The 2009 European Grand Prix, formally the 2009 Formula 1 Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe, was the eleventh round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain, on 23 August 2009.[1][2] The race would be won by Rubens Barrichello of Brawn-Mercedes, five years after his last race victory at the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix.[2]
Ahead of the race it was announced that Massa would be out of action for the rest of the season, but had survived major surgery to correct a skull fracture and was therefore out of intensive care.[3] His Ferrari seat was handed to their Italian test driver Luca Badoer, who would make his first F1 appearance since the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix.[3] Elsewhere, Renault had an initial ban for an unsafe release overturned, as they replaced Nelson Piquet, Jr. with GP2 Series front runner Romain Grosjean.[4][5]
Qualifying would result in a surprise result for McLaren-Mercedes, as they scored a surprise one-two with Lewis Hamilton on pole position ahead of Heikki Kovalainen.[2] Rubens Barrichello was next ahead of Sebastian Vettel, while Championship leader Jenson Button claimed fifth on the grid ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.[2]
The start of the race saw the two KERS equipped McLarens sprint into an early lead, Hamilton ahead of Kovalainen, while Barrichello went with them in third.[2] Räikkönen would likewise exploit his KERS assistance to secure fourth, Button tumbled to ninth after a poor launch, while Badoer leapt up from last to fourteenth with his KERS launch.[2]
That, however, would be as good as it got for Badoer, as he was tipped into a spin by the debuting Grosjean at turn one and fell to the back of the field once again.[2] Further around Sébastien Buemi and Timo Glock clashed and were both left with wounded equipment, while Button inadvertently cut the chicane defending eighth from Webber, and hence allowed the Australian through on the next straight.[2]
With that the on-track action was effectively over, with the field spacing out fairly quickly on the second lap as Hamilton led Kovalainen and Barrichello away from Räikkönen.[2] The order hence remained stable until Hamilton and Vettel disappeared into the pits on lap fifteen, with Hamilton dropping to sixth while Vettel had to stop on the following lap after the fuel rig had failed.[2]
Kovalainen would lead for a lap before pitting, releasing Barrichello whom had been stuck behind the #2 McLaren.[2] The Brazilian duly delivered a barrage of flying laps before making his stop on lap nineteen, and duly rejoined right on Hamilton's tail having made up over ten seconds during the four lap sprint.[2]
Hamilton would, however, manage to escape the immediate attentions of the #23 Brawn-Mercedes during the second stint, although he was not able to establish a significant lead.[2] This hence left him vulnerable to a mistake, which duly occurred during his second stop, as the McLaren pitcrew fumbled with his tyres resulting in a slow stop for the Brit.[2]
Three quick laps and a swift stop later and the damage was done, for Barrichello would shoot out of the pitlane clear of the #1 McLaren to secure the lead.[2] Their antics overshadowed Räikkönen's jump on Kovalainen for third, while Webber lost a lot of time in traffic and slipped behind Button and Robert Kubica outside of the points.[2]
With that the race was over, for there would be no on-track overtakes after the opening lap for only the third time in F1 history.[2] That meant that Barrichello claimed his first victory in almost five years ahead of Hamilton and Räikkönen, with Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso, Button and Kubica claiming the remaining points.[2]
Background[]
The rather confused order to the Hungarian Grand Prix meant that Jenson Button had once again retained a healthy advantage in the Championship hunt, leaving Hungary with 70 points to his credit. That translated to an 18.5 point lead over a now second placed Mark Webber, who had moved 4.5 points ahead of his teammate Sebastian Vettel. Behind, Rubens Barrichello had retained fourth ahead of Nico Rosberg, while race winner Lewis Hamilton had jumped to eighth.
In the Constructors Championship Brawn-Mercedes would head into the summer break with 114 points, meaning they still held an ever dwindling advantage atop the Championship. Red Bull-Renault had hence reduced the gap in Hungary, leaving the Eastern European circuit 15.5 points behind the Anglo-German alliance. Behind, Ferrari had eased into third ahead of Toyota, while McLaren-Mercedes had moved back into fifth ahead of Williams-Toyota.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2009 European Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Q2[]
Q3[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2009 European Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 1K |  Lewis Hamilton
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
2 | 1:38.649 | 2 | 1:38.182 | 1 | 1:39.489 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 2K |  Heikki Kovalainen
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
4 | 1:38.816 | 3 | 1:38.230 | 2 | 1:39.532 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 23 |  Rubens Barrichello
|
Brawn-Mercedes
|
8 | 1:39.019 | 1 | 1:38.076 | 3 | 1:39.563 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 15 |  Sebastian Vettel
|
 Red Bull-Renault
|
13 | 1:39.295 | 4 | 1:38.273 | 4 | 1:39.789 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 22 | Jenson Button
|
Brawn-Mercedes
|
1 | 1:38.531 | 6 | 1:38.601 | 5 | 1:39.821 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 4K | Kimi Räikkönen
|
 Ferrari
|
5 | 1:38.843 | 10 | 1:38.782 | 6 | 1:40.144 | 6 | |||
| 7 | 16 | Nico Rosberg
|
Williams-Toyota
|
10 | 1:39.039 | 5 | 1:38.346 | 7 | 1:40.185 | 7 | |||
| 8 | 7 |  Fernando Alonso
|
 Renault
|
12 | 1:39.155 | 8 | 1:38.717 | 8 | 1:40.236 | 8 | |||
| 9 | 14 |  Mark Webber
|
Red Bull-Renault
|
7 | 1:38.983 | 7 | 1:38.625 | 9 | 1:40.239 | 9 | |||
| 10 | 5 |  Robert Kubica
|
BMW Sauber
|
3 | 1:38.806 | 9 | 1:38.747 | 10 | 1:40.512 | 10 | |||
| 11 | 6 | Nick Heidfeld
|
BMW Sauber
|
9 | 1:39.032 | 11 | 1:38.826 | 11 | |||||
