A beaming Rubens Barrichello made clear Sunday that he will push his Brawn GP team-mate championship leader Briton Jenson Button all the way to the wire in this year’s title race when he won the Italian Grand Prix.
The 37-year-old Brazilian, who produced a beautifully measured drive from fifth on the grid to grab his second win of the season, said he was looking forward with relish to a close sporting tussle with his team-mate in the closing four races. AFP
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole but was beaten on strategy, lost third place when he crashed on the last lap trying to chase down Button.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took the third place ahead of Force India’s Adrian Sutil.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso pushed hard throughout the race to finish fifth, just ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. BBC Sport
Barrichello and teammate Jenson Button both used one-stop strategies to get the sweep at the Monza circuit.
“It was a great decision. The guys with KERS (power boost) had 20 meters on us in the start and we had to have that in mind,” the 37-year-old Barrichello said of the strategy. “Our pace was good enough to be in front of them by the last pit stop.”
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix - Race Results
“I can show my true me behind the wheel,” Barrichello said. “I’m going to give my very best. It’s going to be a good and healthy fight.”
“Focusing on one person is a lot better than focusing on three,” said Button, who finished on the podium for the first time in three months. “It’s nice to be back up there in second position.”
Hamilton was heading for a third top-three finish in four races before spinning out at the high-speed Curva di Lesmo corner.
“I don’t even know if it was a mistake. I don’t even know what happened,” the defending F1 champion said. “I just lost the back end.” The Associated Press
Button’s finish, with clinched Brawn’s fourth one-two of the year, was a decent response to critics who have been constantly questioning whether he has been struggling to deal with the pressure of leading the championship after a relatively barren recent run.
“It’s nice to be back up here,” he said.
“I’d like to be where Rubens is sat but he did a better job today. I’ve lost two points to Rubens but gained seven on Vettel.
“We’re going to take it I’m sure right down to the wire…for me it was a great result.” BBC Sport
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