was the second Brawn that lead the pack into the final showdown.

It looked to be Barrichello’s day after his fine performance in the second qualifying session, and his fastest lap of the final 10 minute run was a belter. However, Vettel and Button had other ideas and on his final run, the Red Bull pilot pulled a special lap out of the bag. Vettel managed to lap the Barcelona track 0.102s quicker and looked very healthy in the pole position.

Jenson Button wasn’t about to give up and crossed the start/finish line with barely enough time on the clock to blink. Managing to get through though, Button’s final lap would count. The Briton looked a little off-colour though throughout qualifying, instead seemingly deferring the glory to his team mate. This was rectified soon enough as the Brawn driver set about his final tour of the track. By the time Button approached the timing beacon for the final time, he was more than a tenth up on Vettel and stole the pole position from right under the Red Bull pilot’s nose.

Felipe Massa drove very well to take P4, ahead of Mark Webber and the Toyotas of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli. Fernando Alonso managed P8 in front of his home crowds while Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica rounded out the top-ten.

• The qualifying results can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Qualifying Result.
• The live qualifying notes can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Live Qualifying Notes.
• The grid (inclusive of penalties) can be viewed here: Spain 2009: The Grid.
• The post-qualifying car weights can be viewed here: Spain 2009: Post-Qualifying Car Weights.

Original article by BlogF1.

Spain 2009: Jenson Button Claims Pole On Final Last Gasp Attempt

Original article by BlogF1.

Caption Contest: #88

I think it would be unfair on Hamilton to say that ever since he was promoted into Formula One by the McLaren team, controversy has followed him around, as much of what has happened to his team is by no means entirely his fault. The issues facing the team in 2007 when McLaren were found to have confidential Ferrari data in their possession had very little to do with Hamilton and more to do with those running the Woking-based team. Again in 2009, the FIA have made it clear that they feel Hamilton was put in “an impossible situation” in Melbourne.

However, while Lewis isn’t to blame for all the headlines that seem to only do damage to McLaren and the sport, I feel that the current world champion is being overshadowed in the efforts of appearing friendly and engaging with those people who keep the sport alive; the fans. As a world champion, extra pressure is placed on you by the sport and race promoters to speak highly of Formula One, involve yourself in more interviews and generally become a puppet at the end of the strings being clutched by Bernie Ecclestone. And it isn’t just Hamilton who struggles with this.

Kimi Raikkonen is another driver who is often seen to be stand-offish. When interviewed in the post-race press conferences, Raikkonen almost refuses to show emotion, he will rarely acknowledge those sitting with him and will fail to add that extra 10% that would make the difference between merely answering the questions and coming across as enthusiastic.

In Shanghai last week, BBC commentator Martin Brundle described Raikkonen as rude and inconsiderate of his team after the Finn appeared to not want anything more to do with the race following the early stoppage. Raikkonen was shown changed out of his overalls and wandering around the garage eating an ice cream while his team were on the grid getting wet. The image and associated words that were broadcast around the world are perhaps not what the image of the sport needs. Humorous it certainly was, but for a respected commentator and former racer to describe another driver as essentially not bothering to continue, well…

However, now that the front of the grid has been shaken up and some new faces are gracing the podium and post-race press conferences, it almost feels as though Formula One has been given some fresh air and the breeze has blown all the corporate cobwebs away. Gone are the standard script-read and monotonous phrases and in are the jovial and engaging comments from the new order. Jenson Button, now enjoying greater success, appears relaxed and actually speaks to the cameras and to the audience behind them, all over the world. Mark Webber is comfortable in teasing his team mate and even Timo Glock was all-smiles after his podium finish in Malaysia.

The interviews FOM and FIA insist upon are so much more welcoming thanks to those now being interviewed. To see a driver actually smiling after winning a race is pleasant, and hear him voice that emotion is even better. As Lou mentioned to me last night on Identi.ca, it’s like they actually want to be there. And that makes all the difference.

So while I understand that it is far from easy for the Hamiltons and the Raikkonens to always appear joyous and enthused, I am pleased that Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota have managed to change the scenery. How long it lasts is anyone’s guess, but for now, I might just have to start watching the press conferences again.

Original article by BlogF1.

Blowing Away The Corporate Cobwebs

The opening laps of the race saw overtaking a’plenty as the drivers jostled for position while working out the grip levels and temperatures of brakes and tyres. Timo Glock managed to squeeze himself ahead of team mate Jarno Trulli going down and through the first corner, capitalising on the lighter fuel load from qualifying and taking the lead of the grand prix.

Lewis Hamilton made a great start and from P5 the Briton found himself in P3 as the pack exited the first corner. Nico Rosberg appeared to leave the line well, but quickly fell backwards after that. Jenson Button proved the Brawn wasn’t as shabby as it perhaps appeared to be during qualifying and soon dispensed of Hamilton for P3.

Not having a great opening tour of Sakhir were Robert Kubica and Kazuki Nakajima, the pair tangling and having to pit for new front wings. Heikki Kovalainen may have been involved as well. Felipe Massa’s hard work in qualifying also came undone as the Brazilian toured down the pitlane with a possible KERS issue. The Ferrari team told their driver to turn it off as he entered the pits, but later in the race the problem was solved and Massa was able to turn it back on.

Although Glock was able to extend a margin to second placed driver and team mate Jarno Trulli, the Italian kept in touch with Glock at the front and the gap between the pair stabilised at around the 1.8s mark. Trulli came back though, just prior to Glock’s first scheduled stop which happened on L10, the German being the first of the front runners to blink.

Interestingly, Trulli pitted on the following lap, going against general expectation that the Italian had 2 or 3 extra laps of fuel on board. With the Toyotas having stopped, Button found himself in the lead, with Hamilton in P2 and Vettel in P3. Trulli had to vigorously defend his position on his outlap as Fernando Alonso caught a whiff of an advantage. By L13, the Spaniard had made a move stick and although Trulli didn’t make it easy for the former world champion, Alonso eventually made it through.

L14 saw leading driver Button relinquish his commanding position as the Briton made his first stop, allowing Vettel to take over P1 from Glock. Further down the pack, Mark Webber was enjoying a good start to his race, moving his Red Bull up to to P11 before having to make his first of three stops on L14.

With Rubens Barrichello slightly out of sequence he found himself stuck behind a long-running Nelson Piquet. The Renault held up Barrichello for several laps and essentially ruined the Brawn driver’s race. Rubens gesticulated to Piquet ahead of him but as the fight was for position, Piquet had every right to defend. And defend is exactly what the R29 pilot did. On L19, Barrichello had clearly allowed frustration to get the better of him, but thankfully his experience paid off and Rubens threw his car up the inside of Piquet, ran wide but was able to claim the place.

On L19 Vettel pitted and handed the lead to Raikkonen with Button having now moved up to P2 thanks to the pitters ahead of him. As the pack started to shake out from the opening round of stops, it was Trulli who became the centre of the driver’s frustration as the Toyota, now on the harder compound, was holding up a train of following cars. Snaking behind the Italian were Vettel and Hamilton, and Barrichello very quickly thundered his way up to the tail. This allowed Button to extend his net lead (Raikkonen didn’t pit until L20) as each lap passed.

