Formula 1 Wiki

READ MORE

Formula 1 Wiki

The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, formally known as the 2009 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix (alternately the 2009年中国大奖赛 or 2009 Zhōngguó dàjiǎng sài in Chinense), was the third round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Shanghai International Circuit near Shanghai, China, on 19 April 2009.[1][2] The race would be significant as the first race victory for Red Bull as a constructor, as Sebastian Vettel led teammate Mark Webber to the chequered flag.[2]

Ahead of the race the FIA dismissed appeals by seven teams against the "double diffuser" designs used by Brawn-Mercedes, Toyota and Williams-Toyota, meaning those three were free to use the solution for the rest of the season.[3] Renault and McLaren-Mercedes duly revealed their first iterations of the design on their cars in China, with Fernando Alonso running it on his car for the first time during qualifying.[2]

The update to Alonso's car worked beautifully, for the Spaniard would claim second on the grid in between the two Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber.[2] It was Vettel who was the faster of the two, two tenths faster than Alonso to secure Red Bull's maiden pole position, while Championship leader Jenson Button claimed fifth behind his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello.[2]

Heavy rain on raceday ensured that the race would start behind the Safety Car, with the entire field starting on full wet tyres.[2] The conditions proved so poor that the safety car remained out until lap eight, with Adrian Sutil, Nico Rosberg and Alonso deciding to make their first stops during the procession.[2]

When the race did get underway Vettel was able to establish a small lead, leaving teammate Webber to fend off the early attentions of the two white Brawns.[2] Indeed, once the Australian escaped their attentions Button would make a move on Barrichello for third, as behind Lewis Hamilton climbed up to fifth, before spinning all on his own and dropping back to tenth.[2]

Webber was the first of the lead group to stop on lap fourteen, with Vettel following him in a lap later to leave Button and Barrichello at the head of the field.[2] The two Brawns would lead until the safety car appeared for a second time, caused by a collision between Jarno Trulli and Robert Kubica.[2]

As the SC signs were deployed Vettel almost found himself out of the race, for in avoiding a limping Trulli the German youth received a whack from Sébastien Buemi.[2] Miraculously, however, it was the Swiss racer who received front wing damage and was forced to pit, while Vettel managed to continue and retook the lead ahead of a rejoining Button.[2]

Vettel duly escaped at the restart, while Button tried to go with him, before a mistake at the hairpin saw the #22 Brawn run wide and gift second to Webber.[2] With that the two Red Bulls were away, and would only lose the lead to the Brawns again when they made their second stops on lap 37 and 39.[2]

Once Button and Barrichello stopped the race was effectively over, with the only action in the closing stages seeing Hamilton slip down the field with a series of errors, while Adrian Sutil crashed heavily at turn five.[2] There was some surprise that Sutil's accident did not trigger a safety car, as an errant wheel from the Force India bounced right across the track in front of Nick Heidfeld, who immediately dropped behind Timo Glock and Buemi when trying to avoid it.[2]

Out front, meanwhile, Vettel cruised through the final laps to claim victory, with teammate Webber ensuring that there were two maiden wins for constructors in the opening three rounds of 2009.[2] Behind, Button claimed a lonely third ahead of Barrichello, with Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton, Glock and Buemi claiming the remaining points.[2]

Background[]

Jenson Button extended his Championship lead as a result of the Malaysian Grand Prix, leaving Sepang with fifteen points to his name and two race wins. Rubens Barrichello had likewise retained second on ten points, while Jarno Trulli was third and the first driver with half a point, leaving Malaysia on 8.5 points. Timo Glock was half a point behind in fourth, while Nick Heidfeld had moved into fifth.

