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Posts Tagged ‘Jenson Button’

Jenson Button won his first victory of the season at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park today in his McLaren-Mercedes, driving in commanding style over Robert Kubica in the Renault in second, and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari in third place.

After the race began in damp conditions, the reigning world champion switched to dry tyres early on putting him into second place, and when a brake failure ended polesitter Sebastian Vettel’s day in the gravel trap, Button inherited the lead and never looked back.

Kubica held off Massa, Fernando Alonso in the other Ferrari, and Nico Rosberg in fifth in the Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren and Mark Webber in the Red Bull-Renault had stopped for new tyres in the middle of the race, and stormed back to challenge Alonso until a tangle with two laps to go saw Webber touch Hamilton, causing both men to spin off and continue, the Australian having to pit for a new nose. Hamilton finished sixth, Vitantonio Liuzzi taking seventh in his Force India-Mercedes, followed by Rubens Barrichello in his Williams-Cosworth, Webber in ninth, and Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes in tenth, taking the last point.

The win is Button’s first for McLaren, and the eighth of his career.

Australian Grand Prix 2010 Results

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	58	1:33:36.531	4	25
2	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	58	+12.034	9	18
3	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+14.488	5	15
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	+16.304	3	12
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	+16.683	6	10
6	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+29.989	11	8
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	58	+59.847	13	6
8	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	58	+1:00.536	8	4
9	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	58	+1:07.319	2	2
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	58	+1:09.391	7	1
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	58	+1:11.301	17
12	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	58	+1:14.084	14
13	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	56	+2 Laps	19
14	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	53	+5 Laps	22
Ret	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	41	Suspension	23
Ret	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	27	Hydraulics	24
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	26	Brakes	1
Ret	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	9	Engine	10
Ret	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	9	Spin	18
Ret	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	4	Hydraulics	21
Ret	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	0	Accident	12
Ret	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	0	Accident	15
Ret	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	0	Accident	16
DNS	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	0	Hydraulics	20

Watch all the action from the Turkish GP live online at www.livef1.net as Jenson Button strives to extend his F1 World Championship lead. The Brawn GP driver sits 16 points clear of his team-mate Rubens Barrichello at the head of the driver’s standings.

Last time out in Monaco Button was again the class of the field, scoring his fifth win in six races this season. You can watch live F1 streaming of the Turkish GP weekend at www.livef1.net to see if the Englishman can make it six victories.

Barrichello finished second to Button in Monaco, with Ferrari showing improved form. Kimi Raikkonen ended the race in third, just ahead of his team-mate Felipe Massa. The last three Turkish Grands Prix have all been won by Massa, and he has claimed pole position on each occasion.

The Turkish GP is held at the Istanbul Park Circuit and the track is a favourite of the drivers. The only other person to win the Turkish GP is Raikkonen, who triumphed in the inaugural race in 2005 for McLaren. Juan-Pablo Montoya’s lap record of 1:24.770 still stands.Watch the Turkish Grand Prix live online at www.livef1.net to see if any driver can better the Columbian’s time.

The Hermann Tilke designed circuit features sweeping elevation changes and the daunting turn eight, which is a four apex corner. The turn is taken at very high speed, exerting lateral forces of 5G on the drivers and has caught many out. You can watch F1 live online at www.livef1.net and see how the drivers cope with the unique challenge this corner poses.

The 2009 Turkish GP will be held on June 7th, over 58 laps of the 3.317 miles (5.338 km) circuit, giving a total race distance of 192.250 miles (309.396 km). Although the favourites for the 2009 race will be Button and Barrichello in the Brawns they can expect stiff competition from triple Turkish GP winner Massa in his Ferrari. Follow the Turkish GP live online to see if the popular Brazilian can make it four wins in a row at Istanbul Park. Subscribe now to watch turkish grand prix live online.

Red Bull will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing Monaco GP weekend. Mark Webber made it into the points but his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who lies third in the F1 World Championship, crashed out of the race. Vettel is the only driver to have won a race this season apart from Button. See if the young German can add to his tally by following Formula 1 live online at www.livef1.net.

Williams have flattered to deceive so far during the 2009 F1 season. Nico Rosberg has often been fastest in practice only to fade in the race, while his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima crashed out on the last lap in Monaco.

