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F1 had its share of twists and turns in 2009

Thu 17th, December 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - While the 2009 Formula One season featured many noteworthy stories, Jenson Button and Brawn GP topped the headlines by taking the drivers' and constructors' championship in the team's inaugural year. Brawn and Red Bull Racing were supreme this year, whereas McLaren and Ferrari struggled in the early season, which put the once-dominant teams behind the eight ball.

New rules helped F1 teams weather the global economic crises, but several controversies and scandals rocked the sport throughout the season. All in all, this year in F1 was indeed a memorable one.

BUTTON UP THE TITLE

One year ago, Button and teammate Rubens Barrichello were left without rides when Honda Racing withdrew from F1 competition due to economic conditions. But both drivers had their futures in the sport revived when team principal Ross Brawn acquired the former Honda team just weeks prior to the start of this season.

The Brawn team had a stunning debut in March, with Button capturing the victory and Barrichello finishing second in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes-Benz was the last team to finish one-two in its first F1 grand prix, doing so in 1954.

Button won the first six of seven races this year, including a victory in the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in May. Running in front of his home crowd, the British Grand Prix in June became a turning point for Button, as his season suddenly went into low gear. He made just two podium appearances from there -- a second-place finish in the Italian Grand Prix and a third- place run in the season-ending Abu Dhabi.

A comfortable points lead by mid-season allowed Button to clinch the drivers' championship with a fifth-place finish in the penultimate race of the year -- the Brazilian Grand Prix. He concluded the season with an 11-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull. Barrichello finished 18 points behind.

"This season has been a roller coaster ride from the elation of the wins at the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season, which has seen us grind out the results needed to take the [driver and constructors'] titles," Button said.

Button's seven wins and two victories for Barrichello helped Brawn capture the constructors' championship in Brazil. Barrichello took advantage of Hamilton's pit mishap to take the European Grand Prix and end a five-year winless streak in August. He also won in the Italian Grand Prix the following month.

Shortly after the season ended in November, Mercedes-Benz took over Brawn. Nico Rosberg is confirmed as Mercedes GP's first driver for next season. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is widely rumored to come out of retirement and complete the team's driver lineup.

Button has since moved over to McLaren to join Hamilton, while Barrichello made the switch to Williams.

ENERGIZED

Red Bull had by far its best season since entering F1 in 2005. Vettel gave the team its first pole and race victory in the rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix in April. The young German went on to win three more grand prix this season.

"To sum up the season, it is up and down," Vettel said after winning the Abu Dhabi GP last month. "I think the second half we have been very strong with four one-two finishes for Red Bull Racing, so congratulations to the team. They have been pushing, working a lot back in the factory and we can see that the car is getting quicker."

Mark Webber overcame an early-race drive-through penalty to win the German Grand Prix in July. Webber, in his 130th grand prix start, set a record for most starts before picking up his first victory on the circuit. He also won in Brazil. The Aussie ended the season fourth in points (-26).

Red Bull is considered a perennial threat for next year's constructors' championship after finishing second to Brawn in this year's points.

POWERLESS

The downfall of Ferrari and McLaren was one of the biggest surprises in F1 this season. Both teams dominated the circuit in 2008, with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, and McLaren competitors Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton, winning a combined 14 of 18 grand prix.

Ferrari won the constructors' championship in 2008, but fell way short of their title defense this year. The Italian team endured numerous mechanical and reliability issues during the first half of the season. Raikkonen gave Ferrari its only victory this season in the Belgian Grand Prix.

In July, Ferrari's season almost turned into tragedy when Massa suffered multiple head injuries during a high speed crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Massa missed the remainder of the season. He has since made a full recovery, and currently is preparing for his return next year.

When McLaren's cars also faltered earlier in the year, the team made modifications that helped turn their dismal season around in the second half when Hamilton won in Hungary and Singapore. Hamilton finished the year fifth in points (-46).

CRASHGATE

In what was one of the biggest cheating scandals in the 60-year history of F1, Renault avoided permanent expulsion from the sport in September when the French team admitted during a special World Motor Sports Council hearing to race fixing in last year's Singapore event. Allegations of Renault's wrongdoing surfaced when driver Nelson Piquet Jr. gave testimony to the council shortly after he was released by the team in August.

Investigations by the WMSC and Renault found that team principal Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds, both of whom left Renault prior to the hearing, planned the crash with Piquet in order to benefit the race strategy of teammate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win.

The WMSC gave Renault a two-year suspended ban and handed out hefty penalties to both Briatore and Symonds. Briatore was banned indefinitely from any involvement in International Automobile Federation (FIA) sanctioned motorsports, while Symonds received a five-year suspension.

Piquet was granted immunity from sanction for volunteering his evidence in the investigation.

LIEGATE

While kicking off his title defense campaign, Hamilton embroiled himself in controversy when he was disqualified from the Australian GP. Race stewards concluded that Hamilton and his McLaren team gave "misleading evidence" during a hearing held after the race in Australia.

Hamilton crossed the finish line fourth, but was credited with a third-place finish in the Australia GP after Toyota's Jarno Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty for passing Hamilton under the safety car in the final laps.

The FIA reinvestigated the incident when new evidence -- radio transmissions between the Hamilton and McLaren - was presented.

A statement issued by the FIA said the 24-year-old driver and his team "acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards."

"I sincerely apologize to the stewards for wasting their time," Hamilton said. "I'd like to say sorry to all my fans who have believed in me and have supported me for years. I am not a liar or a dishonest person. I am a team player. Every time I have been informed to do something I have done it. This time I realize it was a huge mistake."

Hamilton was stripped of his six points for finishing third in Australia.

DIFFUSED

The rear diffuser issue also plagued F1 this year. Diffusers are devices that help accelerate the air flow beneath the car and therefore improves its downforce.

Prior to the start of the Australian GP, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault filed an appeal after stewards rejected their protests that the cars from Brawn, Toyota and Williams used an illegal diffuser. BMW Sauber and McLaren later followed suit.

The FIA Court of Appeals rejected protests when it concluded the "double decker" designs for the diffusers used by Brawn, Toyota and Williams at Australia and Malaysia complied with current F1 technical regulations.

The verdict gave Button and Brawn a huge boost in their quest for the title, while teams such as McLaren and Ferrari had a lot of catching up to do.

NEW RULES

Dramatic rule changes for the 2009 season undoubtedly had an impact on teams. Rules that limited engine performance, ban testing during the season and reduce the number of personnel at the track helped teams significantly cut costs. New technical regulations featured changes in aerodynamics and the introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), a mechanical device that collects energy during braking and converts it to give the car a slight power boost. KERS was not mandatory this season, but some teams such as Brawn benefited from the new device.

Earlier this year, the FIA proposed a voluntary $60 million budget cap for 2010. Teams opting for the budget cap would be allowed more technical and design freedoms. The plan would have benefited teams with lower budgets, particularly next year's four newcomers -- Lotus, Campos, Virgin and US F1. The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) rejected the proposal, and a series of ongoing clashes between the FIA and FOTA ensued.

Prior to the British GP, all 10 teams that FOTA represents planned to withdrawal from F1 at the conclusion of the 2009 season and create a rival breakaway series for next year. The dispute came to an end in August when the FIA signed a new Concorde Agreement, securing the sport's future until 2012.

The upcoming F1 season should be an intriguing one, as the starting grid expands to 13 teams and technical and sporting regulations continue to be subjects of debate.