Report 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix

1 report

1.1 background
1.2 qualifying
1.3 race

report
background

local favourite felipe massa won 2008 brazilian grand prix ferrari lewis hamilton picked world championship mclaren overtaking timo glock on last corner of race 5th. massa won race in 2006, , runner-up teammate kimi räikkönen in 2007 finn took world championship. world title had been won @ interlagos previous 4 years, hamilton, räikkönen , fernando alonso (twice) taking title. alonso has never won brazilian gp, however, juan pablo montoya , massa winning 2005 , 2006 races respectively. former brazilian grand prix winner lining giancarlo fisichella, won in 2003.

the race has history of home success, massa, ayrton senna, nelson piquet sr, carlos pace , emerson fittipaldi winning. rubens barrichello aimed first win @ interlagos, hoping improve on previous best placing of 3rd in 2004. massa had targeted return after injuries sustained in accident in qualifying in 2009 hungarian grand prix, not possible. massa instead given honour of waving chequered flag @ end of race.

championship leader jenson button needed finish within 4 points of teammate barrichello seal 2009 drivers title. red bull s sebastian vettel needed finish first or second in order stay in running title fight. in constructors standings, brawn gp required half point declared champions, while red bull racing needed finish first , second in both brazil , abu dhabi brawn not scoring in either round take title themselves.

gp2 driver , toyota test driver kamui kobayashi replaced toyota s timo glock after tests revealed had cracked vertebra in qualifying accident @ previous race @ suzuka.

qualifying

qualifying dominated tropical storm interrupt session on hour, , made session last 2 hours , 41 minutes, longest qualifying session in history of f1. first session saw elimination of giancarlo fisichella, both mclaren cars , championship contender sebastian vettel; nick heidfeld joined them fifth , final car eliminated. rains set in after first session, delaying qualifying until circuit declared safe. nico rosberg topped timing sheets lap time of 1:22.828.

when weather had cleared , cars re-emerged, rosberg once again come out on top. session red-flagged vitantonio liuzzi crashing heavily @ first corner. unable set time, subsequently eliminated. q2 saw elimination of championship leader jenson button down in fourteenth , behind jaime alguersuari, kamui kobayashi , romain grosjean, 3 least-experienced drivers in field.

for first time since knockout qualifying system introduced, third , final ten-minute session contested drivers 9 of ten teams, exclusion being mclaren, both hamilton , kovalainen having been knocked out in first session; williams team field 2 cars in final session. jenson button s closest championship rival , teammate rubens barrichello took pole on drying circuit 1:19.576, release of post-qualifying car weights revealed him lightest car on grid. due continuous delays in qualifying due rain, session holds record longest qualifying session in formula 1 history.

race

the opening lap dominated 3 separate incidents. heikki kovalainen made contact sebastian vettel coming out of senna s , , while vettel emerged unscathed, kovalainen ran out of road , collected fisichella, forced go long way around. second incident took place 2 corners later when jarno trulli tangled adrian sutil while trying make pass coming out of fifth corner. both toyota , force india eliminated, sutil taking out fernando alonso in process when renault driver unable avoid out-of-control force india, incident caused deployment of safety car. third , final incident took place in pit lane; after encounter vettel, heikki kovalainen pitted, followed closely kimi räikkönen, latter having damaged front wing after light contact mark webber. kovalainen released pit while fuel hose still attached, taking him , it, spray of fuel. räikkönen s exhaust ignited spilt fuel in fireball, no 1 injured , both drivers able continue once brawn mechanics extricated mclaren fuel hose kovalainen s car.

pole-sitter barrichello controlled first phase of race, though mark webber , robert kubica stayed in touch, 2 , half seconds adrift. aided first-lap incidents , safety car, button placed ninth @ end of first lap. proceeded take grosjean around outside @ turn 6 , nakajima @ first corner once green-flag conditions resumed, before being held debutant kamui kobayashi. heard on team radio voicing displeasure @ newcomer s tactics in defending line. when cleared toyota driver, button able build lead of 3 , half seconds on him in single lap.

barrichello unable sustain pace needed maintain lead on webber, , in first round of pit stops, home town driver passed australian before coming under fire robert kubica. meanwhile, lewis hamilton — having started seventeenth — had pitted on first lap , removed softer tyre compound team switched him one-stop strategy. other incidents in race saw nick heidfeld run out of fuel after fuel-rig malfunctioned, whilst kobayashi s blocking tactics removed fellow countryman kazuki nakajima s front wing, , williams driver crashed heavily @ fourth corner. teammate nico rosberg had succumbed gearbox troubles few laps earlier.

the second stage of race saw button leading group of 4 one-stopping drivers, ultimate success or failures having consequences on championship standings given barrichello s position. both hamilton , vettel leap-frogged button after button s second stop , briton caught behind kovalainen, though fading rubens barrichello in position such had race ended there , then, button still declared world champion. button inherited sixth position when kovalainen pitted, while hamilton managed pass down inside of barrichello first corner inadvertently damaged brazilian s tyre, causing puncture , forcing him pit. resumed in eighth, vettel s fourth placing meaning that, barring dramatic turn in events, button 2009 world champion if retired.

mark webber, had led unchallenged since first stops, went on win race, robert kubica securing bmw sauber s first podium since malaysia. lewis hamilton s pass on barrichello enough net him third place , see mclaren overtake ferrari third in constructors standings. sebastian vettel fourth when needed first or second continue championship fight in abu dhabi, while button s fifth place fourteenth on grid enough him secure 2009 world championship, becoming tenth british champion , first british champion succeed since 1969, when jackie stewart succeeded graham hill world champion. became second driver in succession win world championship finishing fifth in brazil whilst driving mercedes-powered car carrying number 22. button used 1 chassis on course of season (most drivers change chassis several times), having driven in every practice , qualifying session , race, meaning won world championship in oldest car on grid. kimi räikkönen, sebastien buemi , rubens barrichello rounded out minor points placings.

felipe massa chequered flag waver in grand prix. podium trophies of unusual three-pronged design , matt-turquoise in colour. designed architect oscar niemeyer , constructed of recycled plastic bottle tops, collected on site on course of grand prix weekend, , remoulded @ site s plastic recycling plant. initiative highlight sponsor petrobras green credentials.