Multiple Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher will make his return to the sport driving for the new Mercedes GP team in 2010. The German will race alongside compatriot Nico Rosberg in the rebranded team that took the drivers’ and constructors’ titles as Brawn GP in 2009.

News speculation surrounding the identity of the second driver at Mercedes has been mounting for days with the initial rumour pointing to Nick Heidfeld. But it seems that the seven-times world champion was the more suitable candidate to lead the team to another championship success and with Schumacher rejoining the ‘three-pointed star’ he reunites his former racing colleague Ross Brawn, who masterminded all seven of his titles at Benetton and Ferrari.

Schumacher’s return to Formula One comes after three years since announcing his retirement at the end of the Italian Grand Prix. Since then, the German still maintains his competitive spirit by taking part in karting event and motorcycle races. Unfortunately in one of those motorcycle races, he suffered a neck injury in a crash.

That injury proved a major setback for Michael, as he was assigned to replace the injured Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. Due to his neck injury, Schumacher sadly declined the offer to step-in the F60 and the Scuderia gave the unique opportunity to test driver Luca Badoer and Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella instead.

Michael commented he was deeply disappointed at the time, and it may have been the excitement he felt about returning to Formula One then that helped motivate him to conclude the deal with Mercedes GP.

German newspaper Bild is reporting that Schumacher has signed a one-year deal and it is likely he will have the option to continue beyond 2010 if his return goes well. In addition, it is reported that Michael will earn £6.2 million racing the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team – the official team’s title for next season, with the Malaysian oil company announced as a major sponsor.

With Michael Schumacher competing in Formula One once again and representing ‘Team Germany’ with Mercedes, the 2010 Formula One World Championship is going to be a fascinating season. To witness the wheel-to-wheel duel against former champions Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button (Ferrari and McLaren respectively) is going to be spectacular. Hopefully, Michael still has that racing sprint to compete with the young pretenders.

From next season, a new points system has been devised for the Formula One World Championship with the top ten drivers awarded points.

At present, only the top eight finishers receive championship points with ten going to the winner, then eight for finishing in second, six for third, five, four, three, two and one.

With the new points system proposed by the F1 Commission, the race winner will now receive 25 points, then 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1.

The increase in points is part of a new scheme to award championship points to the top ten finishers in each race due to the expanded grid in 2010.

Taking this new system into account, that means the new Formula One world champion Jenson Button has amassed 230.5 points compared to the actual 95 points he earned in taking the drivers’ title this season.

However, the margin of points between each finishing position seems rather inconsistent, with only a two-point difference between seventh and eighth, while only a single point for sixth and seventh.

In addition, there is only a five-point gap for the race winner and the driver coming home in second. The importance of winning the Grand Prix should have been made more significant, like 30 points for example. By adopting this idea, the driver behind will push even harder for the overall victory.

Hopefully the new system will encourage drivers to overtake each other in the race. Whether it will improve the spectacle remains to be seen.

Former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen has joined Citroen’s junior rally team and will take part in the series from next season.

The 30-year-old Finn, who left Ferrari a year early at the end of the 2009 season, will compete in twelve of the thirteen rounds of the World Rally Championship driving a Red Bull-sponsored C4 rally car.

His co-driver will be Kaj Lindstrom, who was the co-driver for multiple WRC champion Tommi Makinen.

Earlier this year, Raikkonen made his rallying debut in an S2000 Abarth (pictured above) competing at his home event in the Rally of Finland. Despite crashing out on leg two, the Finn earned the respect of the series regulars for the speed with which he adapted to driving on the special stages.

Raikkonen has hinted for many years that he was keen to pursue a career in rallying after Formula One, and when the Finn announced last month that he would take a sabbatical following the breakdown of his talks with McLaren, the WRC was seen as his most likely destination.

It will be fascinating next season in how the Iceman will adapt to the rally scene including driving sideways!

The last couple of days in the Formula One world have reveal several major changes to the new 2010 season.

The first news story is Mercedes purchasing a 75.1 per cent share of Ross Brawn’s racing team. Following the success of winning the championship double, the German car manufacturer has latched onto the Brawn GP outfit and has rebranded the team as Mercedes GP for the following season.

