Kuala Lumpur, Sepang

03-05 April 2009

Lap Distance 5.543 Km

Race 56 Laps 310.408 Km

Jenson Button has won the Malaysian GP for Brawn GP making it two in a row for the team, and to add to their delight Rubens Barrichello brought his car home in 5th place. The race was dramatically red flagged and abandoned due to torrential rain with the result being cut at lap 31 and half points awarded. The start saw Nico Rosberg snatch the lead from Trulli, Alonso and Button with Barrichello 4th. Kovalainen went out on the opening lap and Kubica limped off the grid very slowly retiring on lap 2. Rosberg led until lap 15, making his first stop and rejoining in 4th place. Jarno Trulli then led from an ever more determined Button who took the lead when the Toyota pitted on lap 17. Button then upped his pace considerably putting in two cracking laps before pitting on lap 19, returning to the track comfortably in front. On lap 21 the order at the front was Button, Rosberg, Trulli, Barrichello, Alonso and Hamilton, but by now rain was clearly imminent. Raikkonen had pitted on lap 18 and wets were fitted but this decision was too early and he struggled for pace. Glock meanwhile had pitted for inters and was speeding through the field going from 8th on lap 25 to 2nd on lap 28 as conditions deteriorated further. At half distance the order was Button, Glock, Webber, Heidfeld and Barrichello. Race leader Button pitted for inters on lap 29 followed by Glock for full wets on lap 30. Button was back for full wets on lap 31 as pandemonium broke out in the pit lane with the teams scrambling to fit wets. By now the conditions were almost undriveable with torrential rain and very poor light, and on lap 31 the race was red flagged and the safety Car deployed. The cars reformed on the grid, but as the 2 hour race deadline approached it was announced that the race would be abandoned and half points awarded. So the dream start to the 2009 season for Jenson Button and the Brawn GP team continues, next stop China.

Second free practice at Sepang today saw something of a return to normality with the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa occupying the top 2 slots with Vettel and Rosberg 3rd and 4th fastest. Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello rounded out the top 6 in a session threatened by rain but remaining dry throughout. Jenson Button was 7th fastest for Brawn but the McLarens again struggled for overall pace with Kovalainen 9th and Hamilton 11th fastest. The earlier session saw the Williams cars of Rosberg and Nakajima shoot to the top of the times in the final minute of the session keeping Rosbergs run of fastest practice times in all sessions intact. Kimi Raikkonen had a moment in session one when the fire extinguisher appeared to go off in his car in what was beleived to be a KERS related incident. Other than the normal off car excusrsions, the only other real drama involved Fisichella who ran of track and clipped the tyre wall damaging the front and rear suspension on his Force India car. We are not likely to get a reliable indication of true pace until tomorrow's Qualifying session which should be fascinating, join us then.

Jenson Button stayed cool during a scintillating qualifying session for the Malaysian GP to take a superb pole position closely pursued by the flying Toyota of Jarno Trulli who finished second fastest. Sebastian Vettel drove a great lap in the Red Bull to finish 3rd fastest, but will take a 10 place grid penalty after his brush with Kubica in Malaysia. At one point it looked like it was going to be another Brawn GP 1-2, but Barrichello who also faces a grid place penalty for changing a gearbox was eased back down into 4th place in the very hotly contested final few minutes. Timo Glock and Nico Rosberg also put in strong performances rounding out the top 6. Mark Webber underlined the potential of the new Red Bull car with 7th  ahead of Kubica who finished 8th for BMW. Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso were the final top ten finishers in the shoot out. It was a disappointing session for McLaren with Hamilton and Kovalainen down in 13th and 14th, and a disaster for Massa who will start from way back in 16th place on the grid after what appeared to be a strategic miscalculation by Ferrari. The 2009 regulations have certainly shaken up the F1 order and produced an exciting spectacle so far this season.

