2009 European Grand Prix

Championship standings

Button leads the championship by 18.5 points from Webber, who jumped ahead of teammate Vettel in Hungary. Vettel is on 47 points, just 3 ahead of Barrichello. Brawn lead the Constructors’ Championship by 15.5 points from Red Bull.

Previous race

Hamilton won in Hungary — his first victory since the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix — with Räikkönen second and Webber third. It was the first Formula One win for a KERS-equipped car. Button finished seventh, held up in traffic for much of the race, trimming his championship lead. Alonso led early but retired after a loose front wheel in the pits — released with an incorrectly secured wheel nut — caused the wheel to detach. Renault were penalised with a suspension from the European Grand Prix by the stewards for knowingly releasing the car in an unsafe condition.

Between-race developments

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was struck on the helmet by a loose spring from Barrichello’s car at 261 km/h during qualifying at Hungary, suffering a fractured skull and concussion. He is expected to miss at least six weeks of racing. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher agreed to drive Ferrari’s second car until Massa’s return, but called off the comeback on 11 August due to lingering neck pain from a motorcycle accident earlier in the year. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer, who last raced in 1999, replaces Massa instead. His return gap of nine years, nine months, and 24 days is the second-longest between Formula One starts in history.

Renault dropped Nelson Piquet Jr. on 3 August after he failed to score a single point all season. Romain Grosjean, Renault’s test driver, makes his debut here in Piquet’s place.

Renault appealed their suspension and the FIA Court of Appeal overturned the ban on 17 August, enabling Alonso to race at his second home grand prix.

Practice

The higher track temperatures in Valencia favoured the Brawn cars, with Barrichello the pace-setter in FP1, the two McLarens close behind. Alonso topped FP2. In Saturday practice, Sutil’s Force India was fastest after Vettel’s engine blew and spread oil on the track, causing a red flag. Luca Badoer was 20th in both Friday sessions and last in Saturday practice, over three seconds from the front. Vettel and Webber struggled in the heat, finishing outside the top five across the sessions.

Hamilton took pole — his first since the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix and the first pole by a KERS car — ahead of teammate Kovalainen for an all-KERS front row, also a first.