Formula One World Championship 2010
|
|
|
|
|
The rain was the main protagonist on the first day of test sessions at the “Circuito Permanente de Velocidad" in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia yesterday as the second F1 test of the year got underway. Just before 10.00 AM the rain started and didn’t stop until the end of the day. The ten drivers on the track had to be satisfied with the first minutes on the dry to verify the new cars set ups without water on the track. Naturally it was extremely busy on the track, considering that there are just 15 days of testing before the race season start. There was also the F10 amongst the cars with the most kilometres on the clock. The Ferrari single-seater, yesterday driven by Fernando Alonso, completed 88 laps, only the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg drove more (118 laps).
The day kicked off when the track was opened at 9:00 AM and all the teams, aware of the weather forecast, went out for a series of laps on the dry track. Just after 9:30 AM the first rain began to fall at the track, with heavier, uninterrupted rain soon following. Alonso went out for his first run on the dry track with a set of tyres already used in Valencia last week; later on the team, considering the track conditions, decided to anticipate some of the work on the gearbox, originally planned during the lunch break. The Spanish driver went back on the track at around 11:15 AM, using both types of tyres for the wet provided by Bridgestone. Alonso’s best lap time in the morning was 1:22.895 in a run of 34 laps. The fastest lap by the break was driven by the Mercedes with Rosberg at the wheel in 1:20.927. There was another interruption, for almost half an hour, caused by a problem with Webber’s Red Bull, which had to stop in the middle of the track on the day of its debut. Just after 1:00 PM the new Virgin single-seater went onto the track for the first time this year with Timo Glock behind the wheel. Rain continued through the afternoon until the day officially ended.
Despite the rain during what was his second day of testing behind the wheel of the F10, Alonso was satisfied last night: “The work was influenced by the bad weather, but nevertheless we managed to drive many kilometres and almost did 90 laps,” Fernando said. “So we’re satisfied, because we could collect lots of data, which is important for the reliability. We hope that the weather is better tomorrow, because it’s important to drive on a dry track, too. The car went very well on the wet track though and it’s easy to drive. The feeling is good, just like on the dry. All in all I had some positive sensations today.”
"We worked on the new single-seater’s reliability and we can confirm that we are very satisfied as far as this front is concerned,” Chris Dyer, Head of race engineering, said at the end of the day. "Just like in Valencia we drove with different fuel loads and the results, even under these track conditions, were positive regarding the car’s behaviour, driveability and ease. The performance level, compared to our competitors, remains a question mark, because we don’t know under what conditions the other cars are testing. We haven’t made any steps ahead as far as performance is concerned, but we did in terms of reliability. We collected lots of data regarding the rain tyres, because the track conditions remained pretty vague today as far as intermediates or super wets were concerned." Dyer was asked what he thinks about the Spanish driver in his new team: "Fernando has great experience, in the races and in terms of the car’s development. His feedbacks are very helpful and really precise. His indications now won’t have effects on the car’s project, but he’s extremely important now and in the near future. He’s not a surprise for us: we knew that he’s a great driver and his relation with the technicians is growing very well, day after day.”
|
|
|
Jean Todt says he has no intention of trying to emulate Max Mosley in retaining the FIA presidency for many years.
The Frenchman, formerly the boss of the famous F1 team Ferrari, was elected to succeed Mosley by the sport's governing body last October.
"I will stay for only one office (term), it's crazy to think Mosley was there for 16 years," the 63-year-old is quoted as saying by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I have other things I want to do and life is too short," added Todt, whose term will end in late 2013.
Todt was famous for his high anxiety when in charge of Peugeot and Ferrari, even to the point of needing to wear bandages on his fingertips when sitting on the pitwall.
"The stress is not diminished (as FIA president), just different," he admitted.
"Compared to Peugeot and Ferrari, the only difference was that I was well paid to work there! Instead, I do this for my passion and to make a contribution to the sport that I love," said Todt.
|
ROUND 12: ITALY RACE REPORT (MONZA, ITALY)
Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button took Brawn GP a significant step closer to both world championship titles at Monza on Sunday afternoon, in a race rendered dramatic by a last lap shunt for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, as he was pushing hard in third place after Button.