Despite Rubens’s race been held up by fellow Brazilian Piquet, the Brawn driver showed good pace in catching the Trulli-train, and the Brackley team made a good call to pit Barrichello as soon as he came into the dirty air of Hamilton. This slight change in Barrichello’s strategy indicated a three-stopper, but ultimately it wouldn’t work out for Rubens.

By L35, Brawn’s rival teams were utterly confused as to Button’s strategy, all the time the Briton extending his lead. On L37 Jenson’s strategy was confirmed as he pitted from a 16s lead for the harder tyre; Button was two-stopping while Ross Brawn attempted something brave with Barrichello on a three-stopper.

Button’s margin prior to his stop meant that only one position was lost whilst in the pits, and two laps later Vettel handed it back by stopping himself. With Jenson on the harder tyre though, the gap to Vettel proved to be a little shakey. Undoubtedly the Brawn driver had turned the engine down a little but the Chinese Grand Prix winner hadn’t given up just yet. From around 12s Vettel closed up to be around 10s shy. From here though the gap stabilised and the pair would go on to the end of the race in P1 and P2.

Other battles further down the field featured Kimi Raikkonen and Timo Glock, the German having mixed fortunes in the middle part of the race. Raikkonen managed to claim a position from Glock and the moves were mature, but racey. Not behaving quite as gentlemanly were Robert Kubica and Kazuki Nakajima. Frustrated at having a disastrous race at the back of the pack, Kubica launched his BMW up the inside of Nakajima’s Williams. The Japanese driver turned in and contact was made, sending the Pole into a spin. Kubica was able to recover but the move was born from frustration and not one of Robert’s finest moments.

Also getting annoyed while stuck behind a slower car was Felipe Massa, who on L51 was chasing the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella. Massa made his move up the inside but Fisichella maintained position and turned in. Massa held on, the pair wrangled a little and Fisichella was sent off to the outside of the corner, over the kerbs and onto the sand.

The following lap Jenson Button cruised up behind the Force India of Fisichella who appeared to give the Briton some hassle when Button attempted to lap. To be fair, the Italian was probably seething at Massa’s audacity, but the incident allowed Vettel to close up a little more on the race leader.

Somewhat surprisingly, the only retirement of the whole grand prix was Kazuki Nakajima, who pulled his FW31 into the pits on L50 and parked it in the garage. The team later reported that the car was suffering from an oil pressure problem and couldn’t continue.

Jenson Button managed his third victory from four races, thus extending his lead in the championship and moving Brawn further away from Red Bull Racing and Toyota in the constructors. Vettel scored well for Red Bull but will leave Sakhir wondering how Button managed to get ahead, and Trulli, although scoring some solid points for himself and his team, will be disappointed at not converting his pole position in to a race victory.

Kimi Raikkonen ensured that Ferrari did not make the headlines on Monday with “Worse start ever for Ferrari” by scoring 3 points from P6. Massa ended his afternoon well down the order thanks to a problem which caused an unscheduled stop at the start of the race. Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a confidence boost by finishing in P4, but most importantly being able to hang on to the cars in front during the race.

Timo Glock finished in P7, which after a stunning job in qualifying as well as a great opening lap that saw him in the lead, is ultimately a poor performance. Fernando Alonso collected the final point of the afternoon, and Mark Webber finally crossed the finish line in P11, just behind Piquet Jr who enjoyed a better race than he is used to.

From Bahrain the circus returns to Europe in a fortnight, and the teams are expected to start adding updated parts to the cars. Ferrari desperately need to find some pace as they languish towards the bottom of the tables, although no longer actually at the bottom. We should start to see some of the teams close the gap to Brawn as they get their ‘double diffusers’ sorted out and may be even their KERS devices.

• The race result can be viewed here: Bahrain 2009: Race Result.
• The race notes can be viewed here: Bahrain 2009: Live Race Notes.
• The race strategies can be viewed here: Bahrain 2009: Pitstop & Fuel Strategies.

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain 2009: Jenson Button Wins In The Intense Bahrain Heat

If anyone else has been to a grand prix or event where you’ve been able to capture a Formula One driver or personality that you think might be funny/strange enough for a caption, feel free to email them to ollie [at] blogf1.co.uk. If you do submit a photo, be sure to give a name whom copyright should belong to and any information behind the picture (who/what/where…).

A big thanks to Sidepodcast for submitting this great photo.

Original article by BlogF1.

Caption Contest: #87

The one-sided war of words between Flavio Briatore and the Brawn team has been comical to say the least. While it is good to voice concerns and raise issues, Briatore’s approach to the situation that sees his tightly budgeted team now having to spend more money on developing a ‘double-diffuser’ was strikingly poor. Instead of simply announcing a meeting between the members of FOTA to discuss his concerns with those involved – which Briatore, in an attempt to gain support, believes is all teams – the Italian team boss has instead allowed a slew of laughable comments to be released in Italy’s popular sport’s newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport.

The drivers in our teams have been and are world champions, while the championship is now fought between a driver who was almost retired and another one who is a good guy but a paracarro [Italian concrete mile-marker]. Flavio Briatore.

To suggest fellow competitors as almost retired and as a concrete post is perhaps not the wisest of moves, especially as Jenson Button politely pointed out in response, Briatore attempted to hire him while the Honda-situation was still up in the air over the past winter.

He also needs to remember that he tried to employ me for this year, so…

He is obviously a very angry man after the diffuser issues and he is obviously very disappointed that they haven’t produced a car that is as competitive as ours. We have produced a very competitive car because of the work force we have back at Brackley and you cannot take it away from them – it is very unfair to say that. Jenson Button.

When asked about the general response from the Brawn team to Flavio’s comments, Button simply added: “Laughing, basically.”

The media have generally lambasted Briatore, saying that the former Benetton-franchisee is showing all the signs of a bad loser. It isn’t just the British press either that are siding with Ross Brawn on this matter, and it is somewhat confusing as to why the former Honda team has been singled out over Williams and Toyota, who had also developed the controversial ‘double-diffuser’.

However, despite the general failure to get the press on his side, Briatore remains resolute to his cause, and has now suggested that Brawn’s entitlement to benefits should be ceased, and money owed to the team from TV rights be shared equally among the others.

Mr. Briatore seems to be forgetting that FOTA, the association made up all the competing Formula One teams, supported the takeover of Honda by Ross Brawn et al. McLaren and Mercedes helped the squad tremendously by offering engine units, for which the FIA gave permission for as it does break the rules. The teams agreed that in this case, the ruling should be ignored for the sake of having ten squads on the grid this season. Also required to give consent was Vijay Mallya of Force India; the team who had just received a substantial technical backer in McLaren and Mercedes.

Flavio does have merit in his argument; the teams who have not developed a ‘double-diffuser’ will now have to spend a reported approximation of $25m per car to redesign and implement the parts required to integrate a different diffuser. At a time when the sport is desperate to cut costs, the extra expense is certainly not welcome. And that must be made worse for Renault as they have always ran a very tight budget. Combined with the fact that the squad are due to lose their title sponsor at the end of this year and are already struggling with pace, one can understand why Flavio is upset.

Despite some being against it, [Luca di] Montezemolo kept the FOTA united in supporting Brawn GP, and so did McLaren, in supplying engines.

