Formula 1 News

Jenson Button wins shortened Malaysian GP 

Race abandoned with 24 laps to go due to heavy rain

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button has won – thanks to a perfect pit stop strategy – his second consecutive grand prix, by finishing first the shortened due to heavy rain 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International circuit. The Briton was followed by BMW’s Nick Heidfeld, Toyota duo with Timo Glock ahead of Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Ninth place for Ferrari’s Felipe Massa ahead of Sebastien Bourdais, Fernando Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and Nelsinho Piquet. 14th place for Kimi Raikkonen who abandoned the race for yet another KERS problem seconds before the event got red-flagged.

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, lap by lap highlights:

Pre Race: As predicted by Renault Team Principal Flavio Briatore, very dark clouds are approaching the Malaysian circuit and it seems that heavy rain will fall after the first few minutes of the race.

Formation lap: All drivers will start the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix with the Bridgestone soft tyres. Team Radio for Kubica, the Pole is lamenting problems on his BMW engine.

Race start: Button and Trulli loose the momentum at the start. Nico Rosberg bounces in P1, Trulli P2 and Alonso, who took the start from P9, is now on P4. Kovalainen out on the gravel after the first turns: the Finn lost control of the car.

Lap 54/56: pit stop for Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi for a damaged front wing. Kubica out, engine.

Lap 53/56: nice battle between Alonso and Barrichello. The Brazilian overtakes Alonso.

Lap 52/56: Rosberg P1, Trulli P2 then Button, Barrichello, Alonso, Raikkonen, Webber and Glock. Vettel P10, Hamilton P11, Massa P12.

Lap 47/56: McLaren team radio telling Hamilton rain in the next 10 minutes. Vettel going strong P9, Hamilton P10.

Lap 46/56: Rosberg, still P1 clocking the fastest lap, Trulli P2. Raikkonen overtakes Alonso following a mistake by the Spaniard. Raikkonen P5. Alonso P6, Webber P6, Glock P7.

Lap 44/56: Webber overtakes Alonso but the Spaniard uses the Kers and overtakes him again. Webber overtakes him again at the next turn.

Lap 43/56: Rosberg P1 with 3 seconds on Trulli P2. Pit stop for Vettel. 10.7 seconds for him, soft tyres.

Lap 42/56: Rosberg still leading the race, Trulli, Button, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Webber, Alonso, Glock. Webber pushing on Raikkonen.

Lap 41/56: pit stop for race leader Nico Rosberg, 9.7 seconds, soft tyres. Rosberg now in P4. Pit stop for Glock and Sutil. Still no rain even if the clouds are getting darker.

Lap 40/56: Button P2, approaching Trulli P1. Pit stop for Webber, soft tyres 9.1 seconds. Back in P14. Massa on P10.

Lap 39/56: Pit stop for Trulli, 9.8 secs, soft tyres. Trulli back in P4, behind Rosberg P3.

Lap 38/56: Button, P1, fastest lap with 7 seconds on Barrichello. Pit stop for Raikkonen, Ferrari takes the gamble and fits wet tyres, 11.1 secs. Back in P13. Hamilton P6 approaching Alonso P5.

Lap 37/56: Pit stop for Button, 8.7 seconds, soft tyres. Back in P2. It seems that it will rain in a few minutes. Pit stop for Barrichello, soft tyres, 9.4 secs.

Lap 36/56: Raikkonen struggling with the wet tyres, he’s loosing around 10 seconds per lap.

Lap 35/56: Pit stop for Nakajima. Rain it’s starting to fall. Alonso slips on the wet at Turn 7.

Lap 34/56: pit stop for Button, Rosberg, Trulli, Barrichello, Hamilton, Massa for wet tyres. Heavy rain in the paddock. Hamilton P6. Team radio for Raikkonen: the Finn says wet tyres completely destroyed.

Lap 33/56: Button, P1 with +15.8 on Rosberg P2, Trulli P3. Long battle between Hamilton and Webber.

Lap 32/56: Vettel overtakes Nakajima, Vettel P11. Outstanding overtake from the outside for Webber to Heidfeld.

Lap 31/56: It seems that Hamilton is having problems with the gearbox. Glock flying with the intermediate wets.

Lap 30/56: Most drivers on full wets. Massa P8, pit stop for Vettel.

Lap 29/56: Barrichello overtakes Rosberg, Button P1, Barrichello P2: the Brawns are leading the race. Pit stop for Rosberg. Glock, Webber going strong with the intermediates.

Lap 28/56: Glock overtakes Webber. Pit stop for Barrichello, intermediate tyres. Barrichello back in P8.

Lap 27/56: Pit stop for Button, intermediate tyres. Pit stop also for Massa. Heavy rain is falling again. Pit stop for Raikkonen, seems like he will fit the full wets.

Lap 26/56: Pit stop for Glock for full wets. Pit stop for Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton for full wets. Massa P11.

Lap 26/56: Vettel out as he spun on Turn 7, Buemi out. Pit stop for Button, it’s time for full wets.

Lap 25/56: Button P1, Glock P2, Heidfeld P3, Trulli, Barrichello, Hamilton, Rosberg. Pit stop for Trulli and Barrichello. Rain is heavier now, almost torrential, the Safety Car is deployed as it’s impossible to drive in these conditions and the visibility is too low.

Lap 24/56: team radio for Bourdais: he says it’s undriveable. Lap 32. Race red flagged! The cars have stopped and parked on the starting grid as per procedure. Raikkonen out for yet another KERS problem.

Red Flag: Rain is lighter now, few cars have started their engines. Seven time world champion Micheal Schumacher is confident the race will be restarted. Norbert Haug thinks this will be unlikely.

Red Flag: Looks like the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix will be restarted behind the Safety Car. The Ferrari mechanics are working on Raikkonen’s car; perhaps the Finn will rejoin. A Ferrari spokesman confirms that Raikkonen is out.

Red Flag: Still no communication from the FIA stewards. The drivers, however, are getting ready for a restart behind the Safety Car.

Red Flag: A FIA Communication says that the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix won’t be restarted.

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button wins his second consecutive Grand Prix ahead of Nick Heidfeld, Timo Glock, Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The drivers will get half the points as per FIA regulations: they failed to complete 75% of the event.

2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, race results: