2009 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jenson Button’s remarkable run continued through the streets of Monaco. Brawn GP claimed another one-two as the championship leader managed the demanding tyres and unforgiving barriers, while Kimi Räikkönen delivered Ferrari’s first podium of the season.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jenson Button	Brawn GP
Pole time	1:14.902
Fastest lap	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:15.154 on lap 50
First	Jenson Button	Brawn GP
Second	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 May 2009	Practice 1	10:00
21 May 2009	Practice 2	14:00
23 May 2009	Practice 3	11:00
23 May 2009	Qualifying	14:00
24 May 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 6 leading the 2009 F1 World Championship on 41 points, with Rubens Barrichello on 27. Brawn GP headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 68 points.

Race entries

The 10 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Free Practice

Thursday’s opening practice saw Rubens Barrichello set the pace as teams adapted their cars to Monaco’s high-downforce demands. Red Bull Racing introduced a double diffuser, but Sebastian Vettel’s session ended with a smoky stoppage. McLaren looked more competitive than at Barcelona, giving Lewis Hamilton encouragement at a circuit where he had won a year earlier.

Nico Rosberg led FP2 and later escaped unscathed after running up an escape road. Robert Kubica was less fortunate, losing running to a major engine failure. The close contest between Williams, McLaren and Brawn GP suggested a lively qualifying battle, while Adrian Sutil and Felipe Massa had an on-track disagreement during the session.

Fernando Alonso edged Jenson Button in FP3 as teams completed their final preparations for Monaco’s crucial qualifying session. McLaren again looked competitive, but Toyota and BMW Sauber remained towards the back. The contrast with their stronger performances elsewhere underlined how differently the cars were responding to the tight, low-speed circuit.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2009 Monaco Grand Prix FP1, 21 May 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	1:17.189	26
2	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.310s	31
3	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.389s	26
4	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.497s	30
5	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.650s	30
6	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.811s	29
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.835s	27
8	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+0.891s	28
9	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.094s	31
10	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.159s	22
11	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.506s	37
12	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+2.015s	36
13	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.044s	16
14	11	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+2.066s	31
15	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.345s	28
16	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+2.371s	20
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.390s	23
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.411s	24
19	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+2.509s	24
20	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.642s	28

Free Practice 2 Classification

2009 Monaco Grand Prix FP2, 21 May 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:15.243	45
2	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.202s	35
3	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	+0.347s	41
4	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+0.531s	36
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.589s	42
6	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.604s	33
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.741s	45
8	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.742s	43
9	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.017s	43
10	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.043s	43
11	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.309s	39
12	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.336s	27
13	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.432s	38
14	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.672s	43
15	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.740s	48
16	11	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.809s	48
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.866s	40
18	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.964s	45
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+2.261s	45
20	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	No time	2

Free Practice 3 Classification

2009 Monaco Grand Prix FP3, 23 May 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:15.164	24
2	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	+0.069s	29
3	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	+0.114s	24
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	+0.122s	26
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.129s	23
6	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.218s	25
7	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.225s	23
8	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.558s	23
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.594s	23
10	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.821s	24
11	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.939s	22
12	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.064s	20
13	11	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1.137s	23
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	+1.153s	29
15	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	+1.218s	27
16	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.268s	22
17	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	+1.363s	29
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.435s	26
19	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.497s	22
20	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.646s	26

Qualifying

Jenson Button delivered a late lap to claim pole, with Kimi Räikkönen splitting the Brawn GP cars in second. Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel had both looked contenders before the final improvements, but the championship leader timed his effort perfectly.

Lewis Hamilton’s defence of his Monaco victory suffered a major setback when he crashed at Mirabeau in Q1. Both BMW Sauber and Toyota cars were also eliminated early. Force India reached Q2, although Giancarlo Fisichella lost two lap times for cutting corners.

Qualifying Classification

2009 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 May 2009

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	1:15.210	1:15.016	1:14.902	25
2	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:15.746	1:14.514	1:14.927	31
3	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	1:15.425	1:14.829	1:15.077	26
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:15.915	1:14.879	1:15.271	27
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:15.340	1:15.001	1:15.437	28
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:15.094	1:14.846	1:15.455	23
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	1:15.495	1:14.809	1:15.516	24
8	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:15.260	1:14.825	1:15.653	20
9	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:15.898	1:15.200	1:16.009	24
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:15.930	1:15.579	1:17.344	28
11	12	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:15.834	1:15.833	—	17
12	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	1:16.013	1:15.837	—	22
13	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	1:16.063	1:16.146	—	18
14	11	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:16.120	1:16.281	—	19
15	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:16.248	1:16.545	—	19
16	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:16.264	—	—	4
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:16.264	—	—	11
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:16.405	—	—	12
19	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:16.548	—	—	11
20	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:16.788	—	—	12

Lewis Hamilton was given a five place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change following the qualifying session, as per the sporting regulations.

Timo Glock had to start from the pit lane following modifications in the car between the qualifying and the race.

What happened in the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix?

Jenson Button led away as Rubens Barrichello passed Kimi Räikkönen for second. The Brawn GP pair negotiated the opening supersoft stint successfully, while Sebastian Vettel suffered severe graining and held up the cars behind. He later crashed at Sainte Dévote, where Sébastien Sebastien Buemi had already collided with Nelson Piquet and ended both their races.

Once the first stops were complete, Jenson Button controlled the pace ahead of Rubens Barrichello and the Ferraris. Heikki Kovalainen crashed at the Swimming Pool, Robert Kubica retired with brake trouble and Kazuki Nakajima hit the barriers on the final lap. The leading Brawns stayed clear of those hazards.

Jenson Button eased his pace near the finish to avoid fighting backmarkers and won ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa. His fifth victory in six rounds further strengthened his championship position. There was one final exertion to come: after parking in the usual pit-lane area instead of Monaco’s podium enclosure, he had to run along the straight to join the celebrations.

After the race, Jenson Button headed the drivers’ standings with 51 points, followed by Rubens Barrichello on 35. Brawn GP led the constructors’ table on 86, with Red Bull Racing on 42.5.

2009 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 24 May 2009, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	78	1:40:44.282	10
2	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	78	+7.666	8
3	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	78	+13.442	6
4	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	78	+15.110	5
5	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	78	+15.730	4
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	78	+33.586	3
7	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	78	+37.839	2
8	11	Sébastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	78	+1:03.142	1
9	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	78	+1:05.040	0
10	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	77	+1 lap	0
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	77	+1 lap	0
12	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	77	+1 lap	0
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	77	+1 lap	0
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	77	+1 lap	0
15	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	76	Accident	0
Ret	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	51	Accident	0
Ret	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	28	Brakes	0
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	15	Accident	0
Ret	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	10	Collision	0
Ret	12	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	10	Collision	0

2009 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	50	1:15.154	159.991
2	22	Jenson Button	Brawn GP	49	1:15.190	159.914
3	14	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	45	1:15.321	159.636
4	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	64	1:15.371	159.530
5	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	47	1:15.382	159.507
6	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren	48	1:15.672	158.896
7	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn GP	46	1:15.685	158.868
8	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	65	1:15.706	158.824
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	48	1:15.772	158.686
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	73	1:15.792	158.644
11	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	1:16.011	158.187
12	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	72	1:16.066	158.073
13	11	Sebastien Bourdais	Toro Rosso	47	1:16.178	157.840
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India	66	1:16.245	157.702
15	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	49	1:16.268	157.654
16	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India	74	1:16.419	157.343
17	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	25	1:17.558	155.032
18	15	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	15	1:17.634	154.880
19	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	7	1:18.514	153.144
20	12	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	7	1:18.582	153.012

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 Monaco Grand Prix.

2009 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jenson Button	British	Brawn GP	51
2	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Brawn GP	35
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	23
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	19.5
5	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	14.5
6	Timo Glock	German	Toyota	12
7	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	11
8	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	9
9	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	9
10	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	8
11	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	7.5
12	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	6
13	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	McLaren	4
14	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	3
15	Sébastien Bourdais	French	Toro Rosso	2
16	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Force India	0
17	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	0
18	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Renault	0
19	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	0
20	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	0

2009 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brawn GP	86
2	Red Bull Racing	42.5
3	Toyota	26.5
4	Ferrari	17
5	McLaren	13
6	Renault	11
7	Williams	7.5
8	BMW Sauber	6
9	Toro Rosso	5
10	Force India	0

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