Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Vettel closes gap on Button in Japan

• Vettel wins from pole with Lewis Hamilton third• Button finishes eighth but stays 14 points clearJenson Button's slow march towards the world title took another step closer to completion in Japan, despite Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel winning from pole. Button, finishing down in eighth, saw his lead cut by a point, but remains 14 clear with just two races to go.Vettel kept alive his outside chance of winning the drivers' championship, moving to within 16 points of Button. The German crossed the line ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota with Lewis Hamilton in third for McLaren.Vettel's third win of the season helped to close the gap at the top, but Button's Brawn team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, remains the Briton's closest challenger having crossed the line a place ahead in seventh.Brawn could have wrapped up the constructors' title, but were denied after the safety car was brought on to the track with five laps to go. Button, however, was unhappy with Williams' Nico Rosberg, for allegedly setting his fastest sector time while drivers were under restrictions – an issue the race stewards were looking in to.As things stand, Brawn will need just half a point more to claim the crown when the teams move on to Brazil in two weeks' time, while Button could secure his first world title merely by keeping pace with Barrichello and Vettel.Race standings1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 01:28:20.443; 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 01:28:25.243; 3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 01:28:26.843; 4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 01:28:28.343; 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 01:28:29.143; 6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 01:28:29.943; 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 01:28:31.043; 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 01:28:31.843; 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 01:28:32.143; 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 01:28:33.443; 11 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 01:28:34.143; 12 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 01:28:34.943; 13 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 01:28:35.343; 14 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 01:28:36.143; 15 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 01:28:38.343Not Classified: 16 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault +1 lap; 17 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull +2 laps; 18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso +10 laps; 19 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso +42 lapsDNS: 20 Timo Glock (Ger) ToyotaWorld championship standings1 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 85.0pts; 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 71.0; 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 69.0; 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 51.5; 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 45.0; 6 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 43.0; 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 34.5; 8 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 30.5; 9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 26.0; 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 24.0; 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 22.0; 12 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 22.0; 13 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 15.0; 14 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 9.0; 15 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 8.0; 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 5.0; 17 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3.0; 18 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2.0; six drivers on zero pointsFormula OneSebastian VettelJenson ButtonRed BullBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Barrichello beats Button in Italy

• Brazilian takes two points out of Button's title advantage• Hamilton spins out of third place on final lap at MonzaRubens Barrichello gave his championship hopes a modest boost by winning the Italian grand prix at Monza this afternoon while his main rival and Brawn team-mate Jenson Button finished in second place.The Brawn team's decision to put both its drivers on a one-stop strategy paid off as behind them Kimi Raikkonen claimed the final podium position for Ferrari. Third place would have belonged to the polesitter, Lewis Hamilton, but he span his McLaren and crashed on the final lap while chasing Button.As one of only three drivers on a two-stop strategy, the lighter McLaren of Hamilton dominated the early stages of the race as he made a perfect start to maintain his lead. Behind him the front-row starter Adrian Sutil was passed by the third-place starter Kimi Raikkonen – both also one-stopping – and Hamilton steadily built a strong advantage before having to make the first of his two scheduled pit stops. A clean refuel and change to harder tyres on lap 15 let him rejoin in fifth position, behind Button. Raikkonen had stayed out on track for four more laps than Hamilton before pitting, but it was not enough to jump the McLaren.After the lead trio pitted, Barrichello led from Button and the title rivals pushed each other on at such a pace that it already threatened Hamilton's chance of winning the race. Button was the first Brawn to pit, just before the halfway point of the race, with Barrichello following him a lap later and comfortably retaking his position ahead of his British team-mate.The outcome rested on Hamilton's second stop, which McLaren opted to take surprising early on lap 34. Despite a smooth visit to the pits, Hamilton rejoined behind the pair of Brawns and began to chase down second-placed Button in the closing stages until putting a wheel on the kerb at the Lesmo and spinning. Ahead of them Barrichello maintained his lead to take the flag for his second victory of the year and carve two points out of Button's championship lead with four races remaining. The one-two finish also strengthens Brawn's advantage in the constructors' battle."It just feels really good," said Barrichello. "It was a great decision yesterday [to opt for a two-stop strategy] as the guys with Kers [Hamilton and Raikkonen] have 20 metres on us at the start so we had to bear that in mind. Luckily I had a good start and the pace was good enough to be in the front of them by the last pit stops."His title rival Button said: "Rubens did a better job [than me]. But second is good, and I gained seven points on [Sebastian] Vettel. He [Barrichello] is my closest rival. We've got a good relationship but we are competitive."Behind them Force India's Sutil finished in fourth place after a great battle with Raikkonen, the pair having suffered difficult second stops, Sutil when his car knocked down a pit crew member and Raikkonen when he appeared to stall his Ferrari. Putting Renault's race-fix scandal to one side, Fernando Alonso finished in fifth place ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Red Bull's Vettel picked up one point with eighth place thanks to Hamilton's error as he suffered another difficult race in his bid to win the world title; he is now 27 points behind Button.Red Bull's other championship contender, Mark Webber, made it no further than the first lap, having been pushed off the track and into retirement by BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, the Pole later retiring himself. Vitantonio Liuzzi's racing return with Force India was scuppered by a gearbox problem on lap 23, while Giancarlo Fisichella finished just outside the points in ninth place in his race debut for Ferrari.Italian grand prix results:1 Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes2 Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes3 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari4 Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes5 Fernando Alonso, Renault6 Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes7 Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber8 Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault9 Giancarlo Fisichella, Ferrari10 Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota11 Timo Glock, Toyota12 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes13 Sébastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari14 Jarno Trulli, Toyota15 Romain Grosjean, Renault16 Nico Rosberg, Williams-ToyotaNot classified:Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India-MercedesJaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-FerrariRobert Kubica, BMW SauberMark Webber, Red Bull-RenaultBrawnJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportGemma Briggsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jenson Button suffers qualifying blow

• Button to start from a season-low 14th, Lewis Hamilton 12th• Fisichella gives Force India their first Formula One poleJenson Button's Formula One world title hopes suffered a crushing blow in a bizarre qualifying session for tomorrow's Belgian grand prix. For the first time this year the championship leader failed to make it into the top-10 shootout, with the 29-year-old down in a season-low 14th.In a remarkable hour at the Spa circuit, Giancarlo Fisichella - the man being touted to replace the hapless Luca Badoer at Ferrari - gave Force India their first F1 pole, although it remains to be seen how much fuel is in the car. It is the veteran Italian's fourth pole of his career, and his first since Malaysia in 2006, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli second, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld third and Button's Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello fourth.Fisichella, whose previous best grid slot this year was 13th, was unable to explain his performance. "Pole position is amazing, fantastic," remarked the 36-year-old. "I'm so happy and thanks to the team who have done a great job. It's a remarkable result. I've shown what I can do. This is one of my favourite circuits, but I didn't expect to be on pole, in particular considering the budget of our team."Button offered a simple explanation for his poor display, conceding he "wasn't fast enough." He added: "It is pretty disastrous for tomorrow really. It's going to make it very difficult. I didn't have any pace on the soft tyres and every time I hit the brakes, the rear would move. I did not have any confidence in the rear end. It's strange to be four or five tenths [of a second] off Rubens. Our cars are different, but they are not that different."The 15-minute middle session was not just a disaster for Button, but also for Lewis Hamilton. The reigning world champion was unable to build on his victory in Hungary and pole at the European grand prix last weekend, qualifying down in 12th. His McLaren struggled in the twisty middle section of the track, whilst his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen fared worse and will start 15th, his second worst qualifying display this season. Renault's Fernando Alonso was another casualty in Q2 and was only 13th fastest.Luca Badoer, meanwhile, could be out of a job following tomorrow's race in the wake of another poor performance. The 38-year-old replacement for the recuperating Felipe Massa will again start at the back of the grid, as he did last weekend on his Ferrari debut in Valencia. Badoer ended the opening 20-minute Q1 by breaking the rear suspension of his car in careering backwards into a tyre wall after passing Sebastian Vettel on the approach to Les Combes. Renault's Romain Grosjean also struggled on his second outing, coming only one place better than Badoer in 19th.Leading grid positions after qualifying1 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1min 46.308secs, 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:46.395, 3 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:46.500, 4 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:46.513, 5 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:46.586, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:46.633, 7 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:46.677, 8 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:46.761, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:46.788, 10 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:47.362, 11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:45.119, 12 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:45.122, 13 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:45.136, 14 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:45.251, 15 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:45.259, 16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:45.951, 17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.032, 18 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:46.307, 19 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:46.359, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:46.957Formula OneMotor sportJenson ButtonBrawnForce Indiaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton on pole in Singapore

• Hamilton quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg• Button qualifies 12th two places behind Rubens BarrichelloLewis Hamilton secured pole for the Singapore grand prix but there was disappointment for championship leader, Jenson Button, whose world title hopes were dealt a blow by qualifying in 12th place on the grid.Hamilton, whose engineers worked through the night to fit a new chassis for his McLaren, impressed in practice and took that form into qualifying as he clocked a time of 1min 47.891sec in Q3 at the Marina Bay street circuit.In contrast, Button had struggled in practice after his Brawn car had been switched to the same set-up as team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Though they reverted it to yesterday's settings, the 29-year-old failed to threaten, with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull taking second and the Williams of Nico Rosberg third.Barrichello, who will be looking to cut into Button's 14-point lead tomorrow, was fifth fastest before crashing with 26 seconds of qualifying remaining but will start from 10th on the grid tomorrow after being hit with a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox prior to the session.Race standings1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 47.891secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:48.204, 3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:48.348, 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:48.722, 5 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:48.828, 6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:49.054, 7 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:49.180, 8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:49.307, 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:49.514, 10 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:49.778, 11 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:47.013, 12 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:47.141, 13 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:47.177, 14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:47.369, 15 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:47.413, 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:48.231, 17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.340, 18 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:48.350, 19 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:48.544, 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:48.792Note: Rubens Barrichello will start the race in 10th position following a five place penalty for a gearbox replacement.Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Webber leads Red Bull one-two

• Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel take honours at Nürburgring• Felipe Massa finishes third with Jenson Button back in fifthMark Webber has won the German grand prix from pole, beating his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel into second place after strong challenges from Rubens Barrichello and third-placed Felipe Massa. The world championship leader Jenson Button finished in fifth place.It was Webber's maiden Formula One victory, on his 130th attempt, and Vettel's second-place finish cuts Button's championship lead to 21 points with eight races remaining. Button now has 68 points, Vettel moves up to second on 47 and Webber is third on 45.5.Lewis Hamilton had a bad day after being forced into the pits shortly after the start with a puncture. He made a strong start from fifth but ran wide after turn one. He returned to the track but was bumped from behind almost immediately.As the first Australian to win a grand prix since Alan Jones in 1981 in Las Vegas, Webber said: "It's an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly. The only thing I thought would beat me, or test me, would be the rain – but that held off. But it's a great day for me. The team have been incredibly patient with me, and I want to thank them and [owner] Dietrich [Mateschitz] and all the Australian people."Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Webber added: "There's no doubt about it, [the drivers' and constructors' championships] are both up for grabs. We're taking the fight to the big guys, who will be back. But it is a special time for our team, that's for sure."Vettel had no complaints with his second spot, saying: "He was unbeatable. But it's another one-two for the team, so I'm very happy. I wanted to win, but Mark did a better job in qualifying."Webber was deposed from pole on the first turn by Barrichello. The two clashed wheels, with the Brazilian coming out on top, and they led the pack for the next 10 laps until the stewards announced a drivethrough penalty for Webber for causing a collision, which he duly served at the end of lap 14. Barrichello made his first routine stop at the same time.Over the next few laps, with Massa and his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen heavy on fuel, they sandwiched Barrichello in first, second and third. The Finn eventually pitted at the end of lap 24, followed a lap later by Massa, allowing Barrichello to resume the lead, followed closely by the Force India of Adrian Sutil.The German had started from a career-high seventh on the grid, and was certainly in with a shout of giving his team their first points in their 27-race history. But after making his first stop at the end of lap 28, Sutil then emerged narrowly ahead of seventh-placed Raikkonen running down into turn one. As they swept round the sharp right-hand hairpin side by side, the Ferrari clipped the left side of the Force India's front wing, with the stewards again obliged to review the matter. It forced Sutil back into the pits at the end of that lap for a new nose cone, relegating him to 17th and out of the running for points.With the first round of stops finally completed at half-race distance, Barrichello held just a 2.8sec cushion over Webber. Button, running third at the time, pitted again on lap 31, as part of a clear three-stop strategy, unlike Barrichello who came in a lap later and was fuelled to the end.On lap 43, Webber made his third trip into the pits and second for fuel and tyres at a time when he held a 20-second lead over his team-mate Vettel – dropping in just behind the German. However, he soon regained the lead when Vettel pitted on lap 44 – soon followed by Massa on the 45th. On three-stop strategies and with the Brawn duo running in close attendance to one another, Barrichello surprisingly pitted first on lap 50 – followed by Button a lap later. Button then finished strongly to emerge just ahead of his team-mate in fifth place.Final positions1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1hr 36min 43.310sec2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:36:52.5623 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 1:36:59.2164 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:37:04.4095 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 1:37:06.9196 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 1:37:07.7987 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 1:37:08.1668 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:37:41.4029 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:37:44.71010 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:37:45.21011 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 1:37:45.63712 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:37:46.18713 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 1:37:51.63814 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:37:52.86515 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37:55.21016 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38:13.51017 Jarno Trulli (It) Toyota 1:38:14.21018 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren at 1 LapNot Classified: 19 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 34 Laps completed, 20 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 18 Laps completedWorld championship standings after German grand prix:Drivers: 1 Jenson Button (GB) Brawn GP 68pts, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 47, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 45.5, 4 Rubens Barrichello (Br) Brawn GP 44, 5 Felipe Massa (Br) Ferrari 22, 6 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 21.5, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 20.5, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 13, 9 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Renault 13, 10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 10, 11 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 9, 12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 6, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 5, 14 Sébastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3, 15 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 2, 16 Sébastien Bourdais (Fr) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 17 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Force India 0, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 0, 19 Nelson Piquet Jr (Br) Renault 0, 20 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 0Manufacturers: 1 Brawn GP 112pts, 2 Red Bull 92.5, 3 Toyota 34.5, 4 Ferrari 32, 5 Williams 20.5, 6 McLaren 14, 7 Renault 13, 8 BMW Sauber 8, 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso 5, 10 Force India 0Formula OneRed BullBrawnMcLarenFerrariJenson ButtonSebastian VettelLewis HamiltonForce IndiaMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds