Many people thought the start of the European season would bring an end to Brawn GP’s domination of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship, but Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello showed no signs of slowing up in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Button and Brawn GP on Pole for Spanish GP
A last gasp effort by Button secured pole for the Spanish Grand Prix, pipping Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Rubens Barrichello qualified third quickest in the other Brawn, while Felipe Massa was the best placed KERS car, fourth in his Ferrari. Mark Webber started from fifth in his Red Bull, with local hero Fernando Alonso eighth for Renault.
There were some high profile casualties in Q1 and Q2. Lewis Hamilton lined up 14th on the grid, while his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was four places further back. Ferrari once again misjudged the pace of its competition and Kimi Raikkonen was left sitting helplessly in the garage as several drivers went quicker, leaving the Finn a disgruntled 16th.
Trulli Triggers Spanish GP Crash
Button’s pole position advantage lasted until the first corner, where his Brawn GP team-mate Barrichello breezed around the outside into the lead. Massa used his KERS to power past Vettel’s Red Bull, slotting into third position.
Towards the rear of the field mayhem ensued when Jarno Trulli, surprised by a slow Nico Rosberg, was forced wide at turn two. The Italian lost control of his Toyota, which veered back across the track where it was collected by Adrian Sutil’s Force India. The Toro Rosso pair of Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Buemi were also eliminated in the incident.
The safety car was deployed while marshals cleared up the considerable debris scattered over the track. At the re-start Barrichello held his lead, ahead of Button, Massa and Vettel. It was to be a frustrating day for the latter. His Red Bull could have challenged the Brawn GP drivers for victory, but Vettel was destined to be staring at Massa’s gearbox for most of the afternoon.
Webber and Alonso were involved in a heart stopping moment on the pit straight, with the Renault driver taking to the grass to pass the Red Bull, only for Webber to respond immediately and dive up the inside at turn one to re-take the position. Kovalainen was an early retirement, with Ferrari’s Raikkonen following suit 10 laps later.
Button and Alonso were the first of the front runners to pit, followed by Barrichello a lap later. A short stop for the Brazilian indicated three stops would be required, while his Brawn GP team-mate switched to a two stop strategy. Barrichello stayed in the lead, with Rosberg holding second before he was finally forced to pit.
Barrichello made his second stop on lap 31, but had failed to build up a sufficient lead and emerged behind Massa and Vettel. The Ferrari driver pitted early, on lap 43, as did Vettel. Once again Vettel failed to pass the Brazilian at the pit stops and remained stuck behind him.
Button Wins Spanish GP
The main interest in the closing laps centred on Massa, who was struggling to make it to the finish without running out of fuel. Both Massa and Vettel were painfully slow on the hard tyres, allowing Webber to leapfrog them into third at his pit stop. Massa eventually had to concede fourth position to Vettel as he short shifted his way around on an economy drive. Alonso also got past the ailing Ferrari, much to the delight of the local crowd.
Button won the race comfortably from Barrichello, with Webber a fine third. Vettel was disappointed only to be fourth in the other Red Bull, ahead of Alonso’s Renault and an unhappy Massa. Nick Heidfeld and BMW Sauber had a better weekend, finishing seventh, with the final point going to Rosberg’s Williams. Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton could only manage ninth place, a lap down on Button.
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