Jenson Button stops by to pick up his trophy

It was definitely a year that will go down in the Formula One history books as unusual as Button started the year by coming out of the gate and taking hold of the championship by winning six of the first seven races of the year. At the same time Brawn GP became the first team to win the constructors’ title in the first year of its competing on the Formula One grid.

Button stepped up to the podium to grab his trophy with a light step and a smile on his face and immediately located for his name on the trophy. This must have be an amazing day for Button who has been a part of racing his whole life, since he first got behind the wheel of a go cart at the age of eight he has been dreaming of this day and now he has fulfilled his dreams. At the start of the season, they weren’t even sure if he would be able to race in 2009 and if he would make it to the first race. Now, he’s the 2009 Formula One World Champion and sitting on top of the world, baby!

Ross Brawn, leader of team Brawn was there to take the constructors’ trophy in hand, and he’ll be at the reigns of the team again in 2010. He stepped before the cameras to tell the world what a great year it has been for the team and that if you had asked him before the year started if he would be where he is now, he would have checked your temperature. He thanked everyone for attending and his team for the year they had and then stepped back to let others take the limelight.
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Jenson Stops in to Pick up the Hardware

Bruno Senna will be thrilling the girls next season

Lewis Hamilton knows how hard it’s to repeat and you can bet that he’s hungry to get back to the top, but are these two champions as hungry as a racer who hasn’t won his first title. I would say no, just because of the way such things work. Of course there can be exceptions to such things and it will be fun to watch and see what happens in 2010.

Sebastian Vettel will be one of the really hungry and talented racers on the track next year. He hasn’t tasted a championship, yet, and I expect him to be hungrier than Hamilton or Button. He showed a lot of skill and grit during the 2009 Formula One season and I expect him to have learned from his mistakes and the races he took part in. Can Vettel win the title? He has the talent, but it takes more than talent to win a Formula One title. Everything has to come together at the right time, the team, the car, the tracks, the weather and the driver, but expect him and his team to lay their life down trying.

There will be a new racer, with an old racing name, on the Formula One circuit next year driving for the new Spanish team Campos Meta, as Bruno Senna will make his debut behind a Formula One car. This nephew of three-time Formula One World Champion, Aryton Senna, is a 26-year old racer who grew up racing karts and hearing stories about his uncle, who was tragically killed in a accident in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

After the death of his uncle and his father in a motorcycle accident, Senna decided to go away from racing and concentrated on other parts of life, before deciding a few years ago that racing was in his blood and returning to the industry. He’ll be on the track next year, but will the ghost of his famous uncle be with him on the track to help to guide him? We never really know but it’s a nice thing to wish for and think about.

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2010 Formula One Season Begins

Jenson Button is the 2009 FIA Formula One World Champion

Sebastian Vettel would win four times during 2009 and emerge as the runner up to Jenson Button and his first FIA Formula One World Championship title. Bubens Barrichello finished third for Brawn, while Mark Webber would finish the 2009 Formula One campaign in fourth place in the standings, with two wins in the bank. Kimi Raikkonen had a steady but unremarkable 2009 Formula One season for Ferrari, he looked strong at points but never really looked like he could win it all at any point and finished sixth. Nico Rosberg had a good 2009 campaign for Toyota but was in tough company and finished seventh. It isn’t going to get any easier in the years ahead for Rosberg. Nico has talent but is over shadowed by racers of world championship calibre and world championships could be a stretch for him. Jarno Trulli showed tremendous promise at points during the season, but wasn’t able to get a win, which is probably a burr sticking in his rear. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion that Jarno breaks through and has a great season. Will the 2010 campaign be the year for Jarno? Only time will tell, but expect big things from Jarno Trulli in the years ahead. Spanish driver Fernando Alonso had an unremarkable year for Renault that left him in ninth place in the standings. Fernando has a lot more talent than his results would suggest though and if he ever gets behind the wheel of a car with the power and performance, he’ll be hard to beat on a race track. German Timo Glock finished the 2009 Formula One season in the unfortunate position of being the driver that completes the top ten. No Formula One driver wants to finish tenth in the standings.

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Final 2009 FIA Formula One Standings

Jenson Button is getting ready for the biggest weekend of his life, so far!

Jenson Button is in position to achieve his ultimate dream of becoming 2009 Formula One Grand Prix World Champion after a season that started hot but has cooled off in the later stages of the season. Jenson Button is in the enviable position of holding his own fate in his hands. All he has to do is perform up to his ability and stay out of the way of lady luck’s bad side and he should be able to finish well enough in the last two races of the year to close the door on his competition. This would leave his two rivals for the world title Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello looking in and thinking about what could have been.

