Year 2009 was a year of surprises, shocks and brilliant performances. With the stunning finish at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, the fans finally could breathe a sigh of relief after the roller coaster season. As in all sports, there were some major disappointments, but on the up-side, 2009 looked better than a bunch of its predecessors. Let’s have a quick look at who and what made the scribes go crazy!
The year started with the budget refinements suggested and implemented by Max Mosley and the global financial breakdown pushing some teams to the brink of stepping out from Formula 1. Honda F1 almost pulled out of F1 only to be renamed Brawn GP after a management buy-out. The team decided to retain their drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for the 2009 season.
The teams moved in to the opening round, The Australian GP at Melbourne without a glitch and plunged the pundits into doubting a change in their profession after the blow-out performance by Brawn GP, who finished with a 1-2, and favorite teams like Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes bowing out humbly. There were other surprises lying in wait as McLaren and Hamilton alleged that Jarno Trulli has overtaken Lewis Hamilton under safety car. The claims were trashed and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the race.
Malaysian GP turned out to be a washout as the rains caused the cars to go flying off the track. The dramatic race was brought to a stop and only half the points were awarded to the drivers. This was just the fifth time in the history that only half the points were handed out. Button was declared the winner in challenging conditions.
The double diffusers caused quite some turbulence as Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota were blamed for using illegal technology and modifications. These allegations were binned after FIA decided that the double Diffusers were totally legal and the teams using them were right doing so.
The Chinese GP was also contested under wet conditions, but thankfully went on to go the distance. This time around Vettel took the checkered flag ahead of team mate Mark Webber to take the first win for Red Bull Racing. The duo went on to repeat the feat four times in the season.
Jenson Button was charged up as he went on to register wins in the following four races, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco and Turkey. The dominating performance saw him take a 26 point lead over his team mate Rubens Barrichello.
The British GP was the most visible turning point of the season as Vettel registered his second win, cutting back Button’s lead. The RB5 was looking formidable as the Brawn cars, and way better than rest of the competition. The German GP was also dominated by Red Bull Racing, with Webber taking the pole and finishing in top position. The German GP also saw Felipe Massa finishing third, in what eventually would be his final GP of the season.
The Hungarian GP started with a shocker as Felipe Massa was hit by a flying spring while traveling at over 160 mph. The hit rendered him unconscious, and he straight-lined into a barrier whilst qualifying. Massa was not cleared to race, and for the first time in the season, Lewis Hamilton driven McLaren Mercedes finished with top honors. Massa’s crash gave rise to rumors of Michael Schumacher stepping in as a replacement driver. Michael Schumacher too was not cleared to race due to a recent bike crash which had caused him a severe neck injury. Luca Badoer, Ferrari Test Driver eventually stepped into the car to deliver a couple of rusty race drives. It was surprising to see that a Ferrari test driver was completely out of form and absolutely not race ready.
The European GP at Valencia saw Rubens Barrichello take his first win of the season, finally stepping out of Jenson Button’s shadow. The Belgian GP brought home Ferrari’s first victory in the 2009 season. Kimi Raikkonen took the checkered flag, followed by Giancarlo Fisichella who drove an awesome race for Force India F1, within a second adrift from the race leader Kimi. Force India had scored their first podium and were visibly delighted with the results. Team Principal Vijay Mallya was ecstatic with the podium and finally Force India was a force to recon with. The switch to Mercedes engines was finally paying off.
Barrichello bagged the Italian GP ahead of teammate Jenson Button. Force India surprised everyone again as Adrian Sutil drove a nice race to finish fourth. The team was finally laying some rubber down!
The Singapore GP was a spectacular spectacle under the floodlights, and this time around Lewis Hamilton managed to throw an amazing performance to silence his critics who were getting pretty chirpy. The entourage moved on to Japan, where in the land of the ‘Rising Sun’, Vettel managed to keep his title hopes still alive with a brilliant race at Suzuka. The title would be decided in Brazil, and the pundits were cooking up all possible presumptions and combinations to calculate the most likely top man!
The usually sunny Brazilian GP was overcast with clouds and in a wet qualifying session, Button could manage only the fourteenth spot on the starting grid. Lewis Hamilton started from 18th and powered his way all the way to the podium to bag the third spot. Kubica starting from 8th bagged the silver, and Mark Webber took the flag for Red Bull Racing. The stunner though was Jenson Button who managed only the fifth spot, but in turn enough points to secure the top honors in the Drivers Championship. Hamilton’s performance enabled McLaren-Mercedes to leap-frog over Ferrari to claim third spot in the Constructors Championship standings. So, at the close of the penultimate GP, Jenson Button and Brawn GP both managed to emerge victorious with both the top honors.
The stunning Abu Dhabi circuit looked all ‘bling’ as it greeted fans from across the world to experience the final round of the 2009 season. There wasn’t much to fight for in the last round, but the fans were still greeted to an amazing race at the Yas Marina circuit. The twilight race signified the end of the season, and Vettel in the final showdown guided Red Bull Racing to the fourth 1-2 finish of the season, ending Red Bull Racing’s strongest season till date, finishing in the second spot on the Constructors Championship. Vettel himself managed to bag the silver in the Drivers Championship, ahead of Rubens Barrichello who was seven points adrift.
The year started with the budget refinements suggested and implemented by Max Mosley and the global financial breakdown pushing some teams to the brink of stepping out from Formula 1. Honda F1 almost pulled out of F1 only to be renamed Brawn GP after a management buy-out. The team decided to retain their drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for the 2009 season.
The teams moved in to the opening round, The Australian GP at Melbourne without a glitch and plunged the pundits into doubting a change in their profession after the blow-out performance by Brawn GP, who finished with a 1-2, and favorite teams like Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes bowing out humbly. There were other surprises lying in wait as McLaren and Hamilton alleged that Jarno Trulli has overtaken Lewis Hamilton under safety car. The claims were trashed and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the race.
Malaysian GP turned out to be a washout as the rains caused the cars to go flying off the track. The dramatic race was brought to a stop and only half the points were awarded to the drivers. This was just the fifth time in the history that only half the points were handed out. Button was declared the winner in challenging conditions.
The double diffusers caused quite some turbulence as Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota were blamed for using illegal technology and modifications. These allegations were binned after FIA decided that the double Diffusers were totally legal and the teams using them were right doing so.
The Chinese GP was also contested under wet conditions, but thankfully went on to go the distance. This time around Vettel took the checkered flag ahead of team mate Mark Webber to take the first win for Red Bull Racing. The duo went on to repeat the feat four times in the season.
Jenson Button was charged up as he went on to register wins in the following four races, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco and Turkey. The dominating performance saw him take a 26 point lead over his team mate Rubens Barrichello.
The British GP was the most visible turning point of the season as Vettel registered his second win, cutting back Button’s lead. The RB5 was looking formidable as the Brawn cars, and way better than rest of the competition. The German GP was also dominated by Red Bull Racing, with Webber taking the pole and finishing in top position. The German GP also saw Felipe Massa finishing third, in what eventually would be his final GP of the season.
The Hungarian GP started with a shocker as Felipe Massa was hit by a flying spring while traveling at over 160 mph. The hit rendered him unconscious, and he straight-lined into a barrier whilst qualifying. Massa was not cleared to race, and for the first time in the season, Lewis Hamilton driven McLaren Mercedes finished with top honors. Massa’s crash gave rise to rumors of Michael Schumacher stepping in as a replacement driver. Michael Schumacher too was not cleared to race due to a recent bike crash which had caused him a severe neck injury. Luca Badoer, Ferrari Test Driver eventually stepped into the car to deliver a couple of rusty race drives. It was surprising to see that a Ferrari test driver was completely out of form and absolutely not race ready.
The European GP at Valencia saw Rubens Barrichello take his first win of the season, finally stepping out of Jenson Button’s shadow. The Belgian GP brought home Ferrari’s first victory in the 2009 season. Kimi Raikkonen took the checkered flag, followed by Giancarlo Fisichella who drove an awesome race for Force India F1, within a second adrift from the race leader Kimi. Force India had scored their first podium and were visibly delighted with the results. Team Principal Vijay Mallya was ecstatic with the podium and finally Force India was a force to recon with. The switch to Mercedes engines was finally paying off.
Barrichello bagged the Italian GP ahead of teammate Jenson Button. Force India surprised everyone again as Adrian Sutil drove a nice race to finish fourth. The team was finally laying some rubber down!
The Singapore GP was a spectacular spectacle under the floodlights, and this time around Lewis Hamilton managed to throw an amazing performance to silence his critics who were getting pretty chirpy. The entourage moved on to Japan, where in the land of the ‘Rising Sun’, Vettel managed to keep his title hopes still alive with a brilliant race at Suzuka. The title would be decided in Brazil, and the pundits were cooking up all possible presumptions and combinations to calculate the most likely top man!
The usually sunny Brazilian GP was overcast with clouds and in a wet qualifying session, Button could manage only the fourteenth spot on the starting grid. Lewis Hamilton started from 18th and powered his way all the way to the podium to bag the third spot. Kubica starting from 8th bagged the silver, and Mark Webber took the flag for Red Bull Racing. The stunner though was Jenson Button who managed only the fifth spot, but in turn enough points to secure the top honors in the Drivers Championship. Hamilton’s performance enabled McLaren-Mercedes to leap-frog over Ferrari to claim third spot in the Constructors Championship standings. So, at the close of the penultimate GP, Jenson Button and Brawn GP both managed to emerge victorious with both the top honors.
The stunning Abu Dhabi circuit looked all ‘bling’ as it greeted fans from across the world to experience the final round of the 2009 season. There wasn’t much to fight for in the last round, but the fans were still greeted to an amazing race at the Yas Marina circuit. The twilight race signified the end of the season, and Vettel in the final showdown guided Red Bull Racing to the fourth 1-2 finish of the season, ending Red Bull Racing’s strongest season till date, finishing in the second spot on the Constructors Championship. Vettel himself managed to bag the silver in the Drivers Championship, ahead of Rubens Barrichello who was seven points adrift.
