2009
SEASON

Free practice drivers

One constructor entered free practice only drivers over the course of the season: Kamui Kobayashi for Toyota at the Japanese Grand Prix .

Team changes

Honda withdrew ahead of the 2009 season, and the team was bought by a consortium led by team principal Ross Brawn . Brawn renamed the team Brawn GP , and raced with Mercedes engines, but retained Honda drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello . Force India also raced with Mercedes engines, after running with Ferrari engines in 2008 .

Driver changes

The only offseason driver change was following the retirement of Red Bull's David Coulthard after 14 years in Formula One. He was replaced by Sebastian Vettel , who had raced for Toro Rosso in 2008. Vettel's seat at Toro Rosso was taken by the Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi , who was Red Bull's test driver in 2008. Following the German Grand Prix , Toro Rosso's Sébastien Bourdais was dropped by the team, with Toro Rosso principal Franz Tost claiming that the partnership had not met his expectations. Bourdais was replaced by Jaime Alguersuari ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix . Alguersuari had been racing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2009, and had only signed a deal to replace Brendon Hartley as Toro Rosso's test driver two weeks prior. Bourdais was advised by counsel to file suit for breach of contract... After sustaining an injury during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari's Felipe Massa missed the remainder of the season. He was replaced for the next two races by Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer , but after Badoer failed to score a single point in his two races, Ferrari replaced him with Giancarlo Fisichella who had signed a deal to be a Ferrari test driver for 2010 and had driven for Force India throughout the 2009 season. Fisichella's seat at Force India was taken by Vitantonio Li... Following the Hungarian Grand Prix, Renault parted ways with Nelson Piquet Jr. as he had failed to score a single point and allegations that he had intentionally crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix surfaced. Piquet was replaced by Romain Grosjean , who was Renault's test driver. In qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix , Toyota's Timo Glock crashed heavily at the last corner and was airlifted to hospital with a leg injury. As he was not fit to race, Jarno Trulli was the only driver representing Toyota at the Japanese Grand Prix. On 11 October, Toyota confirmed that its test driver Kamui Kobayashi would make his race debut in the Brazilian Grand Prix , as Glock had suffered further complications from his accident, resulting in a cracked vertebra and he would not be guar...

Regulation changes

The FIA released preliminary technical regulations for the 2009 season on 22 December 2006, and these were revised several times to accommodate the findings of the Overtaking Working Group (formed in response to concerns that passing in wheel-to-wheel racing was becoming increasingly rare) and the increasing need for cost-cutting in the sport to minimise financial costs.

Pre-season

FIA President Max Mosley announced dramatic rule changes for the 2009 season in a bid to improve the spectacle of the sport, with the cars undergoing major changes in an effort to increase overtaking. The design changes significantly altered the design of the cars, incorporating wider and lower front wings, taller and narrower rear wings, and a reduction on aerodynamic bodywork. Also introduced were slick tyres and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, as well as implementing cost-cutting meas... Honda announced in December 2008 they would be leaving Formula One with immediate effect, as a result of the automotive industry crisis . After a winter of uncertainty, it was confirmed on 5 March 2009 that the team would compete in the 2009 season as Brawn GP , with Mercedes engines, following a management buyout led by team principal Ross Brawn , and would retain the services of both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello as drivers. Anthony Davidson , who competed fo... Force India joined Brawn GP in using the Mercedes engines by signing a five-year deal until 2013, having ended their previous supply contract from Ferrari . The retirement of Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard led to the appointment of Sebastian Vettel as his replacement, who left the Scuderia Toro Rosso team after a successful previous season including winning the Italian Grand Prix . Toro Rosso, a team designed to develop new Formula One drivers, saw co-owner Gerhard Berger s... The World Drivers' Championship would be decided in the traditional manner of points scored after Bernie Ecclestone 's idea that the driver who won the most races be declared as the champion was scrapped following protests from the Formula One Teams Association . The teams were less successful in their attempts to have the long-running French and Canadian Grands Prix kept on the calendar, with the organisers of both events pulling out due to financial issues. T...

Testing

The first 2009 test was held by Bahrain International Circuit , Bahrain on 16–19 February, and the second and final testing was held by Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya , Spain on 9–12 March. The final test featured for the first time Brawn GP , who made an immediate impact by leading the times early in the day. The test was the first in which all teams used their 2009 cars and had BMW Sauber leading the times whilst Brawn GP were fourth. On day three, Brawn GP's Jenson Button was fastest b... A major source of controversy throughout the winter season were the rear diffusers . Three teams – Toyota, Williams and Brawn GP – launched their cars with a diffuser that uses the rear crash structure in order to generate additional downforce, labelled "double diffusers". These designs were quickly protested, and just days after the cars were unveiled, rival teams asked the FIA for a clarification on the matter. On the Wednesday of the season opening race in Australia, an official complaint was launched by the seven other teams against the rear diffusers of the Williams FW31 , Toyota TF109 and the Brawn BGP 001 saying that they were illegal. The FIA scrutineers disagreed, declaring the cars legal. The other six teams filed an unsuccessful appeal which was heard on 14 April 2009 – the week prior to round three of the championship, the Chinese Grand Prix .

Report

The season opened at the Australian Grand Prix , won by Jenson Button with teammate Rubens Barrichello in second, giving the team a 1–2 on its debut ( Brawn GP becoming the first team to do so since Mercedes in the 1954 French Grand Prix ). Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had been running in second until he collided with BMW Sauber 's Robert Kubica . The accident meant the race finished behind the safety car , with Toyota's Jarno Trulli eventually classified third despite McLaren 's false protest he... Dry conditions at Bahrain saw the Toyota team gain the front of the grid, but Button managed to fight up from a fourth-place start, and overtook race leader Timo Glock on his first pit stop. Hamilton and Räikkönen, in fourth and sixth respectively, gave their 2008 championship winning teams the best finishes of a disappointing season start. The Spanish Grand Prix was a battle between the Brawn teammates, with Barrichello getting ahead of polesitter Button while a first lap incident forced... The British Grand Prix was seen as a turning point, being dominated by Red Bull with Vettel leading home Webber, in dry conditions. Button was not on the podium for the first time this season, finishing sixth. Red Bull also dominated the following German Grand Prix with Webber taking his first pole and race win, despite being given a drive through penalty . Ferrari were also showing signs of improvement, Felipe Massa finishing third in what would be his final race of the season. He was hospitali... During the summer break, BMW Sauber announced their withdrawal from Formula One racing due to poor results and lack of financial sustainability. The team would compete until the end of the season, while BMW attempted to sell the organisation. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was originally set to replace the injured Massa, but the seat was taken by test driver Luca Badoer due to Schumacher's neck injuries. Also replaced was Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. , who compla... The European Grand Prix in Valencia provided the first win for Rubens Barrichello after Hamilton lost the lead with an error in the pits; he finished second while both Red Bulls failed to score. At the Belgian Grand Prix Giancarlo Fisichella gained Force India 's first pole position, and his second-place finish behind Kimi Räikkönen gave their first points. Button's title charge was undermined by poor qualifying and a crash, involving him, Hamilton, Alguersuari and Grosjean, ending their ...

2008 race fixing controversy

In a scandal dubbed " Crashgate " by the media, allegations of race-fixing during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix emerged during the second half of the 2009 season from former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. Over the course of the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix , Piquet, who had been sacked weeks earlier by Renault, claimed he was asked to crash at the Singapore race in a strategy designed to aid teammate and eventual race winner Fernando Alonso . Renault were handed a two-year suspended ban from the sp...