Nico Rosberg is expected to drive for the Silver Arrows with a possibility of running Nick Heidfeld as the second German driver.

This takeover maybe one of the reason (other than pay) that has forced Jenson Button to look for a new drive elsewhere. Though there are stories that his manager was asking for more money from Ross Brawn since Button is the current Formula One world champion.

Following the buyout of Brawn GP, the focus shifted to Kimi Raikkonen. Where would the Iceman end up next season? With Fernando Alonso joining the Scuderia in 2010, the Finn was on his way out after three years representing the Prancing Horse.

There were two teams available to Kimi, his old former team McLaren and the massively financially-backed Toyota racing organisation. Unfortunately, the Japanese manufacturer pulled out with immediate effect blaming the current economical crisis, so the only place to go was McLaren.

But the amount of money Raikkonen’s management was asking for to drive the McLaren was way too much and without a race-winning car available, the Finn announced that he was taking a sabbatical from the sport.

This paved way for Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion couldn’t reach an agreement with Ross Brawn/Nick Fry over an increase in pay after winning the title, so the only option was to take the seat alongside Lewis Hamilton.

By having two British champions at McLaren-Mercedes, it brings a sense of excitement to motor racing fans. It will be interesting how these two great drivers will work with one another but one thing is certain, it marks the strongest pairing since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost back in the late 80s and early 90s.

Whether Button can cope with the new pressure environment at McLaren or his extremely fast team-mate remains to be seen. Sir Jackie Stewart has commented that he has made an unwise decision to switch teams. But what can be said is that Formula One 2010 is shaping up to be a classic.

Formula One has lost its third team in less than 12 months with the news that Toyota will quit the sport with immediate effect.

The Japanese car company revealed the decision during a news conference in Tokyo. It said the current economic situation had prompted its departure.

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula 1 world championship at the end of the 2009 season,” said a Toyota statement.

“TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.

“However, when considering TMC’s motorsports actitives next year and beyond from a comprehensive mid-term viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1”

The team’s Formula One future had been widely doubted since Honda withdrew at the end of last season. Toyota originally entered the sport in 2002 to compete with its rival, which had returned as an engine supplier two years earlier.

Toyota had also pulled its Fuji Speedway racing circuit, which hosted the 2007 and 2008 Japanese Grands Prix, blaming the worldwide financial problems.

However Toyota did signed a new Concorde Agreement, committing it to the world championship through 2012, and team boss John Howett was adamant that the squad would be on the grid next year although there were hints of a reduced budget.

The team had been pressing ahead with its 2010 preparations including the possibility of signing big name drivers like Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica. There was even talks of signing impressive stand-in Japanese racer Kamui Kobayashi for next year as recently as last weekend.

Toyota’s current drivers, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, had already been expected to move on.

“TMC also wants to express its heartfelt gratitude to all Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers to date and to all Toyota Motorsport GmbH employees who have helped make the team’s achievements possible,” said the statement.

“TMC intends to do its best to find a solution for those parties who will be affected by any inconvenience this decision may cause.”

Toyota entered Formula One in 2002, and was tipped to swiftly become a championship challenger given its massive budget and resources. But the team has yet to win a race and has just three pole positions, 13 podium finishes, and a best result of fourth in the 2005 constructors’ standings to show for its 139 grands prix.

The departure of Toyota is set to throw the former BMW Sauber team a lifeline, as the Hinwil squad and its new owners had been relying on another team dropping out in order to claim the final spot in next season’s expanded 26-car entry.

Toyota added that it would continue to use its Formula One experience in “developing exciting production vehicles” and that it would remain involved in motor racing, albeit at a lower level.

“In motorsports, [Toyota] will not only race in various categories, but will also actively contribute to further development of motorsports by supporting grassroots races and planning events in which it is easy for people to participate.”

Sebastian Vettel took his fourth victory of the season leading his Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber to a one-two finish in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

This result also confirmed Vettel as championship runner-up behind Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion came home in third behind the victorious Red Bulls though he did had an opportunity to snatch second with a late-race duel with Webber. It was a thrilling contest to see the pair fighting over the position but at the chequered flag, the Australian just managed to hold off the Briton.

Despite that Button has ended his championship season with a podium finish, his first since the Italian Grand Prix, while his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello survived a clash with Webber’s Red Bull on the opening lap which broke part of the front wing endplate to finish in fourth.

Competing in BMW Sauber’s final race, Nick Heidfeld recorded a solid fifth place (a nice send-off for the team) while the impressive Kamui Kobayashi scored his first championship points for Toyota in only his second appearance as a Grand Prix driver. Team-mate Jarno Trulli was seventh with Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi taking the final point with eighth.

As for the race favourite, Lewis Hamilton, who started the twilight Grand Prix in pole position, the McLaren driver was forced to retire with a rear brake issue. It was a shame as he was the quickest all weekend and this non-finish was a disappointment, though the development of the MP4-24 in the late stages of this season has given optimism for Lewis into next year.

Just finishing outside the points was Nico Rosberg, racing for the last time at Williams, followed by Robert Kubica (BMW Sabuer), Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) and Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari).

After a poor qualifying session, Fernando Alonso was unable to recover from a low grid position and to finish in P14 was not the ideal way to end his seven-year stint at Renault.

The same can be said to Giancarlo Fisichella. Representing the Scuderia for the last time and potentially racing in his final race in Formula One, the Italian finished in a disappointing P16. Speeding in the pit lane didn’t help matters for Giancarlo…

And so ends the 2009 Formula One World Championship. Red Bull Racing might have missed out on the championship honours, but scoring a hat-trick of wins is an impressive achievement for the outfit. Can Vettel and the Red Bull team challenge Button and Brawn GP next year for title honours? Let’s wait and see when the new season commences in Bahrain in March 2010.

Race results from the Yas Marina circuit, 55 laps:

1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      1h34:03.314
2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      +17.857
3.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes        +18.467
4.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes        +22.735
5.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            +26.253
6.  Kobayashi     Toyota                +28.343
7.  Trulli        Toyota                +34.366
8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +41.294
9.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       +45.941
10. Kubica        BMW Sauber            +48.180
11. Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      +52.798
12. Raikkonen     Ferrari               +54.317
13. Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       +59.839
14. Alonso        Renault               +1:09.687
15. Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes  +1:34.450
16. Grosjean      Renault               +1 lap
17. Fisichella    Ferrari               +1 lap
18. Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  +1 lap

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:40.279

Not classified/retirements:

Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      21 laps
Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    19 laps

World Championship standings, round 17:

Drivers:

1.  Button        95
2.  Vettel        84
3.  Barrichello   77
4.  Webber        69.5
5.  Hamilton      49
6.  Raikkonen     48
7.  Rosberg       34.5
8.  Trulli        32.5
9.  Alonso        26
10. Glock         24
11. Kovalainen    22
12. Massa         22
13. Heidfeld      19
14. Kubica        17
15. Fisichella     8
16. Buemi          6
17. Sutil          5
18. Kobayashi      3
19. Bourdais       2

Constructors:

1.  Brawn-Mercedes        172
2.  Red Bull-Renault      153.5
3.  McLaren-Mercedes       71
4.  Ferrari                70
5.  Toyota                 59.5
6.  BMW Sauber             36
7.  Williams-Toyota        34.5
8.  Renault                26
9.  Force India-Mercedes   13
10.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari     8

Lewis Hamilton took his third pole position of the season after dominating the unique twilight qualifying session at the Yas Marina circuit. The McLaren driver set the fastest time in all three sessions and proved unbeatable in Q3 with a margin of 0.7 seconds over his Red Bull Racing rivals.

It would have been an all-McLaren front row following the team’s impressive practice pace but alas the poor luck that hampered Heikki Kovalainen’s season continued with the Finn forced to pull out in Q2 with a transmission fault. At one point he was third but come the end, he slipped down to P13.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber will start the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in second and third respectively with the constructors’ champion Brawn GP next up.

The new world champion Jenson Button could only manage fifth and was once again out-qualified by his team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was a contender for pole in the early stages of Q3 but found himself demoted down to sixth by the end. At least the Italian will be satisfied to start the race ahead of the BMW Sauber pair of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. The team will be taking part in its final Grand Prix from the fourth row.

Nico Rosberg lines up in ninth position in his last appearance as a Williams driver with Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi completing the top ten.

Neither Ferrari made it into the top ten – making 2009 the first season since 1993 that the team has not managed a single pole position. Kimi Raikkonen will start his final race as a Scuderia driver in P11 way ahead of his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, who was the slowest of all in Abu Dhabi. The Italian team will have a tough situation to finish third in the constructors’ championship with only a two- point advantage over rival McLaren.

But if you thought Ferrari had a bad session, it was a nightmare for Renault. Fernando Alonso could only manage P16, which was not the ideal position to sign off his seven-year stint at the team. His team-mate Romain Grosjean also struggled and will start in a lowly P19, behind the disappointing Force Indias.

Qualifying times from Yas Marina:

1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      1:40.948
2.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:41.615
3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      1:41.726
4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:41.786
5.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:41.892
6.  Trulli       Toyota                1:41.897
7.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:41.992
8.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:42.343
9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:42.583
10. Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:42.713
11. Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:40.726
12. Kobayashi    Toyota                1:40.777
13. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:40.983
14. Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:41.148
15. Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:41.689
16. Alonso       Renault               1:41.667
17. Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  1:41.701
18. Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1:41.863
19. Grosjean     Renault               1:41.950
20. Fisichella   Ferrari               1:42.184

After a difficult second half of the 2009 Formula One World Championship, Jenson Button has finally fulfil his dream ambition in winning the drivers’ title after an aggressive drive in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Starting in P14 after a frustrating qualifying session, the Brawn GP driver pulled off some impressive overtaking manouvres to land fifth spot in the end. This was enough to secure the championship.

It capped off an amazing season and Jenson has undoubtedly silenced his critics whether he fully deserves the drivers’ title following this thrilling Grand Prix, won by Mark Webber.

The result also gave Brawn a remarkable Constructors’ Championship title in the team’s first year, less than 12 months after Honda’s departure left its staff facing an apparently bleak future.

As for the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix, this was a comfortable victory for Mark Webber. The Australian took the lead after the first round of pitstops and never look back.

Behind the victorious Red Bull, Robert Kubica took his best result of the year in second for BMW while Lewis Hamilton came through from the tail end of the field to take third for McLaren.

For Rubens Barrichello, who started his home Grand Prix in pole position, the Brazilian’s crude luck at Interlagos continued. Even though Rubens had the opportunity to take the championship down to the wire if he wins, his mid-race pace wasn’t enough to prevent his team-mate in taking the title. A puncture eight laps from the chequered flag while running in fourth ending his chances.

As for Sebastian Vettel, who started alongside his title rival in P15, the German drove his heart out in the 71-lap Grand Prix but fourth was not enough to keep his title bid alive.

The opening lap was quite dramatic with Vettel making contact at the Senna S with Heikki Kovalainen, who spun his McLaren and was almost collected by Giancarlo Fisichella, who took avoiding action in the Ferrari. Both were able to continue but at the tail end of the field.

Kimi Raikkonen was also involved in the chaotic first lap when he broke his front wing against the back of Webber’s Red Bull as the Australian defended his position into the Descida do Lago.

Through the next corner Toyota’s Jarno Trulli went wide onto the grass – accusing Adrian Sutil of putting him there – and spun back across into the Force India, which was then collected by the Renault of Fernando Alonso. All three were out on the spot and prompting a safety car.

There was even more drama under the yellow, as Kovalainen took the McLaren fuel hose with him as he left the pits, resulting in a flash fire as fuel splashed out of the hose onto Raikkonen’s close-following Ferrari! Remarkably both were able to continue without delay.

As the race stewards began investigating all of those incidents, Button and Vettel found themselves ninth and eleventh in the restart queue, with Barrichello leading the race over Webber, Rosberg and Kubica.

Both Button and Vettel immediately charged forward with some aggressive passes, before getting stuck behind Kamui Kobayashi’s Toyota and Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams in seventh and ninth respectively.

It took until lap 24 following several near-misses before Button successfully dived inside Kobayashi at the Senna S. By that time his title prospects looked much better, for Barrichello had fallen from first to third after the first pitstops.

