14 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore)

Hamilton wins in Singapore
Lewis Hamilton led almost from lights to flag to claim his second grand prix of the season, while Jenson Button again benefited from the misfortune of others to shore up his world championship advantage on the streets of Singapore.

Having made a lightning start, Hamilton was only briefly troubled, initially as Nico Rosberg tagged along with the McLaren, and later when Sebastian Vettel refused to be shaken off after a safety car restart, but looked comfortable as he paced the field to the chequered flag under the lights of Marina Bay. The world champion only lost the lead after taking his second fuel and tyre stop, allowing 2008 race winner Fernando Alonso a handful of laps at the front, but retook the advantage when the Spaniard stopped and cruised home over seven seconds to the good.

Rosberg appeared on course for another second place in Singapore, but made an error exiting the pits on his first stop and was relegated into the midfield by the ensuing penalty for crossing the blend line - a problem compounded by the timing of the race's only safety car, which was called for a collision between fellow Germans Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld on lap 21.

Vettel took up the mantle of chief pursuer to Hamilton, but made his own mistake by exceeding the pit-lane speed limit on his second stop, although the damage was not as severe as that endured by his Williams rival. The Red Bull driver came home as the best-placed title contender, in fourth place, despite concerns over his brakes after team-mate Mark Webber crashed when his right front disc failed.

Vettel's problem promoted yet another German, Timo Glock, into an eventual second, the Toyota team being rewarded with a solid run back to the podium as Glock equalled his best finish in F1. Alonso completed the podium for the beleaguered Renault team, which had earlier seen rookie Romain Grosjean post the race's first retirement.

The Brawns were also in brake trouble, forcing Button to call of his late-race pursuit of Vettel and settle for fifth, enough to extend his lead over team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who chased the Briton across the line in a race that almost made it to the two-hour time limit.

------------------------------------
1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 61 laps 1hr 56m 06.337s
2. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +00m 09.6s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +00m 16.6s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 20.2s
5. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 30.0s
6. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +00m 31.8s
7. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +00m 36.1s
8. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +00m 55.0s

9. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +00m 56.0s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 58.8s
11. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +00m 59.7s
12. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +01m 13.0s
13. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +01m 19.8s
14. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +01m 33.5s

Rtd Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 47 laps completed
Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 47 laps completed
Rtd Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 45 laps completed
Rtd Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 23 laps completed
Rtd Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 19 laps completed
Rtd Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 3 laps completed

---------------------------------
Hamilton surprise by his pole!

Lewis Hamilton admitted it was an unexpected surprise to secure his third pole in four race for the latest round of the F1 season in Singapore.

Hamilton had endured a tough start to the weekend in Friday practice but a change of chassis overnight led to an upturn in fortunes when the current champion posted the quickest time during final practice.

The Briton then led the way in the first stage of qualifying and was again quickest after the first run in Q3 before the top ten returned to the track to complete their final qualifying runs. When Rubens Barrichello then went into the wall exiting turn five and brought out the red flags, a 16th career pole was secured and Hamilton admitted it had been a pleasant surprise.

“It's an absolutely fantastic result,” he said. “We came here with several technical upgrades, and we didn't know if we'd be up there – particularly after Friday practice, which wasn't spectacular for me. My pole lap was very relaxed: the car has just got better and better as the track has evolved, and I think I would have gone faster on my final lap if the session hadn't been aborted.

“I didn't expect to be on pole today, but our pace has been really good. We'll need to see what fuel loads everyone else is running, but I feel quite confident in what we're doing and I'm in the best position for the race tomorrow.”

While Hamilton benefitted from the red flag in Q3, the same couldn't be said for team-mate Heikki Kovalainen who could only post the tenth quickest time as he was unable to get a lap on the quicker option tyres due to the early stoppage.

“This is a very disappointing result for me,” the Finn said. “In the first two sessions, things went smoothly – although my laptimes weren't as competitive as I was expecting. For Q3, I didn't get a good enough lap in during my first run as I'd been running the harder tyre, which wasn't quick enough. I also made a couple of mistakes, but I was focusing my efforts on my second run – which would have been on a set of new option tyres.

