Formula One news
Button wins on streets of Monaco
24 May 2009 / Results / PhotosJenson Button headed home a Brawn one-two finish in Monte-Carlo on Sunday, confirming his fifth win from six Grands Prix this season. With Rubens Barrichello in second place, Kimi Räikkönen claimed a podium finish for Ferrari with team-mate Massa giving the team a much-needed points boost.
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| Button's Monte-Carlo win was his fifth from six races in 2009 |
Having taken pole position number four of the season on Saturday, Button was joined on the front row by Räikkönen's Ferrari after the Finn missed out on the top spot by just 25 thousands of a second. The weather remained very much the same in Monaco for the duration of the race as it had done in qualifying, with the crowd enjoying the 25°C (77°F) temperatures and blue skies.
Despite carrying the KERS device and expected to enjoy a good getaway, Räikkönen surprisingly lost position to Barrichello as the red lights went out in Monte-Carlo. The whole field sensibly navigated the first corner with no incidents taking place on the first lap, as Button enjoyed the start of a race which would end with a lights-to-flag victory, headed only during the pit stop periods.
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| Champion Hamilton again wrote off his title chances after the race |
Lewis Hamilton endured a tough afternoon after a mistake on Saturday and five-place penalty for a gearbox change saw the World Champion start at the back of the grid. With Timo Glock starting in the pit lane, Hamilton was up to 18th within half a lap before relieving Robert Kubica of 17th place on the entrance to the tunnel on the second tour. The Englishman's afternoon took a nosedive, however, when a second mistake of the weekend saw the McLaren make contact with Nick Heidfeld at Sainte Devote, forcing an unscheduled pit stop. Lapped by the leaders, Hamilton eventually completed a strong recovery drive to seize 12th place. Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen look to bring points home for McLaren although a mistake at the Swimming Pool Complex resulted with a trip into the barriers and put paid to any top eight finishing possibilities.
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| Vettel admitted a loss of crucial points after committing a driving error at St. Devote |
The race saw six retirements from the twenty starters, the most significant being Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel who, after losing several places in the opening laps, lost control of the car and collected the tyre barrier at the first corner. Also in the wars was Sébastien Buemi, who braked too late at the same place on track to take himself and Nelson Piquet's Renault out of the race, much to the disgust of the Brazilian.
The BMW team endured a quiet and tough afternoon as Nick Heidfeld struggled to 11th and Robert Kubica retired in the pit lane on lap 30, with Toyota experimented with a one-stop pit strategy after their disastrous qualifying session. Hoping for an expected safety car, the German Glock was unlucky to not see one all afternoon but still rose to an ultimate top ten result.
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| Giancarlo Fisichella missed out on Force India's first point by under two seconds |
'Best of the rest' after the Brawn and Ferrari teams was Mark Webber's Red Bull which, despite a mid-race charge, failed to unsettle Massa for fourth place. Nico Rosberg, the top driver in practice so far this year, collected three valuable points for Williams with Fernando Alonso's Renault in seventh place. The Toro Rosso team enjoyed a consistent afternoon for Sébastien Bourdais as the Frenchman collected one point and prevented Giancarlo Fisichella and the Force India team from doing so, with less than a couple of seconds between the pair at the race's conclusion.
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| Race winner Button collects his winning trophy from His Serene Highness Prince Albert II |
Button's first win in the principality sees the Frome star extend his championship lead to sixteen points over his team-mate, as third-placed Vettel failed to score in Monaco. Becoming the ninth different driver to win on the famous streets since 2002, Jenson was forced to run to the podium from the pit lane after parking his car in Parc Fermé instead of the usual top three positions on the starting grid!
The Brawn team is now sitting pretty at the top of the constructors' championship with 86 points to Red Bull's 42.5; with the lead being a point more than double the second-placed team's tally, their rivals will have to respond immediately to keep title hopes alive ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix in a fortnight.
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