As expected, it was Hamilton who led from the start, using KERS in his lightly-fuelled McLaren to sprint ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Force India’s Adrian Sutil. Barrichello and Button crucially slipped into fourth and fifth places, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen’s fuel-heavy McLaren, which an aggressive Vitantonio Liuzzi also overtook for sixth place in the second Force India.
Hamilton stretched his lead after setting a series of fastest laps, until his first refuelling stop on the 15th lap. Sutil stopped on the 17th, Raikkonen the 19th, those three the only men on one-stop strategies. That left the Brawns one-two from Lap 20 until their much later pit stops, on the 28th lap for Button and the 29th for Barrichello.
That was where the race was won for the Brazilian and lost for the Englishman. Button was 2.1s adrift before his stop, 4.2s after it, and Barrichello proceeded to pull away as they set after Hamilton, Raikkonen and Sutil, who had repassed them while they refuelled. Each had another stop to make, however.
When Hamilton made his on Lap 34 and emerged behind the Brawns, the writing was on the wall, but the champion refused to give in. As Button responded they ate into Barrichello’s 5.4s lead, which dwindled steadily. Barrichello had things under full control, however, and so did Button.
Hamilton, however, did not. Going into the last lap Button was 3.3s behind Barrichello, with Hamilton a second further back. But going through the second Lesmo Hamilton lost control of his McLaren, spun and thumped the inner wall before spinning again and strewing the track with debris. Out went the safety car, as Barrichello crossed the line to score his second victory of the year and to reduce Button’s championship points advantage to 14 points, 80 to 66.
It was an emphatic victory for Ross Brawn’s team, on a day when Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull took a mere point, and one that was gifted to them courtesy of Hamilton’s shunt. To make matters worse for Red Bull, Mark Webber had been shunted out of the race by BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica at the second chicane, on the opening lap.
Brawn thus have 146 points to Red Bull’s 105.5.
Raikkonen hung on to the final podium place, but Sutil was only four-tenths adrift at the finish as he scored his first points of the season. Liuzzi might have had a shot at the podium with his single-stop strategy, but retired after 22 laps with mechanical problems.
Fernando Alonso thus brought his Renault home fifth ahead of Kovalainen, while BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld held off Vettel for seventh.
Giancarlo Fisichella had a quiet race to ninth for Ferrari, ahead of Williams' Kazuki Nakajima who held off the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock and, close to the end, triggered an incident in which Trulli nearly collected Glock after having to avoid Nakajima in the middle of the road going into the first chicane. The German chased the Japanese driver home, but the Italian fell back to 14th behind Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi.
Romain Grosjean was an undistinguished 15th in the second Renault ahead of Williams’ Nico Rosberg, whose chances were ruined by an early pit stop. Liuzzi was classified 17th ahead of Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, who both retired with technical problems, and an angry Webber was 20th.
While Red Bull will bounce back, the title chase is now beginning to look more and more like an in-house Brawn duel, with Button 27 points ahead of Vettel, and Barrichello 13.
Nathan Dunning courtesy of F1.com
ROUND 11: BELGIUM RACE REPORT: SPA FRANCORCHAPMS, BELGIUM
Victory for Raikkonen, glory for Fisichella at Spa-Francorchamps
Kimi Raikkonen became the sixth different victor in six races after putting Ferrari back in the winners’ circle for the first time in 2009, with a finely judged success in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, in which his KERS system played a crucial role in the opening stages.
But he was dogged all the way to the flag by a gallant Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India, who kept him honest throughout on the first medium downforce circuit of the season. Behind them, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel drove strongly for third, closing on them both by the finish. Raikkonen crossed the finish line 0.9s ahead, with Vettel 2.9s behind Fisichella.
Jenson Button’s hopes of adding to his points tally in the Brawn GP ended at Les Combes on the first lap when he was spun out by Romain Grosjean’s Renault, while in a separate incident Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren tagged Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso while trying to avoid the melee. Stewards looked at both collisions, but deemed no action necessary.
After a safety car intervention, Raikkonen, who had sped up to second behind Fisichella on the opening lap, lost no time using his KERS to slingshot by the Italian on the run up Raidillon to Les Combes on the fifth lap, but Fisichella pushed him all the way.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber looked strong initially until an unsafe release from his first pit stop nearly put rival BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld in the pit-lane wall. A drive-through penalty subsequently dropped him to ninth.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso also seemed on course for a healthy helping of points after running the longest opening stint, but a brush with Force India’s Adrian Sutil in La Source on the opening lap had damaged the left front wheel, and after a disastrously long pit stop on Lap 24 he had to come in again to retire a lap later when the left front wheel could not be secured satisfactorily.
Vettel was able to vault past a fast-starting Robert Kubica after his second stop on the 35th lap and said his Red Bull was perfect thereafter, but the Pole brought his BMW Sauber home fourth ahead of closing team mate Heidfeld. The German has passed Toyota’s Jarno Trulli for second at the start but ran wide and lost ground, allowing Kubica to nip down the inside to run third initially.
Heikki Kovalainen did a one-stop strategy in his McLaren to stay ahead of Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello for sixth place. The Brazilian, who bogged down off the grid, was saved to an extent by the intervention of the safety car which enabled Brawn to refuel him for a longer opening stint in a fast first-lap pit stop, but had to back off at the end when his Mercedes engine showed signs of failing. He just made it to the flag ahead of a closing Nico Rosberg, who drove yet another strong race for Williams to score the final point, while Webber just missed out with ninth after a frustrating race.
Toyota’s Timo Glock had a fuel rig problem in his first stop which delayed him, and could not better 10th, under pressure at the end from Force India’s Sutil. Behind them Sebastien Buemi brought his Toro Rosso home 12th ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and an unimpressive Luca Badoer, who was the last finisher for Ferrari.
Besides Alonso and the first lap crashers, the other retirement was Trulli, whose front wing was damaged when he made contact with Heidfeld's BMW Sauber on the opening lap. That ruined the Italian’s race, as did a later refuelling problem, similar to Glock’s. He ultimately retired with a brake problem.
In the title stakes, Barrichello took two more points off Button, who still has 74 to the Brazilian’s 56. Vettel moves back ahead of Webber with 53 to the Australian’s 51.5.In the constructors’ championship Brawn have 128 points, Red Bull 104.5, Ferrari 56 and McLaren 44.
Nathan Dunning courtesy: F1
ROUND 10: SPAIN
RACE REPORT: VALENCIA, SPAIN 2009
Barrichello returns Brawn to winning ways in Spain
Rubens Barrichello had said all year that he will win for Brawn GP, and he finally came good in Valencia with a controlled performance that brought him home just over two seconds ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
The world champion led at the start as expected, from McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen, both using their KERS to keep Barrichello in third place. Behind them, Kimi Raikkonen thrust up to fourth, also using the Ferrari's KERS button. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel went with them after seeing off Brawn GP’s Jenson Button, whose race soon collapsed with tyre graining issues which sent him backwards early on.
Hamilton led until his first pit stop on Lap 16, leaving Kovalainen to take over on the 17th, when he too stopped. Thereafter Barrichello ran another three laps before refuelling. That put his Brawn ahead of Kovalainen for the middle stint. Behind them, Raikkonen had no trouble keeping fourth ahead of Williams’ Nico Rosberg and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, leaving Mark Webber to fight with Button.
Hamilton had a lead of 3.6s over Barrichello by Lap 36, but when he pitted again a lap later McLaren did not have his front tyres ready after a late request to him to do one more lap came just as he was about to enter the pits. That delay proved costly - though the team insisted it didn't cost them the win - and when Barrichello pitted from the lead on Lap 40 he was able to resume ahead of Hamilton.
The Briton kept the pressure on Barrichello all the way, but could not close the gap by more than a couple of tenths each lap until the Brazilian backed off right at the end, and it came down from 3.9s to 2.3s. Raikkonen jumped Kovalainen on the second stop, and the ‘other’ Finn had his hands full holding off an aggressive Rosberg in the final laps.