“It's going to be a tough race tomorrow: starting from ninth will make things very difficult, but there's nothing I can do about that now, so I'm just going to absolutely go for it tomorrow.”
-------------------------------------------------


Hamilton takes Singapore pole under red flag
Lewis Hamilton was assured of pole position for the second Singapore Grand Prix after Rubens Barrichello banged the wall on his final flying lap around the Marina Bay circuit.

The Briton was already fastest of the final ten runners when Barrichello lost his car over the bumps heading into turn five, connecting the wall heavily with the left-hand side of the Brawn.

While Hamilton was left sitting pretty in his third pole of the year - and one that many expected him to take - Q2 pacesetter Nico Rosberg could be a little more aggrieved, having been on a better lap at the time the red flags were shown. The German will subsequently start from the inside of row two, with countryman Sebastian Vettel between himself and Hamilton, having also been denied a final shot at top spot.

Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber will line up alongside Rosberg, while Barrichello remained fifth fastest. The Brazilian, however, will drop to tenth after taking his gearbox change penalty, putting him just two spots ahead of Brawn team-mate and title rival Jenson Button, who missed the cut for Q3.

Fernando Alonso, Timo Glock, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen will all move up one spot because of Barrichello's penalty.

Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying times

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 47.891s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 48.204s
3. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1m 48.348s
4. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 48.722s
5. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1m 48.828s*
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 1m 49.054s
7. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 49.180s
8. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1m 49.307s
9. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1m 49.514s
10. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1m 49.778s

11. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1m 47.013s
12. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1m 47.141s
13. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 47.177s
14. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 47.369s
15. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 1m 47.413s

16. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 48.231s
17. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 48.340s
18. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 48.350s
19. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 1m 48.544s
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 48.792s

Renault Team Boss Banned for Life

By Ossian Shine

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The race-fixing controversy that has shamed Formula One is a bump on the road that the sport will quickly get past, according to former world champion Mika Hakkinen.

The Finn, who escaped from an horrific accident that almost killed him before he won the world title in 1998 and 1999, said motor racing's premier category would also survive the ugly scandal surrounding the Renault team.

"Show must go on," Hakkinen told Reuters.

"People who have done wrong, they need a penalty...And life has to go on."

Formula One has been plunged into controversy after the Renault team were found to have ordered driver Nelson Piquet to deliberately crash at last year's Singapore Grand Prix to help his team mate Fernando Alonso to win the race.

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore was barred for life on Monday for his role and former engineering head Pat Symonds was banned for five years. Piquet walked away unpunished after being given immunity from prosecution for testifying.

The controversy has cast an unsavory shadow over the sport and undermined Formula One's credibility at a time when it is looking to bolster support and shore up investment.

But Hakkinen, who would have died at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix without the intervention of quick-thinking doctors who performed an emergency trackside tracheotomy, remains upbeat about the future.

"Forget it and concentrate on the future," he said. "I think what is important now is a great grand prix is coming."

Hakkinen, in Singapore ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, said Sunday's nighttime spectacle was just the first step on the sport's road to recovery, as was the return next season of Lotus, the glamour-name that he started his career with.

"I think it's brilliant," Hakkinen said. "I think it's absolutely brilliant.

"A new organization in Formula One, new team in Formula One, new people in Formula One. All of this is a positive thing."

Running his hand through his blond-streaked hair the 41-year-old issued one piece of advice.

"You really, really have to keep your feet down on earth," he cautioned. "You have to have the right people running the operation.

"Obviously (there is) a lot of money involved, and you need professional people. So they, the people who have decided to bring the Lotus back, and run the Formula One team, I hope they have a good plan to get the right people."

Leading Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes will be the Lotus team principal. The 45-year-old set up Asian budget airline Air Asia, currently sponsoring the Williams team, and is Malaysia's 15th richest man with a net worth of $220 million according to the Forbes Malaysia 2009 rich list.

The team has the backing of the Malaysian government. Lotus will initially be based in Norfolk, some 10 miles from the original Lotus Cars factory in Eastern England, but the future design, manufacturing and technical center will be purpose built at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit.

(Editing by Julian Linden)

13 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza)

Barrichello wins Italian GP at Monza

Brawn Grand Prix's Rubens Barrichello came through to take the victory at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, ahead of his team-mate, Jenson Button.

Barrichello eventually finished the race around 3 seconds up on Button, with Kimi Raikkonen inheriting third late on, when Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the final lap.

Force India's Adrian Sutil was next up, shadowing Raikkonen's Ferrari, followed by the Renault of Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen.

Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the points' finishers in seventh and eighth respectively.
-----------------------------------------------------
Italian Grand Prix - Race result
1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 53 laps 1h 16m 21.706s
2. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +2.8s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +30.6s
4. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +31.1s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +59.1
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +60.6s
7. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +82.4s
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +85.4s

9. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +86.8s
10. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +120.0s
11. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +163.9s
12. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
13. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
14. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +1 lap
15. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault +1 lap
16. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +2 laps

Rtd. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 22 laps completed (gearbox)
Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19 laps completed
Rtd. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 15 laps completed (oil leak)
Rtd. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 0 lap completed (accident)

Fastest lap:

Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.739s

-----------------------------------------------------

Hamilton edges out Sutil for Italian GP pole
Lewis Hamilton secured pole position today in qualifying for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the thirteenth round in the 2009 FIA F1 World Championship, but only just as Adrian Sutil almost made it two in a row for Force India.

Hamilton was on the pace throughout, setting the second best time in both Q1 and Q2. In the final top-ten shoot-out he again looked strong in his McLaren-Mercedes and he held P1 until right at the end when Sutil demoted him to second.

However, Hamilton was still on track and clocking up best sector times, and he just edged back in front with a 1 minute 24.066 second lap, which was 0.195 seconds up Sutil.

Sutil thus had to settle for second and it could so nearly have been pole, especially as he made a slight error at the first Lesmo.

All-in-all though it was still another great result for Force India - following on from Giancarlo Fisichella's pole and runners-up spot at Spa, and with his replacement, Vitantonio Liuzzi also making it through to the final shoot-out and qualifying seventh, more points seem likely for the Silverstone-based outfit.

Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari, almost half a second off Hamilton, with the second McLaren and fellow Finn, Heikki Kovalainen fourth.

Rubens Barrichello completed the top five, 0.015 seconds up on his Brawn GP team-mate and current championship leader, Jenson Button - both apparently running heavier than those up ahead.

Further down the order, after Liuzzi in seventh, came Renault's Fernando Alonso and then the Red Bull's of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Jarno Trulli just missed the cut for Q3 and had to settle for eleventh spot in his Toyota, followed by Romain Grosjean and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. Kubica and his team-mate, Nick Heidfeld both bowed out in Q2 early on, when engine problems sidelined them.
--------------------------------------------

Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying times

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.065s
2. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.261s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 24.523s
4. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.845s
5. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1m 25.015s
6. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1m 25.030s
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 25.043s
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 1m 25.072s
9. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 25.180s
10. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 25.314s

11. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 1m 23.611s
12. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 1m 23.728s
13. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1m 23.866s
14. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 23.901s
15. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1m 24.275s

16. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 24.036s
17. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1m 24.074s
18. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1m 24.121s
19. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.220s
20. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.951s**

12 2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps)

Raikkonen wins Belgian GP at Spa
Kimi Raikkonen came through to take the victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday for Ferrari - but only just ahead of Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella.

Raikkonen took the lead from pole-man Fischella on the run to Les Combes after the re-start. The safety car had been deployed following the incident on the first lap, which saw four drivers retire, including current championship leader, Jenson Button and fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel meanwhile took the final spot on the podium, followed by the BMW Sauber's of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen rounded out the top six, with Rubens Barrichello seventh, despite problems late on, which culminated with his Brawn GP car finishing the race on fire!

Nico Rosberg took the final point in eighth for Williams with Mark Webber and Timo Glock completing the top ten.

Belgian Grand Prix - Race result
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 44 laps 1hr 23m 50.995s
2. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes +0.9s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +3.8s
4. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +9.9s
5. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +11.2s
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +32.7s
7. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +35.4s
8. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +36.2s

9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +36.9s
10. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +41.4s
11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +42.6s
12. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +46.1s
13. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +54.2s
14. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +98.1s

Rtd. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 26 laps completed
Rtd. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 21 laps completed
Rtd. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
Rtd. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps completed

Fastest lap:
Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 47.263s

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fisichella Surprised with Pole Position
Giancarlo Fisichella has admitted that securing a maiden pole position for the Force India F1 team was beyond his wildest dreams heading to the Belgian Grand Prix, despite acknowledging that Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit where he always expects to go well.

A force, albeit unexpected, throughout qualifying, the Italian veteran topped the first phase of qualifying and was only toppled from P1 late in Q2, before bouncing back to turn the tables on countryman Jarno Trulli and claim an historic first pole that marked by far the best qualifying result for the Indian team. A nail-biting third phase ended with Fisichella posting a 1min 46.308secs lap just seconds from the end of the hour, leaving little time for Trulli - or anyone else to respond, as Ferrari's Luca Badoer crashed out and forced a yellow flag zone at Les Combes.

The 36-year old, who has been tipped as a contender for the soon-to-be-vacant second Ferrari for the Italian Grand Prix, will start from pole for the fourth time in his lengthy career, although for the first time since heading qualifying for the 2006 Malaysia GP.

"This is one of my favourite circuits," Fisichella admitted, "I did well here in the past, and I was sure we would be competitive again this year, but I didn't expect to be on pole!

"It feels just great, like a dream. I am so happy for myself, for the team, for the mechanics, the engineers, all of whom have done a fantastic job. They made a great step forward for Valencia for the last race, especially considering our budget and our resources. Now I am not only looking for points, but for more... We've got this far we need to finish the job!"

Fisichella, however, had to overcome a minor setback during morning practice, which had limited him to eighth place on the timesheets as Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil claimed third fastest time.

"We had a small accident when I hit a rabbit, but my engineer said it would be lucky - and it was!" Fisichella revealed, "What a result."

"It was simply an incredible result, and full credit to Giancarlo on a series of fantastic laps," chief race engineer Dominic Harlow concurred, "We started today a little unsure of our performance, and knew we had to work on the understeer that was in the car yesterday, but the engineers tried a few things in FP3 and found the right direction. From there, both drivers were much happier. Giancarlo concentrated on the soft tyre in Q2 and I think the track improvement came in that direction."

Sutil could have joined his team-mate in Q3, having looked strong throughout the day, but narrowly missed out on a slot for the second time this year, after trailing Nico Rosberg by just a tenth of a second.

"This is an unbelievable day for the team, and congratulations to Giancarlo - it was an amazing result for him and such a good boost for the team," the magnanimous German commented, "We've worked hard, so the guys really deserve it.

"For me, it was quite a good session, but I'm still a little bit disappointed as I couldn't use the soft tyre set effectively. The hard set was much better on my car - we don't know why, but we will look into it as, normally, we should have been Q3 - as Giancarlo showed. However, from eleventh, I still think points are possible. We are quite good on the long run pace, the car feels good and it was from this point of view I am quite happy."

