2009 ITALY GP
Italian GP Live: Brawn GP completes 1-2
Sep 13, 2009 - 04:07 PM
Lots of upsets possible at Monza as Ferrari lines up to win at home. And they have a Force India and a McLaren to get past first. KERS may make a difference at the end... Alguersuari starting from the pit lane... five place penalty for him due to a gearbox change.
FINAL LAP: Rubens Barrichello is the surprise winner of the Italian GP! He wins under yellow flags. Jenson Button takes second with Kimi Raikkonen a lucky podium finisher. Adrian Sutil in Fourth. He could not shootout for the podium in the final lap.
In fifth is Alonso with Heikki sixth, Heidfeld seventh and Vettel lucky to score in 8th thanks to Hamilton's crash.
LAP 52: Alonso is in 6th and that's some great racing from him having started in 8th. Heidfeld will take the final point it seems... And Hamilton has crashed. What a disaster. He lost control with a few turns left. Very aggressive on the kerbs and that cost him.
LAP 51: Final two laps coming up... and Hamilton going all out for a second place. He is taking time off Button continually, but it isn't good enough.
LAP 50: KERS is the only reason Kimi is still ahead of Sutil. Up front, Button is holding off Hamilton well now and Barrichello is all set for the win. Hamilton reducing Button's lead with every lap, but it's unlikely he will go past him...
LAP 49: Glock and Trulli bang into each other! No love lost there and that will be trouble in the team! The real fight though, Sutil still going after Kimi!
LAP 47: Sutil is going to have a serious go at Kimi in the next couple of laps... he is hot on his heels. Kimi must be sick of looking back and finding a Force India there!
LAP 46: Button is responding to Hamilton's challenge and he has increased the gap now.
LAP 44: Button has been caught by Lewis and this could cost Brawn GP their 1-2. Hamilton wants to higher on the podium!
LAP 43: Final 10 laps coming up and the positions are pretty set already. Can Kimi hold on for 4th? Sutil has the green signal to hit the overtake button if required! They want to beat Kimi!
LAP 42: Kimi is in 4th just ahead of Sutil and the Force India driver is really going after him! He wants the fourth place. But for KERS, he could have gone past a few times already!
LAP 41: Sutil has also lost his right wing mirror too in that pit incident! Toyota is also in the race stuck down the order... and not making any impact. Vettel goes off track momentarily but he's ok!
LAP 38: It looks like Brawn are set for a 1-2 with Hamilton third and Kimi fourth. Sutil should come home in fifth but it could have been fourth. Pressure got the better of him.
LAP 37: Kimi and Sutil into the pits together. And Kimi has stalled... Sutil is out in time. But Sutil's stop was too long and Kimi manages to keep position. Kimi stalls and Sutil bangs into his mechanics. Pressure, pressure, pressure!
LAP 36: Fastest lap for Sutil! Wow.
LAP 35: Sutil having a bit of a scare there trying to avoid Grosjean... and Kimi and Sutil are 1-2 currently but when they do their next round of stops, that will decide the race. Nakajima and Trulli into the pits.
LAP 34: Hamilton into the pits now for a final roll of the dice. Will he rejoin ahead of Button? No... and that means Barrichello and Button are set for 1-2. Hamilton rejoins in 5th.
LAP 30: Lewis Hamilton is back as the race leader. But McLaren has some thinking to do about their second stop. Timo Glock up to P12. So he's doing pretty good. Fisichella into the pits now from P7. He started in P14. Long stop for Fisi... almost 11 seconds. He rejoins behind Seb Vettel in P13.
LAP 29: Barrichello dives into the pits now. This will reset the race positions one final time. Great stop again for Brawn GP. He rejoins ahead of Button and all set to take P1 when the second stops are made by the others. Great strategy.
LAP 28: For the race, Button into the pits now. This can make it or break it for about 4 drivers. 9-second stop... and he rejoins the race in 5th place. So great job Brawn GP!
LAP 27: Heikki has his first and only stop now. Vettel also in and out of the pits. Long stops for both.
LAP 26: Alonso is the first one the one-stop cars into the pits. He rejoins in 10th place... his best chance to climb back up will come when the second round of stops come about. Barrichello has the fastest lap now.
LAP 25: Almost at the halfway mark now and the Brawn GP cars have made a huge impact on the race. They should pit soon now, but that would only mean that Hamilton needs to up his game to ensure his shot at a win.
LAP 22: Race over for Liuzzi. Gearbox failure it seems. He was doing so well on his comeback... such a pity.
LAP 21: Brawn GP is in a 1-2 position for now with Barrichello leading. And they have stayed out on track longest. A 1-stop strategy could well prove to be a winning decision.
LAP 18: Barrichello and Button in 2nd and 3rd but Kimi into the pits now. And Liuzzi takes position ahead of Kimi into P4.
LAP 17: Adrian Sutil into the pits now. Routine stop. Great work by the Force India guys! Sutil back in the race in 7th place. Heikki in attack mode going for Sutil's 7th place, but it's going to be hard to achieve that.
LAP 16: Race over for Robert Kubica. Not sure what's wrong. This doesn't bode well for 2010 plans for them. Hamilton-Liuzzi-Alonso is a big battle taking place for fifth place at present.
LAP 15: And Hamilton into the pits with a 7-second lead. He will go on for 20 laps after this. He rejoins the race in 5th place ahead of Liuzzi.
LAP 14: It's pit stop time. Very soon if not this lap. And Hamilton would be one of the earliest guys to come in. Another fastest lap for Hamilton...
LAP 13: Kimi Raikkonen has just managed to break away a touch. Sutil also needs to be sure that he isn't pushing his car too hard too soon. Sutil, in fact, has the second fastest car on track. Hamilton has the fastest lap.
LAP 10: Sutil is catching up with Kimi now. And this is despite no KERS for Force India. Well... the fairytale continues!
LAP 9: Sutil is keeping up with Kimi and that is good but Hamilton is continuing to get away from everyone. Kubica into the pits now. That would have ruined his race now. Alonso getting closer and closer to Liuzzi. His car is looking amazing this race.
LAP 7: Hamilton is seriously fast this race and he is getting away from Raikkonen every lap. He does look like he will lap sooner than later since the other cars all look heavier. Kubica in 9th still driving with that damaged wing. Compulsary pit stop for Kubica... black and orange flags.
LAP 5: Webber and Kubica had contact when Webber crashed out. So that's the end of that puzzle!
LAP 4: Rosberg into the pits. Looks like a routine stop... is this a way of getting him to a one-stop strategy? But a disastrous stop for Williams... almost 14 seconds. And that's effectively the end of any points hopes for him. Kubica's car has a problem too with some damage on the front wing. He should also be headed into the pits soon.
LAP 3: Alonso is jumping places rapidly as he goes past Heikki Kovalainen as well now. He's up to P7. Hamilton, though, comfortably placed at the front of the race. He seems somewhat lighter on fuel. And Hamilton is really opening up a lead here.
LAP 2: Fisi has climbed up to 11th but is stuck behind Vettel. And this is where KERS would kick in. Liuzzi up to 6th now behind Button who is struggling to put it mildly.
OPENING LAP: And we are go! Great start for McLaren and Kimi is going for it right away. Button driving on the grass! Sutil losing a place to third. And as the dust settles, Hamilton leads from Raikkonen and Sutil in third with Rubens in fourth with Heikki in fifth. Yellow flags are on and Mark Webber is out! That's it for his hopes. Liuzzi chasing down McLaren of Heikki and goes past without the KERS. Stunning speed. Alonso trying to use KERS to go past but can't...