01 N Rosberg
1m 36.26s
02 K Nakajima
1m 36.305s
03 J Button
1m 36.43s
04 R Barrichello
1m 36.487s
05 F Massa
1m 36.561s
06 K Raikkonen
1m 36.646s
07 L Hamilton
1m 36.699s
08 M Webber
1m 36.703s
09 S Vettel
1m 36.747s
10 T Glock
1m 36.98s
11 J Trulli
1m 36.982s
12 G Fisichella
1m 37.025s
13 R Kubica
1m 37.039s
14 N Piquet
1m 37.199s
15  A Sutil
1m 37.241s
16 F Alonso
1m 37.395s
17 S Buemi
1m 37.634s
18 N Heidfeld
1m 37.64s
19 S Bourdais
1m 38.022s
20 H Kovalainen
1m 38.483s
 

01 J Button
1m 35.181s
02 J Trulli
1m 35.273s
03 S Vettel
1m 35.518s
04 R Barrichello
1m 35.651s
05 T Glock
1m 35.69s
06 N Rosberg
1m 35.75s
07 M Webber
1m 35.797s
08 R Kubica
1m 36.106s
09 K Raikkonen
1m 36.17s
10 F Alonso
1m 37.659s

Eliminated Q2
11 N Heidfeld
1m 34.769s
12 K Nakajima
1m 34.788s
13 L Hamilton
1m 34.905s
14 H Kovalainen
1m 34.924s
15  S Bourdais
1m 35.507s

Eliminated Q1
16 F Massa
1m 35.642s
17 N Piquet
1m 35.708s
18 G Fisichella
1m 35.908s
19 A Sutil
1m 35.951s
20 S Buemi
1m 36.107s

 

01 K Raikkonen
1m 35.707s
02 F Massa
1m 35.832s
03 S Vettel
1m 35.954s
04 N Rosberg
1m 36.015s
05 M Webber
1m 36.026s
06 R Barrichello
1m 36.161s
07 J Button
1m 36.254s
08 K Nakajima
1m 36.29s
09 H Kovalainen
1m 36.397s
10 N Piquet
1m 36.401s
11 L Hamilton
1m 36.515s
12 J Trulli
1m 36.516s
13 S Buemi
1m 36.628s
14 T Glock
1m 36.639s
15  F Alonso
1m 36.64s
16 A Sutil
1m 36.875s
17 R Kubica
1m 37.267s
18 S Bourdais
1m 37.278s
19 G Fisichella
1m 37.432s
20 N Heidfeld
1m 37.93s
 

01 N Rosberg
1m 35.94s
02 M Webber
1m 36.048s
03 F Massa
1m 36.089s
04 J Trulli
1m 36.132s
05 T Glock
1m 36.189s
06 S Vettel
1m 36.194s
07 K Raikkonen
1m 36.322s
08 K Nakajima
1m 36.325s
09 R Barrichello
1m 36.519s
10 J Button
1m 36.541s
11 R Kubica
1m 36.563s
12 L Hamilton
1m 36.657s
13 H Kovalainen
1m 36.742s
14 F Alonso
1m 37.004s
15  N Heidfeld
1m 37.026s
16 N Piquet
1m 37.032s
17 A Sutil
1m 37.118s
18 S Buemi
1m 37.282s
19 S Bourdais
1m 37.322s
20 G Fisichella
1m 37.398s
 

©First4F1.com 2009 All Rights Reserved

01  J Button
02  N Heidfeld
03  T Glock
04  J Trulli
05  R Barrichello
06  M Webber
07  L Hamilton
08  N Rosberg
09  F Massa
10  S Bourdais
11  F Alonso
12  K Nakajima
13  N Piquet
14  K Raikkonen
15  S Vettel
16  S Buemi
17  A Sutil
18  G Fisichella

Retired
L02 R Kubica
L01 H Kovalainen

Fastest Lap
J Button
1m 36.641s L18
 

Images courtesy Brawn GP