Belgian Grand Prix - Qualifying times
1. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 46.308s
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 1m 46.395s
3. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1m 46.500s
4. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1m 46.513s
5. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1m 46.586s
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 46.633s
7. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 46.677s
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 46.761s
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 46.788s
10. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1m 47.362s

11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 45.119s
12. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 45.122s
13. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 1m 45.136s
14. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1m 45.251s
15. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1m 45.259s

16. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 45.951s
17. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 46.032s
18. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1m 46.307s
19 Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 1m 46.359s
20. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 46.957s

11 2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia)

'Delighted' Barrichello won the Valencia F1 Grand Prix

Rubens Barrichello dedicated his victory in the European Grand Prix in Valencia this weekend to his injured countryman Felipe Massa – as the man many had written off as a has-been heading for retirement vaulted himself back in to genuine championship contention courtesy of as aggressive and determined a drive as he has produced all season.

Trailing Brawn GP team-mate Jenson Button by 26 points entering the meeting, Barrichello knew Valencia was effectively a last-chance saloon for his title aspirations – and in one fell swoop, he has cut that deficit by practically a third. Quicker than the Briton for the majority of the weekend, third place in qualifying was achieved despite carrying nigh-on ten kilograms more fuel aboard his car than the two front row-sitting McLaren-Mercedes' of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen ahead of him on the grid.

That marked the veteran Brazilian out as race day favourite in many observers' eyes, and he did not disappoint. Whilst Button fell down outside the points in the initial phase of the grand prix, Barrichello maintained a steady gap to Kovalainen in second throughout his opening stint, and by virtue of a succession of three supremely fast lap times after the Finn had made his first pit visit, successfully jumped the second of the two MP4-24s during the stops.

Following that, he went on to wage a cat-and-mouse duel with leader Hamilton, and when the reigning F1 World Champion found himself delayed at his second stop by his tyres not being ready, the wily old cat pounced. Almost five seconds ahead when the stops had all shaken out, Barrichello went on to preserve and occasionally extend that advantage all the way to the chequered flag for a supremely popular success and his nation's 100th triumph at the highest level.

“What a fantastic day!” enthused the 37-year-old São Paulista after bringing to an end an 85-race drought and registering the 100th Brazilian grand prix victory. “I am so delighted with the win after what was a really tough race out there. It's just amazing and a weekend that I will never forget. Even after five years, you don't forget how to win and the feeling is so good!

“Although we were fuelled heavier than the McLarens, I knew that I would have to push really hard throughout the race. My engineer Jock [Clear] was great today; he really encouraged me and helped me to maintain the pace, and the team did a fantastic job with two excellent pit-stops.

“I want to thank everyone who has supported me, and this victory is dedicated to the whole of Brazil but particularly to my great friend Felipe Massa. I've been with him last week and he truly deserves a sort of dedication like this, and I hope the whole of Brazil is hoping for his best recovery. I just hope he is back racing against me soon.”

Barrichello's flawless performance also drew effusive praise from Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn, who will now face the unenviable decision of whether to put the brakes on the sport's most experienced competitor of all time in order to focus solely on Button's chase of the crown, or let both of his drivers continue to duel it out until season's end, possibly to their own detriment.

“That was a fantastic performance from Rubens today to take his first and Brawn GP's seventh win of the season,” remarked the Englishman, whose team prior to this weekend had not won since the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul back in early June. “We knew that having a heavier fuel load would give us an advantage over the cars in front, but Rubens had to drive at his absolute best to have a chance of victory.

“He pushed exactly where he needed to. When we got on the radio and told him that he had to put in some quick laps, he delivered. It was a great performance and an extremely well-deserved victory. We're all delighted for him. Thanks and credit is also due to everyone at the track today and at the factory in Brackley for all their hard work over the past couple of weeks, and to our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth for their dedication and the performance of our engine.” -Crash.net.

--------------------------------------------
European Grand Prix - Race result

1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 57 laps 1hr 35m 51.289s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +2.3s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +15.9s
4. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +20.0s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +20.8s
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +27.7s
7. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +34.9s
8. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +36.6s

9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +44.9s
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +47.9s
11. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +48.8s
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes +63.6s
13. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +64.5s
14. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +86.5s
15. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault +91.7s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
17. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
18. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +3 laps

Rtd. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +16 laps
Rtd. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 23 laps completed (engine)

Fastest lap:

Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 38.683s

------------------------------------------


Hamilton leads McLaren F1 lock-out in Valencia

Lewis Hamilton followed up his Hungarian Grand Prix triumph by scorching to pole position for the European Grand Prix on a baking day in Valencia – but the reigning F1 World Champion's glory was only secured by a late error from team-mate Heikki Kovalainen that arguably cost the Finn the top spot on the starting grid.

