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The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix) was a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race held on 19 April 2009 at the
Shanghai International Circuit The Shanghai International Circuit (), also called the SAIC Shanghai International Circuit () for sponsorship purposes, is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading District, Shanghai, China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the ...
,
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
,
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
of
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
won the race after starting from
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
. Both the race win and pole position were the first for Red Bull team. Mark Webber, also of Red Bull, finished second followed by the two
Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 T ...
's of
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
and
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
.
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
's
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...
and
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
finished fifth and sixth, ahead of
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
's Timo Glock and Scuderia Toro Rosso's
Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Humbert Buemi (; born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota and in Formula E for Envision. In formula racing, Buemi competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
in seventh and eighth.


Background

Heading into the event,
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
of
Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 T ...
led the Drivers' Championship by 5 points from team-mate
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
and by a further 1.5 points from
Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Trulli won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix with Renault in Formula One, Renault. He regularly competed in Formula ...
of
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
.
Brawn GP Brawn GP was a Formula One constructor which competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was formed in 2009 by a management buyout led by Ross Brawn of the Honda Racing F1 T ...
led
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
by 8.5 points in the Constructors' Championship, with
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
and BMW Sauber a further 12.5 points behind. Prior to the race, the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA) International Court of Appeal confirmed the legality of the
diffuser Diffuser may refer to: Aerodynamics * Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties * Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds * The channel bet ...
designs on the Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota team cars. Following this ruling, Renault and
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
decided to run an updated diffuser design on their cars during the race. It was a hurried move by both teams, with Renault fitting it to Alonso's car for the first time on the Saturday before the race.
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
announced that its team manager Luca Baldisserri was taken off the track operations to be replaced by race engineer Chris Dyer. The reshuffle was undertaken after Ferrari failed to score a point in the first two races of the season. Ferrari also announced that both its drivers, Kimi Räikkönen and
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
, would not use the
Kinetic Energy Recovery System A kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle's kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir (for example a flywheel or high voltage batteries) for later use under ...
(KERS) in the race, citing reliability and safety issues. BMW Sauber, on the other hand, declared that
Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. Kubica competed in Formula One between and , and the World Rally Championship ...
would use KERS for the first time during the Friday practice session. Kubica had not used the system in the first two races as there were concerns that the additional weight would put him at a disadvantage. However, Kubica opted not to run the device any further after Friday practice, as did the Renault team, reducing the number of KERS-equipped cars to three. Italian teams and drivers indicated their support for the victims of
2009 L'Aquila earthquake An earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy, at 03:32 Central European Time#Central European Summer Time, CEST (01:32 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on 6 April 2009. It was rated 5.8 or 5.9 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on ...
through charity initiative ''"
Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
nel cuore"'' (''Abruzzo in my heart'') led by Italian drivers Jarno Trulli and
Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...
. Ferrari displayed the writing ''"Abruzzo nel cuore"'' on their cars while Trulli wore the logo on his overalls. The Toro Rosso cars had the message ''"Vicini All'Abruzzo"'' (''All neighbouring Abruzzo'') on their cars.


Event report


Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held prior to the race; two sessions on Friday April 17, 2009, each lasting 90 minutes, and one 60 minute session on Saturday April 18, 2009. World Champion
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
's McLaren was fastest at the end of the first practice session on Friday morning ahead of the Brawn GP cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Hamilton's McLaren team-mate
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...
was fourth fastest. Hamilton, whose McLaren MP4-24 car was fitted with a new interim diffuser and front wing, clocked his fastest lap of 1:37.334, around a tenth of a second clear of Button, around sixty minutes into the session.
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
's Mark Webber was fifth in the session, with Toyota's Trulli and Timo Glock sixth and eighth.
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
,
Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German and Finnish former racing driver and entrepreneur, who competed under the German flag in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes, and w ...
and
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...
completed the top ten lap times of the first session. Button was the fastest in Friday afternoon's second practice session, followed by Rosberg and Barrichello. Red Bull drivers Webber and
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...
who headed the time-sheets during the initial phases of the session were eventually classified fourth and fifth fastest respectively. Toyota cars once again managed a competitive result as Trulli and Glock finished sixth and eighth with Williams' Kazuki Nakajima splitting them. The two McLarens could not recreate their results from the morning session with Kovalainen finishing ninth fastest and Hamilton 13th. Williams' Rosberg was quickest in the practice session on Saturday morning. Rosberg, who slid off the track onto the gravel at the start of the session, timed 1:36.133 to top the timesheets, followed by Trulli and Hamilton. Button finished fourth with Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr. clocking the fifth fastest lap time for the session. Piquet's team-mate Fernando Alonso on the other hand, whose Renault R29 car was fitted with new diffuser and without the KERS, could only manage a time good enough for 19th fastest. BMW Sauber's
Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for AF Corse. Kubica competed in Formula One between and , and the World Rally Championship ...
who also removed his KERS for this session, improved significantly from his results in the earlier two sessions. Timo Glock's Toyota TF109 car faced gearbox problems early in the session and had to change the gearbox for the upcoming qualifying session. Glock received a five-place grid penalty for this gearbox change. The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. Sebastian Vettel achieved his second career
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
– and the first for his Red Bull Racing team – at the end of the session. Vettel, who ran only one flying lap each in the final two parts of qualifying, due to problems with the driveshafts of his car, edged out Fernando Alonso by two-tenths of a second in the final part of qualifying. Red Bull's other driver Mark Webber finished third, immediately ahead of Brawn GP cars of Barrichello and Button. Kimi Räikkönen, after a disappointing performance during practice, secured eighth position behind Trulli in sixth and Rosberg in seventh place. Hamilton and Toro Rosso's
Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Olivier Humbert Buemi (; born 31 October 1988) is a Swiss racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota and in Formula E for Envision. In formula racing, Buemi competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
completed the top ten on the grid. Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen, Felipe Massa, Timo Glock and Kazuki Nakajima made up 11th to 15th on the grid. Drivers eliminated in the first qualifying session and classified 16th to 20th were Sébastien Bourdais, Nelson Piquet Jr., Robert Kubica, Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella. Due to his five-place penalty, Glock was placed 19th and Nakajima, Bourdais, Piquet, Kubica and Sutil were each promoted by one position in the revised starting grid.


Race

Robert Kubica and Timo Glock started from the pit lane. Due to heavy rain, the first eight laps of the race were run under the
safety car In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
. Sutil, Rosberg and Alonso made their first
pit stops Pit or PIT may refer to: Structure * Ball pit, a recreation structure * Casino pit, the part of a casino which holds gaming tables * Trapping pit, pits used for hunting * Pit (motor racing), an area of a racetrack where pit stops are conduc ...
during the safety car period so they were at the back of the pack when the green flag was shown. Lewis Hamilton made early progress and overtook Jarno Trulli and Kimi Räikkönen, before he spun on lap 12 and dropped back to 10th. Meanwhile, Jenson Button overtook Rubens Barrichello for third after the Brazilian ran wide. Trulli and Räikkönen were quite slow in the early laps and they dropped back. Hamilton made progress once again and was 7th on lap 11 before another mistake which dropped him one place down. Webber made his first scheduled stop on lap 14 and Vettel on the following lap. At this point, Button led from Barrichello, Vettel, Buemi, Massa and Webber. On lap 17, Robert Kubica crashed into Jarno Trulli on the run to the last corner. Kubica damaged his front wing and Trulli his rear wing, which caused him to crawl one lap slowly into the pits to retire. The safety car was deployed due to debris left on the track. While avoiding the slowing Trulli, Vettel suffered a minor collision with Buemi, who damaged his front wing in the process. Buemi made his pit stop at that point, along with both Brawn GP drivers and Sutil, who had his second stop at this point and was set to finish the race from this point. Felipe Massa suffered an electrical problem during the safety car period and he stopped on the back straight. At the restart, Sébastien Bourdais spun before the green flag and dropped a number of places. The race continued with Vettel leading from Button while Webber, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Barrichello, Kovalainen and Buemi rounded out the top eight. Piquet crashed on lap 28 and damaged his front wing but was able to continue. Button missed his braking point at the hairpin on the following lap, allowing Webber through. Webber ran wide two laps later and Button was ahead again, until Webber passed him from the outside in turn 7. Hamilton made his only scheduled stop on lap 33, and his team-mate Kovalainen followed a lap later. Vettel stopped on lap 37 and Webber on lap 39, while two Brawn cars ran until laps 42 (Button) and 43 (Barrichello). Buemi was the last driver to make a scheduled stop, on lap 45 and after that race order was: Vettel, Webber, Button, Barrichello, Hamilton, Kovalainen, Sutil and Heidfeld. Nico Rosberg had tried intermediate tyres on his second stop but he spun soon after and pitted again for full wets. Hamilton continued with a lot of mistakes so Kovalainen and Sutil were able to pass him. Then on lap 51, Sutil crashed heavily before turn 5, ending his race. Heidfeld had to avoid Sutil's tyre which had bounced back to the track and Glock and Buemi went past him. Vettel stayed in the lead until the end, taking his second Grand Prix victory and his first for Red Bull Racing. It was the first ever win for Red Bull as a constructor. His team-mate Webber achieved his best career result with second place while Button got his third successive podium with third place. Barrichello finished fourth, Kovalainen fifth, Hamilton sixth, Glock seventh and Buemi eighth. A total of 17 drivers were classified, including Sutil who had retired. During the podium ceremony, there was confusion when "
God Save the Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...
", 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 has been based in the UK since its foundation in , but has been registered with the Austrian national racing authority since , reflecting its Austrian ownership. When Vettel recorded Red Bull's second win at the 2009 British Grand Prix, the Austrian anthem was played. It was also the first Grand Prix victory for the
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
-based Formula One team since the 1999 European Grand Prix when it was named
Stewart Grand Prix Stewart Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor and racing team founded by triple Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart (racing driver), Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford Motor Company, Ford works ...
.


Classification


Qualifying

''Cars that used KERS are marked with'' "‡" * Timo Glock was issued a 5 place grid-penalty for changing a gearbox during Saturday practice.


Race


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.


References


External links

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