There are only a maximum of 20 points available in the remaining two races and if Button can finish no worse than third in the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend, he’ll be 2009 Formula One Grand Prix World Champion. At present Button is 14 points ahead of Barrichello and 16 points ahead of Vettel, and although a third place finish isn’t easy, it’s well within the reach of his car. Button needs to stay within himself during this race and not be drawn into a battle to win if the chance isn’t within his reach. He needs to grab whatever points the track and his competitors give him, and not be overly aggressive in his pursuit of a win. The big picture for him and the team is the championship, which they can win by finishing ahead of Barrichello and Vettel.

If he can control his emotions and race within the ability of his car he’ll be the 2009 Formula One World Champion. If he gets drawn into a personal battle to win the race, he could find himself looking back one day and thinking about what could have been.

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Jenson Button Poised to Achieve his Dream

Sebastian Vettel wins the Japanese Grand Prix

Vettel seemed to know this as he came out onto the track because with the drop of the start flag he leaped into the lead and never looked back on his way to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix. Behind him Lewis Hamilton and Jarno Trulli were startled to see Vettel so fast off the start and settled in for along race of seeing if they could catch him. Nicky Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen were behind them battling for their own positions on the track, while Button was struggling to get his car up to speed.

It looked like it was going to be written in stone until Jaime Alguersuari lost control of his Toro Rosso coming out of 130R on lap 44. His problems resulted in the safety car coming out onto the track for five laps and allowed the field to pull a little closer to Vettel and the leaders. It looked like Hamilton and Trulli might get to take another shot at passing Vettel, but the chance never materialized as Hamilton lost space to the leaders and was soon feeling pressure from Rosberg Heidfeld behind him.

In the end Vettel crossed the line 4.8s ahead of Jarno Trulli for the victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton was a further 1.5s behind in third place due to a slower pit stop. Kimi Raikkonen came home in fourth, Nico Rosberg finished fifth for Williams, while Nick Heidfeld held on for sixth for BMW Sauber. This win allows Vettel to keep his hopes for the 2009 Formula One drivers’ championship alive, as he’s now just 16 points behind Button for the championship with two races left. He still has to content with Sebastian Barrichello who is only 14 points behind Button, but both Barrichello and Vettel need help to win. In fact, Button holds his own future in his hands, as long as he can continue to handle the pressure. He only needs to grab seven points in two races to capture the Formula One Championship but they might be the hardest points in his life to capture.

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Vettel Pulls Closer to Button

Jenson Button is trying to close the show on the 2009 Formula One Drivers Championship

The track of Suzuka is a challenging one with lots of high-speed corners and quick changes of momentum as the racers are manoeuvring on the track. The race car that is the strongest in all areas and has the best combination of braking, balance and horsepower is going to have the best chance to win. Finding the correct set up is critical on Suzuka as it’s a medium speed track where aerodynamic performance is going to be a key element for the teams. Tire selection is going to be just as important on the track of Suzuka and Bridgestone has brought hard and soft compound tires for the teams to test on the altered track of Suzuka.

Officials at the track have made a few changes that are going to give racers who have raced here a different look than their use to. This won’t be a concern for Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel because they have never raced at Suzuka before, but for those that have, they’ll have to take another look before they start the race.

Hamilton will certainly be in fine form after a victory in Singapore but with no chance of winning the 2009 Formula One Drivers Championship, he’ll be racing for the team and personal pride.

You can catch the first practice Friday at 10:00 and then stick around for Friday’s second practice session at 14:00. Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix begins Saturday and the race will kick-off at 14:00 on Sunday.

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Formula One Heads to Japan

The current world champion grabbed the lead at the start and was in the lead through out this race, accept for a four lap period from lap 47 to 50, during which he was in the pits getting more fuel. There was a period between laps 21 to 25 during which the safety car was on the track and he started to loose his lead. Force India’s Adrian Sutil collided with Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and then took BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld out as well. Hamilton had to deal with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on his heels, but he was able to get his car back up to speed and re-establish his lead.

The race wasn’t in doubt when the German was forced to refuel on lap 39, which allowed Hamilton to get a good lead and spend the rest of the race saving his brakes and driving safe.