Defending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous time in Monaco, finishing a lap down in 12th. You can see if he can turn his season around by watching live streaming of the Turkish GP, where he finished second last year.

A subscription to www.livef1.net provides access to live online F1 streaming and live online coverage of other major racing series throught the year. These include MotoGP and NASCAR.

The fifth sixth round of the 2009 F1 World Championship takes the teams and drivers to the famous streets of Monte Carlo. Follow all the Monaco Grand Prix actions live online at www.livef1.net. 

The Monaco GP is the second European race of the season, with Jenson Button winning last time out in Spain for Brawn GP. Watch F1 live online here to see if anyone can challenge the supremacy of the Brawn team. Button’s team-mate Rubens Barrichello completed a perfect weekend for the team at the Circuit de Catalunya with a second place finish. Red Bull’s Mark Webber completed the podium in third. 

2009 marks the anniversary of the first ever Monaco GP, staged in 1929 and won by the mysterious Englishman ‘Williams’, driving a Bugatti. You can follow all the F1 action live online at www.livef1.net to see who will win the most famous race on the Formula 1 calendar this year. 

Last year’s Monaco GP was won by Lewis Hamilton, but the defending F1 World Champion is unlikely to be in contention for victory this year, as he continues to struggle with his troublesome McLaren. Last year’s pole-sitter Felipe Massa could be in with a chance of victory, as Ferrari showed improved performance in the recent Spanish GP.  

The Red Bull pair of Webber and Sebastian Vettel should be up front in Monaco. They have a very quick car and both go well on the tricky street circuit. Last year both Webber and Vettel finished in the points. Follow their progress at www.livef1.net to see if they can make the podium this year. 

Although Ferrari and Red Bull will be hoping for victory in Monaco the Brawn GP team remain favourites for the race. Barrichello, Formula 1’s most experienced driver, made it clear after the Spanish GP that he will walk away from the sport if he discovers team orders are being used in the team to favour Button. Watch live Monaco GP F1 streaming at www.livef1.net to see if the veteran Brazilian can get the better of his team-mate and score his first Grand Prix victory since 2004. 

At the other end of the grid Toro Rosso will be hoping for a better race than Spain, where both cars were eliminated on the first lap. Renault’s Nelson Piquet continues to struggle in the shadow of his double World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso. Watch the 2009 Monaco GP live online here to find out if the young Brazilian can turn his season around at the most demanding race of the season. 

The Monaco circuit rewards precision and, with barriers in close proximity to the track, punishes mistakes. The race has thrown up some surprise winners over the years, such as Olivier Panis in 1996. Catch F1 live online at www.livef1.net to see if the 2009 race produces another upset.  

The 2009 Monaco GP takes place on Sunday, May 24^th. The race will be run over 78 laps of the demanding 3.340 km (2.075 miles) circuit, giving a total race distance of 260.520 km (161.887 miles).  The lap record is still held by retired multiple F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher. Watch Monaco Grand Prix live online here to find out if any driver can challenge the German’s time of 1 minute, 14.439 seconds. A subscription to www.livef1.net also gives access to online streaming of other major racing series, including MotoGP and NASCAR. 

STAR OF THE RACE

Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 1st
Button had the speed to take pole on Saturday and the common sense not to challenge his team-mate going into Turn 1 in the race.

Button raced with his head. Barrichello was expecting him to come in for his first pit-stop on Lap 17 but he managed to make his fuel last a lap longer. During the opening stint of the race Jenson was able to set fastest laps, but would then put in what looked like an economy lap because all he was doing by setting a fastest lap was getting closer to Barrichello’s turbulent air. In the economy laps he dropped back .2 or .3 of a second which is unlikely given the metronomic regularity the drivers lap this circuit.

Button was also helped by Heidfeld. As the opening stint unfolded, a big gap opened up between 8th and 9th positions. Heidfeld in 9th was holding back Raikkonen and Kubica and Hamilton who were running quite long. Thanks to the FIA publishing the car weights on Saturday, the Brawn team knew that the only person in the top eight who wouldn’t be stopping early was Rosberg and it was going to be close getting Jenson out in front of him – much better to stick more fuel on, exit behind and see how that played out.