In the Constructors Championship Brawn-Mercedes had retained their advantage at the head of the pack, leaving Malaysia on 25 points. Toyota had remained in second, 8.5 points behind, while BMW Sauber had leapt into third on four points. Elsewhere, McLaren-Mercedes were on the board with a single point, while Force India-Mercedes and Ferrari were the only constructors yet to score.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-24 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
2 Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-24 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
3 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F60 Ferrari 056 2009 2.4 V8 B
4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F60 Ferrari 056 2009 2.4 V8 B
5 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.09 BMW P86/9 2.4 V8 B
6 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.09 BMW P86/9 2.4 V8 B
7 Spain Fernando Alonso France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R29 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
8 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France ING Renault F1 Team Renault R29 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
9 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF109 Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8 B
10 Germany Timo Glock Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF109 Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8 B
11 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR4 Ferrari 056 2008 2.4 V8 B
12 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR4 Ferrari 056 2008 2.4 V8 B
14 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB5 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB5 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 B
16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW31 Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8 B
17 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW31 Toyota RVX-09 2.4 V8 B
20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM02 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM02 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
22 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Brawn GP F1 Team Brawn BGP 001 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
23 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Brawn GP F1 Team Brawn BGP 001 Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 B
Source:[4]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 13 1:36.565 1 1:35.130 1 1:36.184 1
2 7 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 11 1:36.443 7 1:35.803 2 1:36.381 2
3 14 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 3 1:35.751 2 1:35.173 3 1:36.466 3
4 23 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes 2 1:35.701 3 1:35.503 4 1:36.493 4
5 22 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes 1 1:35.533 4 1:35.556 5 1:36.532 5
6 9 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 9 1:36.308 5 1:35.645 6 1:36.835 6
7 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 5 1:35.941 8 1:35.809 7 1:37.397 7
8 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 6 1:36.137 9 1:35.856 8 1:38.089 8
9 1K United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 4 1:35.776 6 1:35.740 9 1:38.595 9
10 12 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8 1:36.284 10 1:35.965 10 1:39.321 10
11 6K Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 12 1:36.525 11 1:35.975 11
12 2K Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 14 1:36.646 12 1:36.032 12
13 3 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 7 1:36.178 13 1:36.033 13
14* 10 Germany Timo Glock Japan Toyota 10 1:36.364 14 1:36.066 19
15 17 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 15 1:36.673 15 1:36.193 14
16 11 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 16 1:36.906 15
17 8 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France Renault 17 1:36.908 16
18 5 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 18 1:36.966 17
19 20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Mercedes 19 1:37.669 18
20 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India-Mercedes 20 1:37.672 19
Source:[5]
  • K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
  • Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
  • * Glock was awarded a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.[5]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 2
______________ Fernando Alonso
Row 2 3 ______________
Mark Webber 4
______________ Rubens Barrichello
Row 3 5 ______________
Jenson Button 6
______________ Jarno Trulli
Row 4 7 ______________
Nico Rosberg 8
______________ Kimi Räikkönen
Row 5 9 ______________
Lewis Hamilton 10
______________ Sébastien Buemi
Row 6 11 ______________
Nick Heidfeld 12
______________ Heikki Kovalainen
Row 7 13 ______________
Felipe Massa 14
______________ Kazuki Nakajima
Row 8 15 ______________
Sébastien Bourdais 16
______________ Nelson Piquet, Jr.
Row 9 17 ______________
Robert Kubica* 18
______________ Adrian Sutil
Row 10 19 ______________
Timo Glock* 20
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
  • * Kubica and Glock would start the race from the pitlane.[5]

Race[]

Report[]

On the podium, there was confusion when "God Save the Queen", the British national anthem was played for winning constructor Red Bull instead of "Land der Berge, Land am Strome", the Austrian national anthem. Red Bull Racing is based in the UK, but is registered with the Austrian national racing authority, reflecting its Austrian ownership. When Vettel recorded Red Bull's second win at the 2009 British Grand Prix, the Austrian anthem was played.

Results[]

The full results for the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 56 1:57:43.485 1 10
2 14 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 56 +10.970s 3 8
3 22 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes 56 +44.975s 5 6
4 23 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes 56 +1:03.704 4 5
5 2K Finland Heikki Kovalainen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 56 +1:05.102 12 4
6 1K United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 56 +1:11.866 9 3
7 10 Germany Timo Glock Japan Toyota 56 +1:14.476 19 2
8 12 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 56 +1:16.439 10 1
9 7 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 56 +1:24.309 2
10 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 56 +1:31.750 8
11 11 France Sébastien Bourdais Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 56 +1:34.156 15
12 6K Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 56 +1:35.834 11
13 5 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 56 +1:46.853 17
14 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella India Force India-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 20
15 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 55 +1 Lap 7
16 8 Brazil Nelson Piquet, Jr. France Renault 54 +2 Laps 16
17* 20 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Mercedes 50 Accident 18
Ret 17 Japan Kazuki Nakajima United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 43 Transmission 14
Ret 3 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 20 Electrical 13
Ret 9 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 18 Damage 6
Source:[6]
  • K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
  • * Sutil was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]

Milestones[]

  • Sebastian Vettel secured the first pole position for Red Bull as a constructor.[1]
    • Also the twentieth pole for a car using #15 as its race number.[7]
  • Second career victory for Vettel.[1]
  • Red Bull claimed their first victory as a constructor.[1]
    • This was also Red Bull's maiden one-two finish.
    • 116th win for Renault as an engine supplier.[1]

Standings[]

Jenson Button retained his lead in the Championship after the third round of the season, leaving China with a six point advantage. Rubens Barrichello had likewise retained second, moving onto fifteen points, while Sebastian Vettel had rocketed up to third with his victory. Timo Glock had remained in fourth ahead of Mark Webber, with thirteen drivers on the board after three races.

In the Constructors Championship Brawn-Mercedes remained at the head of the field, and had ensured that they had a fair advantage of sixteen and a half point. Red Bull-Renault, meanwhile, had been the big winners in China as they shot into second on 19.5 points, with Toyota one of a handful of teams to make way for the Austro-Anglo-French combination. McLaren-Mercedes had also moved up the field into fourth, while Ferrari and Force India-Mercedes had once again failed to score.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Jenson Button 21
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 15
3 Germany Sebastian Vettel 10 ▲12
4 Germany Timo Glock 10
5 Australia Mark Webber 9.5 ▲4
6 Italy Jarno Trulli 8.5 ▼3
7 Germany Nick Heidfeld 4 ▼2
8 Spain Fernando Alonso 4 ▼2
9 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 4 ▲11
10 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 4
11 Germany Nico Rosberg 3.5 ▼4
12 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 3 ▼4
13 France Sébastien Bourdais 1 ▼2
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes 36
2 Austria Red Bull-Renault 19.5 ▲5
3 Japan Toyota 18.5 ▼1
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 8 ▲4
5 Germany BMW Sauber 4 ▼2
6 France Renault 4 ▼2
7 Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 4 ▼1
8 United Kingdom Williams-Toyota 3.5 ▼3

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 '3. China 2009', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/chine.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 'Vettel storms to first Red Bull F1 victory in China!', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 20/03/2020), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/145535/1/vettel-delivers-red-bull-first-f1-win-in-shanghai, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
  3. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Diff
  4. 'China 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/chine/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 '2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/845/china/qualifying.html, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
  6. 6.0 6.1 'China 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/chine/classement.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
  7. [Archived] '2009 Chinese GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409185943/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2009&gp=Chinese%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 20/03/2020) - Original
V T E China Chinese Grand Prix
Circuits Shanghai International Circuit (2004–present)
Races 2004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
V T E 2009 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Ferrari • BMW Sauber • Renault • Toyota • Toro Rosso • Red Bull • Williams • Force India • Brawn
Engines BMW • Ferrari • Mercedes • Renault • Toyota
Drivers Hamilton • 2 Kovalainen • 3 Massa • 3 Badoer • 3 Fisichella • 4 Räikkönen • 5 Kubica • 6 Heidfeld • 7 Alonso • 8 Piquet • 8 Grosjean • 9 Trulli • 10 Glock • 10 Kobayashi • 11 Bourdais • 11 Alguersuari • 12 Buemi • 14 Webber • 15 Vettel • 16 Rosberg • 17 Nakajima • 20 Sutil • 21 Fisichella • 21 Liuzzi • 22 Button • 23 Barrichello
Other Drivers De la Rosa • Paffett • Turvey • Gené • Schumacher • Bianchi • López • Zampieri • Zipoli • Klien • Rossi • Gutiérrez • Baguette • Di Grassi • Tung • Hartley • Coulthard • Ricciardo • Hülkenberg • Soucek • Di Resta • Hildebrand • Davidson • Wurz • Conway • Ericsson
Cars Brawn BGP 001 • Red Bull RB5 • McLaren MP4-24 • Ferrari F60 • Toyota TF109 • BMW Sauber F1.09 • Williams FW31 • Renault R29 • Force India VJM02 • Toro Rosso STR4
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Australia • Malaysia • China • Bahrain • Spain • Monaco • Turkey • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Europe • Belgium • Italy • Singapore • Japan • Brazil • Abu Dhabi
Tests Algarve: 1 • Mugello: 1 • 2 • 3 • Valencia: 1 • Bahrain: 1 • 2 • Jerez: 1 • 2 • 3 • Young Driver Test • Barcelona: 1 • Fiorano: 1
See also 2008 Formula One Season • 2010 Formula One Season • Category
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article