BRAWN GP
Barrichello storms to pole after chaotic Brazil qualifying
After getting final practice compressed into 13 minutes of running this morning, heavy rain caused chaos once again this afternoon with a hugely disrupted qualifying session taking almost two and three quarter hours to be completed. In the end though, it was a wait well worth it for the Brazilian fans as Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello kept his championship fight alive with a superb pole position, made all the sweeter by team-mate and championship leader Jenson Button doing no better than 14th.
Despite continual heavy rain and generally poor track conditions, qualifying got underway as planned at 14.00 local time, before the red flags predictably emerged after four minutes when Giancarlo Fisichella spun to a halt at turn 2. After a 14-minute delay, the action resumed to the finish of Q1, with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton being one of the notable victims of the poor conditions, aqua planing off the track at turn 5.
Vettel wins in Japan in front of Truli and Hamilton
Only team-mate Mark Webber could stop Sebastian Vettel from recording a perfect weekend this afternoon in Japan, as the young German romped clear from pole position to win his third race of the season, leading every lap of the race in the process. Had it not been for Webber’s late pitstop for new tyres on low fuel, Vettel would also have recorded fastest lap, but more significantly his 10 points and Brawn’s struggle to 7th and 8th means he remains in title contention with just two races remaining.
From the start, Vettel was challenged strongly by the KERS-boosted Lewis Hamilton, and after successfully fending him off, was never again under pressure for the lead. With more fuel on-board than his nearest rivals, he kept the lead even during the pitstops, and shrugged off a late-race safety car period to record a comfortable five-second victory.
Vettel takes pole in Suzuka qualifying
Sebastian Vettel will start from pole position in tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix after an action-packed qualifying session at Suzuka this afternoon. The scheduled qualifying hour was delayed by three red flag periods courtesy of three separate crashes in Q2 and Q3, eventually ending half an hour late.
With Red Bull’s Mark Webber having been ruled out of qualifying after damaging his chassis in final practice, just four drivers would be eliminated in Q1. After a largely trouble-free session for most drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella (1m31.704s) dropped out at the first hurdle for the second successive time, followed closely by home hero Kazuki Nakajima (1m31.718s) who was unable to turn local knowledge into a Q2-worthy laptime.
Hamilton takes second win of 2009 season at Singapore Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton cruised to a comfortable Grand Prix victory in Singapore tonight, claiming the ten points on offer after a faultless drive from pole position. Starting at the front of the grid, with KERS and a considerable fuel load on-board meant Hamilton was always going to be the firm favourite for victory, but the Briton had to work hard for his reward at the toughest race on the F1 calendar.
At the start, Hamilton got away cleanly and led by the first corner while behind, Nico Rosberg benefitted from starting on the clean side of the track to jump Sebastian Vettel. Further behind Webber was able to hold off the stern challenge of Fernando Alonso on the opening lap, but only by running off the circuit. Ninth-place Barrichello made a super getaway to gain two places by the end of the first lap, while team-mate Button crucially got past Nakajima to climb to 10th.
Hamilton on pole for Singapore Grand Prix
Hamilton had been on the pace throughout the session, and was the last to post his first timed lap in Q3, taking provisional pole. But with only one run remaining for all drivers, Rubens Barrichello brought out the red flags when he crashed at turn 5, damaging the left side of his car. Although he was able to emerge unscathed from the crash, the red flag meant the session was effectively over, with just 26 seconds left on the clock.
Hamilton then claimed pole thanks to his initial lap of 1m47.891s, with the rest of the top ten also decided on the first run of flying laps. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took second place alongside Hamilton with a 1m48.204s, followed Nico Rosberg (1m48.348s) producing a fantastic performance in his Williams. The German had gone quickest of all in Q2, setting the weekend’s fastest time at 1m46.197s, but fell back slightly with race fuel in Q3.
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