The Button and Brawn domination in Formula One continues with the Englishman taking his latest victory at the Turkish Grand Prix.

Button’s triumph matches the record of Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher in winning six races out of seven races and it is remarkable that his lead in the drivers’ standing has extended to a mammoth 26 points.

His closest title challenger Rubens Barrichello suffered a horrendous afternoon that resulted in his first retirement of the year. The Brazilian had a clutch problem at the start in which he stuttered off the grid and by the time he crossed the start/finish line a lap later, Rubens had tumbled back to an unlucky 13th position.

Barrichello tried to make amends after a poor start, but unfortunately in doing so, the Brazilian made contact with first Heikki Kovalainen – which resulted in a spin – and later with Adrian Sutil – damaging his front wing in the process. Eleven laps from the chequered flag, Rubens returned to the pits to retire with a gearbox problem. It was a frustrating end for the Brawn GP driver as his team-mate went on to record his sixth race win of the season.

As for Sebastian Vettel, who started from pole position, to finish in third was a major disappointment for the Red Bull Racing driver. The young German lost the lead to Button on the opening lap after making a mistake exiting Turn 9, running wide and losing momentum.

This gave the opportunity to his championship rival, who took the lead and never look back.

Despite losing the lead on the first lap, Vettel came right back at Button after the first round of pit stops. Running on a three-stop strategy and benefitting with a lighter fuel load, the Red Bull was now only a few seconds behind the Brawn.

But there was no way past and after 13 laps of trying to get by Button, Vettel was forced to make his second pit stop, dropping him down to third behind Mark Webber (who was running a two-stop strategy) and out of contention for the race win.

Without the pressure of the Red Bull looming in his mirrors, Button was able to relax and rolled off the remaining laps to seal another victory. Behind the race-winning Brawn GP, it was a Red Bull Racing formation finish with Webber ahead of Vettel.

Jarno Trulli took a well respectable fourth for Toyota despite losing that track position to Nico Rosberg’s Williams at the first round of pit stops. The Italian reclaimed it back from the German in the second pit stop sequences, although a fifth place finish was still a good result for Rosberg given his frustrations in the previous couple of races.

As for Ferrari, in particular Felipe Massa who won this event three times, this latest result was a major disappointment. The Brazilian finished a distant sixth while his Scuderia team-mate Kimi Raikkonen lost significant ground on lap one – damaging his front wing against the back of Fernando Alonso’s Renault – and ended up just out of the points with ninth.

BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica has finally scored some championship points this season by beating the long-stopping Toyota of Timo Glock to seventh.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso struggled with pace in his Renault and could only managed a tenth place finish despite starting the race in eighth.

And what about McLaren? Well, after setting some promising lap times in opening practice on Friday, the race on Sunday reveal the silver cars simply lack downforce with the world champion Lewis Hamilton coming home in P13 (running one stop) with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen doing no better with P14 (on a two-stop strategy).

The Formula One World Championship now heads to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in two weeks’ time and you can expect a hero’s welcome from the passionate crowd. This will be the last race at the former RAF airfield and Jenson Button will be seeking a home win as he moves ever so closer towards the drivers’ title.

Race results after 58 laps at Istanbul Park:

1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes       1h26:24.848
2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      +6.714
3.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      +7.461
4.  Trulli        Toyota                  +27.843
5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota        +31.539
6.  Massa         Ferrari                +39.996
7.  Kubica        BMW Sauber              +46.247
8.  Glock         Toyota                  +46.959
9.  Raikkonen     Ferrari                 +50.246
10.  Alonso        Renault                 +1:02.420
11.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber              +1:04.327
12.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       +1:06.376
13.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      +1:20.454
14.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      +1 lap
15.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari      +1 lap
16.  Piquet        Renault                 +1 lap
17.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  +1 lap
18.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     +1 lap

диваниFastest lap: Button, 1:27.579

Not classified/retirements:
Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes         49 laps
Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes      5 laps

World Championship standings, round 7:

Drivers:
1.  Button        61
2.  Barrichello   35
3.  Vettel        29
4.  Webber        27.5
5.  Trulli        19.5
6.  Glock         13
7.  Rosberg       11.5
8.  Massa         11
9.  Alonso        11
10.  Hamilton       9
11.  Raikkonen      9
12.  Heidfeld       6
13.  Kovalainen     4
14.  Buemi          3
15.  Kubica         2
16.  Bourdais       2

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      96
2.  Red Bull-Renault       56.5
3.  Toyota                 32.5
4.  Ferrari                20
5.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
6.  Williams-Toyota        11.5
7.  Renault                11
8.  BMW Sauber              8
9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      5

Next race: British Grand Prix, Silverstone. June 19-21.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel took his third career pole position by snatching the all-important grid slot from his championship rival Jenson Button, in the closing stages of qualifying in Turkey.

In the closing seconds of Q3, Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber set the pace with his second run as he lapped in one minute, 28. 613 seconds. But moments later Button took that away with a time of one minute, 28. 421 seconds with his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello backing him up with one minute, 28. 579 seconds.

But Vettel’s final run around the challenging anti-clockwise circuit that is the Istanbul Park meant he grabbed his second pole position of the season with a time of one minute, 28. 316 seconds. The margin between the Red Bull Racing driver and the series leader was just over a tenth of a second.

This was a great performance by the young German and after setting the pace in sessions one and two in qualifying, it wasn’t a surprise to see the energy drink-sponsored car heading the field after Q3. Indeed, this result is a major boost to Vettel’s title hopes after crashing out early in the Monaco Grand Prix. Sebastian really needs to score big in order to close the margin of 28 points to Jenson.

