F1 2009: The Story So Far

The 2009 Formula 1 season began just two weeks after the end of the 2008 season with the first test session of the year.

However, it wasn't until December 2008 that the season became interesting with the shock announcement that Honda was due to leave Formula 1 because of the worldwide recession taking its toll on the business. 

Following several discussions in January, the final lineup for 2009 was confirmed as:

New rules and new tyres were introduced at the start of the season leading to the major teams having to design drastically different cars with new body styling. The ability to cope with the return to slicks was something all teams had to deal with.

The biggest technical change was the introduction of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), meaning that the teams were all facing a new technical challenge and that would ultimately lead to a major decision for the weight/power argument. 

The FIA made their first biggest intervention of the season, the decision to introduce a rule change meaning the driver who won the most races would become the World Champion—this was quickly rescinded after FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) voiced their opposition. 

The pre-season testing had been limiting the use for establishing the quickest teams so far. Many teams were opting to use revised versions of their 2008 cars with new parts at various sessions.

It wasn't until March 9 that all teams produced their 2009 cars at the Barcelona test.

Here the first glimpse of the season started to become clear. Ross Brawn showed his technical ability had carried over into his newly purchased, and former Honda, team.

McLaren also showed their difficulties with the car, consistently being considerably slower than the majority of the pack. Brawn were the biggest surprise, topping the time charts on numerous occasions.

March also saw the start of the first major debate of the year: the rear diffuser!

Williams, Toyota, and Brawn all operated with a "double" rear diffuser which became the subject of numerous appeals by the remaining seven teams. 

Brawn, led by Button, took the weekend opening weekend in Melbourne by storm, living up to his pre-season promise, as he secured both the pole and race victory, and was followed by his teammate Barrichello.

Toyota followed then Renault with the remainder of the field coming in behind. The Ferrari team was disappointingly slow, with Massa retiring and Raikkonen being classified as 15th despite failing to reach the chequered flag.

Hamilton was disqualified from the race in a scandal which saw Hamilton accused of lying and it ultimately cost Ron Dennis his job with the F1 side of the business. 

Button continued his dominance at the second race of the year taking the pole and race victory for the second straight time. Ferrari and McLaren struggled with only Hamilton managing to secure points for seventh. Toyota continued to lead the chase of the Brawn's while the BMW of Heidfeld showed the desire to compete by finishing on the podium in second. 

Following Malaysia, F1 made a brief stop over in Paris (no cars were there, just lawyers and suits). Here Brawn, Toyota, and Williams were declared to be legal following challenges to the rear diffusers. The seven remaining teams found themselves playing catch up in the design race as well as on the track as the season was already well underway. 

So on to China and race three. This time Vettel stuck his Red Bull on the pole and by the end of the race, Vettel remained up front followed by his teammate, Mark Webber. Brawn brought up third and fourth and Kovalainen secured his only point of the season so far. Hamilton, Ferrari, and Trulli were disappointments in the third race of the season.

Bahrain was the place for the fourth race of the year and saw a return to the Brawn show as Button came out the clear winner for the third time this season. Vettel continued to demonstrate that his team was getting close to Brawn with a second place while Ferrari finally managed to get their first points of the season with a sixth place finish for Raikkonen. Hamilton managed his best finish of the season with a fourth. 

Spain marked the fifth race and Barrichello's attempted to take the spotlight from Button and Barrichello actually got the jump on Button and had the stronger strategy during the opening of the race.

However, Button's pace and change of tactics handed him his fourth race victory. Red Bull continued to chase and Ferrari scored more points with Massa claiming his first points—although a lack of reliability saw Raikkonen retire. Hamilton again failed to score and Kovalainen suffered his third retirement of the year. 

Monaco was the most recent race to date.

Brawn again showed its power. Button's last minute qualifying lap saw him snatch the pole and he stayed up front all race once again in capturing the victory in beautiful Monaco.

Barrichello again was the wing man for Button. Massa and Raikkonen showed Ferrari's continued development by capturing points, although Massa still placed behind Webber. Hamilton was out of the points after crashing in qualifying and starting from the back of the pack. 

So in summary, both on and off track in 2009, it has been an enthralling season.

As for what will happen for the rest of the season and beyond is a complete unknown. The Ferrari team is definitely improving, but they have to match the very quick Red Bull and the seemingly reliable and dominating Brawn. McLaren are miles behind and Renault might be considering a driver change, among other things. 

All that being said though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Force India score a race win and see Piquet challenge for the top of the points. After all, as the great Murray Walker always said, "F1 is backwards!"

However, it's really Button and Brawn's season to lose at this point.