2009 Malaysian Grand Prix Explained

The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix)[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 5 April 2009 at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia. It was the second race of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was due to be contested over 56 laps, but was stopped after 31 laps due to torrential rain. Jenson Button, driving for the Brawn GP team, was declared the winner, having started from pole position. Nick Heidfeld was classified second for BMW Sauber with Timo Glock third for Toyota.

As the race did not reach the required 75% distance (42 laps) for full points to be awarded, half-points were given instead, for only the fifth time in Formula One history and the first since the 1991 Australian Grand Prix and the last for 12 years until the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.[2] [3] The race distance of 171.833km (106.772miles) was the fifth-shortest ever covered in a World Championship Grand Prix.[4] Brawn GP became only the second constructor to win their first two World Championship Grands Prix since Alfa Romeo won the first two ever, in .[5]

Report

Background

After winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix held one week earlier, Jenson Button led the Drivers' Championship by two points from his teammate Rubens Barrichello and by four points from Jarno Trulli. Trulli's teammate Timo Glock was fourth and Fernando Alonso completed the top five.[6] Brawn GP led the Constructors' Championship by 7 points from Toyota and by 14 points from Renault. Williams and Toro Rosso were fourth and fifth.[6]

The race start time was moved forward two hours, from 17:00 local time (09:00 UTC) to 15:00 local time (07:00 UTC). However, the organisers turned down the possibility of holding a night race, in line with the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, for budgetary reasons.[7]

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first was held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon. Both sessions lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes with weather conditions dry throughout. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour, and was also dry throughout.[8] Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima secured a Williams one-two in the first session with times of 1:36.260 and 1:36.305 minutes respectively. In the second session, Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa went quickest with times of 1:35.707 and 1:35.832 minutes. After 18 laps, Räikkönen's cockpit began to billow out smoke, and though Ferrari did not give an official statement, there are reports that the car's kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) had overheated.[9]

Jenson Button took Brawn's second consecutive pole ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota.[10] Rubens Barrichello qualified fourth in the other Brawn (third when Vettel's penalty was taken into consideration), but was demoted five places to eighth after a gearbox change. An error in strategy meant that Massa failed to make it through Q1. In an interview to Rede Globo, the driver said that he and the team thought the initial time posted was enough to qualify for the second session, and refrained from recording additional times to spare the car's engine. However, this was not the case, and Massa was left in 16th place.[11] [12]

Race

Off the line, there was a clean getaway by all drivers, apart from Robert Kubica, who was forced to retire from engine problems after the first lap. Williams' Nico Rosberg moved from fourth on the grid to lead into the first corner, followed by Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso, who had used his KERS system to good effect to move up from tenth; Jenson Button made a poor start in his Brawn and was down to fourth. Heading into turn five, McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen ran wide onto the track's 'marbles' (fragments of degraded tyre rubber), and spun into early retirement.[13] [14]

After a slow start, Button caught and passed the heavier Renault of Alonso at turn thirteen for third place and set off after Trulli. Rosberg and Trulli stopped for fuel earlier than Button, who was able to pass them during the first round of pit stops and take the lead. Evidence of rain was barely noticed, but Kimi Räikkönen pitted to switch from dry to full wet tyres. However, his gamble did not pay off, as rain did not come as early as predicted, and he was forced to slow down significantly to delay the rapid wear of the wet tyres. (Without standing water on the track, wet tyres will not maintain structural integrity at high speeds, and will rapidly degrade over the course of a few laps.)

By lap 19, rain had started to fall and most of the drivers pitted for wet tyres. However, at this stage there was no standing water on the track, and so the wet tyres started to wear out very quickly. Timo Glock had been using intermediate tyres which were better suited to the conditions and moved rapidly up to third place. The other drivers followed this example and switched to intermediate tyres as well, which the majority of the field stayed on until lap 31 when the downpour finally reached the whole track, and drivers pitted for wet tyres once again. The conditions were proven to be so treacherous that Sebastien Buemi and Sebastian Vettel (who was in 8th position) had both spun out into retirement by lap 31 despite them being on the wet tyres right before the race was stopped.

