2009 Australian GP: Jenson Button leads Brawn GP one-two
Barrichello P2 thanks to late crash between Vettel and Kubica
After the dominant qualifying session on Saturday, the Brawn GP team has secured today its first one-two finish at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. Jenson Button got the Australian Grand Prix chequered flag in first place ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello who, thanks to a crash between Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica with three laps to go, came up on P2. Third place for Jarno Trulli, fourth for Lewis Hamilton, fifth for Timo Glock, sixth for Fernando Alonso and seventh for Nico Rosberg. Young Sebastien Buemi at his first race in F1, completes the top eight with P8. Both Ferraris out during the finishing stages of the race.
Update: Jarno Trulli gets a 25-second penalty for having regained a position while the Safety Car was on track. Lewis Hamilton gets promoted to third.
2009 Australian Grand Prix, lap by lap highlights:
Race start: Jenson Button keeps P1, Rubens Barrichello has a bad start and looses several positions. Sebastian Vettel gains P2 while Felipe Massa takes advantage of the KERS and gains P3. Kimi Raikkonen on P5.
Lap 2: Button keeps pushing, P1. Heidfeld, Sutil, Webber and Kovalainen head to the pits as their cars are damaged following a collision on Turn 1.
Lap 3: Kovalainen is out, while Hamilton is gaining quickly several positions (the Briton took the start from the back of the grid). Button P1, Vettel P2, Massa P3 then Kubica, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Barrichello.
Lap 4: Despite a slightly damaged front wing, Barrichello keeps racing.
Lap 5: Button P1 with +4 seconds on Vettel. Hamilton P12, Alonso P15.
Lap 7: Vettel’s Red Bull RB5 is the only single seater that almost keeps Button’s pace.
Lap 10: Rosberg overtakes Raikkonen and gains P5.
Lap 11: Pit stop for Raikkonen. Kubica and Rosberg put some pressure on Massa (P3).
Lap 12: Pit stop for Massa.
Lap 13: Button P1, Vettel P2, Rosberg P3, Barrichello P4, Nakajima P5.
Lap 15: Alonso P9, Hamilton P15.
Lap 16: Pit stop for Vettel and Rosberg. Rosberg looses precious seconds in the pits following a problem with his front left wheel.
Lap 18: Nakajima slips on the kerbs at turn 4 and crashes onto the barriers. Safety Car deployed.
Lap 19: Pit stop for Barrichello and Button.
Lap 21: Safety Car still on the track.
Lap 25: Safety Car back in the pits. Button P1, Vettel P2, Massa P3, Kubica P4.
Lap 29: Button on P1 with +2 seconds on Vettel.
Lap 32: Pit stop for Massa.
Lap 36: Kubica (P3) pushing on Vettel (P2). Raikkonen P4.
Lap 39: Pit stop for Raikkonen and Kubica.
Lap 44: Massa out. The Brazilian laments drivetrain problems on his F60.
Lap 54: Barrichello overtakes Rosberg. The Brazilian is now on P4.
Lap 55: Kubica (P3) reaches Vettel P2.
Lap 56: Collision between Vettel and Kubica. Both cars crash onto the barriers. Safety Car deployed.
Lap 58: Raikkonen out. Button wins the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, followed by Barrichello, Trulli, Hamilton, Glock, Alonso, Rosberg and Buemi.
2009 Australian Grand Prix, race results:
Pos. | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 58 | Winner | 1 | 10 |
2 | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 58 | +0.8 secs | 2 | 8 |
3 | 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 58 | +1.6 secs | 20 | 6 |
4 | 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +2.9 secs | 18 | 5 |
5 | 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 58 | +4.4 secs | 19 | 4 |
6 | 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +4.8 secs | 10 | 3 |
7 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 58 | +5.7 secs | 5 | 2 |
8 | 12 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 58 | +6.0 secs | 13 | 1 |
9 | 11 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 58 | +6.2 secs | 17 | |
10 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +6.3 secs | 16 | |
11 | 6 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 58 | +7.0 secs | 9 | |
12 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +7.3 secs | 15 | |
13 | 14 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 57 | +1 Lap | 8 | |
14 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 56 | +2 Laps | 3 | |
15 | 5 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 55 | +3 Laps | 4 | |
16 | 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 55 | +3 Laps | 7 | |
Ret | 3 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 45 | +13 Laps | 6 | |
Ret | 8 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 24 | +34 Laps | 14 | |
Ret | 17 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 17 | +41 Laps | 11 | |
Ret | 2 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 0 | +58 Laps | 12 |