Formula One news
Delighted Barrichello grabs home pole
17 October 2009 / Results / PhotosRubens Barrichello has clinched an extremely popular home pole position in Brazil after a chaotic and much-delayed qualifying session at Interlagos which ended almost an hour and three quarters behind schedule. Championship rivals Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel start 14th and 16th after a rain-interrupted day.
Qualifying for the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix will forever be remembered for the chaos created by a long-lasting and very heavy downpour at the Interlagos circuit. Following a morning practice session which lasted for just over ten minutes due to a delay and a red flag, qualifying was also delayed in São Paulo and the session would not meet its conclusion until 4:45pm.
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| Fisichella spun his Ferrari upon exiting Turn 2 |
With identical track and air temperatures at their lowest of the weekend - 17°C (63°F) - high winds continued to blow on a day when the weather radar was temporarily out of order due to being struck by lightning. Giancarlo Fisichella was the first man eliminated from the session as the Ferrari spun at Turn 2; with the Italian's car blocking the track at the Senna S, the session was halted.
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| Vettel blamed bad timing for being caught in heavier rain |
Once marshals had cleared Fisichella's stricken car, several drivers would find themselves being caught out as the rain worsened; the biggest name was that of Sebastian Vettel, as the championship contender was powerless to improve and blamed bad timing for starting a lowly 16th on the grid.
Both McLarens were also eliminated at the earliest point, with World Champion Lewis Hamilton out-qualified by team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and left praying for sunshine on Sunday. Nick Heidfeld's BMW will join Fisichella at the tail-end of the grid, arguably a safer place than the midfield in such conditions as on Saturday.
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| Liuzzi slammed into the barriers after floating into Turn 1 |
The 15-minute Q2, from which grid positions 11 to 15 are decided, was also started late and once the green light did come on a number of individuals questioned the decision of the Race Director as rivers still poured across the surface of the track. As several drivers ran off the circuit, Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India spun out of control on the pit straight before narrowly missing Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari and slamming into the barriers at Turn 1, causing the second stoppage of the day.
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| The Medical Car seemingly completed most laps of the day |
With the Italian uninjured and heavy rain lashing the track, the Medical Car performed a series of track inspections, each separated by 15 minute intervals, until fans - somewhat disbelievingly - saw the notice that the session would restart at 16:10 local time, 10 minutes after qualifying should have ended.
With Liuzzi already eliminated, 2009 debutants Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean will fill grid slots 12 and 13, behind Kamui Kobayashi as the Toyota sub for Timo Glock starts an impressive 11th on his Grand Prix debut. A less than impressive performance for championship leader Jenson Button, however, leaves the Brawn driver 14th, just two places in front of Sebastian Vettel and with much work to do on Sunday.
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| Buemi hauled the Toro Rosso into a superb sixth place |
Ironically, following the delays and carnage, Q3 started - as planned - 8 minutes after Q2 and saw 9 teams fighting for pole position.
With lap times being traded constantly, Fernando Alonso failed to make an impression and will set off from 10th, behind Kubica and Nakajima. Having been rapid all day, Nico Rosberg will no doubt be disappointed to qualify only 7th after Williams became the only team to see both of its cars make Q3.
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| Webber and Alonso start sixth and tenth respectively |
A stunning result for Sébastien Buemi sees the Toro Rosso pilot achieve a career-best sixth on the grid behind 2007 Champion Kimi Räikkönen as Jarno Trulli qualifies fourth for Toyota, two places down on his position of last year. The leading Force India of Adrian Sutil posted a last-gasp time to qualifying third, also a career-best placing.
The dying moments of qualifying soon turned into a fight for pole between the two championship-leading teams; Mark Webber missed out on the top spot by just 92 thousandths of a second as Barrichello snatched the best time of 1:19.576, much to the delight of the Brazilian crowd. The Paulista, who starts from his first pole since Brazil five years ago, must finish at least fourth to keep his hopes alive on Sunday with Vettel needing to rise to a minimum of second to take his charge to Abu Dhabi.
What promises to be a fantastic Brazilian Grand Prix will start at 2pm local time on Sunday (BST -3 / GMT -2).
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