Spanish Grand Prix

11th May 2009

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button reigned supreme in Spain, taking his fourth victory in five races. The Briton dominated at the Barcelona circuit, taking a well-deserved win ahead of team mate Rubens Barrichello and Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

However, it was Barrichello who took the early advantage, getting ahead of pole-sitting Button at the first corner. As a result, the Briton switched to a two-stop stop strategy, which allowed him to leap-frog the three-stopping Brazilian at the flag.

Fortunately all the front-runners avoided the first lap chaos caused by Toyota’s Jarno Trulli. The Italian lost control of his car, crashing into Force India’s Adrian Sutil and causing the Toro Rosso’s of Sebastien Buemi and Sebastien Bourdais to collide into retirement.

Behind the leading duo was a hard fought scrap for third place. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa looked on course for a podium finish, using the extra power of his KERS equipped car on the straights to stay ahead of the quicker Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. But it was Vettel’s team mate Webber who took the spoils, passing the battling pair at the final round of stops.

Matters got worse for Massa who was told by team bosses that he was short of fuel and may not finish the race. As a result, the Brazilian was forced to slow, letting Vettel and Renault’s Fernando Alonso past in the closing stages.

At least Massa fared better than fellow Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. The 2007 world champion was forced out on lap 18 after his transmission failed.

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton at least finished the race, although he was out of the points. The McLaren ace dragged his underperforming car home in ninth place, just behind the Williams of Nico Rosberg.

For Jenson Button there were no such worries. “To come away with a win at a circuit that I’ve always found a little bit tough is a good feeling”, claimed Jenson. “It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I am also very proud of all the guys back at the factory in Brackley. I don’t think they get enough of a mention, so thank you very much and also thanks to Mercedes Benz, as we can’t do it without them.”

The teams now have to turn on the glamour as they prepare for the Monaco grand prix on 24 May.

Results

1.   Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes
2.   Barrichello    Brawn GP-Mercedes
3.   Webber    Red Bull-Renault
4.   Vettel        Red Bull-Renault
5.   Alonso        Renault
6.   Massa        Ferrari
7.   Heidfeld    BMW Sauber
8.   Rosberg    Williams-Toyota
9.   Hamilton    McLaren-Mercedes
10. Glock        Toyota
11. Kubica        BMW Sauber
12. Piquet        Renault
13. Nakajima    Williams-Toyota
14. Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes

Driver Championship

1. Jenson Button        41
2 Rubens Barrichello    27
3 Sebastian Vettel    23
4 Mark Webber        15.5
5 Jarno Trulli        14.5
6 Timo Glock         12
7 Lewis Hamilton        9
8 Fernando Alonso    9
9 Nick Heidfeld        6
10 Nico Rosberg         4.5

Constructor Championship

1 Brawn-Mercedes    68
2 RBR-Renault        38.5
3 Toyota            26.5
4 McLaren-Mercedes    13
5 Renault            9
6 BMW Sauber        6
7 Ferrari            6
8 Williams-Toyota     4.5
9 STR-Ferrari        4