Turkish Grand Prix – 2009
There was much excitement for the start of this race. Sebastian Vettel managed to take pole position from Jensen Button after qualifying on Saturday. Vettel managed to get a good start off the line, however, a bit of a bungle on turn nine into ten sent him off the road. Button managed to sail past and kept the lead for another victory. The Red Bull cars still managed to show how well they are performing by taking the second and third podium positions. The next race is in England; home track for the race leader, Jensen Button. Wouldn’t it be fun for a man from Australia to win at Silverstone? I’ve got my fingers crossed for you, Mark.
Race Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 9 | 4 |
| 6 | Filipe Massa | Ferrari | 7 | 3 |
| 7 | Robert Kubica | BMW-Sauber | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 13 | 1 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 6 | |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 8 | |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW-Sauber | 11 | |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 12 | |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 16 | |
| 14 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 14 | |
| 15 | Sebastian Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 18 | |
| 16 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 17 | |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 15 | |
| 18 | Sebastian Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 20 | |
| Ret | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 3 | |
| Ret | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 19 |
Monaco Grand Prix – 2009
If I could only go to one race, I think it would have to be Monaco. They don’t call it the “Jewel of the Formula One crown” for nothing. In fact, to watch the race from the deck of one of those yachts would be quite nice.
Formula One has been racing around the streets of Monaco since 1929. The place simply oozes in history, spectacle and glamor. The track itself is tricky; one small slip could end up putting your car into a wall. Plus, with not many places to overtake, race strategy and pit stops are crucial.
As for the race results, well, Jensen Button and Brawn took the podium again.
Race Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 8 | 4 |
| 6 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 14 | 1 |
| 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 13 | |
| 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 19 | |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 16 | |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 20 | |
| 13 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 18 | |
| 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 15 | |
| 15 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 10 | |
| Ret | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 7 | |
| Ret | Robert Kubica | BMW-Sauber | 17 | |
| Ret | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 4 | |
| Ret | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 12 | |
| Ret | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 11 |
Spanish Grand Prix – 2009
There were no major issues going into the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. It looked like we were in for a lean racing weekend. Qualifying had me jumping for joy as I watched Vettel cross the line to take pole position. My celebrating was extremely short lived once I realized that Button had made it across the line to run his final lap with just a second to spare. Sure enough, he managed to take away the pole from Sebastian of Red Bull.
Once again, the Brawn cars finished up with a nice one – two. I have a feeling that Rubens may be getting tired of his teammate. Unfortunately, I just don’t think he can keep the pace as Jensen has been doing so well. Mark Webber managed to get on the podium with a third place win. And Massa had more trouble with his Ferrari. Running low on fuel he had to let Vettel and Alonso by, dropping him back to sixth.
Race Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 8 | 4 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 4 | 3 |
| 7 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 13 | 2 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 14 | |
| 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 6 | |
| 11 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 10 | |
| 12 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 12 | |
| 13 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 11 | |
| 14 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 20 | |
| Ret | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferarri | 16 | |
| Ret | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 18 | |
| Ret | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 7 | |
| Ret | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferarri | 15 | |
| Ret | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferarri | 17 | |
| Ret | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 19 |
Bahrain Grand Prix – 2009
Race 4 was held at the Sakhir Circuit in the desert of Bahrain which pretty much guaranteed a dry race. The Toyotas surprised everyone by taking the top two slots in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel started in 3rd position while Mark Weber ended up at the back of the grid in 18th position after getting caught up in traffic on his last qualifying lap. Jenson Button drove his Brawn car to another first place podium finish with Vettel taking second and Jarno Trulli of Toyota finishing in third.
There’s a two week break until the next race in Spain. It will be interesting to see how many teams arrive with new rear diffusers.
Race Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 5 | 1 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 6 | 4 |
| 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 10 | 3 |
| 7 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 7 | 1 |
| 9 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 9 | |
| 10 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 15 | |
| 11 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 18 | |
| 12 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 11 | |
| 13 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 20 | |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 8 | |
| 15 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 17 | |
| 16 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 19 | |
| 17 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 16 | |
| 18 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 13 | |
| 19 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 14 | |
| Ret | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 12 |
Chinese Grand Prix – 2009
Race three was held under rainy skies in Shanghai, China. The race was started under a yellow flag and a safety car to continue this season’s trend of not having a clean start to finish race. More yellow flags and another safety car appearance after a couple of crashes by Sutil and Trulli caused more delays during the race.
All of the careful race planning and strategy that went into the amazing finish at qualifying was pretty much destroyed. This race could have been won by anyone. However, this was finally Red Bull’s moment with Vettel and Webber taking the team to a one – two finish.
Race Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Grid | Points |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 12 | 4 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 9 | 3 |
| 7 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 19 | 2 |
| 8 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 10 | 1 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 2 | |
| 10 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 8 | |
| 11 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 15 | |
| 12 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 11 | |
| 13 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 17 | |
| 14 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 20 | |
| 15 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 7 | |
| 16 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 16 | |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 18 | |
| Ret | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 14 | |
| Ret | Felipe Massa | BMW Sauber | 13 | |
| Ret | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 6 |
The only controversy that is left swirling around is whatever the outcome may be for the McLaren team after next Wednesday’s meeting with the World Motor Sport Council in Paris. Although, McLaren has apologized and fired the main people involved in the lying scandal, they may still face some serious penalties. They could be facing a hefty fine, suspension from Spain and Monaco, exclusion from the Championship or any combination of the three. Depending on what decision is made by the WMSC, McLaren could also face the possibility of having some of its major sponsors pullout. Personally, I think a fine with a one race suspension for Hamilton may be adequate punishment. I don’t feel that the entire team should suffer for a mistake made by a few players. It would be especially unfair for Heikki Kovalainen. That’s my two cents on the topic, anyway.
We are off to Bahrain for the next race. I’m fairly sure that we should be able to avoid the rain.
2010 F1 Schedule
Date Location Mar. 14 
Sakhir - Bahrain Mar. 28 
Melbourne - Australia Apr. 04 
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Apr. 18 
Shanghai - China May 09 
Barcelona - Spain May 16 
Monaco May 30 
Istanbul - Turkey Jun. 13 
Montreal - Canada Jun. 27 Valencia - Spain Jul. 11 
Silverstone - Great Britain Jul. 25 
Hockenheim - Germany Aug. 01 
Budapest - Hungary Aug. 29 
Spa-Francorchamps - Belgium Sep. 12 
Monza - Italy Sep. 26 
Singapore Oct. 10 
Suzuka - Japan Oct. 24 
South Korea Nov. 07 
Sao Paulo - Brazil Nov. 14 
Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates -
