With one race left to go in the strangest Formula One seasons in memory, Britain's Jenson Button clinched the driver's championship with a fifth-place finish at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.
It was Button and his Brawn F1 car (the former Honda factory team) that stunned the racing world early this season by utterly dominating all comers, including powerhouse teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Renault. The mountain of points Button earned in that early-season rout proved insurmountable, despite a strong mid-season challenge challenge from Red Bull, most notably in the hands of the phenom Sebastian Vettel.
With additional points-gathering contributions of Brawn F1 teammate Rubens Barrichello, the new F1 team also clinched the manufacturer's title for 2009.
As a sidenote, Kamui Kobayashi, driving one of the Toyotas in his Formula One debut for injured Timo Glock managed to stay in front of Button for a good long time and, reportedly, ate no hot dogs during or after the race.
rick8365 says:
09:22 AM, 10/19/09
Congrats!
Wonder what Honda's thinking now.
e10rice says:
09:30 AM, 10/19/09
Sure they might be wondering all the what ifs, but really i dont think they would have been as dominate if it weren't for the Mercedes power plant. Honda wasnt known for their motor or reliability.
dougtheeng says:
11:13 AM, 10/19/09
Shame F1 has gone downhill so much. I like Jensen though.
zoomzoomn says:
04:58 AM, 10/20/09
Good for Button. I've always liked him and am glad that, after nearly being written off here and there, he has finally had his year. F1, of course, still sucks, but good for him!