2009 European Grand Prix

 2009 European Grand Prix

Racing data
11th of 17 races in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship
Surname:	LIII Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe
Date:	August 23, 2009
Place:	Valencia
Course:	Valencia Street Circuit
Length:	308.883 km in 57 laps of 5.419 km
Weather:	sunny
Spectator:	~ 81,000
Pole position
Driver:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Time:	1: 39.498 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Timo Glock	Toyota
Time:	1: 38.683 min (lap 55)
Podium
First:	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes
Second:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Third:	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari

The 2009 European Grand Prix took place on 23 August at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia ( Spain ) and was the eleventh race of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship .

Reports

background

After the Hungarian Grand Prix , Jenson Button led the drivers' standings with 18.5 points ahead of Mark Webber and 23 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel . Brawn- Mercedes led the constructors' championship with 15.5 points ahead of Red Bull- Renault and with 74 points ahead of Ferrari .

The Renault team with local hero Fernando Alonso should not have taken part in this race because they had been suspended for a race after the incident in Hungary in which an incorrectly fitted tire on Alonso's car had come loose on the track. However, in the appeal hearing on August 17, the fine was reduced to 50,000 US dollars, so that Renault was allowed to start. In addition, Nelson Piquet junior was replaced by Romain Grosjean at Renault .

Michael Schumacher was supposed to make his comeback in Formula 1 after almost three years as a replacement for Felipe Massa , who was injured in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix , but had to cancel due to an injury. Therefore, replacing Luca Badoer Massa and gave after nearly ten years with his 50th Grand Prix comeback.

Kimi Raikkonen contested his 150th Grand Prix at the European Grand Prix.

With Fernando Alonso (twice) and Rubens Barrichello (once), two former winners competed in this Grand Prix.

training

Luca Badoer on his comeback

In the first free practice, Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello reported back at the front of the field. Behind him followed the McLaren drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton . In the second free practice session, local hero Alonso set the fastest lap time ahead of World Cup leaders Button and Barrichello. There was a long break in the third free practice session after Vettel's racing car lost oil after an engine failure. The fastest lap was achieved by Adrian Sutil , who caused a surprise. Kazuki Nakajima and Robert Kubica followed in second and third place . Luca Badoer set an unusual record in Friday practice because he exceeded the speed limit four times in the pit lane, for which he was warned.

Qualifying

In the first section of qualifying for the European Grand Prix, World Cup leader Button achieved the fastest lap. Fisichella , Nakajima, Trulli , Alguersuari and Badoer were eliminated. Ferrari substitute Badoer finished last, almost 1.5 seconds behind the Alguersuari who was in front of him. In the second segment, Button's team-mate Barrichello took the lead. Heidfeld , Sutil, Glock , Grosjean and Buemi did not make it to the third qualifying stage. After all, world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had the least petrol on board, set the fastest lap time of 1: 39.498 minutes and thus secured pole position . His team-mate Kovalainen and Barrichello started behind him. Only racing cars powered by Mercedes-Benz engines were therefore on the first three grid positions .

run

After the start, the first three places remained unchanged. Kimi Raikkonen improved to fourth place after a good start. The World Cup leader Button had a poor start and was in ninth place after a few corners. Luca Badoer improved from last place to 14th place, but did not keep this position for long because Romain Grosjean touched his Ferrari from behind. Badoer spun but, unlike Grosjean, didn't have to go into the pit lane. In addition, the Glock and Buemi were involved in a collision that forced them to stop repairs. Mark Webber complained over the pit radio about an overtaking maneuver by Jenson Button, who passed him after cutting a chicane. A little later, Webber passed Button, although it is unclear whether Button had let Webber by or not.