The Brawn had only managed to pull two seconds clear of Webber, and when Barrichello stopped on lap 20 he emerged into the thick of the traffic and was further delayed being overtaken by Vettel. He not only lost out to Webber, but also fell to third behind Kubica, with Rosberg losing a chance to also get involved in this fight when he retired on lap 26.

That settled the lead battle for the rest of the race. Webber ran a comfortable five seconds ahead of Kubica, with Barrichello becoming an ever more distant third. The Brazilian’s only hope of keeping the title fight alive was now that Button finished eighth or lower, but the Briton’s excellent progress continued as he moved up to second before making the first of his two stops on lap 29.

Vettel ran a similar strategy but pitted even later, which enabled the German to jump Button at the final stops, but by that time they had moved up to fifth and sixth – which was not enough for the Red Bull driver but it was perfectly adequate for Jenson in the Brawn.

Just to underline that Barrichello’s task was hopeless, he was passed for third by Lewis Hamilton ten laps from the end, then fell to eighth with a puncture – no thanks to a brush with the McLaren – two laps later.

Hamilton had pitted under the safety car to immediately get rid of his soft Bridgestone tyres, meaning he could run the rest of the race on a one-stop strategy. He then had the pace to quickly move through the field, keeping up with the lighter-fuelled cars, and emerging fourth behind Barrichello as others stopped.

Behind Vettel and the euphoric Button, Raikkonen recovered to sixth, with Sebastien Buemi scoring two points for Scuderia Toro Rosso in seventh.

Kovalainen finished in ninth, with Kobayashi losing ground as others around him ran longer strategies, but pushed past Fisichella for tenth in the closing laps.

The Toyota rookie escaped a frightening incident with compatriot Nakajima – who he had already banged wheels with through the Senna S – that saw the Williams have its front wing swiped off on the rear of Kobayashi’s defensive Toyota as it came out of the pits. Nakajima lost control on the grass and speared into the Descida do Lago barriers, but was unhurt.

So, congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP team in winning the title. For Button, this was a dream come true and he becomes the tenth British driver to taste success as the world champion.

What is ever more remarkable is that Brawn GP has achieved the constructors title in its first-ever season. Credit to the all the members at Brackley and especially Ross Brawn in leading the outfit to championship glory.

Race results from Interlagos, 71 laps:

1.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      1h32:23.081
2.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            +7.626
3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      +18.944
4.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      +19.652
5.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes        +29.005
6.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               +33.340
7.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +35.991
8.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes        +45.454
9.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      +48.499
10. Kobayashi     Toyota                +1:03.324
11. Fisichella    Ferrari               +1:10.665
12. Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes  +1:11.388
13. Grosjean      Renault               +1 lap
14. Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    +1 lap

Fastest lap: Webber, 1:13.733

Not classified/retirements:

Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       31 laps
Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       28 laps
Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            22 laps
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  1 lap
Trulli        Toyota                1 lap
Alonso        Renault               1 lap

World Championship standings, round 16:

Drivers:
1.  Button        89
2.  Vettel        74
3.  Barrichello   72
4.  Webber        61.5
5.  Hamilton      49
6.  Raikkonen     48
7.  Rosberg       34.5
8.  Trulli        30.5
9.  Alonso        26
10. Glock         24
11. Kovalainen    22
12. Massa         22
13. Kubica        17
14. Heidfeld      15
15. Fisichella     8
16. Sutil          5
17. Buemi          5
18. Bourdais       2

Constructors:
1.  Brawn-Mercedes        161
2.  Red Bull-Renault      135.5
3.  McLaren-Mercedes       71
4.  Ferrari                70
5.  Toyota                 54.5
6.  Williams-Toyota        34.5
7.  BMW Sauber             32
8.  Renault                26
9.  Force India-Mercedes   13
10. Toro Rosso-Ferrari      7

Next race: Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit. October 30-November 1.

After nearly three hours of persistent rain delaying the qualifying proceedings, Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello ultimately secured a crucial pole position at home while his title rivals suffered major problems in the tricky wet conditions.

