2009 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Brawn GP’s one-stop strategy conquered Monza as Rubens Barrichello led Jenson Button home. Lewis Hamilton’s late pursuit ended in the barriers, handing Kimi Räikkönen another podium and leaving the championship increasingly focused on the two Brawn GP teammates.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Pole time	1:24.066
Fastest lap	Adrian Sutil	Force India
Fastest-lap time	1:24.739 on lap 36
First	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP
Second	Jenson Button	Brawn GP
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 September 2009	Practice 1	10:00
11 September 2009	Practice 2	14:00
12 September 2009	Practice 3	11:00
12 September 2009	Qualifying	14:00
13 September 2009	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Jenson Button arrived at round 13 leading the 2009 F1 World Championship on 72 points, with Rubens Barrichello on 56. Brawn GP headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 128 points.

Race entries

Giancarlo Fisichella moved from Force India to Ferrari to replace Luca Badoer, making his first appearance for the Scuderia at its home Grand Prix. Vitantonio Liuzzi took over Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India seat. Renault brought KERS back for Monza’s long straights.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led a McLaren one-two in FP1 on a circuit well suited to the team’s KERS-equipped car. Giancarlo Fisichella began adapting to Ferrari and finished ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, helped by his use of softer tyres. Vitantonio Liuzzi also settled into his new race role as Force India carried its encouraging Spa form into another low-downforce weekend.

Adrian Sutil moved Force India to the top in FP2, responding to a late challenge from the Renaults. Kazuki Nakajima had a wild trip through the gravel at the final corner but avoided the barriers. The championship leaders remained well down the order, illustrating how difficult Friday’s different fuel loads made direct comparisons.

Adrian Sutil remained fastest in final practice as Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello moved back towards the front. Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari preparations suffered a major setback when he ran wide at the Parabolica and hit the tyre wall. Ferrari faced repairs before qualifying, while Vitantonio Liuzzi’s competitive running gave Force India encouragement from both cars.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2009 Italian Grand Prix FP1, 11 September 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:23.936	26
2	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.396s	27
3	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.535s	24
4	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.541s	21
5	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.747s	25
6	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+0.767s	35
7	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+0.770s	21
8	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	+0.796s	24
9	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.823s	19
10	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.825s	26
11	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.877s	20
12	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	+0.890s	24
13	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.991s	29
14	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.214s	28
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	+1.676s	18
16	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.753s	29
17	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.806s	30
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.015s	8
19	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.084s	23
20	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+2.389s	17

Free Practice 2 Classification

2009 Italian Grand Prix FP2, 11 September 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:23.924	28
2	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	+0.239s	31
3	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.373s	35
4	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.558s	41
5	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.698s	40
6	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+0.710s	36
7	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.769s	34
8	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.872s	39
9	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.875s	36
10	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+0.960s	44
11	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.978s	32
12	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+0.997s	39
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.043s	40
14	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.055s	25
15	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.079s	34
16	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	+1.216s	35
17	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.291s	38
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.462s	27
19	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+1.500s	32
20	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	+1.619s	36

Free Practice 3 Classification

2009 Italian Grand Prix FP3, 12 September 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:23.336	21
2	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+0.068s	21
3	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.154s	18
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	+0.239s	20
5	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.297s	18
6	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.467s	20
7	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+0.513s	21
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.579s	17
9	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+0.623s	21
10	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.660s	18
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	+0.861s	15
12	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.966s	20
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.990s	17
14	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.056s	20
15	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.236s	23
16	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.285s	21
17	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.818s	13
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.908s	16
19	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.455s	10
20	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	+2.615s	9

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole ahead of Adrian Sutil and Kimi Räikkönen, but the starting fuel loads revealed a strategic twist. Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, fifth and sixth, carried enough fuel for one-stop races while the leading trio planned two stops.

Both BMW Sauber drivers suffered engine failures in Q2. Giancarlo Fisichella also missed the final shootout, while Vitantonio Liuzzi progressed into the top ten on his return to racing. The Brawn GP cars therefore looked stronger for Sunday than their grid positions alone suggested.

Qualifying Classification

2009 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying, 12 September 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:23.375	1:22.973	1:24.066	23
2	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:23.576	1:23.070	1:24.261	24
3	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:23.349	1:23.426	1:24.523	28
4	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:23.515	1:23.528	1:24.845	27
5	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	1:23.483	1:22.976	1:25.015	23
6	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	1:23.403	1:22.955	1:25.030	26
7	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:23.578	1:23.207	1:25.043	26
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:23.708	1:23.497	1:25.072	25
9	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:23.558	1:23.545	1:25.180	23
10	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:23.755	1:23.273	1:25.314	24
11	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:24.014	1:23.611	—	20
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	1:23.975	1:23.728	—	22
13	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:24.001	1:23.866	—	17
14	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	1:23.828	1:23.901	—	24
15	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:23.584	1:24.275	—	14
16	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:24.036	—	—	11
17	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:24.074	—	—	9
18	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:24.121	—	—	12
19	12	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:24.220	—	—	12
20	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:24.951	—	—	11

Jaime Alguersuari was given a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change prior to qualifying, but ultimately this did not affect his position, as he qualified in 20th place.

