Button takes the title, Webber wins in Brazil!
The opening laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix certainly made life easier for Jenson Button in his championship quest, but when Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello exited the pits behind both Mark Webber and Robert Kubica, Button all but had the title.
As Felipe Massa waved the chequered flag on lap 71, Button crossed the line in fifth position and claimed the drivers’ championship for himself and the constructors’ championship for the Brawn Mercedes team.
“That deserved it, that race,” beamed the delighted Button. “I love winning but I never expected to be world champion in F1, but we did it today.”
The championship had been a long time coming for Button, but an aggressive drive from 14th position on grid featuring great passing on a day when Barrichello was unable to capitalise on his pole position, sealed his title.
Mark Webber claimed his second career victory in sunny Interlagos having started second behind Barrichello. The Red Bull racer shadowed the Brazilian veteran during the first stint of the race and while Barrichello was able to pull a three-second gap, his early stop cost him dearly as both Webber and Robert Kubica exited the pits ahead of the home-town hero.
Webber drove a flawless performance to add Brazil to his Nurburgring victory, taking the chequered flag eight seconds clear of Kubica in his BMW Sauber. Fittingly, the out-going champion Lewis Hamilton also put in a great performance from 17th position on the grid to finish in third position.
"It’s nice to get another one, but probably Nurburgring was a little bit better, because it was a big relief more than anything," Webber said. "This one was more of a controlled fashion I suppose.
"Every car has its strengths and weaknesses and Brawn, obviously, have some strengths and a few weaknesses here and there. JB’s done a good job, so I’d like to congratulate him and Brawn as well. I think he will sleep better now, because he’s been incredibly nervous, there’s no question about that. He’s been absolutely bricking himself the last few weeks, so he can sleep better now, and all of us can go to Abu Dhabi and just enjoy the new race there."
The start of the race saw Heikki Kovalainen tipped into a spin Sebastian Vettel at the second turn forcing Giancarlo Fisichella to take to the grass. Further up the road, Kimi Raikkonen had made a lightening getaway from fifth position on the grid to slot into third position.
Still using the KERS advantage, Raikkonen ducked out to pass second-placed Webber heading for turn four only for the Australian to block his path. With his front wing badly damaged and the left rear tyre deflating, Raikkonen was forced to back off, slowing Adrian Sutil.
Sniffing a chance of progress, Jarno Trulli tried to pass the Force India driver around the outside at turn five but struck the back of the VJM02. Trulli was out of the race on the spot as Sutil careered back onto the circuit, eliminating the innocent Fernando Alonso and bringing out the sole safety car period of the race.
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This was good news for Hamilton who was able to pit, switch to the more durable prime tyres and importantly top off on fuel. In the first lap chaos, Kovalainen returned to the pits for fuel, but exited his pit box with the fuel hose still attached and spraying the unfortunate Raikkonen with fuel as he made his way down the pit lane.
A brief flash fire that engulfed the Ferrari did not deter Raikkonen as he continued on his way to an impressive sixth position while Kovalainen was given a helping hand by the Brawn mechanics to send him on his way to an eventful ninth place finish.
Sebastian Vettel charged from 16th position on the grid to finish in fourth position, but his slim championship hopes were effectively dashed in the rain during Saturday's qualifying while Button finished the race in fifth position ahead of Raikkonen. Vettel’s charge however moved him second in the championship, but that is unlikely to mean a great deal to the German racer.
Sebastien Buemi drove a great race for Toro Rosso to finish in seventh position ahead of the ever unfortunate Barrichello.
Exiting the pits in third position, Barrichello knew his championship hopes were all but over, while his middle stint of the race saw his pace drop over half a second a lap allowing Hamilton to pass for the final podium position. Light contact between the two saw Barrichello heading back to the pits with a left rear puncture on lap 64 and the title chase was all over for the popular Brazilian who finished eight.