World championship leader Jenson Button will start the Brazilian Grand Prix down in P14, having opted not to fit the Bridgestone intermediates tyres that could have vaulted him up the grid order. By staying out on track with full wets, Jenson lost the opportunity in setting a competitive laptime. Position fourteenth is not ideal but at least it is no worse than Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull Racing driver will start in P16 and will need at least second place on Sunday to remain in the title hunt.

Mark Webber joins Barrichello on the front row in the second Red Bull, ahead of another impressive qualifying effort from Force India’s Adrian Sutil in third.

The first qualifying session was red flagged after just four minutes following a spin by Giancarlo Fisichella in his Ferrari. The Italian lost control at the bottom of the Senna S and stalled on the racing line. He will start the race at the tail end of the grid.

With the conditions near impossible due to the heavy rain, race control decided to halt the session until the weather relented at least slightly.

As the skies became a little lighter, Q1 was restarted following a 12-minute pause, and although the spray and standing water remained a major issue for the drivers, the lap times were immediately 12 seconds faster than the pre-red flag laps.

Outside championship contender Vettel had been fastest by a full second among the seven cars that set times prior to the stoppage, but he was quickly shuffle down the order to P16 and could not improve. A trip off the circuit at Turn 5 did not help, and with the rain coming down harder again Sebastian abandoned his final lap. P16 is his worst-case scenario and the German faces a near-impossible task in Sunday’s Grand Prix as he strives to stay in title contention.

Also going out in Q1 were the McLarens, with Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton in P17 and P18 respectively. The latter having a spin after exiting Turn 5.

The start of Q2 was delayed further as the rain continued to fall. Despite no obvious let-up in the conditions, the green light appeared and the remaining 15 cars headed onto the track.

But in no time at all Vitantonio Liuzzi had a huge crash on the pit straight, bringing out the red flags once again.

With the rain continuing to fall it took an hour to get the session restarted. But when it finally did it brought a dramatic development – championship leader Button was eliminated.

The track began to dry quite quickly and halfway through several drivers switched to intermediate tyres – led by Nico Rosberg’s Williams, who once again looked instantly at ease with the wet conditions.

Neither of the Brawn GP drivers opted to try the intermediates and that proved a big mistake in Button’s case. But while Barrichello managed to scrape through to Q3, team-mate Button was 0.9 seconds slower and thus failed. He will start behind rookies Kamui Kobayashi – making a fine debut for Toyota – Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) and Romain Grosjean (Renault).

And so into the final ten minutes of Q3. With the track conditions improving all the time and the rain finally easing off, the top ten drivers all opted for the intermediates to set the quickest laps.

The pole position holder was changing at least once every minute with Sebastien Buemi, Robert Kubica and Jarno Trulli all having turns.

Twice Barrichello took the top spot but immediately was pushed back down the order. He eventually took the honour when the chequered flag was waved on the main pit straight, recorded his first pole position at the Interlagos track after five years of trying. His time of one minute, 19.576 seconds was just under a tenth of a second faster than rival Mark Webber.

Adrian Sutil grabbed third from Toyota’s Jarno Trulli right at the end, with Kimi Raikkonen fifth for Ferrari.

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi was rapid throughout and took an excellent sixth, but there was disappointment for Nico Rosberg, who had been quickest in both Q1 and Q2 but could not maintain that pace as the track dried. He fell to seventh, with his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima ninth between Robert Kubica (BMW) and Fernando Alonso (Renault).

Before the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Formula One’s ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone has said he wanted to see the championship decided at the final round in Abu Dhabi. Well, following this lengthy qualifying session and with a grid line-up for Sunday, it seems that we could be heading that way.

Qualifying times from Interlagos:

1.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        1:19.576
2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      1:19.668
3.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1:19.912
4.  Trulli       Toyota                1:20.097
5.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               1:20.168
6.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:20.250
7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       1:20.326
8.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            1:20.631
9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       1:20.674
10. Alonso       Renault               1:21.422
11. Kobayashi    Toyota                1:21.960
12. Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:22.231
13. Grosjean     Renault               1:22.477
14. Button       Brawn-Mercedes        1:22.504
15. Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  1:24.645
16. Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      1:25.009
17. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      1:25.052
18. Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      1:25.192
19. Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            1:25.515
20. Fisichella   Ferrari               1:40.703