But since [Ross] Brawn was our technical delegate, and he forces me to spend money I don’t have in my budget, and since Honda’s money have luckily not been shared yet, we’ll have a meeting.

My proposal will be as follows. Brawn is richer than anyone else, because he’s had his team paid for in full by Honda, plus he’s had 130 millions given to him [by Honda]: he’s certainly richer than I am.

I don’t want to be a Robin Hood, but when there’s a situation where everyone is transparent then it’s fine.

At this moment my position is, since I need to find the money in the budget somewhere and the season can’t end up with [everyone] being one second behind the Brawn cars, then the money share will have to be reviewed in full. I think it’s around €30 million. Flavio Briatore.

Also troubling Briatore is the fact that Brawn are receiving transport help along with the other teams. Flavio’s point is that the FIA have stated that Brawn is a new team, hence why they are at the end of the pitlane and have been issued with the bottom set of numbers, despite finishing ahead of Force India in 2008 when they were known as Honda. The FIA did waive the ‘new team entry fee’ though, showing that they understood the situation and circumstances. However, Bernie Ecclestone has treated Brawn as an existing team, which is shown by the fact they are receiving transport help which is only usually given to established squads.

As FOTA commercial chairman I’ll propose that we follow the FIA’s indications that it’s a new team and for three years it has no rights with regards to transportation, nothing. Flavio Briatore.

When Briatore was questioned about the FOTA agreeing in late December to support Ross Brawn’s endeavours and to ensure the team was given all that was owed, Briatore simply replied with with an almost nonsensical answer…

That was at Christmas, though. Now that Christmas has gone, we’ll talk about it again next Christmas.

Since it’s a new team, it has to follow all the regulations we followed when we entered with new teams. I will propose that to FOTA, then we’ll see. Flavio Briatore.

It seems to me that Briatore could have handled this a whole lot better, and the man has been laughed at from several quarters. While it is far from great that six companies are now going to have to develop new parts for fourteen cars at a huge expense of time, resources and money, that is Formula One, and that is what these people let themselves in for when they sign on the dotted line in Bernie Ecclestone’s office.

When Red Bull Technologies put a giant shark fin on the engine cover of last years RB4, Renault were among the first to develop a similar part. While a shark fin almost certainly costs considerably less to design and build, and a much more simple piece to integrate into the car, it is an example of one team pushing the envelope, and the others copying. One is almost tempted to bring up the J-Damper saga from a few years back…

Perhaps instead of whining and complaining, Flavio should turn his charismatically creative mind to that of finding and wooing potential sponsors for his team. Oh, and a graphic designer to redo that livery.

Original article by BlogF1.

Whining Flavio Briatore Won’t Drop The Diffuser Issue

It wasn’t just Nico Rosberg who improved, as his team mate Kazuki Nakajima shot up to seventh late in the session. Heikki Kovalainen also showed promise in the second McLaren, posting a time 0.3s faster than Hamilton’s, despite piloting the car without the aerodynamic modifications that could be found on his team mate’s.

Both BMWs rested towards the bottom of the timing sheets again, although they will almost undoubtedly show their pace tomorrow in qualifying. Both Ferraris looked decidedly off-colour in China, as did Hamilton’s McLaren and Alonso’s Renault.

Shanghai 2009 Friday Free Practice Two		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button Brawn	1m35.679s	35 Laps
2.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m35.704s	36 Laps
3.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	1m35.881s	35 Laps
4.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m36.105s	32 Laps
5.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m36.026s	22 Laps
6.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m36.167s	42 Laps
7.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m36.377s	32 Laps
8.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m36.548s	40 Laps
9.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m36.674s	34 Laps
10.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m36.800s	34 Laps
11.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m36.829s	30 Laps
12.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m36.847s	34 Laps
13.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m36.941s	28 Laps
14.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m37.054s	33 Laps
15.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m37.219s	34 Laps
16.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m37.273s	36 Laps
17.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m37.491s	34 Laps
18.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m37.544s	28 Laps
19.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m37.638s	28 Laps
20.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m37.750s	31 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Shanghai 2009: Friday Practice Two

From pole position on a dry Sepang circuit, Jenson Button should have had the perfect getaway and lead the pack through T1. Unfortunately, the Brawn driver likes to give himself a challenge and as the lights went out on the gantry overlooking the grid, Nico Rosberg hooked everything up and came charging up to the front. Moving over to the right of the track, the Williams driver squeezed himself through the inside of Button and thundered off into the lead.

The move by Rosberg going into the first corner put Jenson Button out of position on the outside and both Timo Glock and a fast starting Fernando Alonso sneaked by, demoting Button to fourth and just ahead of his team mate. The first lap blues weren’t exclusively experienced by Button though, as Heikki Kovalainen once again became the first of the retirees. In an attempt to move around the outside of team mate Lewis Hamilton, Heikki lost control of his McLaren and the Mercedes-powered machine whipped around and deposited the Finn in the gravel.

Once the first lap was over, the drivers settled into a rhythm but there was still plenty of passes on the track. Fernando Alonso was heavy, which made his start even more impressive, and soon enough the Spaniard found tail of frustrated Formula One drivers forming behind him. Rubens Barrichello managed a fairly straight-forward pass on L4, but it would be a while before anyone else could find the pace or confidence to make a similar move.

Sebastien Buemi made the first stop of anyone on L3, the Scuderia Toro Rosso pilot coming in for a new nose. Starting from the back, it is likely that the Swiss driver got caught up in a minor scuff on the opening tour of Sepang. Also experiencing trouble on L3 was Robert Kubica. On the formation lap, the Pole radioed his team to say that there was a strange noise coming from the engine. At the start, Kubica was slow to get away, prompting the marshals to wave yellow flags and warn other drivers. Everybody behind was seen darting left and right to avoid the stalling BMW. Kubica managed to get the car going, but was seen a few minutes later parking it up, flames licking the rear of the bodywork.

At the front, Rosberg was enjoying the moment and started to edge out a lead over those following. The fastest lap went Nico’s way on L4, but by L8 Barrichello had stolen back for Brawn, but on L10 it returned to the Williams driver. Sebastian Vettel, who started out of sequence thanks to a penalty received in Melbourne, was on a light fuel strategy and was desperate to move up the field. The German came up on the rear of Nick Heidfeld’s BMW and started to attack.

Although Vettel tried to pass on a number of occasions, a mistake from Heidfeld eventually meant that Sebastian could cruise through, Lewis Hamilton following closely behind. The tail behind Alonso began to grow and Vettel and Hamilton made there way back through the midfield to join the rear of the train. Following the Renault were Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber, Timo Glock, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

On L11, Raikkonen made his move on Alonso and it stuck. On the same lap, Webber found himself having to defend his position from a recovering Glock while simultaneously looking for a way pass the fat Renault ahead of of him. The Australian Red Bull driver made his move the following lap at T13, but just as Webber thought he was safely through, Alonso was able to comeback at the similarly powered machine. Although the cars share engines, the factory motor has a KERS attached to it. Webber had supreme grip through the corners thanks to his Newey-designed chassis, but Alonso had the raw grunt down the straights thanks to his battery boost.

