Results
01 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32:23.081
02 R. Kubica BMW + 7.626
03 L. Hamilton McLaren + 18.944
04 S. Vettel Red Bull + 19.652
05 J. Button Brawn GP + 29.005
06 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 33.340
07 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 35.991
08 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 45.454
09 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 48.499
10 K. Kobayashi Toyota + 1:03.321
11 G. Fisichella Ferrari + 1:10.600
12 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 + 1:11.300
13 R. Grosjean Renault + 1 lap(s)
14 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 lap(s)
Did not finish
15 K. Nakajima Williams + 41 lap(s)
16 N. Rosberg Williams + 44 lap(s)
17 N. Heidfeld BMW + 50 lap(s)
18 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 71 lap(s)
19 J. Trulli Toyota + 71 lap(s)
20 F. Alonso Renault + 71 lap(s)

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Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) took his second race win of the season in a thrilling and exciting Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos where Jenson Button clinched this year’s FIA Formula One drivers’ championship.

Webber used a medium-medium-super soft tyre strategy in a dry race to finish ahead of Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber F1 Team) and Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes). Pole-sitter Rubens Barrichello finished eighth.

Button’s fifth position gives him an unassailable lead in the drivers’ championship while the Brawn GP Formula 1 Team sealed the 2009 constructors’ championship.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Well done to Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing for Mark’s second win today and many congratulations to Jenson and Ross and all of the team for winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in such fantastic fashion. The story of Brawn GP is an amazing one and many millions of people around the world have seen such an exciting race that definitely added something fascinating to the sport. These were tremendous achievements. We always see exciting races here and enjoy the fabulous atmosphere created by the Brazilian fans. It’s been a long and hard fought season and we are proud to be the Official Tyre Supplier to this great sport.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“Once again Interlagos gave us some surprises, and a thrilling race. Most people expected more rain today, but the race was dry. Many people thought that the super soft Bridgestone would not be durable, but it worked better than predicted. Heidfeld used it at the start and Raikkonen used it twice without major issue. After so much rain yesterday the track was very green so we saw a lot of surface improvement through the race. Lap times were quite slow as the surface was still not at its best, especially in sector two. Well done to Webber, who drove a very controlled race for Red Bull, Kubica and BMW Sauber who used a good strategy for second, and Hamilton and McLaren who showed good patience for third. We are investigating Barrichello’s tyre, as it appears that a puncture caused air loss. It was sad to see Barrichello and Vettel’s championship hopes dashed but well done to winners Jenson Button and Brawn Grand Prix for such well deserved wins.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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We never did get that dramatic wet race we were promised. It seems yet again that was reserved for the GP2 Sprint Race! We did get however a new addition to the Grand Prix winners list as Mark Webber one the race in dominant form.

After 8 years of trying it wasn’t a surprise to hear his radio transmission after his crossed the line! It was refreshing to hear him so passionate and elated, although a lot of it was probably relief I’m sure.

The biggest surprise wasn’t that he won it but that he managed to cross the line P1 even after being handed a ridiculous driver through penalty by the stewards and without the help of rain. His team were ’stoked’ off course, especially as this was the second 1-2 in a row for Red Bull.

Vettel missed out on that home win his fans wanted so much but he did an awesome job to finish second and still take more points of championship leader Button. Brawn must be pretty worried now as Red Bull can beat them in the wet & dry. The only thing against Red Bull’s title hopes is that they have two very competitive drivers and are doing things fairly by not backing one horse this early on.

Massa and Rosberg had a great race and managed to beat the Brawns to third and fourth place, thanks to a pitstop refuelling error for Rubens and both cars struggling with their tyres towards the later stages of the race. Alonso too was on a charge in the late stages

Another bad day for Hamilton with his race effectively over by lap 1. He kept asking to retire and save the engine & gearbox but McLaren kept him out running last just in case the rain came but it didn’t.

It feels like deja vu writing this review as sadly it was yet another disappointing race result for our Kimster. And yet again another retirement. Kimi had another great start and with the heavier full loads the Ferrari’s were carrying it was looking promising for some solid points. 

Unfortunately things went wrong as early as lap 14, when Kimi’s car was damaged by some debris effecting his pace and then this finally ended his race after a lose of  power.

Sadly that wasn’t all of Kimi’s bad luck for this race. It seems that the BBC F1 team are just as keen on bring up the Kimi/Sutil Monaco 08 accident up at every race possible as ITV-F1 were. Now even more so after Raikkonen and Sutil had a coming together as Sutil exited the pits. It was clearly a racing incident, with Adrian blaming himself more than Kimi, yet BBC commentary decided to bash Kimi and had him a ‘penalty’ for Hungary. Luckily the stewards decided not to after reviewing the incident after the GP.

We now look to the Hungarian GP. Its a circuit that should suit the Ferrari’s and Massa has shown they can beat the Brawns. So Kimi will be aiming for a podium. Lets hope lady luck is on his side this time.

Jemela Coventry

Gokimi.com

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The German Grand Prix

Nurburgring, Germamy;

60 laps; 306.458km;

Weather: Cloudy, dry.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time

 1.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1h36:43.310

 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +     9.252

 3.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    15.906

 4.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    21.099

 5.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  +    23.609

 6.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  +    24.468

 7.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    24.888

 8.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    58.692

 9.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  1:01.457

10.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:01.925

11.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:02.327

12.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  1:02.876

13.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +  1:08.328

14.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:09.555

15.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:11.941

16.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:30.225

17.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +  1:30.970

18.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:33.365

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap

Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)    35

Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    19

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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So it wasn’t to be for Button or his expecting fans. Yet another Brit falls foul of the home GP jinx. Well not really Vettel went out and won it, with the help of its brilliant new motor! Not only did he win but he took some serious points from Jenson the championship leader, so maybe we will get that title fight after all. Thanks to a 1-2 finish Red Bull have closed the gap in the constructors title too.

Sadly another disappointing weekend for Kimi fans though. After a great Q2 - we all expected more than his final grid position of 9th. The Finn more than made up for that with a fantastic start, really widening the normal track width and almost taking to the run off - he put himself into 5th position after Copse corner.

Sadly it all went downhill from then on as his strategy meant a longer first stop, losing out to Trulli and then being stuck behind the train, with no chance to push. He was then passed during stops by his team mate Massa, Rosberg & Button. Still at least he got a point rather than nothing. The other two Brazilians had a great weekend too - with Piquet and Rubens also out doing their team mates fair and square.

Not the most classic GP but an amazing and dominant win from Vettel, he made it look easy. He spoilt the Brit party, with the majority of the fans leaving Silverstone disappointed. It wasn’t really Sebs fault though, as Button & Lewis could manage no better than 6th and 16th - which had nothing to do with the young German.

The next race in Germany is going to be an interesting one - with more developments for most teams and Button in particular out to ruin Vettel’s home GP win dream. Here’s hoping its a better race for Kimi - its awful to see him fighting for the final point.

Jemela Coventry

Gokimi Team

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1h22:49.328
 2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    15.188
 3.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    41.175
 4.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    45.043
 5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    45.915
 6.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    46.285
 7.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +  1:08.307
 8.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +  1:09.622
 9.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  1:09.823
10.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:11.522
11.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  1:14.023
12.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap
17.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
18.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:20.735

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    25
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)    24

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Free Practice 1

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.400            20

 2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.682  + 0.282   19

 3.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.227  + 0.827   20

 4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.242  + 0.842   29

 5.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:20.458  + 1.058   26

 6.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:20.471  + 1.071   23

 7.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:20.585  + 1.185   32

 8.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.650  + 1.250   26

 9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.815  + 1.415   32

10.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.838  + 1.438   25

11.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.913  + 1.513   22

12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:21.029  + 1.629   22

13.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:21.103  + 1.703   24

14.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:21.179  + 1.779   27

15.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.384  + 1.984   23

16.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:21.386  + 1.986   32

17.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:21.489  + 2.089   26

18.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:21.525  + 2.125   30

19.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.590  + 2.190   37

20.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:21.801  + 2.401   16

Free Practice 2

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.456            39

 2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.597  + 0.141   35

 3.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.141  + 0.685   41

 4.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.209  + 0.753   36

 5.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:20.237  + 0.781   36

 6.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.244  + 0.788   26

 7.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.417  + 0.961   35

 8.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:20.458  + 1.002   40

 9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.468  + 1.012   42

10.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:20.608  + 1.152   37

11.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:20.622  + 1.166   23

12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.733  + 1.277   37

13.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:20.762  + 1.306   37

14.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.767  + 1.311   28

15.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:20.932  + 1.476   35

16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:20.945  + 1.489   36

17.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:21.005  + 1.549   37

18.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:21.132  + 1.676   38

19.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:21.413  + 1.957   40

20.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.668  + 2.212   37

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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So the last British GP at Silverstone for a long time is almost upon us. Its shocking to think it ever came to this - just how did the circuit that hosted the first ever F1 Grand Prix get knocked off the calender? 

Well thats a long story, one thats been brewing for years thanks to Bernie’s tunnel vision. Its so sad that he’s determined to remove pretty much all character and history from the F1 circus, preferring instead the newer venues with the state of the art pit and paddock areas and the big bucks he can command outside Europe.

As you can tell I’m pretty emotional about this. I am gutted that this is really it for the Northamptonshire track. I have a lot of memories, both good & bad (but hey thats F1) from the years I’ve been coming to this place to watch the British GP and F1 testing . Thats why I am pleased that we decided at the last week to attend race day after all. I’ve been to the race here for the last 14 years and was dreading missing out on the final GP here for some time.

So how will Kimi fair this weekend? He’ll always been pretty quick at this circuit so I am hoping he can pull something special out of the bag to make it a race to remember for me for the right reasons. However thats a tall order for the Finn and his team even with all the updates they are adding. 

The weather will probably be a big factor. Even if it doesn’t rain at some point during the race weekend, there is always the unpredictable wind that changes from morning to afternoon completely throwing the drivers set ups.

The atmosphere is going to be very intense, with this being the last race but it’ll be even more interesting to see how the Lewis V’s Jenson fans pans out! Fingers crossed things go well for Raikkonen so his fans get to cheer a little too as well as Jenson’s We hope to see you there!

Go Kimi

Jemela Coventry - GoKimi Team

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Brawn GP driver Jenson Button used a two stop, hard - hard - soft tyre strategy to win a fast paced Turkish Grand Prix in hot and sunny conditions at the Istanbul Park circuit.

Button finished 6.7 seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber, who used the same strategy. The final podium position went to Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who was the only driver to use a three stop strategy, using the soft tyre for only his final stint.

Bridgestone’s hard tyre proved to be the superior race tyre here, with good consistency. Button set the race’s fastest lap, a 1min 27.579secs, using the hard tyre on lap 40. There was some front tyre graining seen on the soft tyre, however this did not cause any particular issues. Most drivers used a two stop strategy, however Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) and Sebastien Bourdais (Scuderia Toro Rosso) completed the race distance on a one stop strategy.

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development:
“Today was an interesting race in very hot conditions. Congratulations to the Brawn team and Jenson Button who were a very good combination today. I am happy to say we did not have any tyre problems at this very severe circuit, even in the notorious Turn Eight. We continued to see graining on the soft tyre, but this was much less than yesterday so lap times remained reasonably quick. Tyre strategy considerations were quite straight forward as the lap time difference between the two compounds at this circuit was not so big, but the hard was more durable. We did see one stop strategies today, illustrating that even the soft tyre was capable of doing a long stint.”

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So from the excitement and joy of Raikkonen’s first 2009 podium at Monaco, back to a dismal and ‘pointless’ race for the Finn in Turkey. Just when we thought things were looking up for our man, we get another disappointing race where everything seemed to go backwards.

Sadly the Turkish GP was a very boring race (unless you are a diehard Button fan of course), with Vettel - Buttons only rival for the race win having a brilliant start but making an early mistake, giving Jenson the chance to gun for victory unchallenged. Kimi had a bad start which pretty much dictated the rest of the race. He was squeezed by Massa (who is turn was avoiding the slow starting Rubens) and then damaging his front wing attempting to move up through the field again. He only really began to find some pace his final stint but by then it was too late.

Sadly the 2007 Drivers Champion never made it back into the points, finishing a disappointing 9th after starting from 6th on the grid with a well fueled car. Not a great result, nor one Kimi or his fans would expect.

Here’s hoping Kimi and Ferrari can get back on form for what could be Silverstone’s last GP for a long time. A podium would be a fantastic result and wonderful way to sat goodbye to the Northamptonshire circuit thats popular with fans and drivers alike.

Jemela Coventry - GoKimi Admin

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Turkish Grand Prix
Istanbul, Turkey;
58 laps; 309.396km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  1h26:24.848
 2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +     6.714
 3.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +     7.461
 4.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +    27.843
 5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    31.539
 6.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    39.996
 7.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +    46.247
 8.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +    46.959
 9.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    50.246
10.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +  1:02.420
11.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:04.327
12.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  1:06.376
13.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:20.454
14.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +     1 lap
17.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
18.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Button, 1:27.579

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)    49
Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)    5


Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Brawn GP driver Jenson Button used a two stop, super soft – soft – soft tyre strategy to win a fast paced and tactical Monaco Grand Prix in hot and sunny conditions on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who used the same tyre strategy. The final podium position went to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen who used a soft – soft – super soft tyre strategy for third. His team-mate Felipe Massa used the same strategy to finish fourth, showing a return to form for the reigning constructors’ champions. Massa used the soft tyre to set the race’s fastest lap, a 1min 15.154secs, on lap 50. 

Tyre strategy was particularly relevant in Monaco, with the track surface evolving significantly over the course of the race making it even more difficult than usual to predict the best strategy. 

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says 
“Congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP Team for their fifth win of the season. Winning in Monaco is a special honour as here is the ultimate test of driving skill and one of the biggest tests of our Bridgestone tyres. It is a privilege to be here and see the Bridgestone brand broadcast on televisions around the world from this fabulous location.” 

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says 
“Today was very interesting in terms of tyre strategy. Those who started on the super soft 
Bridgestone experienced a bigger tyre performance drop off than those who used it for their final stint. The reason for this is track improvement, as the circuit surface was far more forgiving to the tyres near the end of the race. The level of track improvement could be seen by the race’s fastest lap being almost as fast as pole position. Jenson drove very well to get strong performance from the super soft in his first stint, and that helped him for his win. Four cars showed that a one stop strategy was a viable option here. There were many interesting strategies throughout the field today.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Brawn GP driver Jenson Button used a super soft – super soft – medium tyre strategy to win a thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix in searing hot conditions at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Button finished 7.1 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who used the same strategy in his Red Bull. Pole-sitter Jarno Trulli used a super soft – medium – super soft strategy in his Panasonic Toyota Racing car to finish third. Bridgestone’s super soft tyre worked particularly well here, even with a track temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius, delivering good grip and consistency.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

How was the race from Bridgestone’s perspective?
“Today was a very exciting race, particularly from a tyre perspective. We saw a good range of strategies, and when to use the medium compound was a difficult decision for teams, as it delivered a consistently slower lap time than the super soft. The super soft performed well and heat degradation was not a big problem even in the extreme heat of Bahrain. There was some very good tyre management from drivers and also some strong running from competitors on the medium tyre too. I think today has shown just how exciting racing can be with two Bridgestone tyres with different characteristics with our 2009 allocations.”

As the second dry race of 2009, does this help with the understanding of the 2009 tyres?
“We have accumulated a lot of good data from the first four race weekends and this has been very useful. The other fully dry race in Australia was unusual as the track surface did not evolve in the same way as we had seen in previous seasons, so the tyre performance did not improve as we predicted there. Here in Bahrain was interesting because of the extreme heat, but our tyres performed well, and continued to give competitors a challenge for how best to use them during the course of the race.”

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