Vettel delivers Red Bull first F1 win in Shanghai!

It may have taken them 75 races to get there, but when they finally did so they did it in style, as Sebastian Vettel led team-mate Mark Webber home in a resounding Red Bull Racing one-two triumph in a water-logged Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today.

In an historic result, Vettel not only atoned for his error in the 2009 curtain-raiser in Melbourne that cost RBR the runner-up spoils Down Under, but he survived a nudge from behind from Scuderia Toro Rosso rookie Sébastien Buemi under a mid-race safety car period and demonstrated all the composure of a seasoned Formula 1 veteran to hold his nerve in treacherous conditions that saw many of his rivals spinning off left, right and centre for his second wet weather grand prix victory.

What's more, much as when Jordan broke its own F1 duck in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – a race held in similar conditions – Red Bull's success was a double cause for celebration, with Webber taking the chequered flag second to cement the Milton Keynes-based squad's superiority. After two races of Brawn GP domination, the 2009 season has suddenly come alive.

With a wet track, the decision was taken to begin the grand prix under safety car conditions – a controversial move that threatened to play in the favour of the Brawns of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button and work against the top three cars on the grid, the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber and the Renault of former double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, all of whom were significantly lighter on fuel than the two starting behind them.

Even at low speed behind the safety car, though, there were a number of incidents, with both Ferraris skating off-piste at the same corner and Force India's Adrian Sutil taking a trip through the gravel trap. The young German seized the opportunity to pit, as did countryman Nico Rosberg in the Williams – the first of the leading runners to blink – and then front-row starter Alonso, leaving the trio at the back of the field, but still with the pack and with a pit-stop already in their pocket.

The safety car remained on-track for what must have seemed an interminable length of time for the front-runners, finally coming in at the end of lap eight to release the drivers in a Red Bull one-two, with the menacing Brawns right up behind – and none of them having completed a flying lap in such conditions over the course of the weekend.

Reprising their Malaysian wet weather pace, the Red Bulls rapidly set about scampering away from the Brawn pairing to the extent that after just two racing laps, leader Vettel already had a ten-second advantage over third-placed Barrichello. The gap between the young German and team-mate Webber see-sawed until the first round of pit-stops arrived, when the Brawns took charge, Button now leading Barrichello after the latter had run slightly wide heading onto the pit straight earlier in the grand prix.

Behind the front-runners, it was an inspired Buemi who was the main man on the move, the architect of a truly superb performance that saw him not only hassle but go on to pass the similarly Ferrari-powered Kimi Raikkonen in a gritty and determined display that belied his lack of experience in the top flight.

The young Swiss ace's next target and victim was Jarno Trulli, who went backwards as he struggled for grip in the torrential conditions until his race was prematurely ended by Robert Kubica 17 laps in, with the Pole entering the final corner rather faster than the Toyota ahead of him and the F1.09 riding up over the back of the TF109, destroying the entire rear section of his Italian rival's car and ensuring that the Pescara native's sorry record in China was maintained.

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 56 1:57:43.485 1 10
2 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 56 +10.9 secs 3 8
3 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 56 +44.9 secs 5 6
4 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 56 +63.7 secs 4 5
5 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 56 +65.1 secs 12 4
6 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +71.8 secs 9 3
7 10 Timo Glock Toyota 56 +74.4 secs 19 2
8 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +76.4 secs 10 1
9 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +84.3 secs 2
10 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 +91.7 secs 8
11 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 56 +94.1 secs 15
12 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 56 +95.8 secs 11
13 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 56 + 106.8 secs 17
14 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 20
15 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 55 +1 Lap 7
16 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 53 +2 Laps 16
17 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 50 Accident 18
Ret 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 43 Transmission 14
Ret 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 20 Electrical 13
Ret 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 18 Accident damage 6

R3 2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) 19 April 2009

Red Bull expect 'big day' after 'last-minute' Vettel pole

Red Bull Racing is expecting 'a big day' in its Formula 1 history in tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix, after Sebastian Vettel left it late to lead the team to its maiden pole position in the top flight by just under two tenths of a second – a result the German described as 'unbelievable'.

Both Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber were bang on the leading pace from the word 'go' in qualifying in Shanghai, belying a troubled FP3 session that had seen them complete just 15 laps between them as a result of driveshaft issues. On low fuel loads for the first time in Q2, the pair wound up first and second respectively – and in the closing stages of Q3 looked set to do the same, only for a meteoric effort from former double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso in the Renault to split the two energy drinks-backed machines right at the close.

All-the-more impressive was the fact that Vettel pulled off his pole position feat despite only venturing out for a single run in the top ten shoot-out due to his practice woes, whilst most of his rivals benefitted from two – consequently putting him under considerable pressure to produce. He did so to perfection.



“I'm very, very happy,” enthused the 21-year-old, already the sport's youngest-ever grand prix-winner and a man who similarly stormed to the top spot on the starting grid for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Monza last year. “It's unbelievable, and it was a bit last-minute! I only had one run in each qualifying session but, as you can see, you don't need more!

“It wasn't easy; we had a problem with the car and had to run as little as possible. The car was really quick, though; Mark had two runs in each session and was always up there, so I didn't have any concerns. Still, if you have only one lap, you can't make any mistakes.

“I'm really happy – we made it to pole position in the end! This morning wasn't ideal, but it seems the less I run in the morning, the better it is in qualifying! A big thanks to the mechanics, who have been working very, very hard, basically all night, and thanks to all the team back in Milton Keynes too. We made it! I'm looking forward to tomorrow; it's a long race and there's a long way to go, but we have the best starting position.”

Webber will begin the grand prix from directly behind his team-mate in third, just under three tenths adrift and – as with Vettel – marking the Australian's highest starting position since last year's Italian Grand Prix. The New South Wales native admitted that the gaps in the times had taken him a touch by surprise, but he acknowledged that it was an 'incredible' outcome nonetheless – particularly given that only a matter of months ago he was laid up in hospital with a badly broken right leg.

“What a result!” the 32-year-old remarked. “The work that's gone into this from the team, especially over the last few weeks, has been incredible. It would have been good to have both cars on the front row, but Fernando did a great job.

“I was expecting to be a little bit tighter in the end, but we'll see how the fuel loads pan out tomorrow. We've done a good job. Q2 was strong for us and the car is behaving well, with a lot of grip. I'm doing what I can to give the youngster (Vettel) a hard time; we're pushing each other hard and it's working very well!”

Vettel's Pole Lap Video...



Pole Positions
1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso Renault
3 Mark Webber RBR-Renault
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes
5 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
6 Jarno Trulli Toyota
7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota
8 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
9 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
10 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari