Reverend
May 10th, 2009, 18:26 PM
Jenson Button's superb season continued as he grabbed his fourth 2009 race win out of five at a tactical Spanish Grand Prix which Brawn GP totally dominated.
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello got past pole-sitter Button with a great start - but a strategy change benefited the Englishman, who pushed him into second.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was third ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who passed Felipe Massa's Ferrari late on.
McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points in ninth.
Massa ran third for much of the race, holding up Vettel's faster Red Bull, but the Brazilian lost the place to Webber at the second pit stops thanks to clever strategy from Red Bull.
Massa then slipped down to sixth behind Vettel and Renault's Fernando Alonso in the closing laps when the Brazilian was forced to go into fuel-saving mode when a problem at his pit stop meant not enough fuel was put into his car.
BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Williams's Nico Rosberg finished seventh and eighth in the final points positions.
With a win that never looked in doubt after he had built up more than 11 seconds between his car and the rest of the field half-way through the race, Button has further stretched his lead at the top of the drivers' championship and now sits 14 points ahead of Barrichello.
The Brazilian veteran, the oldest man on the grid, could have recorded a first race victory in five years after his superb start.
But the introduction of the safety car after a first-lap collision - for just the fifth time in 18 years at the Circuit de Catalunya - meant Brawn changed Button's race strategy from doing three pit stops to two and he drove superbly to make the switch pay off.
Team boss Ross Brawn said that three stops was theoretically a quicker strategy but that Barrichello had been too slow in his third stint to make it work.
The Brazilian blamed a problem with his tyres in that part of the race for his slow pace.
"Three stops was the quicker strategy we thought ," said Button.
"I wasn't sure about it [changing to two] and when we put the fuel on board it felt very heavy.
"I didn't think I'd come out ahead of Massa and Vettel [after his first pit stop], but I did and I could just get my head down.
"It's a good feeling and gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."
Spanish Grand Prix Result:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes
3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
5. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
7. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
Championship standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 41 pts
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 27
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 23
4. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 15.5
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 14.5
6. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 12
7. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 9
8. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 9
Constructors' championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 68 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 38.5
3. Toyota 26.5
4. McLaren-Mercedes 13
5. Renault 9
[i]BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8042675.stm)
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello got past pole-sitter Button with a great start - but a strategy change benefited the Englishman, who pushed him into second.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was third ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who passed Felipe Massa's Ferrari late on.
McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton finished outside the points in ninth.
Massa ran third for much of the race, holding up Vettel's faster Red Bull, but the Brazilian lost the place to Webber at the second pit stops thanks to clever strategy from Red Bull.
Massa then slipped down to sixth behind Vettel and Renault's Fernando Alonso in the closing laps when the Brazilian was forced to go into fuel-saving mode when a problem at his pit stop meant not enough fuel was put into his car.
BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Williams's Nico Rosberg finished seventh and eighth in the final points positions.
With a win that never looked in doubt after he had built up more than 11 seconds between his car and the rest of the field half-way through the race, Button has further stretched his lead at the top of the drivers' championship and now sits 14 points ahead of Barrichello.
The Brazilian veteran, the oldest man on the grid, could have recorded a first race victory in five years after his superb start.
But the introduction of the safety car after a first-lap collision - for just the fifth time in 18 years at the Circuit de Catalunya - meant Brawn changed Button's race strategy from doing three pit stops to two and he drove superbly to make the switch pay off.
Team boss Ross Brawn said that three stops was theoretically a quicker strategy but that Barrichello had been too slow in his third stint to make it work.
The Brazilian blamed a problem with his tyres in that part of the race for his slow pace.
"Three stops was the quicker strategy we thought ," said Button.
"I wasn't sure about it [changing to two] and when we put the fuel on board it felt very heavy.
"I didn't think I'd come out ahead of Massa and Vettel [after his first pit stop], but I did and I could just get my head down.
"It's a good feeling and gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."
Spanish Grand Prix Result:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes
3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
5. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
7. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
Championship standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 41 pts
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 27
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 23
4. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 15.5
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 14.5
6. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 12
7. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 9
8. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 9
Constructors' championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 68 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 38.5
3. Toyota 26.5
4. McLaren-Mercedes 13
5. Renault 9
[i]BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8042675.stm)