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| Brawn GP takes double in Australia | 
Jenson Button, Brawn GP
The new Brawn GP team has won a remarkable season-opening Australian Grand Prix following a front-row lockout in qualifying on Saturday. Jenson Button took the chequered flag under safety car conditions in a race full of drama, as Rubens Barrichello's second place completed a dream weekend for Formula 1's debutants.
One of the most anticipated Formula One World Championships ever finally got underway in Melbourne after a longer off-season than usual; conditions remained pleasant on race day morning as they had for the entire weekend, with ambient temperatures fluctuating around 29°C for the duration of the Grand Prix. The Brawn team's front row qualifying confirmed a very unusual looking grid on Saturday, particularly as World Champion Lewis Hamilton started the race at the back of the grid following a five-place penalty for a gearbox change. Toyota elected to start its cars from the pit lane when Glock and Trulli were also relegated for running illegal, flexible rear wing elements during qualifying.
With the Toyotas waiting in the pitlane, Button pulled away comfortably at the start as team-mate Barrichello suffered a terrible getaway, plummiting to seventh place; his optimism to make up lost time was coupled by a chain reaction at Turn 1 as contact from Kovalainen's McLaren pushed Rubens into Webber's Red Bull which forced the Australian into Nick Heidfeld. The BMW's spin, in turn, forced Alonso's Renault into evacuation across the grass. Webber's resultant half-spin in the middle of the pack saw him finally collected by Kovalainen, putting Heikki out of the race at the end of the lap with the Red Bull and BMW also out of contention for the remainder of the afternoon
Button had stretched his lead to a large four seconds by the end of the first lap, with Vettel maintaining the pace comfortably for the first stint of the race. Massa ran third for Ferrari during the opening laps, although compatriot Barrichello was marooned in seventh with a damaged car following more minor contact with Räikkönen's Ferrari, who battled for fourth with Kubica.
The first of two safety cars was deployed when Kazuki Najajima lost control of his Williams, putting two wheels over the kerb of Turn 4 - the Japanese driver suffered a heavy impact as the car's front end took off briefly after contact with the concrete wall and a subsequent double spin.
Lewis Hamilton had a dramatic afternoon, coming up from 18th at the start to 11th by the end of the second lap. An entertaining battle for ninth with 2006 GP2 rival Piquet resulted in the Englishman easily taking ninth, with the Renault spinning off the circuit at Turn 1 on the restart. Hamilton's charge continued throughout the race with a late-race incident elevating him to four place by the finish.
Timo Glock was frustrated by his lack of KERS, as Alonso used the system to maximum effect during the race to stay ahead of the Toyota on the start/finish straight. The German's patience eventually got the better of him as he spun at Turn 15, allowing the Ferrari of Raikkonen through; Alonso's sighting in the mirrors of the approaching Toyota allowed him to carry on with just the slightest contact from behind.
Ferrari endured a frustrating day with both Massa, followed later by Raikkonen, retiring their cars in the garage in what was another disasterous Australian Grand Prix for the team.
The race was brought to a dramatic close as the battle for second place intensified with just a handful of laps remaining; a collision between Kubica and Vettel at Turn 3 saw both cars inlocking and ending up on the grass before each having their own accident at Turn 5, ending their races just three laps from home. With the safety car deployed, the German circulated with an errant right-front wheel, only to pull off at Turn 11 on the following lap. During the safety car period a spin for Jarno Trulli resulted in the Toyota driving retaking his podium position from Lewis Hamilton.
The race was the first to be finished under safety car positions since the Canadian Grand Prix of 1999. Brawn GP becomes the first constructor to claim a 1-2 on its debut since March in 1970, as Button took the 200th victory for a British driver in Formula 1.
| | Placed by Erwin Ebbinge on Sunday, 29 March, 03:50 AM |
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