And so it went. Webber ducked around the Renault through the corners, Alonso pushed his right foot down and pressed the button on the steering wheel with his thumb and repassed. On L13, Webber finally made it stick and was able to get away from Alonso. Although this sequence of pass/repass does demonstrate the difference KERS has made. And of course, the difference a decent chassis makes. I wonder if Renault will really want to share the KERS with Red Bull knowing now just how good the RB5 actually is?

By L15, the pitstop window was open and most drivers were on a similar strategy. They all started on the soft compound, which unlike the super-soft in Melbourne last weekend, does hold on for about 15 laps. Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Timo Glock, Adrian Sutil, Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli all paid their teams a visit between L14 and L17. And all said their goodbyes with soft rubber on.

On L18 though, Ferrari did something a little different. The clouds were gathering overhead, and everybody was expecting rain at some point during the race. The circuit was still bone dry, but the flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder meant that precipitation was imminent. Although not actually raining, the Scuderia brought Kimi Raikkonen in, screwed on a set of full wet weather tyres and sent him out again. Not intermediates. Full wet weather tyres. It was a huge gamble.

The following lap, after Raikkonen had adjusted himself to the different grip now available to him, Martin Brundle had the following to say while commentating for the BBC:

Raikkonen is understeering like a cross-channel ferry. What have Ferrari done, I don’t understand it. Martin Brundle.

At this point of the race, Jenson Button had been setting blistering pace in the Brawn. In fact, the fastest lap of the race came just prior to the Briton’s first pitstop as Button knew he had to make up as much time as possible before stopping. This happened on L20, and Jenson left the pits on soft rubber. Rubens Barrichello came in the following lap and put on the same compound of tyre. Although Rubens struggled to find first gear, the Brazilian eventually managed to leave the box without losing too much time. And despite Kimi sliding his Ferrari around Sepang like Bambi on ice, Sebastien Bourdais decided to do the same and pitted for full wets.

Raikkonen was, by L22, 21s off the pace of the leaders. Each tour of Sepang was losing the Ferrari pilot a third of a minute. The rain started to fall thankfully, but it was too late. Kimi radioed his team to update them on the situation:

My tyres are completely destroyed. Kimi Raikkonen.

In all honesty, I’m surprised the Finn was able to keep that communication as clean and family-friendly as it is.

With the rain though comes pitstops. It wasn’t overly heavy to begin with, but most teams opted for full wets in the anticipation that it will only get heavier as time progresses. However, when Glock made his pitstop, which wasn’t until L26, the German decided on intermediate tyres. It was the right call from the team and driver, as once Glock had put them through a heat cycle, he was blisteringly quick in comparison.

Further back, Mark Webber found himself having another ding-dong with a KERS-assisted car, this time it was the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. Mark pushed by on L24, but Hamilton just planted the throttle and pressed the button when the pair exited the corners and moved onto the straights. The pair battled their way around Sepang for a couple of laps before Webber managed to make a move stick.

On the same lap, the Red Bull pilot managed to pass Nick Heidfeld and Hamilton radioed his team to complain about his car hitting the limiter in top gear. Timo Glock, who just exited the pitlane after sticking on some intermediate rubber, shot pass the McLaren and the BMW.

Cue the masses to pit once again, this time for intermediate rubber. The race is at about L30 distance.

Seeing and feeling the rain is falling heavier, and with a slew of cars filing out of the pitlane on intermediate tyres, Timo Glock pitted to take on full wet weather tyres. The move made by Toyota was almost in counterpoint to the rest of the field, seemingly on purpose in a sort of rebellion. But that wasn’t the reason. The reason was quite clearly that the Cologne-based team were listening to their driver and ensuring that he was on the right tyre at the right time. Had Timo been able to complete a few laps on the full wets, the chances of him winning Toyota’s first race would have been strong. Unfortunately and officially, Timo didn’t even get a chance to drive one lap on them. Well, not that has been recorded in the final classification, anyway.

On L30, the safety car was sent out. By L31, the track was simply flooded. Drivers were aqua-plaining left, right and centre. Sebastien Bourdais, whose glasses must have been steaming up inside his helmet, shouted into the radio to stop the race. A few seconds later, the red flag was thrown and the drivers were ordered to drive around to the start/finish straight and park up. Not everyone made it back though, and this is where it gets a bit complicated.

Under the regulations, if a race is red flagged, it is simply suspended. If it is stopped before three-quarters distance and it is unable to be restarted, half-points are awarded. If the race can be restarted, a ten minute warning has to be given to allow the teams and drivers to prepare. The race will restart under the control of the safety car and in essence, any race restart would in effect be a rolling start. While waiting on the grid, the drivers cannot leave and go to the garages, although they can vacate their cars and seek cover under umbrellas. The teams are allowed to work on the cars.

On the final lap prior to the red flag, which was actually under safety car control – Alan Van Der Merwe had been sent out in the AMG Mercedes – Sebastien Buemi was seen pointing the wrong way, Giancarlo Fisichella skated across the gravel, Sebastian Vettel appeared to simply stop and Adrian Sutil pitted. Kimi Raikkonen suffered another problem with his KERS, and the Ferrari was rolled off the grid and into the garage. Raikkonen vacated the F60, got changed and ate an ice cream. Although talking to reporters on the grid, the team’s press officer – Luca Colajanni – was unaware of the retirement and said that if they could get the car running without KERS, the FInn would be interested in rejoining.

The drivers were shielded under umbrellas while waiting on the grid and Mark Webber, a senior member of the GPDA, went around and spoke with his fellow competitors, gaining feedback on conditions and procedures. The cars were repositioned in the correct order – many just died as they struggled to get back down the grid, so much was the water flooding the area. Of course, a racing circuit isn’t necessarily cambered like a normal road, so often the water just sits on the surface. As Felipe Massa cruised back around, the Ferrari was creating a bow-wave as water was lifted up and over the front wing end-plates.

After 53 minutes of waiting on the grid, with rapidly fading light and the maximum two hour limit fast approaching, the race was ended. Half points were awarded, and crucially, the finishing order was been rolled back to last completed lap under normal conditions. As complicated as that sounds, it is important to realise that the order the cars filed onto the grid under red flag conditions is not necessarily the order of the race classification. In 2003, Kimi Raikkonen was incorrectly deemed the winner in Brazil in similar circumstances, although after the FIA worked out how to count properly, Giancarlo Fisichella was eventually handed the trophy; the Italian’s first in fact.

So the win means Jenson Button remains at the top of the drivers championship, Nick Heidfeld finally gets BMW’s campaign started and Timo Glock is rewarded six well-deserved points. Lewis Hamilton finally scores, although in a post-race interview his team had not informed him of the roll-back and said they were seeking clarification. Rubens Barrichello netted fifth for Brawn, just behind Jarno Trulli and Nico Rosberg, who raced so wonderfully well, only gets a single point.

The final classification can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: Race Result.
A live post from the moment the red flag was thrown can be read here: Malaysia 2009: Race Red Flagged.

Original article by BlogF1.

Malaysia 2009: Two On The Trot For A Saturated Jenson Button

The original qualifying results can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: Qualifying Result.