Due to the torrential rain, the race was stopped on the 33rd lap[3] and the results were taken from the classification at the end of lap 31 (the penultimate fully completed in accordance with sporting regulation 42.8[15]). Half-points were subsequently awarded to the top eight. The race was the fifth out of six races in Formula One to be abandoned before 75% distance: the others were the 1975 Spanish and Austrian Grands Prix, the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, the 1991 Australian Grand Prix and the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. Button took his second victory of the season and five points, and it was the first time he had won back to back victories and his third career victory. The victory also meant that Brawn GP became the first team since Alfa Romeo in 1950 to win their first two Grands Prix.[5] Nick Heidfeld was classified second ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock. Heidfeld was the first driver to take a podium position with a KERS-equipped car.

Post-race

The drivers generally backed the decision to abandon the race, citing diminishing visibility (due to the later starting time) as well as the heavy rain.[16]

Officials in Malaysia also confirmed that they would review the start time of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Mokhzani Mahathir, chairman of the Sepang International Circuit, said he consulted Bernie Ecclestone after the race and they had agreed to look at the timings. However, Ecclestone revealed he had no qualms about the schedule, stating:

Mokhzani suggested the possibility of implementing a lighting system (similar to that used in the Singapore Grand Prix) to illuminate the circuit in future races.

Classification

Cars that used the KERS system are marked with "‡"

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorPart 1Part 2Part 3Grid
122 Jenson ButtonBrawn-Mercedes1:35.0581:33.7841:35.1811
29 Jarno TrulliToyota1:34.7451:33.9901:35.2732
315 Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1:34.9351:34.2761:35.51813
423 Rubens BarrichelloBrawn-Mercedes1:34.6811:34.3871:35.6518
510 Timo GlockToyota1:34.9071:34.2581:35.6903
616 Nico RosbergWilliams-Toyota1:35.0831:34.5471:35.7504
714 Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1:35.0271:34.2221:35.7975
85 Robert KubicaBMW Sauber1:35.1661:34.5621:36.1066
94‡ Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:35.4761:34.4561:36.1707
107‡ Fernando AlonsoRenault1:35.2601:34.7061:37.6599
116‡ Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber1:35.1101:34.76910
1217 Kazuki NakajimaWilliams-Toyota1:35.3411:34.78811
131‡ Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1:35.2801:34.90512
142‡ Heikki KovalainenMcLaren-Mercedes1:35.0231:34.92414
1511 Sébastien BourdaisToro Rosso-Ferrari1:35.5071:35.43115
163‡ Felipe MassaFerrari1:35.64216
178‡ Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault1:35.70817
1821 Giancarlo FisichellaForce India-Mercedes1:35.90818
1920 Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1:35.95119
2012 Sébastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1:36.10720

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
122 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes3155:30.62215
26‡ Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber31+ 22.722104
310 Timo Glock Toyota31+ 23.51333
49 Jarno Trulli Toyota31+ 46.17322.5
523 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes31+ 47.36082
614 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault31+ 52.33351.5
71‡ Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes31+ 1:00.733121
816 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota31+ 1:11.57640.5
93‡ Ferrari31+ 1:16.93216
1011 Toro Rosso-Ferrari31+ 1:42.16415
117‡ Renault31+ 1:49.4229
1217 Williams-Toyota31+ 1:56.13011
138‡ Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault31+ 1:56.71317
144‡ Ferrari31+ 2:22.8417
1515 Red Bull-Renault30Spun Off13
1612 Toro Rosso-Ferrari30Spun Off20
1720 Force India-Mercedes30+ 1 Lap19
1821 Force India-Mercedes29Spun Off18
Ret5 BMW Sauber1Engine6
Ret2‡ McLaren-Mercedes0Spun Off14

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Jenson Button15
2 Rubens Barrichello10
3 Jarno Trulli8.5
4 Timo Glock8
55 Nick Heidfeld4
Source:[19]
Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorPoints
1 Brawn-Mercedes25
2 Toyota16.5
43 BMW Sauber4
14 Renault4
15 Williams-Toyota3.5
Source:

See also

External links

2.7608°N 101.7383°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Malaysia. https://web.archive.org/web/20091126004039/http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/malaysia_806/circuit_diagram.html. dead. 26 November 2009. Formula1.com. 20 December 2020.
  2. News: Button wins Malaysian GP cut short by rain. Baldwin. Alan. 5 April 2009. Reuters. Thomas Reuters Corporate. 5 April 2009.
  3. News: Jenson Button wins abandoned Malaysian Grand Prix. 5 April 2009. Times Online. Times Newspapers Ltd. 5 April 2009 . London . Edward . Gorman . Kuala . Lumpur.
  4. Web site: Statistics: Kms, The less . 5 April 2009 . statsf1.com . 5 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201023020355/https://www.statsf1.com/default.aspx?from=/statistiques/gp/kms/lemoins.aspx?LG=2 . 23 October 2020 . live . dmy .
  5. Web site: Whyatt . Chris . 5 April 2009 . Classy Button wins abandoned race . . . 5 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090407041833/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7984270.stm . 7 April 2009 . live.
  6. Web site: 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship - Drivers Provisional Classification . . 5 April 2009 . 5 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090716171918/http://fialive.fiacommunications.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/Pages/ChampionshipClassification.aspx . 16 July 2009 . dead . dmy.
  7. News: Malaysia rules out night race next year. 28 September 2009. AFP, The Times of India. Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. 5 April 2009.
  8. 2009 Formula One Sporting Regulations . 24 March 2009 . . 5 April 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090407075453/http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/B875CF540CCF75E5C125758300329A2B/%24FILE/1-2009%20F1%20SPORTING%20REGULATIONS%20%28Showing%20Alterations%29%2024-03-2009.pdf . 7 April 2009 .
  9. Web site: Raikkonen tops Malaysia practice . . . 3 April 2009 . 3 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090406034314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7980532.stm . 6 April 2009 . live.
  10. Web site: Button storms to pole again in Malaysia . ITV F1 . . 4 April 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090405102704/http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=45471 . 5 April 2009 . 27 January 2016.
  11. Web site: Erro de estratégia deixa Massa em 16º . pt . Strategy error leaves Massa in 16th . GloboEsporte.com . . 4 April 2009 . 5 April 2009 . https://archive.today/20120710083400/http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Formula_1/0,,MUL1073104-15011,00-ERRO+DE+ESTRATEGIA+DEIXA+MASSA+EM.html . 10 July 2012 . live .
  12. Web site: Massa admits qualifying error . BBC Sport . . 4 April 2009 . 5 April 2009.
  13. News: Malaysian Grand Prix as it happened. Cheese. Caroline. 5 April 2009. BBC Sport. https://web.archive.org/web/20090409164534/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7984059.stm. 9 April 2009. live. 2 March 2019.
  14. Web site: As it happened: Race day at Sepang. Hughes. Emlyn. Creighton. Geoff. 5 April 2009. Autosport. https://web.archive.org/web/20090407140931/http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/77. 7 April 2009. dead. 2 March 2019.
  15. Web site: 2009 Formula One Sporting Regulations . . 24 March 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090407075453/http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/B875CF540CCF75E5C125758300329A2B/%24FILE/1-2009%20F1%20SPORTING%20REGULATIONS%20%28Showing%20Alterations%29%2024-03-2009.pdf . 7 April 2009 . 27 January 2016 . If the race cannot be resumed the results will be taken at the end of the penultimate lap before the lap during which the signal to suspend the race was given. .
  16. Web site: Drivers back Malaysia abandonment . . . 5 May 2009 . 5 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090408081148/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7984468.stm . 8 April 2009 . live.
  17. Web site: Vettel gets 10-place grid penalty . . . 29 March 2009 . 3 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090401135830/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7970668.stm . 1 April 2009 . live.
  18. News: Barrichello gets 5 place penalty . autosport.com . Haymarket Publications . 3 April 2009 . 3 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090406063851/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74204 . 6 April 2009 . live . dmy .
  19. Web site: Malaysia 2009 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 19 March 2019.