Jenson Button failed to secure the world championship in Suzuka as Sebastian Vettel recorded a dominant victory to put him right back in the title hunt.
Vettel led from start to finish, but Button will be happy to head to Brazil having conceded just one point to main rival Rubens Barrichello.
Button eventually finished eighth, grabbing a single point, and he did well to hang onto that meagre reward after capitalising on an Adrian Sutil error and then resisting huge pressure from Robert Kubica following a late safety car. Barrichello finished one position ahead in seventh.
Vettel recorded his third win of the year after holding off Lewis Hamilton at the start and proceeding to build up a three-second lead, the McLaren driver saying it was ‘impossible to keep up with him’. Even after the safety car bunched the pack up with just eight laps to go, Vettel managed to stretch out a five-second lead by the chequered flag.
It was a frustrating race for Brawn, who could have wrapped up the constructors’ championship if it wasn’t for Jaime Alguersari’s crash late on, which allowed Nico Rosberg to nip ahead of Barrichello into sixth.
However, Brawn require just half a point in the next two races to ensure they keep the constructors’ championship. Even with their recent lack of pace, surely they’ll be confident of picking that up?
Things could have been worse for Button, who lost a place to Kovalainen off the start line and slipped to 12th place. But the Brit passed Fisichella’s Ferrari and Kubica in the opening laps, and then took advantage of a tussle between Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil to sneak through for eighth.
But today is all about Vettel. He’s 16 points adrift of Button with a maximum of just 20 remaining: can he possibly sneak the championship? On the evidence of today, there’s half a chance…
great race. but i think the saftey car should have gone in with 7 laps to go. the just keep the yellow flags out wile they mend the tire wall. bad luck Jenson, now come on and win the next 2!
1st comment. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aayY!!!!!!!!
Vettel’s drive was fine, but what about J4ke with the first comment there. Well done J4ke.
Rubens has more to fear than Button, no?
I have to say now, being realistic, the title is Button’s. BUT. Will Button stay with Brawn next year. By the sounds of things no. I think the Brawn line up will be:
Rubens Barrichello & Nico Rosberg
Well done Seb, nice race. But J4KE, of course they needed the safety car, did you see the damage to the tyre wall?
I still think Rubens might clinch it
Come on Jenson, get on with it!
Don’t forget that Kimi made up 17 points in the last 2 races of 2007.
@ Pedant… in that case Vettel is still in it… im for Vettel… he deserves the championship just as much as rubens and that other guy…
Jenson’s got too good a car underneath him to fail. everyone (including me) has been going on about how he starts to fold under pressure but he’s still managed to stay in the points and keep his lead secure. What happened 2 years with Lewis was down to some proper rotten luck, and luck seems to be favouring Jenson right now.
Still….it’d be cool to see him head into the last race with a lead of 6 points.
Ugh typical theone weekend where I am dying or sleep having been away at CCF camp and getting up at 4am for the past 4 days, and the grand prix starts at 5am. Typical.
Ahem, anyway it was a fantastic race, it’s Button’s to lose, but it’d be great if he won and we all remembered how great his first and last few races were, rather than he was brilliant then he was shite and he only won it because he a bit of a fluke at the beginning of the season.
Also how come everyone keeps saying this championship has been so unpredictable? Button won the first race and he’s been winning the driver’s championship ever since. In a few weeks it will be his, deservedly or not.
vettel is better than jenson. jenson cant win in a bad car but seb can. remember monza 08…..
Surely this was Heikki’s error, not Sutil’s; poor guy has is frequently taken out by his ‘top guys’
@ H…
“Well done J4ke”
You have to get up very early to get 1st comment.
about 5 am did it 4 me. whatch the race and then simply wait for the new F1 blog 2 appear! im usually never in the top 10!
and for others like me, now you know how 2 get 1st comment.
but if ya snooze, ya loose.
(yay 12th comment!)
It was Sutil’s error and no wonder hamilton couldn’t keep up with Vettel if even Trulli was faster then him.
Grr, I wish f1 drivers would stop complaining about everything!