Even though Jenson Button was denied a third consecutive pole position by a tenth of a second, he is still on the front row. His Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello did well to recover from a poor first run in Q3 to take third spot, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber earned a respectable fourth position.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli will start the Turkish Grand Prix in fifth, ahead of the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa respectively. This was a disappointing performance by Massa, as he was seeking for a fourth straight pole despite setting the quickest time in final practice leading up to qualifying. Felipe’s chances of going for a fourth consecutive victory on his favourite circuit is looking quite slim.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso lines up eighth in the Renault ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Williams and the improved BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica. In fact, this was a better showing from the BMW squad following a disastrous Monaco Grand Prix weekend a fortnight ago. Kubica’s team-mate Nick Heidfeld will start the race in P11.

But the biggest disappointments would have to be McLaren. After setting some promising lap times in the two practice sessions on Friday, the pace and handling of the Mercedes-powered MP4-24 made it quite a handful for both Heikki Kovalainen and world champion Lewis Hamilton. The pair struggled to set decent lap times due to a lack of grip and will start the seventh race of the season down in a depressing P14 and P16 respectively.

As for the under-pressure Brazilian that is Nelson Piquet Jr, he yet again failed in qualifying and was eliminated in the early stages following two spins in the Renault. First he ran wide upon exiting the demanding Turn 8, then later on plunging into the Turn 3 gravel (no thanks to a brake problem) – all of which left him 17th on the grid.

Qualifying times – Istanbul Park

1. Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:28.316
2. Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:28.421
3. Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:28.579
4. Webber       Red Bull-Renault      1:28.613
5. Trulli       Toyota                1:28.666
6. Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:28.815
7. Massa        Ferrari               1:28.858
8. Alonso       Renault               1:29.075
9. Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:29.191
10. Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:29.357
11. Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:27.521
12. Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:27.629
13. Glock        Toyota                1:27.795
14. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:28.207
15. Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1:28.391
16. Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes       1:28.318
17. Piquet       Renault               1:28.582
18. Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:28.708
19. Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   1:28.717
20. Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:28.918

Jenson Button took his fifth victory of the season with a masterful drive at the Monaco Grand Prix. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello finished in second earning the Brawn GP’s second straight one-two sweep.

Ferrari had one of its best results of the year so far, with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa taking in third and fourth positions respectively. The pace of the F60 during the Monaco Grand Prix was impressive, with Massa setting the fastest lap around the tight and twisty street circuit.

As for Brawn GP’s main championship contender Red Bull Racing, this race slipped away from them. Firstly, Sebastian Vettel was unable to benefit from the light fuel load in qualifying, as he was impended by the Williams of Nico Rosberg. Secondly, the young German was struggling with his super-soft Bridgestones, meaning he was losing grip and track position. This led to a crash at Ste Devote on lap 15 as he tried to regain lost ground following his pit stop. As a small consolation, team-mate Mark Webber did get to the chequered flag though it was only for fifth.

Nico Rosberg drove a solid race in the Williams to sixth, ahead of Renault’s Fernando Alonso. Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais took the final point for eighth, just edging out Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India after a race-long fight.

Despite Button dominating this race, it wasn’t a classic Grand Prix. Yes, the championship leader has match the record of Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher in winning five races, thereby extending his points lead in the drivers’ standings. But in terms of racing spectacle at the 67th running of the Monaco Grand Prix, it lacked excitement.

The only change in the top ten positions in the opening laps was when Rubens Barrichello made the perfect getaway off third on the grid. Any concerns that the KERS assist Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen might get by pole sitter Jenson Button down into the first corner vanished as the five red lights went out.

Sebastian Vettel gave chase in the Red Bull but was unable to catch the leading trio, no thanks to the super soft tyres losing its performance edge after a few laps. Sensing the opportunity behind the gripless Vettel, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa attempted to pass his rival into Nouvelle chicane on lap six.

But the Brazilian was caught out by the early braking from the young German and was forced to take the escape route to avoid making contact. Massa backed off to let Vettel by – or risk taking a penalty for gaining a position after cutting a corner – but that allowed the opportunistic Nico Rosberg to slip by.

Even though Vettel made an earlier than expected pit stop to replace the worn out Bridgestone, his race came to a premature end after crashing at Ste Dévote. This tricky first corner also caught out Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who misjudged his braking point and ran into the back of Nelson Piquet Jr. The Renault driver was forced to retire with heavy rear-end damage.

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen was another driver to hit the barriers after losing control of his car in the Swimming Pool complex – in a similar style to Massa in qualifying – only this time it was harder! It lost him seventh place. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton had a difficult race started from the back but came home in a respectable twelfth position despite damaging his front wing after a brush with Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber in the early part of the race.

Kazuki Nakajima was set to complete the top ten finishers in the Williams until he slid into the Mirabeau barrier with one lap to go. That position went to Toyota’s Timo Glock, who started this race in the pit lane after a change in the set-up to improve the car.

Even with the changes to Glock’s car, both Toyota and the BMW Saubers had a poor weekend in Monte Carlo. The cars simply lacked speed or balance around the twisty street circuit.

As for Button, this was the perfect result for himself and the team. This victory in Monte Carlo stretches his points lead to 51, with team-mate Barrichello 16 points behind. Jenson’s only mistake during the weekend was after the race, when he parked his BGP-001 in the pits instead of the start/finish straight!

In a remarkable display of fitness, he jogged all the way to the podium like the triathlon runner he is. It proved to be a light relief after an intense 78 laps around the streets of the Principality.

In addition, it wasn’t just the driver that showed exceptional longevity but his engine as well. The Mercedes V8 in Jenson’s car was the same one he’d used in the last two Grands Prix, meaning he’d won three races on the trot with the same engine. Remarkable.

Race results from the Monaco Grand Prix, 78 laps:

1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     1h40:44.282
2.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes      +7.666
3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               +13.443
4.  Massa         Ferrari                +15.110
5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault       +15.730
6.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota         +33.586
7.  Alonso        Renault               +37.839
8.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +1:03.142
9.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes    +1:05.040
10.  Glock         Toyota                +1 lap
11.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber              +1 lap
12.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes        +1 lap
13.  Trulli        Toyota                +1 lap
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes    +1 lap
15.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota         +2 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:15.154

Not classified/retirements:
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      52 laps
Kubica        BMW Sauber                31 laps
Vettel        Red Bull-Renault          16 laps
Piquet        Renault               11 laps
Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari        11 laps

World Championship standings, round 6:

Drivers:
1.  Button        51
2.  Barrichello   35
3.  Vettel        23
4.  Webber        19.5
5.  Trulli        14.5
6.  Glock         12
7.  Alonso        11
8.  Raikkonen      9
9.  Hamilton       9
10.  Massa          8
11.  Rosberg       7.5
12.  Heidfeld       6
13.  Kovalainen     4
14.  Buemi          3
15.  Bourdais       2

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      86
2.  Red Bull-Renault       42.5
3.  Toyota                 26.5
4.  Ferrari                17
5.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
6.  Renault                11
7.  Williams-Toyota        7.5
8.  BMW Sauber              6
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari      5

Next race: Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul. June 5-7.

Championship leader Jenson Button took his fourth pole position of the season after edging out Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by two-hundredths of a second in Monaco.

Button’s team-mate Rubens Barrichello lines up in third for Brawn GP ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull Racing and the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa.

As for McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who was a dark horse contender for pole, the world champion will start in a disappointing 16th position after crashing in Q1.

The qualifying session didn’t start well for Massa, who lost control of his Ferrari under braking at the swimming pool complex. Fortunately, the Brazilian clipped the barrier with his front nose and was able to pit for a replacement.

Hamilton was not so lucky and after setting the fourth fastest time (one minute, 26. 264 seconds) he lost the rear of his McLaren under braking at Mirabeau. The left-rear tyre made heavy contact with the barrier, which damaged his suspension, and his session was over.

The red flag came out to allow the track marshals to recover the broken McLaren but both BMW Saubers and Toyotas were unable to improve and will start at the bottom end of the grid.

In session two, four drivers shared the honours of setting the quickest time around the Principality with Nico Rosberg initially, then Heikki Kovalainen followed by Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello.

The next driver to lose control on the tricky street circuit was Nelson Piquet Jr. The young Brazilian clipped the outer barrier exiting the swimming pool complex and as he approach the final corner – Anthony Noghes – he lost the back end of the Renault, possibly distracted by the car in front returning to the pits. Luckily his car was undamaged and Piquet was able to continue before team-mate Fernando Alonso arrived on the scene. Alonso reached the top ten, but once again Piquet failed to.

As for Jenson Button, the championship leader had a scare towards the end of Q2, falling down to eighth by the chequered flag. Kimi Raikkonen ended the session the fastest, with fellow countryman Kovalainen in second.

Both Force Indias were eliminated in this session with Giancarlo Fisichella having two of his best times disallowed after cutting the chicane. Despite this, Fishichella at least beat the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais with his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil in P15.

In the top-ten shootout, Sebastian Vettel set the benchmark for Red Bull Racing but it was really close, as Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello were both within a tenth of a second away from the young German’s first effort.

Jenson Button was down in fourth position at this point and with Kimi Raikkonen setting a new provisional pole time of one minute, 14. 927 seconds in the resurgent Ferrari, the pressure was on the leading Brawn GP driver.

He responded magnificently with a beautiful, inch-perfect lap around the tight street circuit with a time of one minute, 14. 902 seconds. The margin between pair was only 0.025 seconds!

This pole position was crucial for Jenson Button as overtaking around the Principality is extremely difficult due to the tight and narrow nature of this racing circuit. If Jenson can translate this result with a fine race victory on Sunday, he is looking the favourite for the world championship.

As for Raikkonen, to qualify in second position was an impressive achievement especially when you consider Ferrari’s performance in the last couple of Grands Prix. With the KERS unit fitted to the Iceman’s car, Kimi could have an advantage off the starting grid… So watch out Jenson at Ste Dévote!

Rubens Barrichello lines up third for Brawn GP followed by Vettel, Massa and Rosberg – fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Heikki Kovalainen salvaged some McLaren pride with seventh place, ahead of Mark Webber in the second Red Bull Racing, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, and the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima (the latter making his first Q3 appearance of the year).

So the stage is set for the most glamorous race of the Formula One season. Can Jenson Button take another race victory on Sunday? Or will we see a Ferrari back on the top step with Kimi earning a long overdue win? We shall find out on race day.

Qualifying times from Monte Carlo:

1.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:14.902
2.  Raikkonen    Ferrari                1:14.927
3.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:15.077
4.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:15.271
5.  Massa        Ferrari               1:15.437
6.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:15.455
7.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:15.516
8.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      1:15.653
9.  Alonso       Renault               1:16.009
10.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:17.344
11.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:15.833
12.  Piquet       Renault               1:15.837
13.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  1:16.146
14.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:16.281
15.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1:16.545
16.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes       1:16.264
17.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber             1:16.264
18.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:16.405
19.  Trulli       Toyota                1:16.548
20.  Glock        Toyota                 1:16.788

Jenson Button extends his championship lead with another one-two result for Brawn GP, his fourth victory out of five races.