Heikki Kovalainen finished fourth

In the 15th lap, Hamilton and Vettel, the first drivers completed the pit stop. Hamilton came back on track in sixth while team-mate Kovalainen took the lead. Since Vettel had problems with the fuel supply during his pit stop, he had to come back into the pit a lap later to refuel the car. After a lead lap, Kovalainen came into the pits and passed the lead to Rubens Barrichello, who tried to move forward with fast lap times. Button and Raikkonen completed their pit stop on the 18th lap. The Finn came back on track in eighth place, Button in eleventh place. Barrichello came back a lap later behind Lewis Hamilton and narrowed the gap to Hamilton. In addition, he was able to leave Kovalainen behind. On the 24th lap, Vettel had to end the race after another engine failure. Before the second pit stop, Hamilton was unable to distance Barrichello more clearly from himself.

Hamilton's second pit stop did not go as planned: While Hamilton was already in the pit, the mechanics still had to unpack the tires and so the Briton lost important seconds. Barrichello, who was able to drive three more laps, was ahead of Hamilton after the pit stop and thus secured the lead. Kovalainen also lost a position during the pit stop and was overtaken by his compatriot Räikkönen. Webber, although pitting later, lost his seventh place and was overtaken by Button and Kubica.

At the end of the race, Hamilton tried to approach Barrichello's leading Brawn, but these attempts were unsuccessful. Barrichello eventually won the race ahead of Hamilton and Raikkonen. It was the Brazilian’s first win since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix . Neither Red Bull driver could score any points and so Rubens Barrichello improved to second place in the drivers' championship. In addition, Brawn was able to extend the lead in the constructors' championship.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	01	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren MP4-24	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	02	Heikki Kovalainen
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	03	Luca Badoer	Ferrari F60	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	04th	Kimi Raikkonen
BMW Sauber F1 Team	05	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber F1.09	BMW 2.4 V8	B.
	06th	Nick Heidfeld
ING Renault F1 Team	07th	Fernando Alonso	Renault R29	Renault 2.4 V8	B.
	08th	Romain Grosjean
Panasonic Toyota Racing	09	Jarno Trulli	Toyota TF109	Toyota 2.4 V8	B.
	10	Timo Glock
Scuderia Toro Rosso	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso STR4	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	12	Sébastien Buemi
Red Bull Racing	14th	Mark Webber	Red Bull RB5	Renault 2.4 V8	B.
	15th	Sebastian Vettel
AT&T Williams	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams FW31	Toyota 2.4 V8	B.
	17th	Kazuki Nakajima
Force India F1 Team	20th	Adrian Sutil	Force India VJM02	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	21st	Giancarlo Fisichella
Brawn GP Formula 1 team	22nd	Jenson Button	Brawn BGP 001	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	23	Rubens Barrichello

Classifications

Qualifying

Item	driver	constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	begin	Weight in kg
01	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes (K)	1: 38.649	1: 38.182	1: 39.498	01	653.0
02	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes (K)	1: 38.816	1: 38.230	1: 39.532	02	655.0
03	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes	1: 39.019	1: 38.076	1: 39.563	03	662.5
04th	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1: 39.295	1: 38.273	1: 39.789	04th	654.0
05	Jenson Button	Brawn Mercedes	1: 38.531	1: 38.601	1: 39.821	05	661.5
06th	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari (K)	1: 38.843	1: 38.782	1: 40.144	06th	661.5
07th	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1: 39.039	1: 38.346	1: 40.185	07th	665.0
08th	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1: 39.155	1: 38.717	1: 40.236	08th	656.5
09	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1: 38.983	1: 38.625	1: 40.239	09	664.5
10	Robert Kubica	BMW clean	1: 38.806	1: 38.747	1: 40.512	10	657.5
11	Nick Heidfeld	BMW clean	1: 39.032	1: 38.826	-	11	677.0
12	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1: 39.145	1: 38.846	-	12	672.5
13	Timo Glock	Toyota	1: 39.459	1: 38.991	-	13	694.7
14th	Romain Grosjean	Renault	1: 39.322	1: 39.040	-	14th	677.7
15th	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 38.912	1: 39.514	-	15th	688.5
16	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	1: 39.531	-	-	16	692.5
17th	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1: 39.795	-	-	17th	702.0
18th	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1: 39.807	-	-	18th	707.3
19th	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 39.925	-	-	19th	678.5
20th	Luca Badoer	Ferrari (K)	1: 41.413	-	-	20th	690.5