Still riding the crest of a wave from his Budapest glory – his first podium of the season, let alone first victory – Hamilton has been quick all weekend around the challenging Circuit Ricardo Tormo, and along with Kovalainen succeeded in achieving McLaren-Mercedes' first front row lock-out in the top flight since Hungary last year.

There were the odd mistakes along the way – in both Q1 and Q3 – but that aside the Stevenage-born ace was in peerless form, and pipped Kovalainen by a scant three hundredths of a second at the close as the Suomussalmi native twitched his way to the line through the last sector and compromised his entry into the final turn.

The only man capable of holding a candle to the two Silver Arrows was Rubens Barrichello, as the hotter temperatures under the Spanish sun saw Brawn GP, in the words of team principal Ross Brawn, 'back to dealing with a normal car again' – but world championship leader Jenson Button was only fifth, crucially behind Red Bull Racing title rival Sebastian Vettel, another driver to take a brief excursion into the scenery along the way.

Mark Webber in the sister RBR confirmed fears that the energy drinks-backed outfit is on the back foot this weekend by lapping half a second adrift of Vettel in ninth – the Australian's second-worst qualifying performance of the season to-date, compounded by a near-miss with the wall during Q2. Ahead of him will be Kimi Raikkonen in the lead Ferrari, Williams' Nico Rosberg and home hero Fernando Alonso in the Renault, with Robert Kubica fading to tenth in the final reckoning having on occasion threatened to break into the top four.

There was no such disappointment, however, over in the McLaren garage, where the 2009 campaign has come alive with a vengeance in recent weeks. Back at the start of the year, Hamilton had written off all hopes of even winning a single race this season. He now stands on the brink of triumphing twice in quick succession.

Both McLarens were similarly quick in Q2, with Hamilton and Kovalainen winding up second and third-fastest respectively, but both men were pipped in the final moments by Barrichello, with the remainder of the Q3 graduates composed of Vettel, Rosberg, Button, Webber, Alonso, Kubica and Raikkonen. The latter, indeed, made it through by a scant four hundredths of a second, in so doing demoting Nick Heidfeld into the Q2 abyss, though eleventh nonetheless equalled the BMW star's best qualifying showing of 2009 to-date.

Joining the German in the drop were countryman Adrian Sutil – disappointed with twelfth in the leading Force India, after proving rapid indeed throughout practice and Q1 and with the Silverstone-based squad reckoning to have gained a full seven tenths of a second since the British Grand Prix two months ago – Timo Glock in the Toyota, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean and Scuderia Toro Rosso ace Sébastien Buemi. Grosjean, for his part, impressed on his maiden appearance at the highest level, lapping within four tenths of double F1 World Champion team-mate Alonso, who only narrowly made the cut himself.

The five Q1 casualties, finally, were composed of Giancarlo Fisichella – spoiling Force India's day after both VJM02s had shown well up the order for much of the session – Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, who rolled to a halt with three minutes to go, Jarno Trulli on a poor day for Toyota, Scuderia Toro Rosso rookie Jaime Alguersuari and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Luca Badoer.

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 39.498s
2. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1m 39.532s
3. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1m 39.563s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 39.789s
5. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1m 39.821s
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 40.144s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1m 40.185s
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 1m 40.236s
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 40.239s
10. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1m 40.512s

11. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1m 38.826s
12. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 38.846s
13. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 38.991s
14. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 1m 39.040s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 39.514s

16. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 39.531s
17. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1m 39.795s
18. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 1m 39.807s
19. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 39.925s
20. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 41.413s