Webber also lost out on the second stop, crucially dropping behind both Button and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica. Thus seventh place behind Alonso was enough for Button to increase his championship lead by two points to 72. He was the fastest man on the track for a long time in the closing laps on Bridgestone’s super-soft tyres, until they went off and he had to abandon his pursuit of the Renault. Kubica hung on ahead of Webber to score the final point.
It was a tough day for Red Bull, with Vettel retiring with his second engine failure of the weekend on Lap 24, having already made one refuelling stop and one unscheduled stop after a problem with the fuel rig.
Further back, Adrian Sutil claimed 10th for Force India ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Force India. The Toyotas were 13th and 14th, with Timo Glock bettering Button’s fastest lap right at the end. Romain Grosjean’s debut for Renault yielded only 15th place, not helped by damaging his nose on the opening lap and needing an unscheduled stop as a result, and later a half spin.
Jaime Alguersuari looked less convincing than he had in Hungary on his way to 16th for Toro Rosso, while team mate Sebastien Buemi ran into trouble after he damaged his front wing in a brush with Glock on the opening lap and had to stop for a replacement. Later he spun in Turn 12 on Lap 43 and could not continue.
Luca Badoer’s return to Formula One racing was unimpressive. He ran down the back all day, let Grosjean overtake him as they left the pits, and then got a drive-through penalty for crossing the white line on the exit. He might have achieved his ambition of a finish, but he did so in 17th place. The only other classified car behind him was Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams, who was delayed by a left rear tyre failure and then pitted for good just before the flag.
So Brawn increased their constructors’ championship lead over Red Bull, 126 points to 98.5, and Barrichello vaulted back to second place in the drivers' with 54 points to Webber’s 51.5.
Barrichello's win marked the 100th by a Brazilian driver, and fittingly he dedicated it to Felipe Massa, who had advised him on racing lines only last week. It was also the 250th race for the McLaren Mercedes partnership, and Bridgestone’s 150th victory. And it left the title fight wide open as the paddock heads to Belgium next week.
Nathan Dunning courtesy F1
ROUND 9 RACE REPORT: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 2009
Hamilton and McLaren take shock win in Hungary
Lewis Hamilton brought McLaren their first victory of the season after a surprise result in Hungary on Sunday afternoon, his dominant success also marking Martin Whitmarsh’s first as team principal and the first for a KERS-equipped car. Kimi Raikkonen was second for Ferrari, containing a challenge from Mark Webber’s Red Bull.
Hamilton’s hopes of snatching P1 at the start were thwarted as lightweight Fernando Alonso blasted off the line from pole and quickly opened a lead in his Renault, and Mark Webber slotted his Red Bull back inside the McLaren in Turn One to regain second.
Hamilton stayed close to Webber, however, and slipped ahead around the outside of Turn Two on the fourth lap. After the first round of pits stops he really got the hammer down to build a seven-second lead over similarly fast-starting Raikkonen, the pair benefiting from their KERS systems.
The Finn was put under investigation for first corner brushes with Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, but was cleared by the race stewards and secured a strong second place ahead of Webber. Raikkonen overtook Webber in their first stops on the 19th lap after what the Australian described as a moment of confusion as his car was refuelled. Red Bull were later reprimanded for releasing the Australian unsafely, which almost led to a collision with the Ferrari.
It was a bad day for the other title contenders. Vettel went from second to seventh by the end of the first lap, lost time in traffic, and then slid a lap down after an unscheduled stop for a new nose proved the prelude to retirement with a suspected suspension problem.
Jenson Button was unable to make real use of a long-run opening stint strategy in his Brawn but seventh place earned him two crucial points. He now leads with 70 from Webber on 51.5, Vettel on 47 and Rubens Barrichello on 44. Brawn continue to lead the constructors’ championship on 114, with Red Bull closer still on 98.5s.
There was a strong fourth place finish for Nico Rosberg and Williams, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen whose points brought further joy to McLaren. Timo Glock was sixth for Toyota after a very long opening stint, then came Button and a long gap before Toyota’s Jarno Trulli took the final point after holding off strong challenges from Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Barrichello to the flag.
Alonso’s opening dash came to nought after he lost the right front wheel following his early pit stop on Lap 12 and then had to retire because of associated damage. Besides Vettel, the other non-finisher was Force India's Adrian Sutil, the victim of a first-lap brush.
The BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kucica were 11th and 12th, sandwiching Nelson Piquet’s Renault, while Giancarlo Fisichella brought his Force India home a lapped 14th. Far from proving ‘dangerous’, as some had suggested, rookie Jaime Alguersuari did a great job to match lap times with Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Buemi, and to lead him home after the Swiss twice spun. The Spaniard never put a wheel wrong.
Nathan Dunning courtesy: F1
ROUND 8**GERMANY
RACE REPORT: NURBURGRING, GERMANY 2009
Aussie rules! Webber romps to victory in Germany
"Mark Webber you are a Grand Prix winner. Well done! Brilliant drive!" Those words, from Red Bull's engineers, told you all you needed to know about Sunday's German Grand Prix. No matter what they threw at the Australian, including a drive-through penalty for a brush off the startline with Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, Webber came through and delivered in devastating style.
After that brush he shadowed Barrichello as they stormed away while fast-starting Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren held up Brawn's Jenson Button, Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. And even with his penalty stop on Lap 14, when Barrichello refuelled, Webber kept the lead.
His second stop, five laps later, dropped him down to eighth, but he was back in the lead by Lap 33 when all of the main first pit stops had been made, and he controlled it easily from there. Barrichello lost time in his second stop with a refuelling rig problem, and later, like Button, struggled to warm his tyres. Both were on three-stop strategies, which dropped them from second and third places with 10 laps left.
Thus it was Sebastian Vettel who came through to grab second, in Red Bull's third one-two of the season, after a weekend in which his team mate completely eclipsed him. Massa was strong all day for Ferrari and took third ahead of Nico Rosberg, who drove superbly early on with a high fuel load and thoroughly deserved fourth for Williams.
The Brawns switched places in their final stops, as Button made his a lap later, and they finished fifth and sixth, hounded to the finish by Fernando Alonso's Renault, which set fastest lap. Behind them, Kovalainen clung on for the final point for McLaren, with Toyota's Timo Glock, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima in his wheeltracks.
It was, after all, a terrible day for Force India's Adrian Sutil, who ran as high as second before his first refuelling stop, but then lost it all through a clash with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as he exited the pits. He needed another stop for a new front wing and finished a tearful 15th, behind Renault's Nelson Piquet and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. Stewards looked into the Raikkonen incident, but decided no action was necessary.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli was delayed after a brush in traffic on the opening lap and finished 17th, behind Sebastien Buemi in the sole Toro Rosso to finish. And right at the back, the only lapped runner was McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. The world champion made a brilliant start, led fractionally on the outside at Turn One, but then got his right-rear tyre clipped by Webber and had to pit at the end of the lap with a puncture. That was all she wrote.
The day, however, belonged to Webber as Advance Australia Fair played at the end of a Grand Prix for the first time since Alan Jones won in Las Vegas back in 1981. It was superb victory in the most trying circumstances, and Webber thoroughly deserved his maiden success.
Button still leads the championship, with 68 points, but now Vettel is second with 47, Webber third with 45.5 and Barrichello drops to fourth on 44.
Nathan Dunning courtesy: F1
2009 Formula One Grand Prix** Round 7 ** Silverstone, England
21 Jun 2009
Vettel untouchable as Red Bull dominate British Grand Prix
What seemed to be a foregone conclusion after qualifying became one almost the moment Sebastian Vettel launched his Red Bull RB5 into the lead of the British Grand Prix. In a crushingly dominant drive, which underlined the major step forward that the Milton Keynes team have made on high-speed circuits, Vettel pulled away from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn by as much as a second a lap in a series of quick tours, and never looked remotely challenged.
Team mate Mark Webber finally got ahead of Barrichello during the first round of stops and likewise had no trouble staying ahead thereafter. But Vettel was still 15.1s ahead when the chequered flag fell.
The Brazilian held on to take third place, 25.9s adrift, while the race was enlivened in the closing laps as Jenson Button's Brawn began to develop decent tyre temperatures. The world championship leader had run between seventh and ninth places for much of the race but vaulted ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Toyota's Jarno Trulli during the two pit stops, and launched a blistering attack from sixth place on Felipe Massa in the other Ferrari and Williams' Nico Rosberg, who were running fourth and fifth respectively. By the last lap 0.8s separated the Ferrari from the Williams and 0.3s the Williams and the Brawn.
On a day when damage limitation mattered the most, Button lost only three of his 26-point advantage over Barrichello. He now has 64 to the Brazilian's 41, Vettel's 39 and Webber's 35.5s.
Trulli hung on for seventh for Toyota, while Raikkonen fended off the Italian's team mate Timo Glock, but only just. Behind them, Giancarlo Fisichella took a fighting 10th place for Force India ahead of Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams.
Lewis Hamilton had a terrible race. It was compromised early on as Renault's Fernando Alonso slid off the track ahead of him but obliged him in turn to go off in avoidance as he jerked back on to the tarmac. That left him embroiled in a fight with the Renaults and the BMW Saubers, which saw all of them lapped.
In the end, Nelson Piquet emerged in 12th place, just ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Alonso. Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber was 15th, some way ahead of Hamilton after he spun his McLaren at Vale on the 43rd lap.
Adrian Sutil and Sebastien Buemi completed the finishers after Sebastien Bourdais misjudged an overtaking move at Abbey on the 34th lap on McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, and both subsequently retired because of the damaged caused.
Credit: F1.com
2009 Formula One Grand Prix, Round 6, Istanbul, Turkey
Button halts Red Bull charge with victory in Istanbul
Jenson Button made it six from seven as he ran away and hid from the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in Turkey on Sunday afternoon. It was a perfect riposte for Brawn after their defeat in China at the hands of the Australian/German duo.
Vettel led from pole but as team mate Rubens Barrichello made a terrible start from the clean side of the grid, Button held on to second place. When Vettel ran wide exiting Turn 10 the championship leader pounced mercilessly and thereafter did not relent in his punishment.
Vettel was on a three-stop strategy, and that error was the last thing he wanted. In the end his strategy failed to work for him, and he had to settle for third place behind Webber, who ran a very strong race on a two-stop plan but was almost 20s behind Button until the latter eased off in the closing stages. The Brawn driver eventually finished 6.7s ahead, as Vettel hitched on to Webber’s bumper to finish 0.7s adrift.
The race was all about the three of them.
Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Williams’ Nico Rosberg had a race long battle for fourth which went the Italian’s way, while Felipe Massa’s hopes of a fourth straight victory here in the Ferrari were clearly unrealistic and he had to be satisfied with a distant sixth place ahead of the battling BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Toyota’s Timo Glock.
Kimi Raikkonen was one of many stars to have an unrewarding afternoon. He brought his Ferrari home ninth ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Renault, the Spaniard separated from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima. Hamilton avoided being lapped only because Button backed off.
In a poor day for McLaren Heikki Kovalainen was 14th, a lap down, and led home Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, Renault’s Nelson Piquet, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Sebastien Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso.
Barrichello had a miserable afternoon which included a spin after a brush with Kovalainen and nose damage after a collision with Sutil, and retired after 47 laps. Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella went out earlier than that with mechanical gremlins, after four laps.
Button now has 61 points over Barrichello on 35, Vettel on 29 and Webber on 27.5. Brawn have 96 points to Red Bull’s 56.5.
Credit: F1.com
Button makes it four from five with a Brawn one-two in Spain
Brawn GP’s Jenson Button drove a pluperfect two-stop race to take his fourth victory in five races in Sunday afternoon’s Spanish Grand Prix, leading home early leader and three-stopping partner Rubens
|
|
|
|
|