What happened in the 2009 Italian Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton led away, with Kimi Räikkönen moving ahead of Adrian Sutil. The heavier Brawn GP cars passed Heikki Kovalainen early, freeing Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button to execute their one-stop plan. Mark Webber’s championship hopes took another blow when contact with Robert Kubica on the opening lap ended his race.

Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button maintained the pace required to make their strategy work. Lewis Hamilton emerged from his second stop behind both and chased Jenson Button hard, but crashed at the first Lesmo on the final lap. The safety car was deployed, although it did not collect the leader before the finish.

Rubens Barrichello secured his second win in three races, with Jenson Button completing a valuable one-two. Kimi Räikkönen inherited third after holding off Adrian Sutil, who set Force India’s first fastest lap. Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalainen, Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel completed the points, leaving Jenson Button 14 points ahead of Rubens Barrichello with four rounds remaining.

After the race, Jenson Button headed the drivers’ standings with 80 points, followed by Rubens Barrichello on 66. Brawn GP led the constructors’ table on 146, with Red Bull Racing on 105.5.

2009 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 2009 Italian Grand Prix was held on 13 September 2009, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	53	1:16:21.706	10
2	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	53	+2.866	8
3	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+30.664	6
4	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	53	+31.131	5
5	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	53	+59.182	4
6	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	53	+1:00.693	3
7	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	53	+1:22.412	2
8	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	53	+1:25.407	1
9	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	53	+1:26.856	0
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	53	+2:42.163	0
11	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	53	+2:43.925	0
12	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	52	Accident	0
13	12	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	52	Followed safety car	0
14	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	52	+1 Lap	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	52	+1 Lap	0
16	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	51	+2 Laps	0
Ret	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	22	Driveshaft	0
Ret	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	19	Gearbox	0
Ret	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	15	Oil leak	0
Ret	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	0	Collision	0

Although Lewis Hamilton retired on the final lap, he was still classified as a finisher as he had completed 90% of the winner’s race distance.

Sébastien Buemi followed the safety car to the pit lane on the final lap and therefore he was not considered to have finished the race. He was classified as he had driven 90% of the winner’s race distance.

Jaime Alguersuari started the race from the pitlane after changing parts on his car after qualifying.

2009 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	36	1:24.739	246.106
2	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	36	1:24.761	246.042
3	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	52	1:24.802	245.923
4	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	46	1:24.935	245.538
5	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	48	1:24.967	245.445
6	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	51	1:25.109	245.036
7	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	50	1:25.194	244.791
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	50	1:25.199	244.777
9	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	30	1:25.488	243.950
10	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	28	1:25.498	243.921
11	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	50	1:25.564	243.733
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	51	1:25.609	243.605
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	49	1:25.700	243.346
14	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	50	1:25.751	243.201
15	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	50	1:25.901	242.777
16	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	51	1:25.976	242.565
17	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	22	1:26.041	242.382
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	12	1:27.819	237.474
19	11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	17	1:27.846	237.401

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2009 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2009 Italian Grand Prix.

2009 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jenson Button	British	Brawn GP	80
2	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Brawn GP	66
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	54
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	51.5
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	40
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	30.5
7	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	27
8	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	22.5
9	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	22
10	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	20
11	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	20
12	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	16
13	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	12
14	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India / Ferrari	8
15	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	8
16	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	5
17	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	3
18	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
19	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	0
20	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	0
21	Luca Badoer	Italian	Ferrari	0
22	Romain Grosjean	French	Renault	0
23	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	0
–	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	0

2009 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brawn GP	146
2	Red Bull Racing	105.5
3	Ferrari	62
4	McLaren	47
5	Toyota	38.5
6	Williams	30.5
7	BMW Sauber	20
8	Renault	20
9	Force India	13
10	Toro Rosso	5

2009 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2009 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	29 March
2	2009 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	5 April
3	2009 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	19 April
4	2009 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	26 April
5	2009 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	2009 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	2009 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	7 June
8	2009 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	21 June
9	2009 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	12 July
10	2009 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	26 July
11	2009 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	23 August
12	2009 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	30 August
13	2009 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	13 September
14	2009 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	27 September
15	2009 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	4 October
16	2009 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	18 October
17	2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	1 November