After qualifying it looked like Lewis Hamilton would easily drive away from the two Red Bulls in the race but despite setting six consecutive fastest laps and opening a gap of two seconds on Vettel, a brake problem forced Hamilton to retire after 20 laps.

The billion dollar Yas Marina circuit looked spectacular as twilight faded into night and while there are some interesting sections to the track, including a pit exit tunnel, for the most part the race was pretty uneventful.

The most excitment came in the closing laps as Mark Webber came under attack from Jenson Button and only just managed to hold him off with some great defensive driving.

It’s hard to see how an old airfield in Northamptonshire can compete with a city that sits on one-tenth of the world’s oil reserves and whose citizens (not including foreign workers) are worth about $17 million each. But Sunday’s race showed that while money can buy spectacular, it can’t buy history and it can’t neccessarily buy good racing.

2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Image: Red Bull

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1. Red Bull keep things interesting
2. Hamilton takes last minute pole in Abu Dhabi
3. Brawn GP domination continues in Spain

Below is a graph showing the actual top ten qualifying times as well as those times adjusted for the weight of fuel each car is carrying. The graph assumes a standard lap time cost of 0.3 seconds per 10kg of fuel.

Looking at these weights we can see that while everyone is roughly in position, Lewis Hamilton really is a lot faster than anyone else. It’s hard not to imagine Hamilton driving off into the distance on Sunday leaving everyone else behind.

Trulli looks quite fast so a podium for him isn’t totally out of the question but it is more likely a McLaren and two Red Bulls will take the final podium positions of 2009.

2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Car Weights

Image: McLaren

Related posts:

1. Italy: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
2. Germany: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
3. Bahrain: Fuel adjusted qualifying times

Lewis looked completely at home on the new circuit and as twilight faded quickly to darkness he was nearly a second faster than the two Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber behind him.

Speaking after qualifying, Lewis said:

The car is the best it has been all year. It was a smooth lap, and it just kept getting better and better.

Rubens Barrichello beat his team mate, and new World Champion, Jenson Button to fourth place on the grid.

Jarno Trulli got his Toyota up into sixth place ahead of the two BMWs with Rosberg and Buemi rounding out the top 10.

Ferrari had a disappointing session with Fisichella dropping out in Q1 in last place and Raikkonen only making it to P11.

2009 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Image: McLaren

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2. Button takes Spain pole with seconds to spare
3. Another Red Bull 1-2 in Abu Dhabi

Brawn GP also picked up the points they needed to win the Constructors’ Championship.

For the fifth time in a row the Interlagos circuit played host to the Championship decider. And what a race it was.

After a washed out qualifying that saw both Button and Vettel dropped in the first session, determined drives from Button, Vettel and Hamilton gave us one of the most thrilling races of the season.

After dispatching Romain Grosjean and Kazuki Nakajima, Button became stuck behind Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi who was filling in for Timo Glock. The young Japanese driver in his first Formula One race put in a gutsy performance. He seems to come from the Takuma Sato school of driving; not afraid to throw his car around the track with willful abandon. Jenson described him as “absolutely crazy.” I agree! Let’s hope he gets a drive next year.

Lewis Hamilton made the most of his KERS powered McLaren by switching to a one-stop strategy when the safety car came out on the first lap. He started from 17th on the grid but drove an aggressive race, passing Alguersuari and Grosjean on a single lap before making Barrichello’s day even worse by passing him on lap 62 to finish 3rd. Hamilton’s podium moves McLaren to 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship, one point ahead of Ferrari.

Speaking of Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen proved how cool he was when a trailing fuel hose from the back of Kovalainen’s McLaren briefly turned him into a human torch. This seemed to have little effect on the Finn and he went on to finish 6th.

The new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi looks spectacular but it’s hard to imagine it producing a more thrilling race than Brazil. Interlagos had it all: unpredictable weather, loads of overtaking, spectacular crashes, even very nearly a trackside punchup between Adrian Sutil and Jarno Trulli.

This is what Formula One should be.

2009 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Image: Brawn GP

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There was much debate at the time as to whether this would enhance or detract from the Championship. I was (and still am) of the opinion that  it would not increase the spectacle and may even harm it.  In the end it was the teams who rejected the plan as it was introduced too close to the start of the 2009 season to be allowed by the FIA’s own regulations.

However, I decided to leave the wins in the Drivers Championship standings in the sidebar so we could see what effect the rule change may have had.

It is clear that under the medals scheme Jenson Button would be Champion now.  In fact, he would have been Champion after Singapore and he hasn’t won a race since Turkey back in June!

In a previous article I posted a quote from Jenson Button where he argues against medals:

I think the public will struggle to understand why a driver with 60 points can become champion instead of the one who has 100. I understand the logic behind it and I find it interesting. For sure it’s an incentive to always go for the win, but it seems risky too – after nine races, we could find ourselves with a driver that has already won the title and can stand still eating ice cream, while the guy in second in the standings is just 18 points behind.

As it turns out Jenson could have been eating ice cream after only 7 races — although he couldn’t have known that in Turkey.

Thankfully, the FIA are going to leave the scoring system unchanged for 2010. Anyway, it still looks like the driver who won the most races is going to win the Championship so that should keep Bernie happy.

For the last couple of years the points based system has provided exceptionally close run Championships and this year looks like it will be no different.

Image: Brawn GP

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Jenson Button has a 14 point lead over team mate Rubens Barrichello and a 16 point lead over Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

There are 20 points available over the next two races, so it is still possible for Vettel to be crowned Champion but what will it take for Jenson to seal the Championship at Interlagos?

There are a few ways Button can clinch it:

1. He finishes third or better
2. He scores four points more than Barrichello
3. Vettel finishes lower than second and Barrichello finishes lower than fourth

As usual, Button remains positive:

We go to two circuits now which should suit our car so I’m excited about the end of the season and already looking forward to the next race in Brazil.

Of course if a track suits Jenson’s car it also suits Barrichello’s and the Brazilian will be on home territory fighting for probably his last shot at the Championship:

I’ve got to go there and win the race, that’s the aim. The rest, I don’t care about, and if I deserve to win the championship, I will.

It might be a long shot for him but Sebastian Vettel is not going to give up:

As I’ve said many times already, I will fight until the end, until the last breath.

The good news for fans is that all three drivers will really be fighting for the win in Brazil.  Barrichello and Vettel need it to keep their chances alive and Button can’t afford to lose many more points.

Image: Brawn GP

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Many expected Brawn GP to seal the Constructors’ Championship this weekend and they came very close to doing so.  While Red Bull are still in with a chance (mathematically), Brawn only need half a point to seal victory, something they are almost certain to do in Brazil.

The Drivers’ Championship is a lot less certain, though.

Sebastian Vettel was untouchable around the demanding Suzuka circuit, starting from pole position and leading from lights to flag.

What a race! We already had pole position and strategy-wise we were the favourites, but, you know – first of all you have to do the start! We were pretty confident that we could defend our position, as we’ve had good starts in the past, but it was closer than I thought it would be! Going into Turn 1, I suddenly saw a silver arrow on my left-hand side, but I had the inside line so it was my advantage. After that I put my head down and tried to push with every single lap.

Lewis Hamilton was on target to claim second until a problem with KERS saw him fall into the clutches of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli.

When we were behind the Safety Car, I asked the team if they could get the KERS working again so that I could shoot past Jarno but they couldn’t do it and I wasn’t close enough to get in his slipstream at the restart.

In a weekend marked by a string of shunts, rookie Jaime Alguersuari crashed spectacularly through a trackside sign to bring out the safety car on lap 43.  Rosberg pitted under the safety car and went on to finish 5th behind Kimi Raikkonen.

Barrichello and Button picked up the final two points-paying positions behind Nick Heidfeld.

Button now goes into Brazil 14 points ahead of Barrichello and 16 points ahead of Vettel.  In 2007 Kimi Raikkonen was 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton with two races to go and he ended up winning the Championship.

2009 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Image: Red Bull

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Below is a graph showing the actual top ten qualifying times as well as those times adjusted for the weight of fuel each car is carrying. The graph assumes a standard lap time cost of 0.3 seconds per 10kg of fuel.

From these weights we can see that Adrian Sutil is running a little lighter than the other top 10 qualifiers and will have to make sure he has a good start to keep in front of Barrichello.

Everyone else seems to be roughly in position but Vettel’s blistering pace is clearly evident.  Jarno Trulli may be starting on the front row of the grid but unless Vettel makes a mistake it is unlikely Toyota will score their first win on Sunday.

2009 Japanese Grand Prix Car Weights

Image: Red Bull

Related posts:

1. Belgium: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
2. Bahrain: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
3. Singapore: Fuel adjusted qualifying times

Below is a graph showing the actual top ten qualifying times as well as those times adjusted for the weight of fuel each car is carrying. The graph assumes a standard lap time cost of 0.3 seconds per 10kg of fuel.

From these weights we can see that while nobody is really out of place when adjusted for fuel, Lewis Hamilton is quite a bit faster that his nearest rival Sebastian Vettel.  Starting from pole with KERS power Hamilton has every chance of taking the win.

Rosberg’s best qualifying this season was done on merit as well and fuel adjusted he was faster than Vettel in front of him.

2009 Singapore Grand Prix Car Weights

Image: Williams

Related posts:

1. Germany: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
2. Japan: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
3. Abu Dhabi: Fuel adjusted qualifying times

Below is a graph showing the actual top ten qualifying times as well as those times adjusted for the weight of fuel each car is carrying. The graph assumes a standard lap time cost of 0.3 seconds per 10kg of fuel.

From these weights we can see that, while they may be on the third row, the two Brawns look quick.  They will be one-stopping and Hamilton will have to really fly off the start to prevent being jumped in his second stop.

Interestingly, the two McLarens seem to be on different strategies.  Kovalainen looks to be one-stopping and, adjusted for fuel, he was the fastest man in qualifying.  Starting on the second row, a podium or even a win looks a real possibility for Heikki on Sunday.

2009 Italian Grand Prix car weights

Image: McLaren

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1. Bahrain: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
2. Europe: Fuel adjusted qualifying times
3. Hungary: Fuel adjusted qualifying times