I WANNA BARRS,MLR./PNGKL;E,KKJFLD ,KFJMNJKMNB UJMB IELLO O FJEKG
Come on Sebastien Vettel!
I think it would be good to see it go down to the wire
Vettel is pure class!! For me, he’s most deserving of the championship – he always gives 200% and is so impressive to watch – yeah, he’s made a couple of mistakes but he’s also had more than his fair share of bad luck. I really hope he does “a Raikkonen” and somehow snatches the championship when it looked like he was out of it ages ago…
Failing that, it would be nice to see Barrichello made champion because I feel that despite being less consistant than Button he has impressed me more on occasions.
I do feel a bit sorry for Button – he’ll almost definitely win the championship but alot of people (myself included) will continue to view him indifferently because despite an impressive 6 wins in a row (seems like years ago now!) when his car was working perfectly for him, he’ll be remembered more for being the least convincing champion for a few years because of his forgettable last half of the season. Nice bloke, consistant and a very good smooth driver but a memorable champion? Unfortunately, no. However, after all the years of effort and dissapointment he’s had, i’ll feel pleased for him as well.
Hamilton KERS didn’t work in the last stages of the race and he still had to carry the extra weight aroung. I think it’s 30kg not, sure but Button has this one in the bag. Even if Ruben gets 10 points, Vettel gets 8 points and Button gets 0 in Brazil, then he still leads by 4 points and leads Vettel by 8 points. I like to think that Button is better than Barrichello, but the Brawns will do well in Abu Dhabi because of it’s hot weather conditions. But Button folds under pressure…
COME ON BUTTON!!!
Lewiis Hamilton and maybe Jarno Trulli can get 1st and 2nd to stop Vettel and Rubens from gettin the big points. Maybe, just maybe…
I know there are many people who will argue on this,but i’m sure that Lewis is the best driver at the momment.In the first races Mclaren had problems that’s the reason why Lewis will not get the gold cup this year.but that sad i hope for a podium finish,he deserves it.Better luck next year.
i hope vettel dont win he is to inconsistent and boring to be able to win the title
JENSON ALL THE WAY!!
well the facts are simple
Jenson needs 5 more points to win the title and sebastian vettel will pretty much need to win all the remaining races to even get close, and as ross brawn said himself the next two tracks will suit their car alot better with the nature of the last two curcuits.
so really i think its quite fair to say that jenson button, is this years 2009 drivers world champion.
it seems rosberg isnt getting penalised, is this just B£rni£ £cc£lston£ trying to make the season more interesting amd make the constructors title go down to the wire.
c’mon Jenson
making it go down to the wire to get more money of course
So you decide with one GP who is the best driver
:D:D
Vettel has done loads of mistakes in past. Even races where you have more pressure (lice Monaco) he failed and hit the wall.
JB was 3rd after ferraris in 2004 with BAR. Wasnt good car but was good result.
Vettel ruled!
Impressive drive once again. He is real championship material. Couldn´t agree more that he also squeezes the best out of a not competitive car. The best is still to come what we can expect from him. He will be in a top team – which is Red Bull not for me – that´s Ferrari or McLaren still – in 2 years.
Jenson is a good driver – no doubt – and he seized the moment in the first half of the season and earned the title the, now he is just unimpressive. What happened? He is feeling the pressure and wants too much = bad performance. He will be one of the weaker one-time-champions.
Great Race to RBR Renault, Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel.
Jenson never got passed by Fisichella. That Ferrari ahead of the Brawn that Martin Brundle say was Raikonnen ahead of Barrichello.
I reckon Vettel could do it. If he wins in brazil and dubai, which current form shows he is capapble of doing, and button finishes 8th and 7th in those grand prix (quite possible), vettel would win.
If button wants to win this, he needs to get his arse in gear on the next race, i mean brazil is a track where the brawns will scream around. Now get on it button!
Driver of the day = Trulli. What is it about Toyota drivers that allows them to finish second without anyone noticing how good they were?
It is now very unlikely that anyone other than Button will take the championship, seeing how lucky he is (Kovalainen ramming Sutil for no apparent reason etc etc).