| 12 | 20 | Adrian Sutil
|
 Force India-Mercedes
|
11 | 1:39.145 | 12 | 1:38.846 | 12 | |||||
| 13 | 10 | Timo Glock
|
 Toyota
|
15 | 1:39.459 | 13 | 1:38.991 | 13 | |||||
| 14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean
|
Renault
|
14 | 1:39.322 | 14 | 1:39.040 | 14 | |||||
| 15 | 12 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
6 | 1:38.912 | 15 | 1:39.514 | 15 | |||||
| 16 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Force India-Ferrari
|
16 | 1:39.531 | 16 | |||||||
| 17 | 17 | Kazuki Nakajima
|
Williams-Toyota
|
17 | 1:39.795 | 17 | |||||||
| 18 | 9 | Jarno Trulli
|
Toyota
|
18 | 1:39.807 | 18 | |||||||
| 19 | 11 | Jaime Alguersuari
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
|
19 | 1:39.925 | 19 | |||||||
| 20 | 3K | Luca Badoer
|
Ferrari | 20 | 1:41.413 | 20 | |||||||
| Source:[7] | |||||||||||||
- K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
- Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | |
| Heikki Kovalainen | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | |
| Sebastian Vettel | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Jenson Button | |
| Kimi Räikkönen | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | |
| Fernando Alonso | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Mark Webber | |
| Robert Kubica | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Nick Heidfeld | |
| Adrian Sutil | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | Timo Glock | |
| Romain Grosjean | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Sébastien Buemi | |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | Kazuki Nakajima | |
| Jarno Trulli | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | Jaime Alguersuari | |
| Luca Badoer | ______________ |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The full results for the 2009 European Grand Prix are outlined below:
- K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
Milestones[]
- 500th individual entry for a Renault chassis.[9]
- Kimi Räikkönen made his 150th Grand Prix start.[1]
- Luca Badoer made his 49th Grand Prix start.[1]
- It was also Badoer's first start since the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix.
- Debut race for Romain Grosjean.[1]
- Lewis Hamilton claimed the 75th pole position for a Mercedes engine.[1]
- First McLaren front row lock-out since the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix.
- This was also the first instance of an all KERS front row.
- Tenth win for Rubens Barrichello.[1]
- This was the 100th win for a Brazilian born driver.
- Brawn claimed their seventh win as a constructor.[1]
- Mercedes secured their 75th win as an engine supplier.[1]
- Räikkönen claimed his 60th podium finish.[1]
- Timo Glock recorded his first (and only) fastest lap.[1]
- Toyota claimed their third and final fastest lap as a constructor.[1]
- Also the fourth and final fastest lap recorded by a Toyota engine.[1]
- Third race in Formula One history in which there were no on track overtakes.
Standings[]
Jenson Button had maintained his grip on the 2009 World Championship after claiming two points in Valencia, moving him onto 72 points as the season entered its second phase. Behind, Rubens Barrichello had moved back into second and eighteen behind his teammate with victory in Valencia, while Mark Webber had slipped to third, 20.5 points off the lead. Sebastian Vettel had likewise lost ground in fourth but remained ahead of Nico Rosberg, while Lewis Hamilton moved up to sixth.
In the Constructors Championship Brawn-Mercedes had managed to extend their lead at the head of the field, moving onto 126 points for the season. Red Bull-Renault were still in second, but had slipped 27.5 points behind the leaders, their failure to score potentially pivotal to the Championship outcome. Behind, Ferrari had retained third ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, with the Anglo-German alliance having jumped ahead of Toyota to claim fourth.
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
See Also[]
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References[]
Images and videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 '11. Europe 2009', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/europe.aspx, (Accessed 22/03/2020)
- ↑ 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 'Barrichello pays tribute to Massa with Valencia triumph', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 23/08/2009), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/151336/1/281-not-out-as-barrichello-pays-tribute-to-massa, (Accessed 22/03/2020)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 [Archived] Jonathan Noble, 'Badoer to replace Massa at Valencia', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 11/08/2009), https://www.webcitation.org/5j0uZhmGK, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
- ↑ Steven English, 'Renault to race at Valencia after appeal', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 17/08/2009), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/77736/renault-to-race-at-valencia-after-appeal, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
- ↑ 'Renault drive chance for Grosjean', news.bbc.co.uk, British Broadcasting Company, 18/08/2009), http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8206904.stm, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
- ↑ 'Europe 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/europe/engages.aspx, (Accessed 22/03/2020)
- ↑ '2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/853/europe/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
- ↑ 'Europe 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
- ↑ [Archived] '2009 European GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410170118/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2009&gp=European%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 23/03/2020) - Original
| V T E |  European Grand Prix
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|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Brands Hatch (1983, 1985), Nürburgring (1984, 1995–1996, 1999–2007), Donington (1993), Jerez (1994, 1997), Valencia (2008–2012), Baku (2016) | 
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