With Kovalainen ninth, Kamui Kobayashi made an impressive debut for Toyota and has arguably cemented his position in the team for next season with a tenth place finish. Aggressive from the outset, the Japanese driver fended off the attentions of Button early in the race with good effect. His defensive tactics may have been questionable as countryman Kazuki Nakajima found out, as he lost his front wing and subsequently crashed his Williams out of the race.
Giancarlo Fisichella was 11th in his penultimate race and based on his recent performance, he is looking forward to retirement from competition at Ferrari. Tonio Liuzzi finished 12th ahead of Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari.
It was a perfect day for race winner Webber but on Sunday afternoon, Button’s dreams came true as he clinched the Formula One World Champion with one race to spare.
"It's really amazing," said Button, who sang We are the champions over his radio after crossing the finish line, and then began yelling at the top of his lungs out of sheer joy: "My voice has gone!"
Jenson Button - World Champion!
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
Japan GP - Race: Suzuka - 04/10/2009
Vettel victory keeps championship race open.
Sebastian Vettel dominated the 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix from pole position to keep himself in championship contention on a day that Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button could only record the final points paying positions.
Vettel converted his pole into a comfortable race lead at the start, even managing to save a little fuel on his first stint and manage the gap back to the fast-starting Lewis Hamilton. The defending champion made best use of KERS off the line to pass Jarno Trulli for second position but was never able to shake off the determined Toyota racer.
Trulli kept the pressure on Hamilton and was able to regain second position in the second and final round of pitstops to take a well-deserved second position at his paymaster's home grand prix. Exiting the pits for the second time, Hamilton lost a fraction of a second as he either selected neutral rather than the pit lane speed limiter, or the car suffered a minor software glitch. Either way, it is debatable whether he would have been able to stop the rapid Trulli swooping though for second position.
Kimi Raikkonen pushed hard in the second stint and was rewarded with fourth position as he got the jump on Nick Heidfeld. The BMW Sauber driver lost time in his second stop as with a sticking wheel nut. This, combined with Raikkonen's charge, lost him a possible fourth position.
Nico Rosberg ran a long first stint in his Williams Toyota from seventh position on the grid and made a second timely pit stop just as the safety car came out on lap 46 to claim fifth position ahead of the unfortunate Heidfeld.
Rubens Barrichello started the event 15 points behind main title rival Jenson Button but struggled for pace on his second set of tyres and was unable to make progress. Indeed, the Brazilian veteran slipped back and came under intense pressure from his team-mate in the final five lap dash to the chequered flag.
After a tardy getaway, Button pushed hard and made up ground to Barrichello in the middle-segment of the race and his quest for points was helped by Heikki Kovalainen who tipped Adrian Sutil into a spin early in the race. This gave the championship leader two easy positions and from that point he was able to close the gap to his team-mate from over 12 seconds to less than a second.
With two points for seventh position, Barrichello heads to Interlagos 14 points behind eighth placed finisher Button, while Vettel is now just two points behind Barrichello and 16 behind Button. Brawn Mercedes have not wrapped up the constructors championship. They have a 35.5 point advantage over Red Bull with two rounds remaining with 36 still available.
Robert Kubica will be disappointed to start and finish in ninth position in the second BMW Sauber. He pushed Button hard for the final point in the closing laps but despite a few looks down the inside, was unable to make a pass.
Fernando Alonso started back in 16th and made best use of a one stop strategy to finish in tenth position in what was a disappointing weekend for Renault. Team-mate Romain Grosjean made little impression but at least went the distance to finish in 16th.
Heikki Kovalainen started and finished in 11th position in the second McLaren Mercedes. It was another tough race for the Finn who tangled with Sutil early in the race, but he redeemed himself somewhat with an excellent pass on Giancarlo Fisichella exiting the pits late in the race.
Tonio Liuzzi finished 14th just behind Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil and ahead of the one-stopping Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams. Mark Webber started from the pit lane as a result of his Saturday practice crash but multiple pitstops to secure the cockpit surround ended any chance of a fight back. The only silver-lining for Webber was his fastest lap of the race.
