Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber achieved his first ever pole position in Formula One after mastering the tricky wet conditions during qualifying at the Nurburgring.

The Australian set a lap time in the RB5 with one minute, 32.230 seconds to pip Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello by 0.127 seconds. Championship leader Jenson Button will start third, while Silverstone winner Sebastian Vettel could only manage fourth place in front of his home crowd.

As for the McLarens, this German Grand Prix weekend has reveal new found confidence in the MP4-24 all thanks to new aero updates like a revised double diffuser, engine cover and front wing.

Though these aero updates would only applied to Lewis Hamilton’s car and the world champion thus delivered the results needed for the Woking squad with a fine fifth position (equalling his best grid spot this season).

Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen also recorded an impressive lap time despite not running the aero kit with sixth. The Finn even survived a brush against the wall during the chaotic Q2 session.

The big winner of the rain-affected qualifying session was Adrian Sutil. Not only did the Force India driver got through to Q3 for the very first time, the young German even out-qualified the likes of Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Nelson Piquet Jr to record a superb seventh position.

The session started dry but during the end of Q1, few spots of rain hit the race track. At the start of Q2, the heavens opened and all hell broke lose!

Several cars went spinning in an attempt to stay on the circuit and it was fascinating to see the differences in strategies made by the pit crew on which Bridgestones the drivers should run.

Rubens Barrichello made the decisive call by sitting out the wetter early minutes of Q2 and then immediately recording the fastest lap by running on slicks when the track was beginning to dry out. That key moment helped the Brazilian to progress into Q3 while all his rivals had to scrabble around with a lack of grip as the rain came down again in the final minutes.

The biggest casualty of the late-Q2 lottery was Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who spun at the chicane on what should have been his best lap. The Spaniard quickly recovered but was unable to improve from P12. Thus Nelson Piquet Jr made it through into Q3 and for the first time this season, the young Brazilian has out-qualified his more experienced team-mate.

Both BMW Saubers were eliminated early with Nick Heidfeld taking P11 followed by an extremely disappointed Robert Kubica. The Polish driver will start the team’s home race in P16.

Kazuki Nakajima spun on his out-lap in Q2 but recovered unscathed to qualify in P13, beating his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who took P15. In between the Williams pair is the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

The Italian’s team-mate Timo Glock had a dreadful session, making several errors even on a dry track in Q1 and ending up P19, alongside the under-pressure Sebastien Bourdais, who went off at the first corner on his last flying lap as the rain arrived.

It was a session marked by the intermittent rain but after 6o thrilling minutes, one man rise above all to set the quickest time around the challenging race track. Can Mark Webber translate this maiden pole position – the first for an Australian since Alan Jones back in 1980 – to race victory on Sunday? Or will we see the likes of Button and Vettel score another win in their fierce battle for the championship?

What about Lewis Hamilton, in the much rejuvenated McLaren? Can the world champion claim a popular victory thanks to his high grid position and aero updates? The forecast for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix will be wet, so be prepare for the unexpected as the season reaches its halfway point.

Qualifying times from the Nurburgring:

1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:32.230
2. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:32.357
3. Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:32.473
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:32.480
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.616
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.859
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:34.316
8. Massa Ferrari 1:34.574
9. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:34.710
10. Piquet Renault 1:34.803
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 1:42.310
12. Alonso Renault 1:42.318
13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:42.500
14. Trulli Toyota 1:42.771
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:42.859
16. Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:32.190
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.251
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:32.402
19. Glock Toyota 1:32.423
20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:33.559

Sebastian Vettel claimed his first dry race victory after leading from start to finish at Silverstone. It was a faultless performance from the young German and this one-two result for Red Bull Racing ends the recent run of success by Jenson Button.

The championship leader was never a factor in his home Grand Prix, struggling with a lack of balance in the Brawn. Despite the result – qualified in sixth and finishing in the same position – Jenson still leads the drivers’ standings with 23 points ahead of his team-mate Rubens Barrichello and 25 points over race winner Vettel.

This result means Red Bull Racing are now the leading contenders for championship honours against Brawn GP. The new aerodynamic updates including the double diffuser, nose cone and engine cover certainly improve the performance of the RB5. So to achieve a perfect one-two with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, all that hard work in the factory has finally paid off.

Rubens Barrichello finished in a solid third position for Brawn GP ahead of fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa, who drove a fine race in the Ferrari to come through from eleventh on the grid.

Nico Rosberg finished fifth for Williams, ahead of home crowd favourite Jenson Button and the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

As for the three world champions – Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton respectively – the 2009 British Grand Prix was a difficult race for the trio.

In Raikkonen’s case, eighth was the best possible outcome and the Finn just managed to hold off Timo Glock’s Toyota in the late stages of the Grand Prix.

What about Alonso and Hamilton? Well, to see the Renault and McLaren struggling at the back was heartbreaking. For Fernando, to finish in fourteenth place was a major disappointment for the Spaniard and it didn’t help that he was stuck behind Nick Heidfeld’s extremely slow BMW Sauber, which was dropping up to three seconds a lap to those ahead due to front wing damage.

Last year’s winner Lewis Hamilton could only finish in sixteenth position. His wheel-to-wheel battle with Alonso was a highlight of the British Grand Prix but in the end, a lap down on the leaders and a quick spin at Club corner ended his miserable day.

Sebastien Bourdais and Heikki Kovalainen were the only retirements. The Finn emerged from his sole pit-stop just ahead of his McLaren team-mate Hamilton and he allowed the Brit through at Stowe. Sensing the opportunity to overtake, Bourdais tried a move at Club corner but contact was made as Kovalainen defended, breaking the Scuderia Toro Rosso’s front wing and giving the McLaren a puncture. Both dropped out for good soon afterwards.

So win number three for Sebastian Vettel and the perfect result for the energy drink sponsored-team with this one-two finish at Silverstone. The next race is Vettel’s home event at the Nürburgring, so expect strong support from the German crowd. This year’s championship is becoming more fascinating at every turn but we will have to wait in three weeks’ time for the next battle between Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing. Jenson Button versus Sebastian Vettel. Nevermind the politics, the racing is what counts in Formula One 2009.

Race results from Silverstone, 60 laps:

1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault       1h22:49.328
2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault       +15.188
3.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes      +41.175
4.  Massa         Ferrari                +45.043
5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota        +45.915
6.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes      +46.285
7.  Trulli        Toyota                 +1:08.307
8.  Raikkonen     Ferrari                +1:09.622
9.  Glock         Toyota                 +1:09.823
10.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  +1:11.522
11.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       +1:14.023
12.  Piquet        Renault               +1 lap
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            +1 lap
14.  Alonso        Renault               +1 lap
15.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            +1 lap
16.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      +1 lap
17.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  +1 lap
18.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +1 lap

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:20.735

Not classified/retirements:

Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari       37 laps
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      36 laps

World Championship standings, round 8:

Drivers:
1.  Button        64
2.  Barrichello   41
3.  Vettel        39
4.  Webber        35.5
5.  Trulli        21.5
6.  Massa         16
7.  Rosberg       15.5
8.  Glock         13
9.  Alonso        11
10.  Raikkonen     10
11.  Hamilton       9
12.  Heidfeld       6
13.  Kovalainen     4
14.  Buemi          3
15.  Kubica         2
16.  Bourdais       2

Constructors:
1.  Brawn GP-Mercedes     105
2.  Red Bull-Renault     74.5
3.  Toyota               34.5
4.  Ferrari                26
5.  Williams-Toyota      15.5
6.  McLaren-Mercedes       13
7.  Renault                11
8.  BMW Sauber              8
9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      5

Next race: German Grand Prix, Nürburgring. July 10-12.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday’s British Grand Prix in pole position after a commanding performance in qualifying at Silverstone.

This was Vettel’s second consecutive pole and his lap time around the former RAF airfield was an impressive one minute, 19. 509 seconds. Rubens Barrichello managed to split the two Red Bulls for Brawn GP, while Mark Webber was disappointed to slip down from provisional pole to third place. The Australian blamed Kimi Raikkonen for distracting him on the final qualifying run in a bid to improve his lap time.

Championship leader and home crowd favourite Jenson Button will start sixth on the grid, behind Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams. Button complained later about the unusual call made by his team to abort his qualifying run that would have moved him up the grid order. In addition, Jenson moaned about a lack of rear-end grip in the BGP-001.

But at least Jenson is at the front end of the grid compare to last year’s winner Lewis Hamilton. The current world champion will start his home race down in a miserable P19!

Why so far back? Lewis was simply unlucky to be caught out on his final qualifying run by the red flags due to Adrian Sutil crashing heavily at the Abbey chicane.

The Force India driver was unhurt, but his incident at Abbey brought the first qualifying segment to an early end and there wasn’t enough time to go for another run.

Meaning Lewis Hamilton will start his home Grand Prix in 19th position – his worst qualifying result by far in Formula One. This is a major setback for the world champion and what a difference a year makes… from winning this event last time around to starting right at the back. This season’s MP4-24 just doesn’t provide confidence to the drivers and on the quick and demanding Maggotts/Becketts sequences, the McLaren looked awful.

Heikki Kovalainen fared a little better compare to his team-mate (the Finn will start in P13) but overall this year’s car is certainly a challenge to drive.

After setting the pace in the final practice session leading up to qualifying, Nico Rosberg will start the race for Williams in seventh position, ahead of Timo Glock’s Toyota.

As for Ferrari, this was another poor performance by the Scuderia with Kimi Raikkonen in ninth followed by team-mate Felipe Massa in eleventh. In between the red cars is Renault’s Fernando Alonso.

Even though the home crowd are at trackside supporting Jenson Button, a British home win for the series leader is looking unlikely due to the strong pace by the Red Bulls. The Renault-powered RB5 is going really well around the fast and flowing 3.194-mile circuit, thanks to the new aerodynamic upgrades including a re-profile front nose cone and engine cover.

Vettel is hoping to make amends from his first lap mistake at Turkey with race victory number two (for Red Bull Racing) while Webber is still searching for that elusive maiden win. As for Barrichello, the Brazilian has the chance to out-score his Brawn GP team-mate for the first time thanks to a higher grid position.

Qualifying times from the British Grand Prix, Silverstone:carrier to noise ratio

1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:19.509
2.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:19.856
3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault     1:19.868
4.  Trulli       Toyota                1:20.091
5.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:20.216
6.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:20.289
7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:20.361
8.  Glock        Toyota                1:20.490
9.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:20.715
10.  Alonso       Renault               1:20.741
11.  Massa        Ferrari               1:18.927
12.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:19.308
13.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:19.353
14.  Piquet       Renault               1:19.392
15.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:19.448
16.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   1:19.802
17.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:19.898
18.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes   1:19.909
19.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes        1:19.917
20.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:20.236

After months of bitter words between the sport’s governing body (FIA) and the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) over the controversial cost-cap scheme set to be introduce next year, the eight remaining FOTA teams have announced they are to form their own racing series for 2010.

This shocking news story broke last night on Autosport.com and it seems that Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW, Toyota, Brawn GP, Red Bull and Toro Rosso are set to create their own series independent of Formula 1.

As you can read in this extract below, the reason for the split is FOTA had grown increasingly frustrated with the FIA’s stance against the organisation, and had no option but to create a series of their own.

“The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship,” said a statement issued by FOTA after the meeting.

“These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

“The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.”

So what’s left on the FIA series? Well, next year’s Formula 1 world championship will feature only five confirmed teams: Williams, Force India, Manor Grand Prix, USF1 and Campos Grand Prix. But, we could see the likes of Prodrive and Epsilon Euskadi on the grid to fill up the remaining places.

This split in Formula One is the worst possible outcome between FOTA and the FIA. The negotiations between both parties over the issue of reducing costs dragged on for months and this split is a devastating blow not only for Formula One, but also for the hardcore fans and motor sport in general.

We now face the prospect of a divided world championship next season, with neither of the two resulting series enjoying the strength that Formula 1 has accumulated in its 60-year history. At a time of such economic turmoil, it is a desperate course of action to take.

Not surprisingly, the FIA has blamed factions within FOTA for the failure of the two parties to reach agreement on the future of the sport, following the announcement that there will be a rival series next year. In an extract below, you can sense the bitterness in the press statement.

“The FIA is disappointed but not surprised by FOTA’s inability to reach a compromise in the best interests of the sport,” said the statement.

“It is clear that elements within FOTA have sought this outcome throughout the prolonged period of negotiation and have not engaged in the discussions in good faith.

“The FIA cannot permit a financial arms race in the championship nor can the FIA allow FOTA to dictate the rules of Formula 1.”

This is a sad day in Formula One and yet again the politics of the sport has completely overshadowed the events at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Racing is what matters to the fans… not this.

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