2009 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix, officially the VI Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, was the fourth race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, on 26 April 2009.'4. Bahrain 2009', statsf1.com (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)'Button back on top in Bahrain as Toyota wait goes on', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 26/04/2009), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/145968/1/button-on-top-in-bahrain-as-toyota-wait-goes-on, (Accessed 20/03/2020) The race would see Jenson Button sweep to a third victory of the campaign for , as Nick Heidfeld matched the record for most consecutive race finishes.
Qualifying had seen secure their first ever front-row lockout, with Jarno Trulli claiming pole position ahead of teammate Timo Glock. Sebastian Vettel was next ahead of Button, while Lewis Hamilton was the best placed of the KERS equipped cars in fifth.
The start of the race would see Glock sprint into an early lead ahead of Trulli, while Hamilton swept up from fifth to third to challenge the Italian into the first corner. Trulli ultimately fended off the Brit through the sweeping corner, as behind Button eased ahead of a heavily fuelled Vettel for fourth, and Kimi Räikkönen would elbow his way up to sixth in the #4 .
There was drama at the back of the field, as Felipe Massa, Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Kazuki Nakajima tangled, leaving all four with front wing damage. They all limped back to the pits for repairs, although Massa was complaining of a KERS issue as, at the head of the field, Glock did his best to escape with Trulli acting as a rear gunner.
Button made an early move stick on Hamilton to secure third, although the Brawn would find no way past Trulli, although both Toyotas were on light fuel loads and duly pitted early. Hamilton, meanwhile, would keep Vettel at bay through to making his first stop on lap fifteen, with the German youth duly taking over the lead as Button too ventured into the pits.
Vettel's stop came three laps later on lap eighteen, with a quick turn-around getting him ahead of Hamilton, but caught behind Trulli who was already struggling on his second set of tyres. Glock, meanwhile, had suffered a miserable in-lap on his tyres and so had slipped to the back of the lead group, leaving Button at the head of the field.
With that Button was away, establishing a significant lead over fifteen seconds by lap 34, which would only grow prior to the Brit making his second stop. Indeed, the second round of stops would once again cost Toyota, with Trulli slipping behind Vettel, while Glock dropped out of contention and behind Räikkönen's .
The closing stages saw Vettel halve Button's lead at the head of the field, although the Brit had more than enough in hand to cruise through to the chequered flag and claim victory ahead of the German youth. Behind, Trulli's pace picked up to leave him trailing the Red Bull by a couple of seconds as he scored third, while Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello, Räikkönen, Glock and Fernando Alonso claimed the remaining points. Heidfeld, meanwhile, would match Michael Schumacher's record of 24 consecutive race finishes, although the German racer was the last classified finisher in nineteenth.
==Background==
Jenson Button retained his lead in the Championship after the third round of the season, leaving China with a six point advantage. Rubens Barrichello had likewise retained second, moving onto fifteen points, while Sebastian Vettel had rocketed up to third with his victory. Timo Glock had remained in fourth ahead of Mark Webber, with thirteen drivers on the board after three races.
In the Constructors Championship remained at the head of the field, and had ensured that they had a fair advantage of sixteen and a half point. , meanwhile, had been the big winners in China as they shot into second on 19.5 points, with one of a handful of teams to make way for the Austro-Anglo-French combination. had also moved up the field into fourth, while and had once again failed to score.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-24 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
2 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-24 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
3 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F60 	 	056 2009 2.4 V8 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F60 	 	056 2009 2.4 V8 	
5 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.09 	 	P86/9 2.4 V8 	
6 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.09 	 	P86/9 2.4 V8 	
7 	Fernando Alonso 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R29 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
8 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R29 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
9 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF109 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
10 	Timo Glock 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF109 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
11 	Sébastien Bourdais 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR4 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
12 	Sébastien Buemi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR4 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
14 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB5 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
15 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB5 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
16 	Nico Rosberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW31 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW31 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
20 	Adrian Sutil 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM02 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM02 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
22 	Jenson Button 	Brawn GP F1 Team 	 	BGP 001 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