Team-mate Rubens Barrichello was disappointed to finish in second despite making a better start and leading the opening laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, but in the end, the Brazilian was unable to match the remarkable and consistent pace from the Briton.

Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber benefitted from a lengthy first stint to score a great third while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel had his race compromised by getting stuck behind Felipe Massa’s Ferrari off the line.

While all attention was focused on the KERS-powered Ferrari of Massa, who would benefit the most at the start due to the long rundown into the first corner, it was actually his fellow countryman Barrichello who made the best getaway off the grid. The Brazilian swept around the outside of Button into Turn 1 as Massa squeezed past Vettel to take third position.

Behind it was chaos with four cars eliminated just after the start of the Spanish Grand Prix. The accident started as Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg clashed into the first corner. Jarno Trulli was forced to run wide into the gravel to avoid the Williams and spun back across the track.

Adrian Sutil (Force India) couldn’t react in time to avoid the Toyota and the pair made heavy contact, showering the first two corners with broken pieces of expensive carbon fibre.

Meanwhile Sebastian Buemi slowed to avoid the spinning Toyota and was collected by team-mate Sebastien Bourdais, putting both Toro Rossos out on the spot.

This led to a four-lap safety car period, after which Barrichello and Button pulled away from Massa, Vettel and Webber in unison through the opening stint.

Although Button was the lighter car at this stage of the race, the Brawn GP team decided to switch pit-stop strategies between their drivers with Jenson on two while Rubens on the normal three stops.

In theory, stopping three times is the quickest strategy to win the race and initially both drivers stuck to the plan. But after the first rounds of pit stops made by Brawn GP, a sound clip from the team’s radio broadcast told that Button had switched “to plan A.” It soon became clear that Rubens Barrichello was running a three-stop strategy, while Jenson Button would only be stopping twice.

This was a strange decision made by the team. Could it be that Brawn GP deliberately opted to switch the number of stops in a way of backing Button for the championship?

Well, according to team boss Ross Brawn, Jenson Button was switched to the two-stop strategy “to avoid leaving him behind Rosberg”. This makes sense, as Nico was only 18.646 seconds behind Button when the championship leader made his first pit stop on lap 17. So whatever happens, the Briton was going to come out of the pitlane behind the Williams. So opting for a two-stop strategy ensured Rosberg did not hold him up.

Barrichello stuck to his three-stop strategy and came out narrowly ahead of the Williams. But Button was able to stay close enough to Barrichello during his second stint to move ahead of his team-mate after the final pit stops.

This series of pit stop tactics and driving flat-out won the race for Jenson. You can see his relief in winning this Grand Prix immediately after taking the chequered flag. Compare the body language on his Brawn GP team-mate…

As for Massa and Vettel, the pair pitted in together at both their stops, and on each occasion the Ferrari managed to stay ahead of the Red Bull.

This was deeply frustrating for the young German as he was tipped to score another race victory for Red Bull Racing. But yet again, a KERS car halted his progress and ultimately it compromised Vettel’s race for victory honours.

Sebastian eventually got passed the Ferrari with four laps remaining when Massa was forced to back off and save fuel, as too little was delivered at its final pit stop. The Brazilian fell back down to sixth, running out of fuel just after taking the chequered flag.

But the pair missed out on the podium spot, which went to Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber. The Australian was very aggressive in this race and one key moment was that overtaking manoeuvre on double world champion Fernando Alonso on the main start/finish straight just after the restart.

Alonso was in the slipstream and pulled to the right to pass the Red Bull. Webber was having none of it and nudged his rival to the grass but the Renault was still coming through. As soon as the home crowd favourite was ahead, the Australian darted to the right and out-braked his rival into the first corner, getting his place back. This was a spectacular move from Webber and to come home third was a rich reward for his driving.

As for Fernando, he did well to finish in fifth despite starting this race with lightest fuel at the top end of the grid. He gained an extra championship point when he passed the slowing Massa on the final lap and it was great to see his fighting spirit when battling with Webber at the restart.

BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld used a long middle stint to beat Nico Rosberg’s Williams to seventh, while the second BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica was only eleventh after losing ground on the first lap.

As for Lewis Hamilton, this was a difficult race for the world champion. He dropped to last avoiding the first corner crash, then made good progress in the middle of the race before severe tyre wear saw him fall off the pace. Lewis eventually beat Timo Glock to ninth, with the Toyota never recovering from falling into the midfield thanks to an earlier first stop compare to the others.

Both Finns had a weekend to forget with Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen forced to retire with mechanical problems (throttle and gearbox issues respectively).

So, another fantastic result for Brawn GP and Jenson Button. He leads the drivers’ standings with 41 points with team-mate Barrichello on 27 followed by Vettel on 23 and Webber on 15.5. In the constructors’ stakes, Brawn have 68 compared to Red Bull Racing’s 38.5.

Monte Carlo is the next round in this highly exciting Formula One season and it will be fascinating whether the Brawn GP can maintain this winning momentum. The other teams are hoping more upgrades in particular the double diffusers and making the KERS unit reliable will close the gap, but in this competitive sport, everyone really needs to perform better if you want to beat the Button and Brawn combo.

Race Results from the Spanish Grand Prix, 66 laps:backgammon free casino money free craps game play free black jack craps video poker strategy play black jack online how to win video poker casino game online uk best casino online casino secure online gambling jackpot casino online casino black jack learn to play craps how to win at video poker craps online blackjack casino game online casino betting free on line video poker casino games no download casino online gambling casino play free casino slots video poker machine bonus video poker free on line slots double bonus video poker free video poker games free casinos roulette online craps rules free on line casino rules of craps online casino free money blackjack 21 internet casino how to play craps free casino game download fortunelounge online casino free casino download free casino card game free roulette game free casino play no deposit free money casino internet casino online

1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     1h37:19.202
2.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes       +13.056
3.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      +13.924
4.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault       +18.941
5.  Alonso        Renault                +43.166
6.  Massa         Ferrari                +50.827
7.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber              +52.312
8.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota         +1:05.211
9.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes        +1 lap
10.  Glock         Toyota                +1 lap
11.  Kubica        BMW Sauber             +1 lap
12.  Piquet        Renault               +1 lap
13.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota         +1 lap
14.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes   +1 lap

Fastest lap: Barrichello, 1:22.762

Not classified/retirements:
Raikkonen     Ferrari                   18 laps
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes       8 laps
Trulli        Toyota                    1 lap
Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari        1 lap
Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1 lap
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes   1 lap

World Championship standings, round 5:

Drivers:
1.  Button        41
2.  Barrichello   27
3.  Vettel        23
4.  Webber        15.5
5.  Trulli        14.5
6.  Glock         12
7.  Alonso         9
8.  Hamilton       9
9.  Heidfeld       6
10.  Rosberg        4.5
11.  Kovalainen     4
12.  Massa          3
13.  Buemi          3
14.  Raikkonen      3
15.  Bourdais       1

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      68
2.  Red Bull-Renault       38.5
3.  Toyota                 26.5
4.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
5.  Renault                 9
6.  BMW Sauber              6
7.  Ferrari                 6
8.  Williams-Toyota         4.5
9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      4

Next race: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo. May 21-24

Jenson Button recorded his finest pole position with an impressive final lap in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The championship leader had appeared to be struggling to match his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello in terms of outright pace for most of the weekend, but come Q3, Button was able to recover with a dramatic last-gasp lap that netted the Briton his third pole position this season.

With only a few seconds to spare, Button crossed the start/finish line to begin his last lap just as the chequered flag fell, and proceeded to snatch top spot away from Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel by 0.133 seconds.

As for Barrichello, the Brazilian initially held provisional pole before his Brawn GP team-mate and Red Bull rival improved, leaving him in third.

Thanks to the new aero updates on the Ferrari in particular the double diffuser, Felipe Massa was able to demonstrate better form with a fine fourth place. Massa even set the fastest time in the final practice session leading up to qualifying.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said to his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn had a disastrous session no thanks to a poor first lap in Q1, which was 0.8 seconds slower than his team-mate.

To witness the Scuderia making the same mistake again by not opting for a second run to improve lap times, in a bid to save tyres for the race, Kimi and Ferrari suffered the consequence of being knocked out as others improved… The ‘Iceman’ will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix down in a disappointing P16.

Fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen also got caught out in Q1 complaining of a lack of balance in the McLaren. Heikki will start the race in a frustrating P18.

As for his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, the world champion was unable to maintain that good performance in Bahrain and will line up P14 on the grid. The new aero kit didn’t improve the speed in the MP4-24.

Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber will start fifth ahead of the Toyota pair of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli – sixth and seventh respectively.

Home crowd favourite Fernando Alonso could only manage eighth for Renault with Friday’s pace-setter Nico Rosberg ninth for Williams and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica.

Nelson Piquet Jr had his best qualifying performance of the season and was on course for a top ten start until the final seconds of Q2, when other drivers’ improvements edged the Renault driver back down to P12, in-between the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima and Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber.

Formula One rookie Sebastian Buemi again outperformed his Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastian Bourdais as they took P15 and P17 on the grid, while the Force Indias remained on the back row, Adrian Sutil half a second quicker than Giancarlo Fisichella this time round.

Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix could be fascinating. Not only will Jenson Button be seeking for another victory to extend his championship lead. But hopefully the new 2009-spec rules will make the race more interesting in terms of offering the chance for overtaking on this difficult circuit. The possibility of light rain might play into the hands of Sebastian Vettel or even wet-weather specialist Rubens Barrichello. Let’s find out on race day whether Button can continue the Brawn supremacy in Formula One.

Qualifying times from the Circuit de Catalunya:

1.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:20.527
2.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:20.660
3.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:20.762
4.  Massa        Ferrari               1:20.934
5.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault     1:21.049
6.  Glock        Toyota                1:21.247
7.  Trulli       Toyota                1:21.254
8.  Alonso       Renault               1:21.392
9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota        1:22.558
10.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber             1:22.685
11.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:20.531
12.  Piquet       Renault               1:20.604
13.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:20.676
14.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      1:20.805
15.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:21.067
16.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:21.291
17.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:21.300
18.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:21.675
19.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes   1:21.742
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   1:22.204

Jenson Button claimed his third Grand Prix victory in four races with a commanding drive in the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Brawn GP driver started this race in fourth position and thanks to a great pit-stop strategy and that overtaking manoeuvre on Lewis Hamilton on lap two, the Briton has extended his title lead as the Formula One parade returns back to Europe.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel finished in second, delayed by slower cars that cost him an opportunity to win this race at Sakhir. As for Jarno Trulli, who started from pole position, the Toyota was unable to challenge the likes of Red Bull Racing and Brawn GP in this 57-lap race and the Italian had to settle for third.

His Toyota team-mate Timo Glock actually made a better start and led in the opening laps, but after switching to the prime (medium compound) Bridegstones, the Japanese cars didn’t have the pace and Glock in particular was struggling with tyre wear and was disappointed to come home in seventh.

World champion Lewis Hamilton drove a solid race for McLaren by finishing in fourth. He should be pleased by this result despite the lack of speed compare to its rivals. Nevertheless, the team are improving and it won’t be long until new car updates will translate to race wins in the near future.

Rubens Barrichello had a so-so weekend in the second Brawn GP and after making three pit stops, the Brazilian finished in fifth. For Kimi Raikkonen, finally the red car was able to score some points (with sixth for the Iceman) and it ends the disappointing Ferrari form after four eventful races. Though more performance is needed if the constructors’ champions want to challenge for title honours.

Renault’s Fernando Alonso collected the final point with eighth, fending off Nico Rosberg’s Williams while his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr showed better form to finish in tenth.

Last year’s winner Felipe Massa had a terrible afternoon following contact at the first-corner in which his Ferrari front wing was damaged. The Brazilian was forced to make an extra pit stop and with his KERS system letting him down, the championship runner-up came home in a frustrating P14, a lap down on the race winner.

After being impending by Force India’s Adrian Sutil in qualifying, Mark Webber put in a spirited drive from the back of the grid to finish in P11 for Red Bull Racing. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen was unable to recover from a poor start, in which he flat-spotted his tyre and came home in a depressing P12.

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais finished in an unlucky P13 with Giancarlo Fisichella and team-mate Sutil finished in P15 and P16 respectively for Force India. Sebastien Buemi came home P17 in the second Toro Rosso ahead of the incredibly slow BMW Sauber pair of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. This was a poor result from BMW and it didn’t help that the cars sustained some damage at the first corner on lap one.

Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima was the sole retirement, after a clash with Kubica. He parked his FW31 in the garage after 49 laps with high oil pressure.

Button now leads the drivers’ standings with 31 points from team-mate Barrichello on 19, with Chinese Grand Prix winner Vettel on 18. Trulli is on 14.5 with his colleague Glock on 12.

As for the constructors’ championship, Brawn GP have 50 points, to Red Bull Racing’s 27.5 with Toyota’s 26.5. Finally Ferrari has scored some championship points in this Grand Prix but it is only three.

So after four flyaway races, the Formula One circus return back to Europe and it will be fascinating whether the Brawn GP can keep up this winning momentum with its solid, reliable and fast BGP 001 car. Red Bull Racing and Toyota have turned the formbook upside down by becoming the main challengers for race wins, while McLaren and Ferrari will return to winning ways. Don’t discount the past champions, as these top two teams will recover, making this season that all more exciting.

Race results from Bahrain, 57 laps:

1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     1h31:48.182
2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault       +7.187
3.  Trulli        Toyota                +9.170
4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes        +22.096
5.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     +37.779
6.  Raikkonen     Ferrari                 +42.057
7.  Glock         Toyota                  +42.880
8.  Alonso        Renault               +52.775
9.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       +58.198
10.  Piquet        Renault                 +1:05.149
11.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault       +1:07.641
12.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes       +1:17.824
13.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     +1:18.805
14.  Massa         Ferrari                +1 lap
15.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes    +1 lap
16.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes   +1 lap
17.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari     +1 lap
18.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            + 1 lap
19.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber             +1 lap

Fastest lap: Trulli, 1:34.556

Not classified/retirements:
Nakajima      Williams-Toyota         49 laps

World Championship standings, round 4:

Drivers:
1.  Button        31
2.  Barrichello   19
3.  Vettel        18
4.  Trulli        14.5
5.  Glock         12
6.  Webber         9.5
7.  Hamilton       9
8.  Alonso         5
9.  Heidfeld       4
10.  Kovalainen     4
11.  Rosberg        3.5
12.  Buemi          3
13.  Raikkonen      3
14.  Bourdais       1

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      50
2.  Red Bull-Renault       27.5
3.  Toyota                 26.5
4.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
5.  Renault                 5
6.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      4
7.  BMW Sauber              4
8.  Williams-Toyota         3.5
9.  Ferrari                 3

Next race: Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit de Catalunya. May 8-10.

Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock claimed Toyota’s first-ever front row in Formula One, after dominating the final qualifying session in Bahrain.

Initially it was championship leader Jenson Button who topped the time sheets in Q3 with a lap time of one minute, 34. 044 seconds in the Brawn GP. World champion Lewis Hamilton pushed his McLaren up into second position with one minute, 34. 196 seconds thereby making it an all-British front row.

But moments later, Glock responding with a quicker lap that pushed them both back with a time of one minute, 33.712 seconds. Only to be beaten by the sister Toyota of Trulli was one minute, 33.431 seconds. It was the Italian’s first pole since Indianapolis 2005 (his fourth in his career) and the team’s since Suzuka in the same year.

To qualify in first and second position is a fantastic achievement and it showcase the improve performance by the Japanese manufacturer following the first three races this season. That maiden victory could be on the cards providing it has the right strategy and pace in the race. Judging by winter testing, the TF109 has the speed necessary to win this Bahrain Grand Prix.

Two-time Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel will start in third position, continuing his excellent qualifying form with Red Bull Racing. As for his team-mate Mark Webber, the Australian was furious to be knocked out in Q1, after being held-up by Adrian Sutil in the Force India.

Series leader Button will start in fourth, ahead of Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello in the second Brawn GP. I believe the Brawn cars are running a heavier fuel load compare to its rivals.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso will start in seventh place for Renault, with the Ferraris in eighth and tenth – Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen split by Nico Rosberg in the Williams.

The red cars are still struggling and with the lack of pace, this is a serious concern. Both Massa and Raikkonen have yet to record a points finish and with the Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo attending Sunday’s race, the drivers and team really need to step up their game in order to have any chance in winning the title.

Another team seeking for improvement is BMW Sauber.  Robert Kubica and team-mate Nick Heidfeld will start the race down in a disappointing row seven. The F1.09 is simply now fast enough and even the brief flash fire for Kubica during qualifying fail to ignite any speed in the car.

