03 2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Bahrain)

Button celebrates first 'real' chequered flag of '09
In Melbourne he led a ten-second sprint to the finish line following a late-race safety car intervention and in Sepang the washout that caused an early stoppage threatened to rain on his victory celebrations, but in Sakhir Jenson Button drove all the way to the chequered flag – and drove his heart out to ensure he got there first.

The 2009 Formula 1 World Championship leader was in pessimistic mood after qualifying just fourth in the desert kingdom, some margin from the front row of the grid and on barely more fuel than the pace-setting Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock. The 29-year-old ceded further ground at the first corner when compatriot Lewis Hamilton vaulted past him in his KERS-equipped McLaren-Mercedes, but he regained a position by going boldly all the way around the outside of fellow second row starter Sebastian Vettel into turn one.

The turning-point in Button's race, though, lay just a lap later still, as at the same place he dived bravely down the inside of Hamilton and made the move stick, allowing him to set off in pursuit of the leading Toyotas. By dint of remaining out on-track significantly longer and posting some very quick lap times, he was able to leapfrog both during the first round of pit visits, and from there even extended his advantage throughout the middle stint as second-placed Trulli held the chasing pack at bay on his lesser-favoured 'prime' Bridgestone rubber.

Consistent lap times in the final stint when he switched over the medium-compound tyres were enough to maintain the Frome-born star's lead, and he went on to take the flag just over four seconds clear of Vettel for his third triumph from four starts this season. It was, by all accounts, a magnificent drive.

“It was a great race today,” Button enthused. “I'm so happy to have seen the chequered flag without a safety car or red light in front of me! To achieve my third victory of the season is amazing, and we are going back to Europe with a strong lead in both championships. I couldn't wish for anything more.

“It has been a tough weekend for the team, which makes this win even more rewarding as we didn't have the pace that we had expected. I was really happy with my first lap. I knew that I had to overtake Sebastian quickly and got him round the outside on turn one.

“I had a couple of attempts at Lewis round the first lap and almost got him at the last corner. I knew that he would pull away from me on the straight so I dropped in behind and used the tow to overtake him at turn one. It wasn't easy from there, but getting up to third on the second lap was crucial for me. Our thanks to Mercedes-Benz this weekend who have not only provided us with a powerful engine but have integrated so well with our team. You need a close-knit unit to succeed in Formula 1, and that is what we have at this team.”

The sister car of team-mate Rubens Barrichello was never quite on Button's pace during the grand prix, with an aggressive three-stop strategy failing to really pay off for the experienced Brazilian, with the 36-year-old finding himself caught up in myriad on-track battles, most notably with compatriot Nelsinho Piquet and Glock. The São Paulista secured fifth place in the final reckoning after getting the better of a late-race scrap with Glock and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

“We brought home some valuable points today,” he reflected afterwards, “but it was a tough race for me. I lost a lot of time behind Piquet after my first stop, which was a real shame as it compromised my race plan. We went for a three-stop strategy and then took the decision to come in slightly early for my second stop as I was being held up behind Hamilton.


1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 57 1:31:48.182 4 10
2 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 57 +7.1 secs 3 8
3 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +9.1 secs 1 6
4 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +22.0 secs 5 5
5 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 57 +37.7 secs 6 4
6 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +42.0 secs 10 3
7 10 Timo Glock Toyota 57 +42.8 secs 2 2
8 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 +52.7 secs 7 1
9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 57 +58.1 secs 9
10 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 57 +65.1 secs 15
11 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 57 +67.6 secs 18
12 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +77.8 secs 11
13 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 57 +78.8 secs 20
14 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 8
15 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 17
16 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 19
17 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 16
18 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 56 +1 Lap 13
19 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 56 +1 Lap 14
Ret 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 48 Oil pressure 12


Gutsy second for Vettel eases Red Bull 'disappointment'
A battling performance by Shanghai star Sebastian Vettel earned Red Bull Racing a hard-earned second place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, but his team nonetheless admitted to a touch of 'disappointment' at not having been able to repeat its Chinese glory in the desert kingdom.

After qualifying third, Vettel was confident of being able to overhaul the two front row-sitting Toyotas on race day by dint of carrying rather more fuel than Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock – but that was to count without the Brawn GP of Formula 1 World Championship leader Jenson Button and, more significantly still, the McLaren-Mercedes of defending title-holder Lewis Hamilton.

A solid getaway at the lights was eclipsed by the KERS-aided start of Hamilton, and with one Briton on his inside into turn one, the other one took advantage to go around the outside, leaving Vettel with nowhere to go and having to cede position to both through the opening corner. From there the young German found his ambitions frustrated over the first 15 laps until the McLaren pitted, but he got past by waiting a further four laps before he made his own pit visit.

After shadowing Trulli throughout the middle stint of the race – with Hamilton never far from his mirrors – the 21-year-old would leapfrog the Italian too during the second round of stops, but by then Button was all-but home and dry, and though he would slowly chip away at the leader's advantage until the chequered flag, barring any overheating problems for the Brawn, the end result was never really any longer in doubt. Nonetheless, the runner-up spoils – after fending off Trulli to the close – have maintained Vettel's stellar start to the 2009 campaign and lifted him to within a single point of Rubens Barrichello for second place in the drivers' standings.

“Very good,” summarised the top flight's youngest-ever grand prix-winner. “A good result and good points, but it was a difficult race. The start was okay, but then suddenly Lewis was next to me – he must have pressed his special button and got an advantage. At the first corner we were three-deep – me in the middle and Jenson on the outside – so I had to give way and lost two positions.

“Unfortunately I then got stuck behind Lewis, which caused degradation to the tyres – you start to slide and never really come back from that. It's hard-braking here, so you need the tyres and rear stability. In the second stint I was just behind Jarno, which was a shame as I was on soft tyres and could have gone a bit quicker.

“In the third stint, it was the other way round and I had to defend against Jarno who was then on the soft tyres. He was very close in my mirrors, but I didn't make any mistakes and we came second! A massive thanks to all the guys for this great result.”

Team-mate Mark Webber, for his part, staged a brave recovery from his back-of-the-grid starting position, battling his way gamely up the order and pulling off an impressive move on Ferrari's Felipe Massa, but ultimately losing too much time behind the KERS-equipped Renault of Nelsinho Piquet en route to eleventh spot at the finish, still behind his arch-nemesis Piquet and 17 seconds shy of the last of the points-scoring positions.

“My start was okay,” the Australian mused. “We had a reasonable first few laps, but then I got stuck behind Piquet. It's very difficult to overtake a car with KERS – he was too quick on the straights and that really wrecked the first stint for me. We then converted to a two-stop strategy, but the grip was quite low on the prime tyres, although it was the same for everyone.

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 57 1:31:48.182 4 10
2 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 57 +7.1 secs 3 8
3 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +9.1 secs 1 6
4 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +22.0 secs 5 5
5 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 57 +37.7 secs 6 4
6 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +42.0 secs 10 3
7 10 Timo Glock Toyota 57 +42.8 secs 2 2
8 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 +52.7 secs 7 1
9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 57 +58.1 secs 9
10 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 57 +65.1 secs 15
11 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 57 +67.6 secs 18
12 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +77.8 secs 11
13 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 57 +78.8 secs 20
14 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 8
15 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 17
16 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 19
17 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 16
18 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 56 +1 Lap 13
19 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 56 +1 Lap 14
Ret 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 48 Oil pressure 12