2009 Formula 1 Telefonica Grand Prix Of Europe (Valencia)
Finally, Reubens Barrichelo had his day in the sun. He ruled the streets of Valencia and won his first race of the season on a car which was clearly the fastest one on the grid in the early part of the season when he was made to look second best by his teammate. But this weekend saw a flawless performance from the Brazilian, who had qualified behind the two McLarens. Reubens ran a better strategy compared to the much improved McLarens. As expected Lewis Hamilton, the reigning world champion led into the first corner at the start of the race till his first pit-stop, courtesy his KERS boost. He, thus handed over the lead to his teammate who led for a single lap before his stop. Barichello inherited the lead and stayed there for three laps. In the pit stop which followed, he was able to jump Kovalainen and keep the pressure on Lewis Hamilton in the next stint. Reubens then did the same to Hamilton during the second round of pit stops. However, Lewis would consider himself unlucky, as his pit crew didn’t have the front tyres ready as he came in. Even if his team had not made the mistake, we believe that the results wouldn’t have been different.
After the third pit stop, Reubens was able to keep Lewis behind and come out in the race lead. From then on, he
coasted home to pick up his 10th career in. The result was positive news for Ross Brawn, not just because he had one of his drivers on the top step of the podium but also because the Red Bull cars had a bad race. More crucially, Jenson Button finished 7th and ahead of Mark Webber who was off the points in 9th. Kimi Raikkonen did well for the Ferrari, as he was able to get ahead of Kovalainen during the third round of stops and finish ahead in 3rd. Nico Rosberg had a strong race to finish 5th, having started 7th. Fernando Alonso was 6th and Robert Kubica 8th. It was a tough day for Red Bull, with Vettel retiring with his second engine failure of the weekend. Mark Webber had a forgetable race and lost out on the second stop as he dropped behind Button and Kubica, and outside the points.
Button was the fastest man on track towards the end of the race, until his super-soft tyres gave away. Luca Badoer’s return to Formula One was unimpressive. He qualified last, ran the entire race at the back of the field, allowed the F1 debutant Romain Grosjean to overtake him in the pits, and then got a drive-through penalty for cutting the white line on the pit exit. Grosjean’s debut race was compromised on the opening lap as he damaged his nose. Later on in the race, he had a spin but was able to continue and finish 15th. Jaime Alguersuari looked less convincing than he had in Hungary, but finished 16th which is still a good result for a rookie.
The most improved car in Spain was the undoubtably the McLaren. And, Martin Whitmarsh showed that there is still
tremendous amount of work going-on behind the scenes as Lewis Hamilton ran a shorter-wheelbase McLaren. Kovalainen ran the same design McLaren which had won in Hungary. Brawn GP also looked to have taken a few steps forward and Adrian Newey would have to come up with something very soon. The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix at the classical Spa-Francorchamps, which is widely regarded as the best circuit in the entire calendar. We at three2tango, like F1 fans worldwide, are eagerly waiing for the racing spectacle. The Eau Rogue beckons and we can’t wait….
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