(K) = racing car with KERS

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Weight in kg	Fastest lap
01	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes	57	2	1: 35: 51.289	03	662.5	1: 38.990 (39.)
02	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes (K)	57	2	+ 2.358	01	653.0	1: 39.056 (57.)
03	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari (K)	57	2	+ 15.994	06th	661.5	1: 39.207 (39.)
04th	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes (K)	57	2	+ 20.032	02	655.0	1: 39,341 (56th)
05	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	57	2	+ 20.870	07th	665.0	1: 39.329 (52nd)
06th	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	2	+ 27.744	08th	656.5	1: 39.494 (46.)
07th	Jenson Button	Brawn Mercedes	57	2	+ 34.913	05	661.5	1: 38.874 (46.)
08th	Robert Kubica	BMW clean	57	2	+ 36.667	10	657.5	1: 39.374 (55.)
09	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	57	2	+ 44.910	09	664.5	1: 39.528 (50.)
10	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	57	2	+ 47.935	12	672.5	1: 39.622 (36.)
11	Nick Heidfeld	BMW clean	57	2	+ 48.822	11	677.0	1: 39.704 (53rd)
12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	57	1	+1: 03.614	16	692.5	1: 40,111 (53.)
13	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	1	+1: 04.527	18th	707.3	1: 39.941 (52nd)
14th	Timo Glock	Toyota	57	03	+1: 26.519	13	694.7	1: 38.683 (55th)
15th	Romain Grosjean	Renault	57	3	+1: 31.774	14th	677.7	1: 39.428 (41.)
16	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	56	2	+ 1 lap	19th	678.5	1: 40.935 (29.)
17th	Luca Badoer	Ferrari (K)	56	3	+ 1 lap	20th	690.5	1: 40,590 (52nd)
18th	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	54	2	+ 3 rounds	17th	702.0	1: 39.747 (53rd)
-	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	42	2	DNF	15th	688.5	1: 41.042 (37.)
-	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	24	2	DNF	04th	654.0	1: 39.992 (13.)

(K) = racing car with KERS

World Cup stands after the race

The first eight of the race got 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Jenson Button Brawn Mercedes 72, 0 02  Rubens Barrichello Brawn Mercedes 54, 0 03  Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 51.5 04th  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 47, 0 05  Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 29.5 06th  Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 27, 0 07th  Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 24, 0 08th  Jarno Trulli Toyota 22.5 09  Felipe Massa Ferrari 22nd, 0 10  Timo Glock Toyota 16, 0 11  Fernando Alonso Renault 16, 0 12  Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 14th, 0

Item driver constructor Points 13  Nick Heidfeld BMW clean 6th, 0 14th  Robert Kubica BMW clean 3, 0 15th  Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 3, 0 16  Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2, 0 17th  Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 0, 0 18th  Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 0, 0 19th  Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 0, 0 20th  Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 0, 0 21st  Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0, 0 22nd  Romain Grosjean Renault 0, 0 23  Luca Badoer Ferrari 0, 0

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  Brawn Mercedes 126, 0 02  Red Bull-Renault 98.5 03  Ferrari 46, 0 04th  McLaren-Mercedes 41, 0 05  Toyota 38.5

Item constructor Points 06th  Williams-Toyota 29.5 07th  Renault 16, 0 08th  BMW clean 9, 0 09  Toro Rosso-Ferrari 5, 0 10  Force India-Mercedes 0, 0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Due to a flat tire: Renault blocked for Valencia!" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 26, 2009)
2. ↑ "Black eye for Renault: racing ban lifted!" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 17, 2009)
3. ↑ "Officially: Grosjean replaces Piquet at Renault" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 18, 2009)
4. ↑ "Schumacher: Secret crash ends comeback dreams" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 11, 2009)
5. ↑ "Badoer replaces Massa in Valencia" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 11, 2009)
6. ↑ "Four penalties: Badoer warned after hearing" (Motorsport-Total.com on August 21, 2009)

Web links

Commons : European Grand Prix 2009  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Weekend statistics at Motorsport-Total.com