Brawn GP driver Jenson Button has won the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship today at the Brazilian circuit of Interlagos, after crossing the line in 5th position, having started from 14th. Teammate Rubens Barrichello finished in 8th position after dropping down the pack due to inferior pace and a puncture in the closing laps.

The track was dry, unlike the qualifying on Saturday. However, this didn’t make the start of the race clean, but instead quite chaotic. Barrichello managed to hold off Webber, whilst Raikkonen overtook 2 cars before the end of the pit straight. All cars managed to get through the first corner without a hitch, something unusual at this circuit in the last years. However, at the exit of turn 2, Heikki Kovalainen was hit from behind and spun on the track. Giancarlo Fisichella, in an attempt to dodge the McLaren, exited into the grass outside the track, but kept the car under control and brought it back onto the circuit. After that, Kimi made an aggressive move on Webber to try and secure the inside line for the 4th corner, but the Australian would have none of it and swiftly blocked the gap, causing the Finn to break his front wing on the Red Bull’s rear left tyre. He managed to keep the car on the track and began to make his way to the pits, as car after car overtook him. Meanwhile, Jarno Trulli and Adrian Sutil (who had lost positions at the start) were having a battle of their own, which resulted in Trulli taking turn 5 too wide, slipping on the grass and re-entering the track sideways, colliding with Sutil. Sutil was launched out of the track, and bounced along the grass until he hit an unsuspecting Fernando Alonso. Trulli reprimanded Sutil quite aggressively, for what he believed was an intentional action by the Force India star to force him out of the track. The Safety Car was deployed, and McLaren changed their race strategy on the spot to an effective one-stopper by pitting both drivers. Heikki was released sooner that he should’ve been, and trailed a leeking fuel hose alongside him, drenching fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen. The Ferrari’s high temperature exhaust inmediately ignited the fuel and caused a brief but frightening blast.

When the safety car came in on lap 6, Kubica took Nico Rosberg at the Senna S. Jenson Button, who had managed to reach 9th position after starting 14th, took it upon himself to win the Championship at this circuit, and performed several outstanding overtaking manoeuvers to scale some more positions. However, young Sebastian Vettel followed close behind, as did both McLaren drivers, these two being benefitted undoubtedly by their KERS. Button found debutant Kamui Kobayashi to be a hard nut to crack, and only managed to pass him on lap 24. He then pulled an impressive 3.6s ahead of Kobayashi within just a lap and a half. Up front, Barrichello was failing to put some space between himself and Mark Webber, and his pit stop release into a pack of traffic only made matters worse. Mark Webber made his pit stop and kept 1st place until the end of the race. Jenson pitted on lap 29 ahead of his German rival, and swiftly overtook Toro Rosso’s Buemi. However, Sebastian Vettel managed to leapfrog Button in his second pit stop, and proved impossible to catch from that moment onwards.

On lap 31, Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima collided with the rear end of  Kobayashi’s car as the Toyota driver exited the pit lane. Barrichello struggled greatly for pace with a heavy fuel load and cold tyres. Lewis Hamilton, who had started 17th on the grid, had been steadily advancing up the pack until he reached 4th position, and, not satisfied with that, started to pester the Brazilian for a podium finish. On lap 63 he had his way, and overtook him by sheer speed at the pit straight. To add insult to injury, Rubens suffered a slow puncture from a minor brush with Lewis, and had to pit for a new set of tyres. When he was released back into the race he was 8th, and his teammate 5th. His hopes of snatching the title off Jenson were gone for good.

Felipe Massa waved the chequered flag as Mark Webber crossed the line, followed by Robert Kubica, who performed an excellent race having started from 8th position, and Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button, crossing the line in 5th place, was mathematically the 2009 World Champion before celebrating the last race at Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, Brawn GP is the 2009 Constructors World Champion, only 10 months after Honda decided to pull out of Formula 1 and Team Principal Ross Brawn buying the team just weeks before the season started, with no sponsors and at a great risk to himself. Well deserved titles for both driver and team.

Race results:

Driver                       Team                                          Time

1.  Webber               Red Bull-Renault     
2.  Kubica                 BMW Sauber                          (B)  +     7.626
3.  Hamilton            McLaren-Mercedes            (B)  +    18.944
4.  Vettel                  Red Bull-Renault                  (B)  +    19.652
5.  Button                  Brawn-Mercedes                 (B)  +    29.005
6.  Raikkonen          Ferrari                                     (B)  +    33.340
7.  Buemi                  Toro Rosso-Ferrari             (B)  +    35.991
8.  Barrichello         Brawn-Mercedes                 (B)  +    45.454
9.  Kovalainen        McLaren-Mercedes            (B)  +    48.499
10.  Kobayashi       Toyota                                     (B)  +  1:03.324
11.  Fisichella          Ferrari                                     (B)  +  1:10.665
12.  Liuzzi                 Force India-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:11.388
13.  Grosjean           Renault                                    (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari            (B)  +     1 lap

Not classified/retirements:

Driver                     Team                                     On lap

Nakajima                  Williams-Toyota                   (B)    31
Rosberg                    Williams-Toyota                   (B)    28
Heidfeld                    BMW Sauber                           (B)    22
Sutil                            Force India-Mercedes       (B)    1
Trulli                          Toyota                                      (B)    1
Alonso                       Renault                                    (B)    1

Rubens Barrichello has scored a crucial pole position at his home Grand Prix, as both his title rivals failed to reach Q3, and is looking good for posing a very dangerous threat to Jenson Button’s World Championship dreams at Abu Dhabi.

Alongside him on the grid will be Red Bull driver Mark Webber, followed by Force India’s Adrian Sutil, who has proven once again that he’s a driver to be reckoned with in the wet.

The race weekend was set to be exciting hours before qualifying, since the rain poured relentlessly onto the Brazilian circuit of Interlagos, in Sao Paolo. Q1 was interrupted a few minutes after it started due to Ferrari’s Giancarlo Fisichella spinning at turn two and stalling the car on the track. Red flags were waved, and the session didn’t start again until the conditions improved. The downpour had hardly decreased when the session was restarted however, and all the drivers struggled to stay on track, let alone set competitive lap times. The session ended with Championship contender Sebastian Vettel in 16th position, hardly surprising considering his car was set up for dry conditions. Both McLaren drivers had opted for the same strategy, and were also unable to get through to the next session. Heidfeld dropped out with them.

Q2 was also interrupted shortly after beggining as Vitantonio Liuzzi aquaplaned into the pit wall on the main straight and wrecked his car against the barriers. Fortunately, he left what remained of the car unscathed. The red flags were waved once more, but were followed this time by a much greater break, once again with the hope of the rain subsiding. This eventually ocurred, more than 20 minutes after Liuzzi’s accident, and the cars could finally have a go at setting some times. With the track getting drier and drier, there was a frenzy of position changes. A position that was soon apparent wasn’t going to vary was current World Championship leader Jenson Button’s, as he struggled greatly with his Brawn and was unable to set a competitive lap time. He could do no better than 14th, a position that puts his Championship bid in serious trouble. At the end of the session, most drivers switched to intermediate tires, which proved to be the best option. The other drivers that failed to reach the cut were Glock’s substitute Kamui Kobayashi, and rookies Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean.

Q3 went without a hitch, and saw all drivers using intermediate tires as the track was drying up rapidly. Pole position was changing hands in quick succession amongst nearly all the drivers left on track, but in the final minutes it was clear the battle would be between Barrichello and Webber. Finally, the Brazilian took it on the final lap, to the enjoyment of his home crowd. Sutil clocked in a fast time at the very end which puts him in 3rd position for tomorrow’s start, and if the conditions are anything like those of qualifying, he’s well capable of taking the top spot on the podium. It’s in Barrichello’s best interest not to let that happen, as every single point counts in his desperate plight to snatch the World Championship from his English teammate.

The grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix will be as follows:

1.  Barrichello                Brawn-Mercedes       
2.  Webber                      Red Bull-Renault     
3.  Sutil                             Force India-Mercedes 
4.  Trulli                           Toyota               
5.  Raikkonen                Ferrari              
6.  Buemi                         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   
7.  Rosberg                    Williams-Toyota      
8.  Kubica                       BMW-Sauber           
9.  Nakajima                  Williams-Toyota      
10.  Alonso                    Renault              
11.  Glock                        Toyota                 
12.  Alguersuari           Toro Rosso-Ferrari     
13.  Grosjean                 Renault                
14.  Button                     Brawn-Mercedes         
15.  Liuzzi                       Force India-Mercedes   
16.  Vettel                      Red Bull-Renault     
17.  Kovalainen           McLaren-Mercedes     
18.  Hamilton               McLaren-Mercedes     
19.  Heidfeld                 BMW-Sauber           
20.  Fisichella              Ferrari