Malaysia 2009: The Grid Inclusive of penalties given.
1		Jenson Button Brawn 1m35.181s
			Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m35.273s		2
3		Timo Glock Toyota 1m35.690s
			Nico Rosberg Williams 1m35.750s		4
5		Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m35.797s
			Robert Kubica BMW 1m36.106s		6
7		Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m36.170s
			Rubens Barrichello Brawn 1m35.651s*		8
9		Fernando Alonso Renault 1m37.659s
			Nick Heidfeld BMW 1m34.769s		10
11		Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m34.788s
			Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m34.905s		12
13		Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m35.518s**
			Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1m34.924s		14
15		Sebastian Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m35.431s
			Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m35.642s		16
17		Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 1m35.708s
			Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m35.908s		18
19		Adrian Sutil Force India 1m35.951s
			Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m36.107s		20

*Rubens Barrichello qualified fourth but received a five grid slot penalty for changing his gear box out of sequence.
**Sebastian Vettel qualified third but received a ten grid slot penalty for his actions in the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday.

Also, this is BlogF1’s 1,500th post.

Original article by BlogF1.

Malaysia 2009: The Grid

Q1 was perhaps the most surprising of all three sessions, with BMW only just finding enough time to make it through and the fact that Felipe Massa, last year’s championship runner-up, failing to progress into Q2. The Ferraris actually seemed to have acceptable speed, enough to get out of Q1 at any rate, but sitting in the garage towards the end of the session, the midfield started to pump in some competitive laps and both drivers could only sit there and watch their names tumble down the order. Massa was knocked-out in sixteenth and Raikkonen scraped through in fourteenth.

Once again though, it was the Brawns who were setting the benchmark, with Rubens Barrichello taking the honours in the first twenty minute session and Jenson Button seventh, but confident. The Toyota’s also ran well with Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock going second and third, the TF109 looking to be really hooked into the Sepang circuit.

Jenson Button came alive in Q2 though and showed his real pace, setting the fastest lap by 0.2s from Jarno Trulli who once again underlined the pace of the Toyota car. Timo Glock wasn’t too far away in fourth and 0.3s shy of his team mate’s pace, while Mark Webber was able to pop his Red Bull into third. Kimi Raikkonen managed to get into Q3 by setting the seventh quickest lap.

Both McLaren’s failed to match the lap times of the front runners though and their qualifying was over after the fifteen minute session. Lewis Hamilton got the better of team mate Heikki Kovalainen, but really the who beat who battle is academic as Hamilton qualified thirteenth ahead of fourteenth placed driver Kovalainen.

For the third run of the afternoon, it was clearly going to be all about Brawn. Toyota attempted to shake up the order with Jarno Trulli setting a quick lap early on, but was soon demoted only to come back against Button to claim provisional pole. Sebastian Vettel ensured he was in the mix, although the German will be sent back ten places for his continuation with a damaged car in Melbourne last weekend.

It was Jenson Button’s final run that got him pole position, and although others improved and threatened the Brawn driver, ultimately nobody could match or better the pace. Nico Rosberg once again found himself in Q3, but also once again, the positioning of the practice sessions would be turned around on Saturday. Sixth in qualifying, which will become fourth on the grid tomorrow is a good effort though and the German driver has a good chance for a podium.

Mark Webber is Red Bull’s best hope for some serious points in Malaysia, although the lap times do indicate that Vettel is getting more out of the RB5 at the moment. Also of note is the apparent under-performing of the BMWs. Nick Heidfeld couldn’t get himself clear of Q2 and Robert Kubica could only manage eighth fastest. In Melbourne we could see that both drivers still have the talent to improve in the race, but qualifying certainly isn’t going their way at the moment.

Ninth and tenth went to Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso respectively. Raikkonen qualified ninth in Melbourne as well, but tenth for Alonso is an improvement. The double world champion is carrying an ear infection this weekend and completed limited running on Friday. In the third session this afternoon, the Spaniard also only did a single run to set his lap time, possibly indicating a high fuel load for tomorrow (we’ll know a little later today).

So there we have it, once again Jenson Button looks favourite to take his second victory of 2009, his career third, while Toyota will hopefully hold on to the Brawn and harass to the end of tomorrow’s race. A grid, which will include the penalties of Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello will be posted shortly.

The full qualifying results can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: Qualifying Result.
The grid (inclusive of penalties) can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: The Grid.

Original article by BlogF1.

Malaysia 2009: Two In A Row For Jenson Button

Rubens Barrichello will take a five grid slot penalty and Sebastian Vettel will be demoted ten places following penalties incurred here and in Australia last weekend. These will be reflected in the grid post a little later this afternoon.

The qualifying report can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: Two In A Row For Jenson Button.
The grid (inclusive of penalties) can be viewed here: Malaysia 2009: The Grid.

Malaysia 2009 Qualifying Results		Q1 20 minutes	Q2 15 minutes	Q3 10 minutes
1.	Jenson Button Brawn	1m35.058s	1m33.784s	1m35.181s
2.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m34.745s	1m33.990s	1m35.273s
3.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m34.935s	1m34.276s	1m35.518s
4.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn	1m34.681s	1m34.387s	1m35.651s
5.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m34.907s	1m34.258s	1m35.690s
6.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m35.083s	1m34.547s	1m35.750s
7.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m35.027s	1m34.222s	1m35.797s
8.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m35.166s	1m34.562s	1m36.106s
9.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m35.476s	1m34.456s	1m36.170s
10.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m35.260s	1m34.706s	1m37.659s
11.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m35.110s	1m34.769s
12.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m35.341s	1m34.788s
13.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m35.280s	1m34.905s
14.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m35.023s	1m34.924s
15.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m35.507s	1m35.431s
16.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m35.642s
17.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m35.708s
18.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m35.908s
19.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m35.951s
20.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m36.107s

Original article by BlogF1.

Malaysia 2009: Qualifying Result

The start of the race was difficult as all the drivers headed down to the first corner all vying for position. Rubens Barrichello struggled off the line as his anti-stall kicked in. Barrichello recovered quickly and got away but already the damage had been done. After the opening lap Rubens found himself down in seventh and a damaged front wing. The damage came about as Barrichello attempted to recover into T1. Rubens has said that he was knocked from behind, which forced his car sideways and into the path of the Red Bull of Mark Webber. Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld got caught up in the melee as well.

As the first lap unfolded Heikki Kovalainen was spotted travelling slowly around the back of the circuit and retired that lap. The problem with the McLaren was front suspension related and would seem to indicate that Barrichello’s Brawn was indeed tagged, even though replays suggest otherwise. Also in the pits after the first tour of Albert Park was Heidfeld with a resulting puncture and Mark Webber in the Red Bull who needed a replacement nose and wing. Adrian Sutil also visited his team for some cosmetic work to his Force India.

Barrichello opted to continue though despite his front wing looking a little damaged. At the front, Jenson Button managed to extend his lead and was pulling out a gap to Sebastian Vettel now in second place thanks to Barrichello’s issues. The Brawn team, like most others, chose to run the first stint on the medium compound, hoping that they could all get through with two sets before having to change to the super-softs in the final few laps of the race.

The Ferraris though both opted to start on the super-soft tyre, as did Sebastien Bourdais, Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton. By L10 though, the super-soft compound was starting to fall away and into the pits came Bourdais, Raikkonen and Trulli, each switching to the harder medium compound. On track, Nico Rosberg started to make up ground and passed Raikkonen before the Finn pitted, and Nico was quickly followed by Barrichello. Unfortunately, Barrichello’s attempt didn’t go quite as cleanly and the pair gently touched, causing more bodywork to fly off the front of the Brawn.

