The Australian Grand Prix provided a frenetic start to the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship. Brawn GP enjoyed an incredible Formula 1 debut at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.
Australian GP Qualifying
The two major stories of qualifying were Brawn GP’s extraordinary pace as opposed to the McLaren team’s lack of it. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were in a class of their own, giving Ross Brawn’s new team a 1-2 on the grid. Meanwhile, a basic lack of speed and a forced gearbox change relegated defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton to 18th position.
Red Bull youngster Sebastian Vettel was once again impressive, and a little surprised, to line up third on the grid. Robert Kubica finally found some speed in his BMW-Sauber and finished the day in fourth place, ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Williams and 2008 World Championship runner-up Felipe Massa’s Ferrari.
Both Toyota drivers looked fast, but the team was judged to be running illegal rear wings and started the Grand Prix from the pit lane. Renault driver Fernando Alonso was left scratching his head after being eliminated in Q2, but his problems seemed minor compared to McLaren, with Heikki Kovalainen the team’s best placed driver in 12th. Sebastien Buemi enjoyed the first qualifying session of his Formula 1 career, comfortably outpacing team-mate Sebastien Bourdais.
2009 Australian Formula 1 Race
When the five lights went out Button made a text book start from pole, but his Brawn GP team-mate Barrichello did not fare so well. The veteran Brazilian driver was slow away and collided with Mark Webber's Red Bull in turn one, in an incident which involved several other cars. The end result was Barrichello emerging in seventh place, Webber pitting for a new front wing and Kovalainen being forced out with suspension damage.
While Button quickly built up a lead at the front Vettel slotted into second, followed by a fast starting Massa, Kubica's BMW-Sauber, Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari and Rosberg's Williams. Raikkonen opted to start on the super soft tyres and was quickly in to change compounds. Massa, Kubica and Hamilton all followed suit, glad to have got the mandatory super soft phase out of the way.
Rosberg in the Williams had started making rapid progress once the German found a way around Massa's slow Ferrari. It was his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima who provided major drama, however, as he crashed out of the race at turn four.
Vettel and Rosberg had already pitted, the latter enduring a painfully lon stop. Barrichello came in for a new wing after clipping Raikkonen's car and Button just made it to his pits in time before the safety car was deployed.
Vettel and Kubica Australian GP Crash
At the re-start Button maintained his lead from Vettel, but Nelson Piquet only made it as far as turn one, where he spun into retirement with a brake problem. After the final stops Ferrari self-destructed, as Raikkonen dropped down the order after spinning into a wall and Massa's car broke down.
The race looked set for a grandstand finish as Kubica closed on Vettel's Red Bull and Button's leading Brawn. It was not to be, as Kubica and Vettel collided, eliminating both drivers. The safety car was deployed for the last few laps, with Button crossing the line first to score an extraordinary debut victory for Brawn GP.
Barrichello recovered well to make it a 1-2 for the new team. Jarno Trulli finished a remarkable third for Toyota, with his team-mate Timo Glock in fourth. Alonso showed his maturity by bringing his Renault home fifth, ahead of Rosberg and rookie sensation Buemi, who scored two points on his Formula 1 debut. His Toro Rosso team-mate Bourdais scored the final point in eighth position. Hamilton was credited with third place after the race, only to be disqualified later after his McLaren team provided the stewards with misleading information relating to an incident between the defending World Champion and Trulli's Toyota.
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