Good point @32. Suppose it’s a bit like their road cars, they kind of blend into the streetscape.
Everybody are blaming Button not to win races latter season – im not. Im sure that the reason is the car. It was built by Honda and with their money. Ross doesnt have money to continue development of the car like RB, Mclaren etc.
Jenson will be the champion this year and he will win.
If Brawn doesnt provide competetive car for next season prefer to see Button in Mclaren or even Toyota.
question to those who think jenson is an undeserving champion;
do you think lewis hamilton was an undeserving champion too ?
after all, he didnt win as many races as jenson has managed this season when he became the world champion, and he got very lucky at the last race in brazil to just clinch it from felipe massa. and their were a few moments in that season where lewis got lucky too, like in singapore for example that massa likes to remind us all off.
The fact is, in formula one sometimes you just need that extra bit of luck that no one else has, to gain that extra bit of advantage and pull away from the rest of the field.
All i’m saying is that some drivers/champions and the way they drive makes an impression on your mind which makes you remember them for years afterwards: Senna, Prost, Alonso and yes, I think Hamilton is going to be one (i’m not his biggest fan but have to admit I love the way he always attacks).
Button has been in F1 for about 9 years and yes, he has occasionally impressed in a few races – he’s one of the better drivers on the grid and as has already been said, when the car is set-up how he likes it his driving is really fast and silky smooth BUT he’s nothing special – i’ve never seen him shine in a bad car like all the afore-mentioned and unfortunately for him, his nerves do affect him now. I’m sorry, he’s a great driver and a nice person, i’m sure but a great champion? No – he’s just very good.
*i didn’t mention Schumacher as a great recent champion in my last comment (bizarrely!) – no reason, just forgot!!
i don’t think vettel will win it, brawn works best in warm climates, while red bull works better in colder climates (such as UK, germany, japan). since the next two races are in the tropics and the desert, brawn can basically put the championship into the bag. i still think barichello has a shot, however. under pressure, he’s the better driver.
Button is great champion. Why?
Because he stayed in the team when car was poor. Did his job and waited his chance. Also he dosent complain all the time like Massa, Barichello etc.
Without a car you cant win. I dont blame him that Honda had poor car or Brawn is lacking pace at the end of season.
If he takes the title he is the best today.
Button isin’t a great champion , he doesn’t have the x-factor or the speed to be one and staying with a team for some years ( some of those unwillingly) doesn’t make him a great champion.
I think Button is very deserving of the title, he is a good driver, he works hard and he’s loyal. I hope he gets another win in Dubai or Brazil to seal this season nicely. Also, his smooth driving style makes him a pleasure to watch.
To be honest, the race was VERY BORING!
Come on, how much overtaking was there? Was there any excitement? Uh, no.
Vettel ran away with it, and Button, er, had his lead reduced by 1 point…..
After recording the race to watch it at a more normal hour in the UK (8am), spent 10 laps with it on fast foward until 20 laps to go before anything happened. Having the ability to fast foward through the boring stuff just shows how little actually happens!
Compare it to the BTCC today. The championship could have been won by anyone of three drivers in the last race of the day, with more drama than the whole of the 2008 F1 Season put together. F1 is only popular because of the coverage it gets, and because the cars are the “fastest”. But they’re also the most boring!
finally…
CONGRATS TO COLIN TURKINGTON. Fully deserved the BTCC Title, finishing with a damaged car in 2nd to be champion. YES!!!!
“WE’RE NOT BRAZIL, WE’RE NORTHERN IRELAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!”
Button will simply try and drive to P3 in Brazil. He won’t take risks and will just let Barrichello and Vettel past him. Hopefully Hamilton will do button a favour again and not pass him. If Hamilton overtook button in Monza, everyone in Britain would have hated him.
…oh yeh, and it’d be funny if Webber finishes the 2009 championship below Raikonnen or Hamilton. It’s looking more and more likely.
@27
The only reason why Button leads with so many points is thanks to his car. Car’s big performance advantage what it had in the first races of the season to be exact. Had the perfomance compare to other teams been like it is now throughout the season, he would be nowhere. So I wouldn’t say that Button is the best driver on the grid…
Man… come on Button i need a brit to end this season on a good note. Hamilton like you but get your car working for next year!! Vettel 1st nononnonononononononono!! ! i did cry a little when that happen.
Pretty unlucky race for Brawn, for once, lucky they could grab a few points out of it. But come on Button you can do it, just finish safely!
I will admit that the race was rubbish, and Aston#008, the BTCC was pretty good no?
Great race Vettel, Trulli and Hammy!!! All this bubbling non-sense I am hearing. If Button is suppose to win this year’s championship, then he will or someone else will. Good luck to them all in Brazil!!!!
What was that new Japanese sponsor for Brawn GP?
Go Sebastian Vettel! Hopefully in Brazil he wins again with Rubens second, then Trulli, Glock, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Rosberg and Heidfeld leaving Button out of the points (sorry the Brits who read this blog)!
Also hopefully Toyota wins a race this season. I feel so sorry for Jarno and what he said in the Press Conference after the race. He could win and even if he does Vettel could win
@50, you’re thinking about Canon, which appeared on the sidepods of the Brawn. Unless you’re just kidding about that
Also, to all who thinks F1 is boring, try to actually support someone. And if you do, then support someone for the championship, Hamilton (for all you Brits) and someone in the midfield who could be at the front, like Toyota, Nico Rosberg or BMW. That’ll help
isn’t it great to have a 22 year old (vettel)
to have as worldchampion?????
ok when jenson en barichello could take the tittel they were up against schumacher…..
i saw vettel has winn only 3 races
and how much did jenson have????
i think this is the same story as 1 year ago
hamilton wins….
and the next year he is nothing…
i hope this not goning to be for vettel
Drivers can race every year. Problem is that if the car is enough to win? Brawn doesnt have money and there is a big risk that they will not be competitive next year.
I hope Jenson has options to choose good car as well to fight for 2010 title.
Why was Trulli sleeping behind the safety car??
This was his big chance ! Know this Renault was in between but still, Toyota needs this first win!! There are no killer drivers like in the Mansell days anymore! Boring race after all.
How was that race so boring i was expecting it to be brilliant with so much riding on it??
The start of the season was fairly crap with Brawn winning almost all of the first 7 races it was too predictable, i like that it is much more interesting now as the rest of the teams have caught up . i reckon that Hamilton is definitely the driver to beat at the minute its just a shame he cant win the championship.
Next season should be gr8 so long as McLaren dont screw up over the summer again
Hamilton Champion 2010!
well done Vettel
Also @39 Button is by no means the best driver on the grid. He only stayed at Honda for solong because he wasnt good enough for any of the better teams. Im not trying to slag him off or anything cos i would still like him to win but i just think that there is a lot better drivers out there. Hamilton and Alonso are by far the best drivers they have the drive to win and that special x-factor as no.40 said. If Hamilton or Alonso had the same car this season then they probably would have had the championship sealed up a few races ago.
the reason he hasnt complained in the past is cos thatrs what proper race drivers do. when they arent winning they dont like and although some dont like it that is how they become the best because yes they whinge but they do something about it and get better. and also he is a brit not at ferrari
anyway rant over
Jenson is still the most deserving of this years title. 6 race wins beats Hamiltons 5 (i think) last year. How can he then be undeserving?!
Jenson will win the title but for the first time all season I am a little nervous about it. But taking the maths into it, 2 races, 20 points left. He only needs fifth place in Brazil(4 points) and no matter what Vettel or Rubens does, it’s his on win count back. So again, how does he not deserve it?
Now, if he had only won 1 or two races and won it over the next guy who had won 5 or 6 races, then I would be agreeing with you. I like Jenson and I like Rubens, so both wpuld be good world champions. I’ve not warmed to Vettel yet, he is excellent and a future champion, possibly a multiple champion, but at the moment he has too many flaws and needs to hone his racecraft a little better. When he is leading he is supreme, when he is in the pack, he just kinda tottles around not really doing much.
No, for me it is Jenson Button FIA World Formula One Champion 2009. (I hope lol)!
What I like the most about Vettel is that he seems like a nice guy.
So, this is the one we will be supporting to kick Hamilton’s behind in the years to come.
Its all about cars they have.
Without car any driver doesnt have any x-factor, no matter if your name is Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton or others.
Only factors i see are:
1. Button has won more races this season than any other driver
2. Button was 3rd with Honda in 2006
3. Button will be the champion this year
Even Rubens, nice old bloke has missed his chances years ago in Ferrari. Doesnt deserve to win just to retire with 2nd place (Vettel is more threat to RB than JB)
I really hope they change the rules on testing. Its leaving a huge noticable gap between the ‘novice’ drivers and it seems fairly obvious from the last few weekends that it is dangerous having the ‘new guys’ out on the race track. Not that I dont want them there, just allow new drivers to practise.
Agree, a certain amount of testing should be allowed, guess they will change it as Ferrari suffers the most from the testing bans. Als hope they will change the wingdims, this bookcase and snowplow clearly don’t help overtaking and still makes the cars look out of proportion!!
damo did you forget Button’s first victory in Hungary?
For those arguing that Vettel is NOT better than Button: stop drinking, ok?
Did you follow Button career? I did.
He would be the worst world champion since Damon Hill in 1996. Period. The same applies to Barrichello
Jenson is a good driver (like Damon was, otherwise the would not have been in F1), but he certainly is not a ‘great’ driver. Vettel might still turn out to be a great driver.
if you like it or not. with 7 wins JB has already put himself to the list with Great race drivers. He had a car and he used max of it. Now when Brawn sucks he will take it easy and play safe. It shows guy has brains as well. Of course everyone likes that he will go flat out but if he loses title doing it then everybody will speak about him that why didnt he play safe…
So if you are in front there is always something wrong. Schumi was winning and many didn’t liked him as well…remember even he wasnt able to dominate with poor car!
I think BUTTON wil win for a few reasons.
- Vettel and Barichello will have to race each other as well, and they will take the pressure off Button a bit, beacause all Button needs is 6 points in 2 races.
- Hamilton, Raikkonen, maybe Webber, could all still win the 2 remaining races.
- Vettel, and Barichello are due a crash, Bad luck, or mechanical issue.
- Button may still get a win.
Aside from all that though, Hamilton would clearly have kept his title, if the car had been even average at the start of the season! I’m not being a hard nose Hamilton fan by saying this, it’s plain obvious.
@67: I totally agree, Vettel vs Button is no contest in terms of raw ability. I’ve followed both careers and the thing is, Button scored just 1 win in 9 years of F1 and then he finds himself in the best car on the grid by some margin and scores 6 wins in a row. Ok, it still takes alot of skill to get the best out of the best car (9 years of experience comes in pretty handy!) but even so, it’s just Damon Hill all over again.
In contrast, people forget that Vettel is still really young and isn’t much more than a rookie in F1 terms – I think this is only his second full F1 season – and so he is still making stupid mistakes occasionally but despite that, some of his performances so far have been extraordinairy – including last year obviousley, when he was even less experienced. And let’s face it, if weren’t for bad luck as well (as opposed to Button’s usually ridiculousley good luck), he’d probably have won the championship by now. But, of course, luck is all part of F1, so fair enough.
So, for all Button fans: fine – congratulate Button on being a good F1 racer and well done on (probably) winning the championship but please, don’t put him in the same league as Vettel.
Vettel will take it hes hungry & if Jenson wins its because the team manager wanted him to, lots of strange false starts & extra stops for barrichello…
Vettel is the new schumacher.
@72 how is vettel the new schumacher. Schuey won 7 world championships there is no way that vettel is that good. he is a good driver but i dont think he is up there with Hamilton and Alonso and although you may sya that he can only get better then dont foget Hamilton is only 1 season ahead of him he will still get better.
Schuey is arguably the best driver ever and you are comparing vettel to him??