Behind Hamilton things were happening as Jenson Button was able to increase his world championship points lead over his team mate Rubens Barrichello as the team took fifth and sixth place respectively. The final podium places were out of their reach on this day as Timo Glock has a good race and superb pit stops to finish on the podium, along with Fernando Alonzo. Sebastian Vettel had a chance to beat both and make it onto the podium again, but he lost his chance when he was given a drive through penalty after being caught speeding in the pit, which ruined his chance for a podium finish.

Heikki Kovalainen drove a safe but unspectacular race and finished seventh in the second McLaren, while Robert Kubica was able to keep his BMW Sauber ahead of Kazuki Nakajima and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to grab the final world championship point.

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Hamilton Wins at Singapore

Sebastian Vettel is ready to make his run for his first Formula One World Championship

Vettel looked like a confident Red Bull racer heading to Monza, but this isn’t his best circuit and it showed from the beginning of the race. His car lacked the pace to compete with the front runners from the drop of the flag and this was definitely the reason he only managed one point for Red Bull. Vettel and his team don’t have time to ponder this result and are getting ready to make a run for the win on the pavement of Singapore in the next race. He needs to win and score maximum points at Singapore to move a little closer to Button and his goal of a first Formula One World Championship.

Vettel’s engine and car are good enough to win with what we have seen so far this year and Renault and Mercedes have done a great job providing the team with a fast and competitive engine.

Red Bull is still working on their car at present, while teams like Ferrari and McLaren are already working on their race cars for 2010. Red Bull is going to update their car with a new front wing and a little body work for Singapore, but then Formula One teams are always making little changes to their cars.
Vettel and Red Bull will have to run perfect in the last few races of the 2009 Formula One season to have a chance to win the championship. Every day is just another day competing and driving the fastest cars in the world for Vettel, and for sure he’ll be ready to go for the gold.
One thing is for sure, the last four races of the 2009 Formula One season are going to be entertaining, and it will be interesting to watch and see who comes out on top.

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Sebastian Vettel is Ready to Race for Gold

Robert Kubica contemplates a less than successful German Grand Prix

After receiving a drive-through penalty for a brush off the start line, Red Bull’s Webber stayed behind Brawn’s Reubens Barrichello and shadowed him until he made a fuel stop on Lap 14 and then he was in the lead again. He lost the lead again on Lap 19, but by Lap 33 he was back in front of the pack after all the front runners made stops and after that he was just the fastest on the track.

The day also belonged to Sebastian Vettel who made it a really good day for Red Bull despite being totally eclipsed by his teammate by beating the other racers to the line to grab Red Bull’s third one-two victory of the season with a second place finish. Felipe Massa drove fast and skillfully all day for Ferrari and beat Nico Rosberg to the line to take third. Nico Rosberg actually had a superb day and showed flashes of brilliance and deserved a strong fourth place finish.

Brawn’s drivers Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello started strong before falling back over a long race and finished fifth and sixth. Fernando Alonso ran the fastest lap in his Renault and hounded Button and Barrichello all the way to the line to take seventh. If there had been a few more laps he might have been in front of the Brawn drivers as he was looking fast near the end. The final point in the championship drivers race went to Kovalainen as he managed to hang on to grab a point for McLaren with a host of drivers on his heels that included Toyota’s Timo Glock and BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

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Mark Webber Wins German Grand Prix

German Grand Prix is this Sunday

The Nurburgring circuit has a reputation for being one of the best all around tests of the Formula One season for the cars and drivers. It has wide variety of corners, including high-speed areas, medium-speed chicanes, and a few very slow corners that demand the cars have good traction to navigate through them. To race and win at this track requires the best from both car and driver and tomorrow’s German Grand Prix will tell us a lot about the rest of the 2009 Formula One season.

Saturday’s qualifying round for the German Grand Prix was an up and down affair that saw the weather play a major part in determining the final grid standing for the Sunday’s race. Mark Webber grabbed his first pole position of the 2009 Formula One season amid changing weather that contributed to his time of 1:32:230 seconds. Reubens Barrichello waited to the final lap to post a 1:32:357 and take second position on the grid for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix. Jenson Button ran a 1:32:473 to start third tomorrow, while Sebastian Vettel took fourth in a time of 1:32:480. Lewis Hamilton will start fifth, Heikki Kovalainen sixth, while Adrian Sutil had a surprising day for Force India by posting the seventh best qualifying time.

The German Grand Prix will start about 14:00 hour’s German time, so you have a little time to find a channel in your area that will be showing the race.

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German Grand Prix Tomorrow