20 Oct 09 14:07
Mark Webber's second grand prix victory of his career was largely overlooked as attention at the Brazilian Grand Prix centred on Jenson Button and his dramatic world championship victory.
While the Australian raced clear in his Red Bull, Button was forced to battle his way through the midfield after a disastrous qualifying session held in sodden conditions meant he began the race in 14th place. His main title threat, team-mate Rubens Barrichello, was on pole position.
Button made up several places with there was chaos at the start. Contact put several rivals out, including a large crash between Jarno Trulli's Toyota and Adrian Sutil's Force India. There was also a flash fire in the pits when the McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen left his pits with the fuel filler still attached and fuel splashed back on to Kimi Raikkonen's car, which caused it to briefly catch alight but the Ferrari was able to continue.
Barrichello fell back during the stops handing the race advantage to Webber and Robert Kubica's BMW. With Button using strategy and pace to move through the field, the Brazilian's task became even more difficult.
When Lewis Hamilton overtook the home crowd's favourite and took third place there was a chance that the two cars brushed and Barrichello was called into the pits with a suspected puncture. That promoted Button to fifth and gave him the championship spoils.
Vettel used a similar strategy to Button to scorch through the field from his starting position of 16th. He ultimately finished in fourth place and that was enough to further upset eighth-placed Barrichello as it pushed him down to third in the final points standings.
The five points Brawn GP scored at Interlagos were also enough for the Brackley team, saved from closure by team chief Ross Brawn in March, to lift the constructors title in is debut season.
Results: Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos
1. Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault)
2. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
3. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault)
5. Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes)
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
7. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
8. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes)
Final Drivers Championship standings
1. Button, 89
2. Vettel, 74
3. Barrichello, 72
4. Webber, 61.5
5. Hamilton, 49
6. Raikkonen, 48
Photos: Mark Thompson/Getty, Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images
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