So can Jarno Trulli lead Toyota to its maiden victory on Sunday? What about Vettel? Can the young German chalk up another race win for Red Bull? Or will Button lead the way in his dominant Brawn GP? We find out on Sunday afternoon.

Qualifying times from Bahrain:

1. Trulli       Toyota                1:33.431
2. Glock        Toyota                1:33.712
3. Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:34.015
4. Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:34.044
5. Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      1:34.196
6. Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:34.239
7. Alonso       Renault               1:34.578
8. Massa        Ferrari               1:34.818
9. Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:35.134
10. Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:35.380
11. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:33.242
12. Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:33.348
13. Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:33.487
14. Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:33.562
15. Piquet       Renault               1:33.941
16. Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:33.753
17. Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   1:33.910
18. Webber       Red Bull-Renault       1:34.038
19. Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1:33.722*
20. Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:34.159

* Three-place grid penalty for impending Mark Webber in Q1

Sebastian Vettel started from pole position at Monza last year, and won. The young German again started from the top spot and after nearly two hours of error-free perfection in the tricky wet conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit, Vettel led home team-mate Mark Webber to a fantastic one-two result for Red Bull Racing.

This was a superb result by the drivers and the Milton Keynes-based team. After competing in five seasons in Formula One, to finish in the top two podium positions and not forgetting securing its first pole, is a remarkable achievement. Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz and team principal Christian Horner, plus chief designer Adrian Newey should be proud of this performance.

Championship leader Jenson Button was unable to challenge the ‘charging’ Red Bulls in China and could only manage third, ahead of his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello – who incidentally set the quickest lap of the race.

And continuing the team formation finish, McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen was relieved to have completed a racing lap after two early exits in Australia and Malaysia. The Finn finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had an eventful race in the sister car, running off the track and spinning several times.

The race began after eight laps under the safety car period due to the wet and windy conditions. When DTM ace Bernd Maylander pulled his Mercedes-Benz safety car back to the pits, the Red Bulls led until their first refuelling stops, with Webber in on lap 14 followed by Vettel a lap later.

That put series leader Jenson Button into the lead after the Briton passed his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello on the eleventh lap. Behind them, there was an exciting battle in the mid-field with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on the move.

The world champion climbed up to fifth spot but then spun down to tenth on lap 11. If Lewis wanted to score some decent amount of points, he needed to work his way up again. By the time the safety car made its second appearance (on lap 18), the McLaren driver was back up to eighth.

The safety car was called out due to an accident involving the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica slamming hard into the back of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota. It seems Trulli was being extra caution in the final corner and the unsighted Kubica had no room to avoid the slow moving car. Amazingly, the BMW was able to continue despite the heavy damage and with two changes to the front wing, the Polish driver went on to finish P13. Not so for Trulli, who was forced to retire.

But while the slow and broken Toyota was making its slow trip back to the pit lane, Formula One rookie Sebastien Buemi ran into the back of Vettel, damaging his Toro Rosso’s front wing. The Swiss was unable to see due to the spray, but somehow his crash didn’t cause a double retirement for the energy-drink sponsored teams.

While running under the safety car, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa was forced to stop after the F60 encounter a mechanical problem, resulting in no drive. It was another disappointing end for the Brazilian with zero points after three races.

Vettel now headed the field as the racing resumed and the speed in that leading Red Bull was astonishing. The German pulled out 4.3 seconds on the first green lap alone, then proceeded to stroll away around one to two seconds per lap throughout the middle stint of the 56-lap race. Button was unable to respond and came under heavy pressure from Mark Webber.

The Australian grabbed second when Button missed his braking point and ran wide at the hairpin on lap 28. Now it was a Red Bull one-two, but Button snatched second back two laps later when Webber ran wide in the final corner on a track slippier than a skating rink!

Not to be outdone, Webber snatched the place back within a lap with a terrific around-the-outside manoeuvre at turns 7 and 8. Even Button was shocked to see the Red Bull being able to pass him in this sequence of corners.

Vettel made his final pit stop five laps earlier than Button, and rejoined right behind the Brawn GP. With Jenson still needing to pit again, Vettel was virtually assured of the victory from that moment, but still made certain of it by out-braking Button into the hairpin on lap 40.

It was a perfect overtaking manoeuvre, reminiscent of fellow countryman Michael Schumacher in his heyday.

Button pitted on lap 42 and dropped down to third, and for the first time this season Brawn GP did not look like the pacesetter.

That was Adrian Newey’s RB5 design, powered by the Renault engine. Vettel and Webber had no trouble reeling off the remaining laps to a great triumph as Button finished in a distant third.

Both McLarens finished, Heikki Kovalainen heading Hamilton. The Finn made no mistakes, but Lewis had several off track moments on his way to sixth. Behind the world champion, Toyota’s Timo Glock fought his way back up to seventh for Toyota (after starting from the pit lane after a gearbox penalty) ahead of the again impressive Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who withstood a lot of pressure in difficult conditions to take the final championship point.

As for Fernando Alonso, who started the Chinese Grand Prix second on the grid, the Renault driver was disappointed to finish in ninth. The opening eight laps behind the safety car ruined his race strategy and it was an uphill struggle for the Spaniard.

At least he was more competitive than the other world champion, as Kimi Raikkonen had a miserable afternoon in the Ferrari. The Iceman struggled in the wet conditions and came home in tenth.

With two non-finishes in China, Ferrari are having their worst start in Formula One season since 1981 as Raikkonen and Massa failed to score for the third race in a row.

The defending constructors’ champions reacted to their non-scores in Australia and Malaysia by shifting Luca Baldisserri off the pit wall and promoting Chris Dyer in his place. They also decided not the use their KERS this weekend.

But it didn’t stop the rot. Felipe Massa had a strong start to the race, making up places in the early stages, but came to a halt on lap 20 with a car problem.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, never really figured – losing a lot of places in the opening laps and finishing in tenth, ahead of the double spinner Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso).

The unlucky Adrian Sutil was again denied a points finish, after aquaplaning into the barriers with only five laps to go… It ended another exemplary wet weather drive from the German, and denying Force India its first ever points.

Kazuki Nakajima made several errors in the Grand Prix and was forced to retire in the pits, while his Williams team-mate Nico Rosberg fared less well after a late gamble on intermediate tyres failed to pay off. Rosberg went on to finish in a poor 15th position.

As for Nelson Piquet Jr, this was another disastrous day. His Renault required a total of three nose sections after spinning first into a marker board and later into a barrier. Surely, Flavio Briatore is losing patience with this young Brazilian?

Anyway, despite finishing on the bottom step of the podium Button extends his drivers’ championship lead to 21 points, ahead of Barrichello on 15, Vettel on 10, and Webber on 9.5.

Race results from Shanghai, 56 laps:

1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault       1h57:43.485
2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault        +10.970
3.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes      +44.975
4.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes       +1:03.704
5.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes        +1:05.102
6.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes        +1:11.866
7.  Glock         Toyota                  +1:14.476
8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari     +1:16.439
9.  Alonso        Renault                 +1:24.309
10.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber              +1:31.750
11.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     +1:34.156
12.  Raikkonen     Ferrari                +1:35.834
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber              +1:46.853
14.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes    +1 lap
15.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota        +1 lap
16.  Piquet        Renault                +2 laps

Fastest lap: Barrichello, 1:52.592

Not classified/retirements:
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes     51 laps
Nakajima      Williams-Toyota         44 laps
Massa         Ferrari               23 laps
Trulli        Toyota                 19 laps

World Championship standings, round 3:

Drivers:
1.  Button        21
2.  Barrichello   15
3.  Vettel         10
4.  Glock        10
5.  Webber       9.5
6.  Trulli       8.5
7.  Alonso         4
8.  Heidfeld       4
9.  Hamilton       4
10.  Kovalainen     4
11.  Rosberg       3.5
12.  Buemi          3
13.  Bourdais       1

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes      36
2.  Red Bull-Renault       19.5
3.  Toyota                 18.5
4.  McLaren-Mercedes        8
5.  Renault                 4
6.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      4
7.  BMW Sauber              4
8.  Williams-Toyota         3.5

Next race: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir. April 24-26.

Sebastian Vettel took his second career pole position – and Red Bull Racing’s first – using just a single lap in Q2 and Q3 to deliver the perfect performance in Shanghai.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso qualified his light-fuelled and KERS-free Renault in an excellent second position, ahead of Mark Webber. It’s interesting that the top three cars are all powered by the same spec engine, each running without that fancy diffusers or KERS…

As for the dominant Brawns, they could only manage fourth and fifth positions, with Rubens Barrichello edging ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.

Vettel opted to make only one qualifying run in the second and third session to set the benchmark. His time of one minute, 36.184 seconds on a dry track at the Shanghai International Circuit was enough to take his second career pole, which follows his impressive result in Monza last year at the sister Red Bull team (Scuderia Toro Rosso).

In fact, it would have been a fantastic result for the energy drink-backed team with a front row lockout as Mark Webber set the initial pace with a time of one minute, 36.466 seconds. But in the final moments of Q3, Fernando Alonso split the Red Bulls with a lap time of one minute, 36.381 seconds.

The Australian was pushed back from first to third in the closing seconds, with Barrichello dropping to fourth having held provisional pole following his first Q3 runs.

Jarno Trulli completed the top six for Toyota, followed by Nico Rosberg’s Williams, who set the pace in final practice in the run-up to qualifying.

Kimi Raikkonen took eighth for Ferrari, while the current world champion Lewis Hamilton, producing his best qualifying performance of the season to take ninth for McLaren.

Toro Rosso’s rookie Sebastien Buemi also enjoyed a breakthrough session, reaching Q3 for the first time and taking tenth.

While Hamilton showed better form featuring a new front wing and diffuser on his MP4-24, his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen fared less well. The Finn could only manage P12, one place ahead of Felipe Massa. The Brazilian yet again made a driving mistake during his fast run and without the aid of KERS (the team decided not to use it this weekend), Massa will find the job of racing from the mid-pack more challenging.

So a Renault 1-2-3 on the grid in China, with the young German Vettel setting his sights on scoring the team’s dream victory. Can he do the job and take his second victory? What about Alonso? Will the Spaniard cause an upset to Red Bull in his light-fuelled R29? How about the super-soft option tyre from Bridgestone? Will this tyre compound be durable enough around the 3.44-mile track without falling to pieces? We will find out to this and more on race day.

Qualifying times from Shanghai:

1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:36.184
2.  Alonso       Renault               1:36.381
3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      1:36.466
4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:36.493
5.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:36.532
6.  Trulli       Toyota                1:36.835
7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:37.397
8.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:38.089
9.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      1:38.595
10.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:39.321
11.  Heidfeld     BMW Sauber          1:35.975
12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:36.032
13.  Massa        Ferrari               1:36.033
14.  Glock        Toyota                1:36.066
15.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota        1:36.193
16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:36.906
17.  Piquet       Renault               1:36.908
18.  Kubica       BMW Sauber             1:36.966
19.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes   1:37.669
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   1:37.672