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa pitted on lap twelve for the medium tyre and Sebastian Vettel began to stabilise the margin between himself and race leader Jenson Button. By L16, all drivers were on the medium tyre, although a problem with Nico Rosberg’s wheel cover meant his stop was drawn out longer than it should have been. Moments later though the safety car would be deployed.

Kazuki Nakajima found himself hitting the retaining wall on the sweeping exit out of T3. It appeared that Nakajima simply lost the back of his Williams as he rejoined the track after running over the run-off area – something most drivers do at that particular corner. The accident was fairly heavy and left debris on the circuit. After consideration of a lap, race control deployed the safety car. Barrichello pitted the following lap and received a new nose and wing for his battered Brawn.

The timing of the safety car deployment caused a few problems for the field though as it seemed to take a long time before Button, who pitted close to Barrichello, could catch up with it. The resulting confusion of letting other drivers by lead Felipe Massa to gesture towards Bernd Maylander as the Brazilian appeared to be unsure of what to do. Eventually though, Jenson closed in on the similarly-powered machine and backed the pack up in preparation for the restart.

Whilst under the safety car control, several drivers made their pitstops, including Giancarlo Fisichella who managed to miss his garage. Team members were forced to roll the Force India back to allow the Italian pilot room to turn into the box. From the spate of silly errors witnessed through the field, you could tell it was the first day back at school.

As soon as the safety car pulled into the pitlane, Albert Park saw its third retirement in the shape of a spinning Renault. Nelson Piquet was complaining of failing brakes and as he ran down to the first corner, defending his line to the advancing and recovering Williams of Rosberg, Piquet appeared to dab the stop-pedal only to find the back of the car coming around to join the front. The Renault spun, avoided the barrier and other drivers and came a rest in the gravel. Also having fun on the restart were both Force India pilots, who found themselves in a tussle for position.

The middle stint of the race passed without too much drama. Button retained his lead after the pitstops shook out although Vettel and Kubica remained a threat. Toyota gradually made their way up through the field as well, and Sebastien Buemi was having a great time in the lower points scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton continued his charge and a dual between himself and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa was a joy to watch. It was just a shame it wasn’t for the lead.

Timo Glock made his first error of the race when he spun at the end of the lap, allowing Kimi Raikkonen through. However, Raikkonen wouldn’t avoid his own embarrassment as the Finn also lost control of his car a few laps later. While Glock managed to not hit anything, Kimi did take a swipe at the wall. Both drivers continued from their potentially race-ending incidents.

Button’s final pitstop from the lead of the race was his only real error of the 58 laps completed. Speaking in the press conference after the event, it was revealed the Briton had pulled into the box in second gear, and thus neutral couldn’t be engaged. Eventually Button managed to shift down and then pop the Brawn out of gear, but it added a few seconds to his overall stop.

As Jenson came in for his stop, he followed a slow moving Ferrari. Felipe Massa retired his F60 on L47 with some sort of mechanical issue. Felipe wouldn’t be the last of the retirees though as the race entered its final stage. Nico Rosberg found some incredible pace in his Williams and Robert Kubica wasn’t about to give up his chances of making up a place or two. Sebastian Vettel was gaining on Button, as was Kubica and Rosberg on Barrichello (who remarkably managed to get back up to third).

Rubens was forced into making a splash-and-dash stop on L52, which resulted in a demotion to fifth behind Rosberg. Barrichello made a move on Rosberg and it stuck and set about chasing down Kubica. Jarno Trulli also passed Rosberg, the German beginning to struggle with fading soft tyres. Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel were now running very close together in second and third. The pair made contact in a rather late attempt at overtaking, the BMW forcing the Red Bull off the track as both drivers headed for the run-off area.

Initially, both drivers were able to recover and continue, albeit with substantial damage. Moments later though, with little grip at the front of the car, Kubica glided off to the outside of a corner and thumped the barrier. Vettel continued around the lap, although his left-front wheel was completely shot – the German was running on three tyres.

As Kubica released himself from his BMW, the medical and safety cars were once again deployed to allow the marshals to clear up the mess – presumably the medical car was sent out as a precaution. There were only three laps of the race left to run. Vettel continued to drive around in the hope that under the slower speed of the safety car, he may be able to collect a point still. However, either he or the team decided that the Red Bull should be retired before race control forced the retirement.

At the same time as Vettel pulled his car over to the side of the track, Kimi Raikkonen stopped at his garage in the pitlane and vacated his F60. The reason for the second Ferrari retirement is as of yet unknown. On the final lap, the safety car peeled into the pitlane and the field roared across the start/finish line as a formality. Jenson Button took the victory from Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli.

The race was typical for the first of the season; full of surprise and incident. In 2008 there were many spins and retirements as the field of drivers got used to the loss of traction control, and it would seem the reduction in downforce caused a similar number of issues this time around. Ferrari once again leave the first race with a double-DNF and Brawn leave with a perfect result. Lewis Hamilton did well to recover to fourth and was very pleased to have scored some points, notably more than any Ferrari driver, although looking at the Scuderia’s reliability record thus far, perhaps it isn’t the Ferrari drivers who will be challenging Hamilton’s title.

Both Toyotas scored after starting the race from the pitlane. The disqualification from qualifying due to the TF109’s rear wing flexing wasn’t the greatest of starts for Toyota’s season, but a third place for Trulli and a fifth for Glock certainly isn’t bad. Even before the disqualification, the pace of the car meant a grid start of sixth and eighth. Toyota can leave Melbourne with a healthy tally of points.

Fernando Alonso showed great fighting spirit in the Renault, although it is clear that the R29 is not competitive. Alonso had a relatively anonymous race, but sixth place is rewarded with a deserved three points. Nico Rosberg has been electric all weekend and showed great promise in the FW31. It is a great shame that his strategy didn’t work out, but looking at the lap times (Rosberg managed the fastest lap), the Williams looks good.

The final point went to rookie Sebastien Buemi. After out-qualifying his team mate Sebastien Bourdais, the Swiss driver had a great race and spent much of it in and around the points-paying positions. Buemi outraced Bourdais all weekend and the point earned not only puts Scuderia Toro Rosso ahead of Force India, but also ahead of the factory team, Ferrari (who supply engines to STR).

So Brawn take 18 points away from Melbourne and head to Malaysia for round two leading the constructors title and dominating the top two positions in the drivers. They’ve already eclipsed their total tally of points in 2008 and the team can be proud of their efforts. The diffuser issue still hangs around the sport, but at least Brawn know they’ve built a winner, and they have a couple of winners driving.

The race result can be viewed here: Australia 2009: Race Result.

Original article by BlogF1.

Australia 2009: Jenson Button Leads Brawn One-Two

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix was always going to be interesting, but I don’t think many of us truly expected to witness what happened. The McLarens are no where, Ferrari don’t look particularly hot and the Brawns are on some kind of mission to go from the back row in 2008 to the front row in 2009. Here’s a quick run down of all the action in Melbourne…

First out of the box in Q1 was Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India, and although the Silverstone-based team have been residing on the back row since Eddie Jordan sold the squad a few years ago, 2009 looked to see some improvement. Fisichella’s first lap was down on pace, but as the session progressed, both Fisichella and team mate Adrian Sutil didn’t look too bad. Unfortunately, by the time the first twenty minute session was up, the pair had slipped back down the pecking order. Giancarlo managed P18, Sutil P19.

After Force India, it was Nico Rosberg’s go at setting a quick lap, and the pace from Free Practice was clearly no flash-in-the-pan. Rosberg immediately set about posting fast laps and all of a sudden commentators were looking at the FW31 and thinking it could be a pole position car. From seemingly no where in testing the Williams machine has come alive in Melbourne and in the hands of Rosberg, it was flying.

Later in Q1, team mate Kazuki Nakajima would also show that the second FW31 could fly as well. Q1 saw Nico end up in P7, Nakajima just 0.2s down. Q2 went even better for the German pilot, and Rosberg set the fourth quickest lap and just 0.002s shy of Sebastian Vettel in third. Unfortunately, Nakajima exited qualifying at this point with a P13 and 0.5s off the pace of his team mate. Nico eventually claimed fifth for Williams.

Red Bull Racing were another team that appeared to come out of no where as well. In Free Practice they didn’t look to be too sharp (P4 and P8 after P17 and P20), and the first runs set by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel seemed to confirm this. But towards the end of the 20 minute Q1 session, Webber popped his Renault-powered car into third behind the Brawns, and Vettel managed went tenth.

In Q2, it was Vettel who lead the team, the German managing a fine third place, once again only being beaten by the Brawns. Webber wasn’t too far behind though and claimed sixth. For the final round of qualifying, Vettel kept a hold of his third and will line up on row two of the grid tomorrow. Webber could only get into tenth, but in all fairness the car weights are yet to be published and this could be the Red Bull team splitting the strategies between drivers. Both cars seem to have good pace though, so their race will be interesting.

Both BMWs looked quite poor on reflection. For a team that did so incredibly well in 2008, I was expecting more from Munich (and Hinwil). Nick Heidfeld left qualifying after Q2 and a P11, and Robert Kubica could only get his F1.09 into fourth. A mighty fine effort from the Polish driver, but the car just didn’t look to be hooked up. Credit where it is due though, Kubica has qualified ahead of both Ferraris and both McLarens, so if this was the squad’s goal, they’ve certainly achieved that. Although in reality, the BMWs should be closer to the front.

Toyota came good in the final session of qualifying, with both pilots making it into Q3. Again, I was expecting more from the Cologne-based team, but at least they have both drivers in the top-ten. Glock appeared to have the initial pace, going P4 in Q1; Jarno Trulli only got as high as P14 in the same session. The pair almost matched times in Q2, just 0.016s separated the two. In Q3, Glock asserted authority with P6, Trulli getting the P8 grid slot.

Ferrari were the final team to make it into the top-ten, but surprisingly they are not at the top of the tables. There were some very good laps from both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, and in Q2 Raikkonen was especially quick at times. But the F60 isn’t quite hooked into the Albert Park circuit and Massa settled for P7 while Raikkonen ended his Saturday in P9. It isn’t the greatest of starts to the season for the reigning constructors champions, but they will surely improve during the race. If not, then it would seem that McLaren are not the only team to be suffering.

And speaking of McLaren; P14 and P15. Oh how the mighty have fallen. To his credit, Heikki Kovalainen was driving very well today in Australia. The Finn hardly put a foot wrong, but the best the MP4-24 could muster was the seventh row. Alongside Heikki will sit his team mate, Lewis Hamilton, who has endured one his worse qualifying performances. Towards the end of Q2, Hamilton was resting right at the top of the relegation group, but a last lap dash secured his position in the second round along with Kovalainen – a goofd effort from both.

As soon as the first session ended though, Hamilton’s car lost drive and the Briton was forced to sit out Q2. Hamilton suggested it could be a drivetrain issue, but it could also be a gearbox fault. The team are reporting that power was going to the ‘box, but not any further than that. If the gearbox has to be replaced, Hamilton will be docked five places, sending him to the back row of the grid.

Also disappointing in qualifying were Renault. The team hadn’t performed all that well in testing, but promised KERS for Australia and talked up their chances ahead of the race weekend. Fernando Alonso shone on a few laps during the three stints, but ultimately the Spaniard could only get into P12. Team mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had a relatively anonymous qualifying session and will start tomorrow’s race from P17.

And that just leaves Scuderia Toro Rosso, who managed expectation prior to this event and stated they wouldn’t be able to repeat their 2008 success. For the first race of the year, Sebastien Buemi – the only rookie in the field – will start from P16 while team mate Sebastien Bourdais will start from the very back in P20.

The team of the day though has to be Brawn. The effort to just get the cars to Melbourne is impressive, but to then plant them on the front row is monumental. This is Jenson Button’s fifth career pole and the Briton will be looking at converting it into his second career victory tomorrow afternoon. And to prove it isn’t a one-off lap, Button’s team mate Rubens Barrichello will sit alongside in P2. Barrichello dominated the first two sessions and finished the session in third, just 0.303s down.

The 2009 Australian Grand Prix qualifying session will be one to remember, but I think the race will be even better. F12009 is here, and boy is it exciting!

The full qualifying results can be viewed here: Australia 2009: Qualifying Result.

Original article by BlogF1.

Australia 2009: Jenson Button Takes Pole At Albert Park

Brawn GP have done very little running in the off-season in comparison to their rivals. They spent much of the winter in the Brackley factory dealing with various companies and wealthy individuals who were interested in buying the team. Throughout all this time, no car made its way to a circuit for testing, and the staff at Brackley feared their jobs might be lost.

However, as soon as the announcement that Ross Brawn had struck a deal with Honda to buy the squad, everything suddenly went into overdrive. The team ran privately at Silverstone before heading to Spain for the group tests at Barcelona and Jerez. And I don’t think anybody expected to see what they saw.

It would appear that the Brawn BGP 001 is pretty quick. This is something quite incredible when you consider the major shakeup in the technical regulations that has occurred this year. With such a change in the way the cars are designed, most teams were anxious to get as much running as possible. However, on the first day of the Barcelona group test, Button managed an astonishing fourth fastest time, just 0.2s shy of Trulli’s Toyota.

From there it just got better for the team. Third on day two, fastest on days three and four. As you could imagine, Brawn very quickly became the talking point of the final sessions. Although their outright pace may not be as superior as the large margins may suggest, the new car doesn’t look overly shabby.

In Jerez, Barrichello and Button maintained a dominant presence and both drivers appeared satisfied with the progress being made to the car. They may have been showboating in order to attract sponsors or just generate some hype, but some journalists who attended the tests also noted that the BGP 001 looked consistently quick over longer runs.

With a Mercedes engine for 2009 and a chassis that not only looks gorgeous, but appears to be performing well, we could see a sharp improvement over the disappointing 2008 campaign when the team were owned by Honda.

In keeping Jenson Button they have retained a favourite among many of the fans, and ensured this season will not be the first with only one Briton competing. And by re-signing Rubens Barrichello, they have kept a safe and steady pair of hands in the second chassis. Barrichello is experienced and will help the team iron out any kinks with the car.

So what can we expect from Brawn in Melbourne? Well, Bernie Ecclestone is excited. When the new points system was announced in March, Ecclestone used Button as example of how the idea of race wins equals championship could benefit the sport. If the Brawn really is as quick as the test times suggest, Jenson and Rubens should be fighting for victories in the first fly-aways. From there on in, things may not be as easy due to the larger budgeted outfits ramping up development.

Personally, I’m yet convinced of the Brawn’s pace, but it certainly is very exciting. Not only have the careers of two drivers and a factory full of staff been saved, but the reinvigorated team appear to be able to fight for points.

It’s already been said many times over, but it is worth repeating: I bet Honda are kicking themselves right now.

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• F12008 Honda Preview
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Original article by BlogF1.

F12009: Brawn GP Preview

Nelson Piquet Jr. took over from team mate Fernando Alonso and posted a time similar to the Spaniard’s efforts on Monday. Piquet was the busiest driver of the day, completing 128 tours of Jerez and ending his off-season reasonably well. The true pace of the Renault is hard to judge as the team have been up and down all winter. However, the Brazilian was pleased with his and the team’s efforts.

My final day of testing went really well and I’m pleased that we were able to do so many laps. We were looking at the car’s aero performance today as well as doing some set-up work in preparation for the first race and overall we found a good balance with the car.

It was pretty windy, but the track conditions were good so we were able to get a lot done. I’m now ready for the season to start next week and I think as a team we can be happy with the work we’ve done over the winter. Nelson Piquet Jr.

The final position of the day went to Lewis Hamilton, who once again looked to be struggling with the MP4-24. Although the times set above Hamilton are pretty close together, the Briton was 0.8s slower than Piquet. The position isn’t the worry, it’s the difference to those ahead.

Jerez Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m17.844s	114 Laps
2.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m18.071s	66 Laps
3.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m18.382s	128 Laps
4.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m19.121s	118 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Three: Button Puts Brawn Back On Top

McLaren have offered an explanation for the apparent lack of pace though, Ron Dennis stating that the squad are leaving it as late as possible before using their Australian Grand Prix aero package. This has led to other challenges, but the former team boss is confident his car will be among the fastest at the end of the month.

We had a strategy for this year to leave it to the last possible moment to produce our aerodynamic package for the Australian Grand Prix.

That in itself gave us some production challenges and we have really only started to run the car in the last day with the Australian aero package. Ron Dennis.

The day however was all about the surprising form of the BGP 001, although Ross Brawn himself said it was expected after the hard work that had gone into the car back at the Brackley factory. It is likely that Button was on a low fuel load to have produced a time so far ahead of the others, but the car hasn’t looked too bad in the previous two days of testing.

It’s been another great day and a very positive test generally. After the challenges we have faced, to come here and get off to such an encouraging start is just what we all needed and I can’t thank the team enough. All that effort has really paid off and everyone can feel very proud. Jenson Button.

Elsewhere on the timing sheet, the usual suspects continued to show their form, with Robert Kubica driving well for BMW, and Timo Glock ensuring his Toyota TF109 remained in the mix. Fernando Alonso took to the track in the new Renault R29 and managed a fifth fastest lap. Sebastian Vettel was piloting the Red Bull RB5 while Sebastien Buemi took the controls of the Scuderia Toro Rosso. In an effort to make up for the lost time from yesterday, Buemi was the busiest man of the day today, completing 140 laps on his way to ninth.

The laps times set all seem fairly close, once again indicating that the field could be tightly packed this year. Aside from Button’s fastest lap, the spread from Massa to Hamilton is only 1.5s.

Barcelona Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m19.127s	124 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.168s	109 Laps
3.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m20.217s	109 Laps
4.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m20.410s	99 Laps
5.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m20.863s	107 Laps
6.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m21.165s	102 Laps
7.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m21.324s	89 Laps
8.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m21.545s	97 Laps
9.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.569s	140 Laps
10.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m21.657s	82 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test Day Three: Button Tops, Hamilton Bottoms

Images © Brawn GP Ltd.

Original article by BlogF1.

Brawn BGP 001 Debuts At Silverstone

The photo, owned by LAT Photographic and exclusively shown on Autosport (in higher res) depicts the BGP 001 in a predominantly white livery, with black and yellow detailing. No sponsors can be seen on the car other than the mandatory Bridgestone logo on the tip of the nose. Like all other 2009 cars, the rear wing in high and narrow while the front wing is low and wide. Interestingly, Button was driving on 2008 style grooved tyres, but this may have been because of the last minute nature of the shakedown.

The test was completed behind closed doors and very few people allowed within the confines of the Silverstone track. However, the team are expected to be testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya next week, and also in Jerez the following week.

Image © LAT Photographic/Autosport.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jenson Button Shakes Down The BGP 001

A statement was made at midnight explaining that Ross Brawn, Benetton and Ferrari’s ex technical director and more recently, Honda’s team principal, has in fact purchased the team outright and renamed the squad Brawn GP. It was also confirmed that Mercedes-Benz, current suppliers of McLaren and Force India, will provide engines to the squad for the 2009 season.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will drive the cars, the Brazilian hinting as much earlier in the week. While this leaves Bruno Senna waiting the wings for another year, the team will able to focus on ensuring their own stability and car development while pairs of capable hands steer the machines throughout the season.

To coincide with the statement, the Brawn GP website went live, although at the domain brawngp.com rather than the brawnracing domains that caught the eye of the media last week. However, it is only natural for companies to purchase competing domains to ensure the brand message remains intact.

The past few months have been extremely challenging for the team but today’s announcement is the very pleasing conclusion to the strenuous efforts that have been made to secure its future. Ross Brawn.

Ross then went on to pay tribute to Honda, the staff at Brackley and also to thank various people, companies and organisations who have helped the sale process and provided support during the past few months.

Firstly, it is a great shame that having worked with Honda Motor Company for so long we can no longer continue together. I would like to thank Honda for the fantastic co-operation and support we have received throughout this process – particularly those members of the senior management who were closely involved with concluding our agreement – and for the faith they have demonstrated in myself and our team.

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay due credit to our staff at Brackley. The levels of motivation and commitment that I have witnessed at the factory deserve the highest praise.

It would be impossible to mention all of the people without whom today’s announcement may not have been possible, however I would like to express particular appreciation for the support we have received from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile), FOM (Formula One Management), FOTA (Formula One Teams Association), BERR (the UK’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform), Bridgestone, our other team partners and our many fans the world over.

The journey ahead will be challenging but exciting and we know we can count on their continued enthusiasm for our team and its ambitions. Ross Brawn.

The new car will be shaken down at Silverstone in the very near future and the team are expected to be testing in Barcelona next week as well as a final short run at Jerez just prior to flying the cars out to Australia.

This is, of course, very good news and ends months of agony for fans of the team, the sport and the drivers. It will be very interesting to see exactly how competitive the team can be, having done so little testing since the Brazlilan Grand Prix last November. An interim car was tested in November, but since then no running has taken place. Honda had pretty much given up on 2008 early in the season to concentrate on the 2009 efforts, and Button was particularly hyped at the prospects of the new car.

Let’s hope the car is quick out of the box and Brawn GP can at least keep up with the progress made by other midfield squads.

Image © HondaF1.

Original article by BlogF1.

Ross Brawn Is A Constructor: Honda Officially Becomes Brawn GP