2009 Italian Grand Prix: Barrichello Wins Brawn's Last Race at Monza

Rubens Barrichello won the 2009 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 13 September, the 13th round of the season. His Brawn teammate Jenson Button finished second, completing the team's fourth and last one-two of the year. Lewis Hamilton crashed on the final lap, and the safety car came out behind the leaders.

Who won the 2009 Italian Grand Prix?

Rubens Barrichello won for Brawn GP, the eighth win of the season for the team and his third at Monza. Jenson Button took second, and Kimi Raikkonen finished third for Ferrari. Adrian Sutil set the race's fastest lap in fourth for Force India.

The win was the 11th and last of Barrichello's victories, and it was also his final podium and the last win the team would record.

Hamilton had a dramatic last lap. He crashed into the barriers at the exit of the first Lesmo while trying to catch Button, and the debris left on the track brought out the safety car on the final lap. That meant the safety car could not pick up the leader before the chequered flag, and Barrichello crossed the line first.

A farewell win for Barrichello and Brawn, a last-lap crash for Hamilton and a title race that now belonged to Button.

What was the championship picture before Monza?

Button led the Drivers' Championship by 16 points from Barrichello, who was 3 points ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. Brawn held a lead of twenty-three and a half points over Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, and Red Bull were a further forty-eight and a half points ahead of Ferrari.

Vettel had won his maiden Formula One race in 2008 for Toro Rosso, making him the youngest driver to win a race. That was the first win by Toro Rosso since the team was formed from Minardi, and the engine was a customer Ferrari unit.

The Italian crowd had few local heroes to cheer. Alonso and Barrichello were the only other Italian Grand Prix winners in the field, and no Italian had won his home race since Ludovico Scarfiotti took his only victory in 1966. Trulli, Liuzzi and Fisichella were the only current Italians on the grid.

Fisichella had ended his Force India contract to race for Ferrari at Monza, the first Italian to do so since Ivan Capelli in 1992. His seat at Force India went to test driver Liuzzi, who later retired while challenging for points.

How did practice unfold at Monza?

The McLarens led the first practice session, with Hamilton fastest and Kovalainen second. Sutil was fastest in the second and third sessions, and Button was second in the final one. Fisichella, driving for Ferrari for the first time, struggled to find pace across the weekend.

In the first session Fisichella was eighth, ahead of his teammate Raikkonen in tenth. Toyota's Trulli and Glock were at the back of the pack. Button ended the session seventh, and Barrichello twelfth.

In the second session Sutil led from the two Renaults of Grosjean and Alonso. Hamilton was 11th and Kovalainen fourth, while Button finished 19th, just ahead of Fisichella at the bottom. Vettel was 18th and Webber 14th, and it was a session in which Red Bull struggled.

The final session again saw Sutil fastest, ahead of Button and Barrichello in fourth. The McLarens were fifth and sixth, and Liuzzi was seventh. The two Red Bulls ended the session 17th and 18th, and Fisichella finished last, with Raikkonen's other Ferrari in 12th.

Who took pole, and why did strategy matter?

Hamilton took pole in the final ten-minute session, snatching it from Sutil. Button and Barrichello, who had qualified sixth and fifth, were on one-stop strategies that looked strong once the fuel loads were released. Hamilton, Sutil and Raikkonen were all planning two stops.

The first qualifying session lasted 20 minutes and decided the final five places on the grid. Liuzzi ran off the track five minutes in without damaging his car, and Raikkonen topped the session ahead of Hamilton and Kovalainen. Both Ferraris reached the second part for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Both Toro Rossos, both Williams and Glock were eliminated in the first part. In the second part Heidfeld's BMW engine failed five minutes in, and Kubica's car also suffered an engine problem just before the first corner, which left him 13th. Fisichella missed the final session, and Trulli and Grosjean were also out.

Jaime Alguersuari had a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change before qualifying, but he still qualified 20th and started from the pit lane after changing parts.

How did the race unfold?

Hamilton held the lead at the start, with Raikkonen second and Sutil third. Kovalainen, on a one-stop fuel strategy, was passed by Barrichello and Button through the second Lesmo. On the opening lap Kubica spun Webber at Della Roggia, and that ended his race.

Kubica had damaged his front wing in that contact, and he was shown the black flag with an orange circle and summoned to the pits to repair it. He retired later with an oil leak.

The battle for the lead was tactical. The Brawns stopped only once, while Hamilton ran a two-stop strategy. Despite carrying more fuel, Barrichello and Button kept up a faster pace than Hamilton, and when he emerged from his second stop he was behind both Brawns.

Hamilton then tried in vain to overtake Button over the final few laps before crashing at the exit of the first Lesmo. Debris from that crash bunched the field behind the safety car for the last lap, and the leader, Barrichello, took the chequered flag first.

A long battle between Raikkonen and Sutil ended when the safety car came in. Sutil stayed close but could not pass through the final corner, where turbulent air cost him ground. Both made their second and final stops at the same time, and Raikkonen left the pits first despite a delay caused when Sutil drove too fast into his box and knocked over a mechanic, who was unhurt.

Alonso finished fifth ahead of Kovalainen. Heidfeld came through from 15th on the grid to finish seventh, and Vettel took the final point in tenth, ahead of Fisichella. Liuzzi retired with a mechanical problem while challenging for points.

What did the result mean for the title race?

Brawn's one-two left Button in control, leading Barrichello by 14 points with four races remaining. Vettel was 26 points behind Button, and Webber a further 2.5 points adrift. Hamilton and Raikkonen both mathematically conceded the Drivers' Championship, and a new world champion was guaranteed for 2009.

Red Bull's poor performance meant the Drivers' Championship had become effectively a two-horse race between Button and Barrichello. Brawn team boss Ross Brawn said after the race that his drivers could compete against each other, because the team was virtually assured of the Constructors' title.

Barrichello said he relished a straight title fight after years of playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher, who won five world championships at Ferrari. Button was magnanimous in defeat and happy to face a battle within his own team. The Crashgate hearing in Paris, into alleged events at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, was due the following week and dominated paddock talk.

Why did Hamilton still count as a finisher?

Hamilton retired on the final lap but was still classified as a finisher, because he had completed 90% of the winner's race distance. Sebastien Buemi followed the safety car into the pit lane on the final lap, so he was not considered to have finished, but he was classified for the same reason.

Webber was frustrated to retire for the first time that year after a minor incident, while Vettel said his title hopes were still alive. Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's boss, did not fault Hamilton for the crash and admired his refusal to give up.

Results at a glance