Brawn GP and Red Bull outshine, Jenson Button’s victory streak; 2009 Formula 1 Season Review (Part 1)
The 2009 Formula 1 season was one of the most entertaining seasons in the history of sport, as several unexpected results emerged after some amazing performances by almost all the teams.
Lewis Hamilton had to defend his title, as he was the winner of 2008 championship. However, the British had a disappointing start being disqualified for the first race in Australia. The results were quite unexpected and shocking with Brawn GP being the new addition to Formula.
They were able to pull off a 1-2 as Jenson Button took the victory followed by his teammate Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli in the Toyota. These results changed the whole perspective of the season because at first McLaren and Ferrari were expected to dominate the season, but both these teams weren’t even able to finish in the points.
This was quite a start for the 2009 season which continued at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia with Button taking the victory once more followed by Nick Heidfeld in 2nd and Timo Glock in 3rd places respectively. This proved that Brawn GP was not just powerful, but also consistent at the same time. Sebastian Vettel snatched the victory in his Red Bull followed by his teammate Mark Webber, giving their team an outstanding result.
Button was able to finish in third place and he also managed to increase his lead at the Shanghai circuit in China. It seemed that Red Bull and Brawn GP were the two dominating teams up until now as both of them seemed consistent in their performances. The championship continued in Bahrain at the BIC circuit, where Button gave yet another astounding performance, as he was able to win after qualifying in 4th place.
Vettel finished just 7 seconds behind the Brit in 2nd place followed by Trulli. Brawn GP continued its domination at the Spanish Grand Prix with Jenson once again winning the race followed by Rubens. Webber finished third on the podium for Red Bull before heading to the Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco to replicate the results followed by Kimi Raikkonen in 3rd place. This was Ferrari’s first podium since the season began.
Meanwhile, Rubens had to retire at the Turkish Grand Prix two weeks later but still, his teammate and championship leader Button won his fourth consecutive race followed by Webber and Vettel in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. This championship continued at the legendary Silverstone circuit in Britain but this was the first race Jenson didn’t finish on the podium however, his teammate managed to finish in 3rd place behind the two Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber in 1st and 2nd places.
This was quite an accomplishment for Red Bull as they now had a mental advantage over Brawn before heading into a three-week brake. But still, Brawn GP headed the drivers and constructors’ championship as Jenson led the drivers’ standings with 65 points followed by his teammate with 41 points. Red Bull was in 2nd place while Vettel was in 3rd just 2 points behind Rubens. His teammate Webber was in 4th place with 35.5 points followed by Trulli with 21.5 points. Felipe Massa was in a disappointing 6th place with just 16 points ahead of Nico Rosberg and Timo Glock.
Fernando Alonso wasn’t able to perform well either, since he was driving for Renault that was not in good shape during 2009. The defending champion had a disastrous first half and he was in 11th place behind Raikkonen. Heikki Kovalainen wasn’t looking too good in the McLaren either and he was in 13th place with only 4 points. After the season’s first half, Brawn GP and Red Bull were way ahead of the other teams including Ferrari and McLaren. But after the three-week break, all teams headed into the season’s second half with fresh and innovative ideas.
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