2009 Italian Grand Prix

The 2009 Italian Grand Prix, officially known as the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2009, was race thirteen of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy, on 13 September 2009.'13. Italy 2009', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)'Barrichello leads Brawn 1-2 at Monza.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 13/09/2009), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/152278/1/barrichello-leads-brawn-1-2-as-bulls-stumble, (Accessed 23/03/2020) The race would see Rubens Barrichello secure his eleventh and final race victory, leading teammate Jenson Button to a one-two.
There was a change to the entry list ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, as poached Giancarlo Fisichella from to replace Luca Badoer, who had failed to threaten the points in two races for the Scuderia.Jonathan Noble, 'Force India releases Fisichella to Ferrari', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 03/09/2009), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/78280/force-india-releases-fisichella-to-ferrari, (Accessed 23/03/2020) That left a vacant spot at Force India, which was duly taken by their reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, marking his first Grand Prix start since the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.'Here's Tonio!', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21791.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
Into the race weekend itself and Lewis Hamilton would emerge from qualifying with pole position, as Adrian Sutil narrowly missed out on making it two poles on the trot for Force India. The German racer hence had to settle for second behind the Brit, while Kimi Räikkönen put his onto the second row alongside Heikki Kovalainen.
The start of the race was an all KERS affair, as Hamilton had to fend off a charge from Räikkönen into the Rettifilo chicane. Hamilton duly won the duel on the brakes and emerged with the lead, as behind Sutil managed to keep Kovalainen at bay to claim third, aided by the fact that the Finn would be passed by both of the Brawns.
The early stages saw the order quickly settle down, as Mark Webber became an early retirement after being spun at the Della Roggia. Otherwise, the opening stages would be fairly tame, with Hamilton easing clear of Räikkönen, while Sutil kept the two heavily fuelled Brawns at bay, Barrichello ahead of Button.
Indeed, the fight for victory would be one dictated by strategy, for the Brawns, and Kovalainen, had opted for a one-stop, while Hamilton, Räikkönen and Sutil were fighting on two stops. The defending World Champion Hamilton duly became the first of the leaders to stop on lap fifteen, Sutil remained out until lap seventeen while Räikkönen remained out until lap eighteen.
The two Brawns were hence left at the head of the field, and would continue to do so until the halfway point, when Button and then Barrichello stopped and rejoined in the same order. They had, however, managed to rejoin in clear air, and would soon lap at a fastest rate than those ahead.
That fact proved vital when Hamilton made his second and final stop, for both Brawns would flash past the pitexit as the McLaren rejoined. Räikkönen and Sutil likewise slipped behind the two Brawns when they made their stops, although Hamilton would go on the offensive in the closing stages.
Indeed, Hamilton threw everything he had at Button's Brawn in the final laps, with Barrichello remaining a tantalising couple of seconds ahead at the head of the field. However, on the penultimate lap Hamilton crashed on the exit of Lesmo having run wide, and duly caused a Safety Car to be thrown on the final lap.
That effectively brought the race to a premature end, although the gaps between the field were distorted as the Mercedes-Benz Safety Car never managed to pick up Barrichello. Regardless, the Brazilian led teammate Button across the line to claim a one-two for Brawn ahead of Räikkönen, while Sutil was an impressive fourth for Force India. Fernando Alonso was next having had KERS for the first time in fourth months in fifth, with Kovalainen, Nick Heidfeld and Vettel claiming the remaining points.
==Background==
Jenson Button had failed to score for the first time in , although the Brit had still held a significant advantage at the head of the Championship. Indeed, his teammate Rubens Barrichello had only closed the gap between them to sixteen points, while Sebastian Vettel had moved to within nineteen points of the leader. Mark Webber, meanwhile, had slipped to fourth, Kimi Räikkönen was up to fifth, while Giancarlo Fisichella had claimed his first points since the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.
 had continued their steadying march to the 2009 Constructors Championship, moving onto 128 points courtesy of Barrichello's seventh place finish. That meant that had only reduced their advantage to 23.5 points, and hence left the Anglo-German squad with more than a race's worth of points in hand. Behind, had enhanced their hold on third ahead of , while were off the foot of the table for the first time in their history, having moved into ninth after their maiden points finish.
