Chinese GP Review

The Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai proved to everyone that it was certainly not going to be a one horse race for the championship, as Brawn's initial domination atfter the first two races came to an end.

Having looked strong all weekend, the Red Bull team put their drivers in 1st and 3rd, with Vettel being the lead driver, the pair being split by a light-fuelled Fernando Alonso in his Renault. Meanwhile the Brawns only achieved 4th and 5th with Barrichello out-qualifying his teammate for the first time this season. They were closely followed by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Due to heavy rain, the race began behind the safety car. The race finally began proper after eight laps and it was only a couple of laps later when Webber and Vettel pitted for their first stops of the race. This allowed Button to lead after passing his teammate on lap 11, and the early stopping Alonso. Button proved to be the only driver to really challenge the Red Bull of Mark Webber, Vettel on the otherhand drove a perfect race in the wet and looked untouchable in a race reminiscent of Micheal Schumacher. The McLarens also performed well, Hamilton having fought his way up to 5th but dropped back down the field following a spin. This was another race that Ferrari would rather forget after 2008 runner-up Felippe Massa retired with an electronic problem and 2007 Champion Kimi Raikkonen failed to break into a points scoring position finishing tenth.

The final points finishers were as follows:

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
3. Jenson Button
4. Rubens Barrichello
5. Heikki Kovalainen
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Time Glock
8. Sebastien Buemi
   

Australian GP Review.

The first race of the season is the first time the teams are able to really size each other up as each of the teams may not be driving to their full potential during pre-season testing.

Australia proved to us that the Brawn GP team was really a force to be reckoned with, having only been in existence for a couple of weeks prior to the maiden race of the season due to the liquidation of the Honda Racing team, they wowed onlookers in testing with fastest times in almost every session.

The main title contenders from 2008 however had a more difficult time getting to grips with things. I believe this is because they were busy trying to win the 2008 championships as opposed to developing their car for 2009 which many of the mid-field and back-marker teams had the time to do as they didnt need to worry about any championship battles.
With their impressive pace, the Brawns put both their cars on the front row of the grid, Sebastian Vettel and a surprisingly quick Robert Kubica were the closest to them, although they were a full 0.6 seconds off the pace of Jenson Button.

The start of the race proved an easy getaway for Button, which is more than can be said for his team mate, Rubens Barrichello suffered an apparent clutch problem at his initial getaway and fell far down the grid. He then managed to out-brake himself into turn 1 and hit the Red Bull of Mark Webber, who then continued into the side of Heikki Kovalainen along with other collisions further down the pack.

Button continued to pull away from the field without much difficulty, with Vettel having a secure second position, the rest of the field was left to fight it out for the remaining points positions. The crash of Kazuki Nakajima saw the field close back up again, and Nelson Piquet Jr. careered off the track after the restart having suffered a break failure. Lewis Hamilton proved impressive in an under-performing car and managed to climb into the points. A second safety car was required only a couple of laps from the end when the cars of Vettel and Kubica, in 2nd and 3rd places respectively, collided at turn 3, and then went on to hit the wall on the exit of turn 5. Vettel tried to continue the race and get points with his severely damaged car, but this earned him a fine for contravening the rules.

Controversy then followed after the race as the McLaren team allowed Trulli to pass for 3rd place while under the safety car, and claimed they were overtaken unfairly, they have now been requested to appear in front of the FIA to attempt to defend their actions. Hamilton was then disqualified and Trulli was allowed to claim his 3rd place.

The final points scorers were as follows:

1. Jenson Button
2. Rubens Barrichello
3. Jarno Trulli
4. Timo Glock
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Nico Rosberg
7. Sebastien Buemi
8. Sebastien Bourdais