2009 Italian Grand Prix

The 2009 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2009 ) [ 1 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 13 September 2009 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza , Monza , Italy . It was the 13th race of the 2009 Formula One World Championship . It was contested over 53 laps.

Jenson Button led the Drivers Championship by 16 points from Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello , who led Red Bull's third placed man Sebastian Vettel by 3 points. Brawn led the Constructors Championship by 23½ points from Red Bull who were a further 48½ points ahead of winners of the previous race , Ferrari . [ 3 ]

Renault decided to use KERS for the first time since Spanish Grand Prix weekend. [ 5 ]

The first session of the Italian GP finished with the McLarens on top with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen first and second fastest, respectively. Force India 's Adrian Sutil finished the session in third. Renault 's Fernando Alonso finished fourth while teammate Romain Grosjean finished fifteenth. [ 6 ] Fischella, driving for Ferrari for the first time in his career, finished eighth ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen who ended the session in tenth. Toyota's Trulli and Timo Glock were at the ...

In the second session Force India's Adrian Sutil was fastest, ahead of the two Renaults of Grosjean and Alonso. Hamilton was eleventh with Kovalainen coming in fourth. [ 7 ] Button in a Brawn finished 19th, with only Fisichella separating him from last place. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel came eighteenth, and Mark Webber in fourteenth. [ 7 ]

The first session, lasting 20 minutes, decided the final five places on the grid. Five minutes into the session Liuzzi ran off the track but did not damage his car and managed to proceed through to the next part of qualifying. [ 9 ] Räikkönen topped the session ahead of Hamilton and Kovalainen. [ 10 ] Both Toro Rossos and both Williams cars were knocked out along with the Toyota of Timo Glock. [ 10 ] Fisichella made it through to the next session, making it the first time since the Hungarian Gra...

The second session, lasting 15 minutes, decided positions 11 to 15. Five minutes into the session Nick Heidfeld 's BMW engine gave way to leave him in 15th for the race. Seven minutes later, the other BMW of Robert Kubica appeared to have the same problem and pulled off with engine problems just before the first corner. [ 9 ] This left Kubica qualifying in 13th. Fisichella was unable to make it through to the final session of qualifying. Button topped the session, with Hamilton in second and For...

The final session, lasting ten minutes, decided the top ten positions. Early on, Alonso set the fastest time in the first sector, but it was Räikkönen who had the best time overall. Very soon afterwards Hamilton set the fastest lap, while Webber, Alonso, Sutil and Räikkönen traded second place. [ 9 ] The chequered flag fell and very few cars were still out, but it was Hamilton who came out on top to snatch pole from Sutil. [ 10 ] Although Button qualified sixth and his teammate Barrichello in fi...

At the start, Lewis Hamilton held onto his lead with Kimi Räikkönen in second, ahead of Adrian Sutil . Heikki Kovalainen , on a one-stop fuel strategy was overtaken by the similarly fuelled Brawns of Rubens Barrichello , off the start line, and Jenson Button , through the second Lesmo. Championship contender Mark Webber was spun by Robert Kubica at Della Roggia on the opening lap and was forced to retire. By Lap 15, Kubica had also retired with an oil leak. [ 12 ] Before this, on lap 9, Kubica w...

The battle for the lead was tactical, with the Brawn cars stopping only once while Hamilton was on a two-stop strategy. Barrichello and Button were able to lap consistently faster than Hamilton despite their heavier fuel load, [ 13 ] meaning when Hamilton emerged from his second pit stop he found himself behind both Brawns in third position. Reigning World Champion Hamilton tried in vain to overtake Championship leader Button over the final few laps before crashing into the barriers on the exit ...

The poor performance from the Red Bull cars, combined with Brawn's 1–2 finish, meant the Drivers Championship became effectively a two-horse race between Button, who led Barrichello by 14 points with four races to go. Vettel was 26 points behind Button with Webber a further 2.5 points adrift. Brawn team boss Ross Brawn said after the race he would allow his drivers to compete amongst themselves for the Drivers Championship, as his team was virtually assured of the Constructors Championship. [ 15...

Webber admitted frustration at his first non-finish of the year following such a "small" accident, while Vettel insisted his Championship chances were not over. [ 17 ] McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh did not criticise Hamilton for his last lap crash, stating the accident was a result of the Briton's "never-give-up attitude, his unquenchable desire to fight until the very last metre of the very last lap." [ 17 ] The focus of the F1 paddock after the race, however, was on the looming Crash...

Lewis Hamilton mathematically conceded the defence of his 2008 World Championship following the result of this race as only Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were mathematically able to win the Championship. 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen also mathematically conceded the World Championship as a result of this race, while 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso was already out of contention before this race. As a result, it meant following this race ...

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

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