The Toro Rosso duo of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi were the only retirements, the former crashing heavily after running wide into the fast 130R turn. Alguersuari was unhurt in the incident but the accident triggered the only safety car period of the race. Buemi meanwhile struggled to get off the line at the start of the race and retired shortly after with a clutch problem.
Subject to penalties, both the drivers and constructors championships go on to Brazil with Vettel flying high after a flawless Sunday afternoon drive at Suzuka.
Earl ALEXANDER
CAPSIS International
Sebastian Vettel dominated the 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix from pole position to keep himself in championship contention on a day that Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button could only record the final points paying positions.
Vettel converted his pole into a comfortable race lead at the start, even managing to save a little fuel on his first stint and manage the gap back to the fast-starting Lewis Hamilton. The defending champion made best use of KERS off the line to pass Jarno Trulli for second position but was never able to shake off the determined Toyota racer.
Trulli kept the pressure on Hamilton and was able to regain second position in the second and final round of pitstops to take a well-deserved second position at his paymaster's home grand prix. Exiting the pits for the second time, Hamilton lost a fraction of a second as he either selected neutral rather than the pit lane speed limiter, or the car suffered a minor software glitch. Either way, it is debatable whether he would have been able to stop the rapid Trulli swooping though for second position.
Kimi Raikkonen pushed hard in the second stint and was rewarded with fourth position as he got the jump on Nick Heidfeld. The BMW Sauber driver lost time in his second stop as with a sticking wheel nut. This, combined with Raikkonen's charge, lost him a possible fourth position.
Nico Rosberg ran a long first stint in his Williams Toyota from seventh position on the grid and made a second timely pit stop just as the safety car came out on lap 46 to claim fifth position ahead of the unfortunate Heidfeld.
Rubens Barrichello started the event 15 points behind main title rival Jenson Button but struggled for pace on his second set of tyres and was unable to make progress. Indeed, the Brazilian veteran slipped back and came under intense pressure from his team-mate in the final five lap dash to the chequered flag.
After a tardy getaway, Button pushed hard and made up ground to Barrichello in the middle-segment of the race and his quest for points was helped by Heikki Kovalainen who tipped Adrian Sutil into a spin early in the race. This gave the championship leader two easy positions and from that point he was able to close the gap to his team-mate from over 12 seconds to less than a second.
With two points for seventh position, Barrichello heads to Interlagos 14 points behind eighth placed finisher Button, while Vettel is now just two points behind Barrichello and 16 behind Button. Brawn Mercedes have not wrapped up the constructors championship. They have a 35.5 point advantage over Red Bull with two rounds remaining with 36 still available.
Robert Kubica will be disappointed to start and finish in ninth position in the second BMW Sauber. He pushed Button hard for the final point in the closing laps but despite a few looks down the inside, was unable to make a pass.
Fernando Alonso started back in 16th and made best use of a one stop strategy to finish in tenth position in what was a disappointing weekend for Renault. Team-mate Romain Grosjean made little impression but at least went the distance to finish in 16th.
Heikki Kovalainen started and finished in 11th position in the second McLaren Mercedes. It was another tough race for the Finn who tangled with Sutil early in the race, but he redeemed himself somewhat with an excellent pass on Giancarlo Fisichella exiting the pits late in the race.
Tonio Liuzzi finished 14th just behind Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil and ahead of the one-stopping Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams. Mark Webber started from the pit lane as a result of his Saturday practice crash but multiple pitstops to secure the cockpit surround ended any chance of a fight back. The only silver-lining for Webber was his fastest lap of the race.
The Toro Rosso duo of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi were the only retirements, the former crashing heavily after running wide into the fast 130R turn. Alguersuari was unhurt in the incident but the accident triggered the only safety car period of the race. Buemi meanwhile struggled to get off the line at the start of the race and retired shortly after with a clutch problem.
Subject to penalties, both the drivers and constructors championships go on to Brazil with Vettel flying high after a flawless Sunday afternoon drive at Suzuka.
Earl ALEXANDER
CAPSIS International
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