A perfectly-executed one-stop strategy gave Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button a one-two finish at the Italian Grand Prix yesterday, as Brawn GP all-but wrapped up the Formula One constructors' championship. Brawn's maximum points haul confirmed their mid-season wobble is well and truly over, but the team's first one-two since Monaco, however, has only further complicated an already intriguing drivers' title showdown.
With the Red Bull pair of Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber, finishing eighth and retired, respectively, Barrichello's third career win at Monza ensures the drivers' fight is now effectively a two-man - and one team - race. Barrichello's clinical win comes only three weeks after he returned to the podium summit in Belgium, and authenticates the Brazilian's title credentials. He is now only 14 points behind Button with four Grands Prix remaining.
Driving with confidence and skill throughout, Barrichello - starting fifth on the grid - roared past McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen at the start before pulling clear to clinch the win in the race's critical middle section. Despite being laden with fuel, Barrichello left Button in his wake and the final 10 laps were little more than a victory procession. With Barrichello on the march, Button's return to the top end of the F1 points could not have been more timely.
The Briton, who has struggled for form since dominating the year's first five rounds and building a seemingly insurmountable lead, now faces a gripping final furlong battle with his Brawn teammate. While Button has the reassuring cushion of a healthy lead, he will be aware he has been unable to match Barrichello's speed in recent races. With his nearest rival closing the gap again yesterday, Button leaves the European section of the F1 season under renewed pressure to clinch a maiden world title.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, running on a two-stop plan, suffered a spectacular crash on the final lap to throw away the final podium place. Exiting the first Lesmo curve, the world champion seemed to skid and slam into the inside barrier, handing third place to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton had exploded off the grid and, buoyed by a lighter fuel load, posted most fastest lap times in the first quarter of the race. However, Brawn's one-stop strategy told; Hamilton was restricted to third the moment the Brawn pair emerged from their sole pit stop in striking distance.
Raikkonen, who had been embroiled in a tight fourth-place tussle with Adrian Sutil, has now steered his improving Ferrari to a podium finish in each of the last three races. Sutil, who started on the front-row, struggled to find a way past Raikkonen throughout the race, and fifth-place seemed his likely reward. Hamilton's eleventh hour misery, however, propelled the Force India driver in to an unexpected fourth.
Renault's Fernando Alonso, finished fifth, just ahead of Kovalainen, who struggled to match McLaren teammate Hamilton's pace. The day's highest climber was BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. The German, who started 15th, finished seventh, one place ahead of compatriot Vettel - gifted a single championship point by Hamilton's smash. With teammate Webber spinning off on the first lap, the Red Bulls' title tilt now appears to be over.
Vettel is 26 points behind Button and would need four wins, and at least two Button and Barrichello retirements, to clinch the championship. Giancarlo Fisichella, 14th on the grid, marked his Ferrari debut with a well-earned ninth-place, while Japan's Kazuki Nakajima was 10th in his Williams. @Email:emegson@thenational.ae