Lewis was delayed at the start as he attempted to pass Nelson Piquet and ran onto the grass as the Renault jinked right ahead of him. Perhaps fortuitously, it dropped him behind the first-lap carnage, and he was able to steer around most of the debris to emerge 15th. A lengthy first stint saw him slowly work himself up the order to run as high as sixth before making his first pitstop on lap 31 to fit another set of options. Resuming inside the top 10, he struggled with his rear tyres, which prompted an earlier-than-scheduled switch to the prime on lap 49. Thereafter, he drove well to withstand a late charge from Glock and finished ninth.
Starting from 18th on the grid and using the option tyre, Heikki got a good start, got himself ahead of the opening-lap chaos at the exit of Turn Two and ran 11th. However, when the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the first lap, Heikki lost fifth gear and then lost sixth and seventh gears in quick succession. Running back to the pits in fourth, he was forced to park it on lap seven.
Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: "Lewis made a great start off the line - but, after having been obstructed by another car, through no fault of his own he lost time avoiding an accident and ended up at the back of the field at the end of lap one. After that, his task was always going to be a tough one, because the Barcelona circuit is not an easy one on which to overtake. Furthermore, his tyres went off during his second stint, and then he got pipped by Fernando when they made their second pit stops. But he kept pushing as hard as he could, in ninth place, in the hope that one of the cars ahead of him would drop out and thereby allow him to score one hard-earned championship point. It didn't happen, unfortunately, but the fact that Lewis never gave up demonstrates just what a competitive individual he is. Heikki made a decent start, but his race was ended disappointingly - and unluckily - by a gearbox failure.
"We predicted that this race would be a low point of our season, and we've been proved right. In two weeks' time, at Monaco, which is a very different kind of circuit from Barcelona, things ought to be significantly better for us. But we know we aren't yet where we want to be, and we'll continue to work flat-out to get there."
Norbert Haug, Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "We knew since testing here what to expect from our car on this racetrack. Being lapped here is not what Lewis deserves: he delivered everything that was possible with his car today - we just cannot handle the high-speed corners and need to dramatically improve over the next weeks and months. Thank God the Brawn guys saved our bacon again with our engine in the back. Congratulations Jenson, Rubens, Ross and the whole team, you guys have been the benchmark since the season started."
Stefano Domenicali: We can take some satisfaction from this weekend, but at the same time, it has thrown up further concerns. On the one hand we saw that the effort expended in recent weeks has born fruit in terms of improving the performance level of the car. Both in yesterday's qualifying and today, Felipe was competitive at the highest level, as was confirmed on the clock: it's not by luck that we got the third fastest time in the race, which would have been far out of our reach in previous races this year. Once again, the downside comes from the reliability side. Again today, we had problems which forced Kimi to retire and cost Felipe two places in the final stages, having also robbed him of the chance of getting to the podium, which would have been well deserved. This is unacceptable for a team like Ferrari: we must all react to get back to our usual standard, as indeed we have partially managed on the performance side. There is much to do on all fronts and we will tackle it with our usual absolute determination.
Chris Dyer: The most important thing this weekend is that the car performance is much improved compared to the previous races. Today we were capable of fighting with the best and we had a great chance of finishing on the podium. On the downside, we can only be disappointed about our reliability and the running of our on-track operation. After what happened in qualifying yesterday, Kimi had to retire because of a problem with the hydraulics used to control the accelerator. On Felipe's car, the front left wheel fairing broke and at both pit stops we had a refueling problem, the cause of which we have yet to find out. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. We are all very unhappy for what happened and lament the fact that so much work from the team to improve car performance was not adequately rewarded in the final result.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "We made a come back for the start of the European season, although our situation after the first lap wasn't that good. Robert got stuck in traffic at the start, lost five positions and was just able to avoid the early accident. Whereas Nick on the outside was able to gain some places. During the race it was our pit crew that did a great job and enabled Nick to get by another car with every pit stop. Two points for seventh place is not a big result, but it demonstrates the improved performance of the car with the new aero update. We can build on this."
Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering): "The significant modifications we made to the F1.09 obviously brought us one step forward. After the accident at the start Nick moved up from P13 to P9, and later he was able to gain another two positions. This was also thanks to the fantastic work by the pit crew with two excellent pit stops. Robert was unlucky as he was squeezed in at the start and lost a lot of positions. During the race he wasn't able to drive at his true pace for most of the time because he was stuck in traffic. Now it's all about bringing the next development steps onto the car as quickly as possible."
The ING Renault F1 Team scored four points today as Fernando Alonso finished fifth in today's Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona. Teammate Nelson Piquet finished in 12th place.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "Today's result and our pace in the race showed the potential and the improvements made to the car as Fernando's times were very close to those of the front runners. Now we must work hard and keep improving in order to secure strong points for both cars in the races to come."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "Barcelona is not renowned for producing exciting racing, but that certainly wasn't true today. It was a fight all the way through to end and a great result from Fernando. Nelson was extremely lucky not to have been taken out in the first corner accident, which seemed to have happened all around him. From then on the car didn't have the pace we expected and we feel that there is probably unseen damage to it."
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "Overall it was a weekend that brought us more than we expected. We came here with hopes of taking a step forward, but unfortunately everybody brought lots of developments and the order of the teams remained pretty much the same. But thanks to the work that we have done throughout the weekend, we've come away with a great result. Fernando was pushing flat out for the whole race and fifth place is a nice reward. This result puts us in a good frame of mind for the upcoming races, but we will continue working hard."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "That was a disappointing race because we were very hopeful of scoring points and it did not happen. We expected a better performance this weekend but things have not worked out as we wanted. The whole team put in a big effort to bring a package of aerodynamic upgrades to this race but ultimately it has been a frustrating weekend so we have to look at the data when we get back to Cologne and understand how to improve. Also, it seemed both Jarno and Timo had some trouble at the start so we have to analyse this too. But we will not be disheartened; we will push really hard in the coming days and we will fight for a better result in Monaco."
Franz Tost: When you start at the back end of the grid, there is always a bigger risk of getting involved in an accident. Unfortunately today, Trulli went off and spun back on again, forcing Buemi to lift and Bourdais just crashed into the back of him. On a more positive note, the new package we introduced here does seem to be a step forward in terms of car performance. Now we must try and make better use of it in the next few races.
Christian Horner: A very good drive from Mark, who claimed his second podium of the season. His strategy worked very well and he put Rubens under a lot of pressure at the end of the race. It was frustrating for Sebastian as unfortunately it was the second race in a row where a KERS car has cost him dearly. Massa stopped on the same lap as Sebastian for his first stop and then, despite us bringing his middle stint very short, they picked the same lap for Massa as well, so he spent 63 laps looking at the back of a Ferrari! As soon as he was released from him, his pace was obvious. We showed again that we have a car that is quick enough to win races, but third and fourth is still a very strong result.
Fabrice Lom, Principal Engineer, Track Support: A difficult race and one that, once again, we could have won. We are tested hard by these KERS cars! Massa got in front of Sebastian at the first corner and it ruined his race. Mark had a very solid race and was very quick, he had some free air and finished very close to the Brawns. It's a good overall result for us, with eleven more points, but it's still frustrating and we need to focus on a win for the next races.
A closely fought Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona today opened the European rounds of the 2009 World Championship. Starting in P11, Kazuki Nakajima became embroiled in the second corner incident which prompted a premature pitstop for a new nose and a change in strategy. Rejoining at the back of the pack, Kazuki was unable to improve any further than P13. Nico Rosberg benefited from a cleaner start, moving into P7 from a P9 grid position by the end of lap one. Inconsistency compromised a strong strategy and left Nico in P8 and with one point at race end.
Patrick Head, Director of Engineering: Although we were in the points today, it was frustrating not to get more out of the race, particularly as the safety car on the first lap gave our strategy a good advantage over the cars in front. Kazuki was out of points contention early on due to a pitstop to change the front wing. Nico's pace in the first stint was initially good but we then struggled to maintain consistency so we'll have to investigate that. Both cars were reliable.
The Spanish Grand Prix was a day of mixed fortunes for the Force India Formula One Team as Giancarlo Fisichella secured an encouraging 14th position while Adrian Sutil suffered the disappointment of a first lap retirement.
Adrian made a good start from 19th position and had gained four positions into the first corner. Unfortunately through turn three he made contact with Jarno Trulli, who had skewed off line in his own separate incident. Adrian's VJM02 picked up extensive damage and he retired on the spot.
Giancarlo stayed clear of the melee and took advantage of the subsequent safety car period to pit for tyres and adjust his strategy. When the safety car withdrew Giancarlo stayed with the pack and had graduated to 10th by his first pit stop on lap 30. A long middle stint saw him fighting with Kubica, Piquet and Nakajima for 10th, however a problem with the fuel rig during his final stop dropped him to the rear of the field. The rig failed to discharge fuel when connected and Giancarlo was forced to return to the pits on the next lap. The Italian rejoined and continued to set his fastest times in the final 10 laps - including the 8th fastest lap of the race - to finish in 14th overall.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: 'Although the result was a fairly average one for us, I think there are positives we can take away. We've kept the upgrades coming through and, while we haven't moved up the order, we certainly are closer than ever. Giancarlo's times in the latter stages of the race also demonstrate a strong race performance and that we've got potential to achieve more. I think we can now look forward to Monaco with some confidence: we have further development coming through and it's also been a good track for us in the past.'
Brawn GP achieved the team's second one-two result of the 2009 Formula One season today with Jenson Button taking his fourth victory of the year at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and team-mate Rubens Barrichello securing second position.
Starting from third on the grid, Rubens had a fantastic start to the race as he passed Sebastian Vettel and Jenson, who started on pole, on the run down to the first corner. A multi-car collision brought out the safety car for the first four laps of the race with Rubens and Jenson heading the field in first and second positions.
With the racing underway on lap five, the two Brawn-Mercedes drivers concentrated on building a gap at the front. Jenson pitted first on lap 18 where his planned three-stop strategy was switched to a two-stop, followed by Rubens on lap 19. Rubens pitted for the second of his three stops on lap 31 and struggled with his tyres throughout his third stint which allowed Jenson to edge ahead on strategy by the time he came in for his final stop on lap 50.
Jenson took the chequered flag at the end of the 66-lap race to achieve his fourth victory and fifth consecutive podium of the season. Rubens' second position and fastest lap of the race capped a fantastic start to Formula One's European season for Brawn GP and engine partner Mercedes-Benz. The team has now extended its lead in the Constructors' Championship with 68 points. Jenson leads the Drivers' Championship on 41 points with Rubens in second place on 27 points.
Ross Brawn: "A fantastic result for the team today after a great deal of hard work to maximise the performance of our new developments this weekend. Rubens had a great start to be leading the race from lap one and we asked both drivers to push as hard as possible to build a lead over the chasing pack. As we approached the window for the first pit stops, it became apparent that Jenson would come out directly behind Nico Rosberg if we went with his planned three-stop strategy. We therefore made the decision to switch Jenson onto a two-stop strategy to ensure that he could run in clean air. Rubens was going extremely quickly at the front at that time and his three-stop strategy was clearly the quickest option for him. Unfortunately his tyres did not perform well after his second stop which compromised his pace and ultimately cost him the race. Rubens has performed extremely well throughout this weekend and it has been largely thanks to his input that we have been able to maximise our pace and achieve the successes of today. Our second one-two finish is a fantastic way to start the European season and I am extremely proud of Jenson, Rubens and the team. Our thanks as always to Mercedes-Benz and all of our team partners for their continued support."
Button finished thirteen seconds ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who used a three stop, soft - soft - soft - hard tyre strategy. The final podium position went to Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber who used the same strategy as Button for third.
Bridgestone's soft tyre proved to be the superior race tyre here, giving a faster lap time than the hard, and giving good consistency too.
Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Jenson Button for his win and Brawn GP for their 1-2. It is satisfying to see an independent team such as Brawn GP perform so well and it is good to watch Jenson showing his talents at the front of the field. Spain is a very important market for Bridgestone, so to start the European season with such a strong race was very rewarding for us. Lap times were very close and we saw good action on track."
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "Today was a very exciting race in terms of tyre strategy. It was clear all weekend that the soft tyre was a superior race tyre to the hard, so the strategy had to maximise time on the soft. We saw a variety of two and three stops take place so it was a race we had to watch closely to see who would win. Congratulations to Jenson, whose two stop strategy worked best to win the race and Rubens for a solid second place. Mark Webber also drove very well. Most drivers found the soft tyre to be very durable as well as quicker than the hard tyre. Some drivers experienced rear tyre degradation which is what we would expect with the current cars, but overall it was a strong tyre performance with no particular issues."