23 	Rubens Barrichello 	Brawn GP F1 Team 	 	BGP 001 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/03/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	2 	1:32.799 	 	3 	1:32.671 	 	1 	1:33.431 	1
2 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	 	7 	1:33.165 	 	2 	1:32.613 	 	2 	1:33.712 	2
3 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	1 	1:32.680 	 	1 	1:32.474 	 	3 	1:34.015 	3
4 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	4 	1:32.978 	 	5 	1:32.842 	 	4 	1:34.044 	4
5 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	3 	1:32.851 	 	8 	1:32.877 	 	5 	1:34.196 	5
6 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	5 	1:33.116 	 	6 	1:32.842 	 	6 	1:34.239 	6
7 	7K 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	14 	1:33.627 	 	7 	1:32.860 	 	7 	1:34.578 	7
8 	3K 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	9 	1:33.297 	 	9 	1:33.014 	 	8 	1:34.818 	8
9 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	15 	1:33.672 	 	10 	1:33.166 	 	9 	1:35.134 	9
10 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	6 	1:33.117 	 	4 	1:32.827 	 	10 	1:35.380 	10
11 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	11 	1:33.479 	 	11 	1:33.242 	 	 	 	11
12 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	8 	1:33.221 	 	12 	1:33.348 	 	 	 	12
13 	5K 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	12 	1:33.495 	 	13 	1:33.487 	 	 	 	13
14 	6K 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	10 	1:33.377 	 	14 	1:33.562 	 	 	 	14
15 	8K 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	 	13 	1:33.608 	 	15 	1:33.941 	 	 	 	15
16* 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	16 	1:33.722 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
17 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	 	17 	1:33.753 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
18 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	18 	1:33.910 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
19 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	 	19 	1:34.038 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
20 	11 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	 	20 	1:34.159 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/846/bahrain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 21/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
* Sutil was issued a 3 place grid-penalty for impeding Webber during Q1.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	57 	1:31:48.182 	4 	10
2 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	57 	+7.187s 	3 	8
3 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	57 	+9.170s 	1 	6
4 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	57 	+22.096s 	5 	5
5 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	57 	+37.779s 	6 	4
6 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	57 	+42.057s 	10 	3
7 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	57 	+42.880s 	2 	2
8 	7K 	Fernando Alonso 	 	57 	+52.775s 	7 	1
9 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	57 	+58.198s 	9 	
10 	8K 	Nelson Piquet, Jr. 	 	57 	+1:05.149 	15 	
11 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	57 	+1:07.641 	18 	
12 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	57 	+1:17.824 	11 	
13 	11 	Sébastien Bourdais 	 	57 	+1:18.805 	20 	
14 	3K 	Felipe Massa 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	8 	
15 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	17 	
16 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	19 	
17 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	16 	
18 	5K 	Robert Kubica 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	13 	
19 	6K 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	56 	+1 Lap 	14 	
Ret 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	48 	Oil pressure 	12 	
Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)	Source:'Bahrain 2008: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/bahrein/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
==Milestones==
* Fourth and final pole position for Jarno Trulli.
* claimed their third and final pole as both a constructor and engine supplier.
* Fourth career victory for Jenson Button.
* scored their third win as a constructor.
** claimed their 70th win as an engine supplier.
* Trulli claimed his tenth podium finish.
** Trulli also recorded his first (and only) fastest lap.
==Standings==
A third victory of the campaign for Jenson Button had seen the Brit once again extend his Championship lead, and hence meant he ended the first fly-away races of the season with 31 points to his name. That translated into a twelve point lead over teammate Rubens Barrichello, while Sebastian Vettel had moved to within a point of the Brazilian in third. Jarno Trulli, meanwhile, had moved back into fourth ahead of his teammate Timo Glock, while Kimi Räikkönen had become the season's fourteenth scorer.
In the Constructors Championship had moved onto a half-century after Button's third win, and had seen their lead grow to 22.5 points after just four races. had retained second ahead of , those two remaining a point apart, while had lost ground in fourth. Elsewhere, completed the top five, while were off the foot of the table having scored their first points of the campaign.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Jenson Button 	31 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	19 	
3 	Sebastian Vettel 	18 	
4 	Jarno Trulli 	14.5 	2
5 	Timo Glock 	12 	1
6 	Mark Webber 	9.5 	1
7 	Lewis Hamilton 	9 	3
8 	Fernando Alonso 	5 	
9 	Nick Heidfeld 	4 	2
10 	Heikki Kovalainen 	4 	1
11 	Nico Rosberg 	3.5 	
12 	Kimi Räikkönen 	3 	2
13 	Sébastien Buemi 	3 	1
14 	Sébastien Bourdais 	1 	1
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	50 	
2 	 	27.5 	
3 	 	26.5 	
4 	 	13 	
5 	 	5 	1
6 	 	4 	1
7 	 	4 	
8 	 	3.5 	
9 	 	3 	1
10 	 	0 	1
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:2009 Grands Prix
Category:Bahrain Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles