Rubens Barrichello Wins F1's European Grand Prix

Barrichello takes advantage of Hamilton error for European GP win, Brazilian's 1st in 5 years

Barrichello wins European GP

• Rubens Barrichello overtakes Briton to triumph in Valencia• Jenson Button finishes seventh but ahead of Red BullsRubens Barrichello has won the European grand prix, overhauling Lewis Hamilton in the later stages of the race after the Briton suffered a catastrophic delay in the pits.Hamilton, who began in pole, had led for most of the race but the pivotal moment arrived on lap 37 when Hamilton came in for his second and final stop. His team did not have his tyres ready and he lost around six seconds, handing the lead to Barrichello after his second stop. Barrichello then held off Hamilton's challenge to pip him to first place.Kimi Raikkonen came in third, with Heikki Kovalainen taking fourth place ahead of Nico Rosberg in fifth.Brawn's Jenson Button could only finish seventh having started fifth on the grid, while Fernando Alonso was sixth and Robert Kubica eighth.More to followLewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton wins his first Formula One pole of season at European Grand Prix

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position of the season at the European Grand Prix in an all-McLaren front row on Saturday.

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 claims pole in Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel kept the pulse in his slim Formula One championship campaign by taking pole position today for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Vettel wins Japanese Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel kept alive his outside chance of winning the Formula One world championship after the Red Bull driver led from pole to win the Japanese Grand Prix.