Strategy call helps Button to victory

Zoom Button dominating the drivers' championship

Jenson Button extended his lead at the head of the drivers’ standings after a dominant display once Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello’s hopes of victory had been dashed courtesy of a strategic error. The championship leader took the chequered flag 13 seconds clear of the Brazilian with Mark Webber making good use of strategy to finish third in the leading Red Bull Renault.

The start of the 66-lap Spanish Grand Prix saw Barrichello get the jump on both Button and Sebastian Vettel who started second. Felipe Massa was also on the move getting ahead of Vettel, a move that would severely compromise the German’s race. As the Brawn Mercedes duo stormed away at the front of the field, Jarno Trulli triggered an accident that would eliminate four runners on the very first lap.

Battling with Nico Rosberg, Trulli found himself running off track exiting the second turn and as he re-joined the circuit, his Toyota made solid contact with Adrian Sutil’s Force India. Behind, Sebastien Buemi and Sebastien Bourdais were forced to take avoiding action and the two Toro Rosso drivers made heavy contact.

The race resumed on lap six once the damaged cars had been removed and Barrichello was able to hold off Button at the front of the field . This would soon become academic however as the team switched Button from a three stop strategy to a two stop, leaving Barrichello on three stops.

This made it an impossible task for the Brazilian veteran who was able to pull out a 15 second advantage over Button at one point, but with the extra pit stop, dropped well behind. It was a strange tactical move from Brawn Mercedes and Barrichello must be wondering why his race was so severely compromised, effectively handing his team-mate the victory.

Mark Webber made good use of a long middle stint to vault ahead of both Felipe Massa and Sebastien Vettel and put in a good charge to the chequered flag. The Australian finished less than a second behind Barrichello. Vettel, who lost out to Massa at the start of the race, shadowed the Ferrari until the very closing stages of the race before gaining the position when Massa was forced to slow. Vettel will be frustrated that his poor start cost him any hope of a podium position.

Fernando Alonso had a relatively lonely race and looked on target for a sixth position finish. However, an error in the Ferrari pit meant that Massa did not have enough fuel to run at full speed to the chequered flag. Massa backed off, dropping ten seconds a lap allowing the Renault star through to take the fifth position.

Massa finished a disappointed sixth while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen made gains early on in the sister F60 before his car developed a mechanical issue taking him out of the race. Nick Heidfeld made up ground at the start and was able to finish seventh for the BMW Sauber team with team-mate Robert Kubica having a tough race to 11th, one position lower than his starting position.

Nico Rosberg took the final championship point in his Williams Toyota while team-mate Kazuki Nakajima had a poor race. The team called in the Japanese racer whilst the safety car controlled the field, exiting the pits behind Giancarlo Fisichella. Nakajima would spend most of the race tailing the Force India driver, eventually getting the position in his third pit stop. He finished 13th ahead of just Fisichella.

The Spanish Grand Prix was always going to be a tough event for the McLaren Mercedes team but Lewis Hamilton at least was able to go the distance and finished ninth, albeit lapped, after a long battle with Timo Glock. Heikki Kovalainen’s miserable season continued as his MP4-24 suffered a gearbox failure on lap seven.

With Trulli eliminated at the start, Glock carried the Toyota flag but despite his best efforts could finish no higher than tenth. The result sees the German-based team drop 12 points behind Red Bull Renault in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship. With Kubica 11th in the second BMW Sauber, Nelson Piquet finished 12th ahead of Nakajima and Fisichella.

With four wins from five races, Jenson Button now enjoys a commanding 14 point advantage over Barrichello in the drivers’ championship while the Brawn Mercedes team has almost a 30 point lead in the constructors’ championship heading to Monte Carlo...