===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 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	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 	Romain Grosjean 	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 	Jaime Alguersuari 	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 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	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:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italian 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
==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 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:23.375 	 	2 	1:22.973 	 	1 	1:24.066 	1
2 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	7 	1:23.576 	 	4 	1:23.070 	 	2 	1:24.261 	2
3 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	1 	1:23.349 	 	7 	1:23.426 	 	3 	1:24.523 	3
4 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	5 	1:23.515 	 	9 	1:23.528 	 	4 	1:24.845 	4
5 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	4 	1:23.483 	 	3 	1:22.976 	 	5 	1:25.015 	5
6 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	3 	1:23.403 	 	1 	1:22.955 	 	6 	1:25.030 	6
7 	21 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	8 	1:23.578 	 	5 	1:23.207 	 	7 	1:25.043 	7
8 	7K 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	10 	1:23.708 	 	8 	1:23.497 	 	8 	1:25.072 	8
9 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	6 	1:23.558 	 	10 	1:23.545 	 	9 	1:25.180 	9
10 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	 	11 	1:23.755 	 	6 	1:23.273 	 	10 	1:25.314 	10
11 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	15 	1:24.014 	 	11 	1:23.611 	 	 	 	11
12 	8K 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	13 	1:23.975 	 	12 	1:23.728 	 	 	 	12
13 	5 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	14 	1:24.001 	 	13 	1:23.866 	 	 	 	13
14 	3K 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	12 	1:23.828 	 	14 	1:23.901 	 	 	 	14
15 	6 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	9 	1:23.584 	 	15 	1:24.275 	 	 	 	15
16 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	 	16 	1:24.036 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	17 	1:24.074 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	18 	1:24.121 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	 	19 	1:24.220 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20* 	11 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	 	20 	1:24.951 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/855/italy/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
** Alguersuari was awarded a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.
===Grid===
** Alguersuari started the race from the pitlane.
==Race==
===Report===
Riccardo Musconi Brawn team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer’s award.
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	53 	1:16:21.706 	5 	10
2 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	53 	+2.866s 	6 	8
3 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+30.664s 	3 	6
4 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	53 	+31.131s 	2 	5
5 	7K 	Fernando Alonso 	 	53 	+59.182s 	8 	4
6 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	53 	+1:00.693 	4 	3
7 	6 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	53 	+1:22.412 	15 	2
8 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	+1:25.407 	9 	1
9 	3K 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	53 	+1:26.856 	14 	
10 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	53 	+2:42.163 	17 	
11 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	53 	+2:43.925 	16 	
12* 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	52 	Accident 	1 	
13† 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	52 	Pitlane 	19 	
14 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	11 	
15 	8K 	Romain Grosjean 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	12 	
16 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	51 	+2 Laps 	18 	
Ret 	21 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	22 	Driveshaft 	7 	
Ret 	11 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	19 	Gearbox 	PL 	
Ret 	5 	Robert Kubica 	 	15 	Oil leak 	13 	
Ret 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	0 	Collision 	10 	
Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Italy 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/italie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
** Hamilton was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
*† Buemi followed the safety car into the pitlane at the end of the race and so did not officially complete the final lap, although he was still classified as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
* Rubens Barrichello secured his eleventh and final Grand Prix victory.
** This was also the 68th and final podium finish for Barrichello.
* Eighth and final win for as a constructor.
** 76th win for as an engine supplier.
* Maiden points finish for Adrian Sutil.
* Sutil recorded his first and only fastest lap.
** This was also the first fastest lap recorded by a chassis.
==Standings==
Victory for Rubens Barrichello left the Brazilian racer fourteen points off the lead in the Drivers Championship, and signalled his intent to challenge for the title. Indeed, second for Jenson Button in Italy had reduced the damage to his lead, moving him onto 80 points for the season. Behind Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were still in the hunt in third and fourth, while Kimi Räikkönen in fifth was mathematically out of contention, for he could not beat Button even if he won all four remaining races.
At the conclusion of the European phase of the season it was who were in command of the Constructors Championship, as their Italian one-two moved them onto 146 points. were still in second, but had slipped 40.5 points behind with 76 points left to fight for in the final four rounds. Behind, were officially out of the fight in third, but had a fair advantage of fifteen points over in fourth.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Jenson Button 	80 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	66 	
3 	Sebastian Vettel 	54 	
4 	Mark Webber 	51.5 	
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	40 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	30.5 	
7 	Lewis Hamilton 	27 	
8 	Jarno Trulli 	22.5 	
9 	Felipe Massa 	22 	
10 	Heikki Kovalainen 	20 	2
11 	Fernando Alonso 	20 	1
12 	Timo Glock 	16 	1
13 	Nick Heidfeld 	12 	
14 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	8 	
15 	Robert Kubica 	8 	
16 	Adrian Sutil 	5 	2
17 	Sébastien Buemi 	3 	1
18 	Sébastien Bourdais 	2 	1
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	146 	
2 	 	105.5 	
3 	 	62 	
4 	 	47 	
5 	 	38.5 	
6 	 	30.5 	
7 	 	20 	
8 	 	20 	
9 	 	13 	
10 	 	5 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==References==
Images and videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2009 Grands Prix
Category:Italian Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Italy