As a result, neither Brawn car was held up and so it was a question of each driver making their strategy work. Button made his work, Barrichello didn’t. At the end Button was going away from his team-mate at 0.6 a lap

OVERTAKING MOVE OF THE RACE

Lap 6: Mark Webber, Red Bull on Fernando Alonso, Renault.
An early contender for Overtaking Move of the Season, Mark Webbers’s re-take of Alonso on Lap 6 was a minor classic. As the Red Bull rushed up the inside of the Renault at Turn 1, which had just blitzed him with the KERS button, the PF1 office held its collective breath. Surely Webbo would go sailing on and Fernando would say “adios” as he ducked underneath. But no. Mark got the Red Bull stopped and turned in and kept his place in front of Alonso. Aye carumba!

It was a great race from Mark who for once took advantage of his team-mate being held up (normally it’s everyone else). His closing laps showed that the Red Bull is at least a match for one of the Brawn GP cars.

WINNERS

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 4th
Vettel paid the price for getting overtaken down to Turn 1. Again. The Red Bull may have good single lap pace, but until they get good speed off the line Vettel’s going to find this happening on a regular basis as the cars with KERS close in. The resurgent Ferrari team have shown that they are going to be there or thereabouts from now on, McLaren will find tracks that they’re good at and Alonso is dangerous almost anywhere. All have KERS.

Vettel was never able to mount a challenge to Massa despite getting within 0.4 of a second of the Ferrari. Which is fair enough. Red Bull decided to develop the chassis and not KERS and so they’ve got the fastest chassis but no KERS. Ferrari have got a slower chassis and a KERS that helps them gain and maintain positions. You pays your money etc…

Despite another race of ‘what might have been’ he scored five points, almost as many as Ferrari have gained in five races.

Fernando Alonso, Renault, 5th
Alonso showed how fast he can be when his water bottle works and he doesn’t lose five kilos during a race. It was his uncompromising line through Turns 1 and 2 that pushed Nico Rosberg off track and led to the accident that claimed four cars. Was he to blame? Funnily enough Massa did the same thing to him one year and Alonso got terribly irate about it.

It’s what happens when you put your car on the outside of another and attempt to run through a corner where there’s only one line – Vettel and Kubica tried it in Melbourne and Vettel got blamed for it, here Rosberg took no chances and ran wide, and we all saw what happened after that.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari 6th
Massa had a great qualifying session and a good race, even if the team did screw up by not letting Vettel past earlier to secure 5th place. But there’s no doubting that Ferrari are back as contenders. Monaco may not be the best of places to secure that return but the Scuderia have obviously found a lot more pace and with only an interim diffuser there is still more pace to come.

Nick Heidfeld, BMW, 7th
Considering how dire the Bahrain race was for the team, a seventh place must feel like a podium finish for Ickle and Dr.Mario. Heidfeld had one of his typically anonymous races, only featuring when he had to drive defensively to keep Kimi and his KERS button at bay.

Nico Rosberg, Williams, 8th
Rosberg said he was hoping for 5th place; quite how he would have achieved that without short-cuts round the back of the circuit is anyone’s guess, but at least he scored.

LOSERS

Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 2nd
Well miaoow! Just when you thought that Lewis Hamilton had safely tucked away the Mr.Sourpuss award for Barcelona, Rubens snatched it off him. Barrichello failed to make the best use of his strategy and all of a sudden it’s a conspiracy to engineer Jenson Button into first place.

During the race his own engineers constantly told him he add to increase his pace, they also informed him that Jenson had switched to Plan B, so Rubens must have known it was an option that the team might switch to a different strategy and one which they must have discussed in a briefing before the race.

It was clear from the lack of pace from the prime (harder) tyre that the smallest amount of time running on them was the best thing and Rubens had less laps on them than Jenson.

For whatever reason he was just too slow in the race and to start hinting that his team might be doing his team-mate favours is showing scant respect. Two and a half months ago he was staring at no future in F1. Now he’s getting all precious about his team-mate winning everything.

F1 Sponsorship
What was worrying about the Barcelona GP was the lack of new sponsor names on the Brawn GP car. They may have got publicity from the Terminator movie, but we were expecting the announcement of a major deal this race. It’s worrying for the rest of the grid because here you have a hugely successful team almost guaranteed extensive media coverage and yet they can’t attract sponsors. What’s it going to be like for the other teams when their sponsors quit? Williams are going to lose RBS and Renault won’t have ING in 2010. Yet whenever Button and Barrichello step onto the podium they look more like an advert for soap powder – keeping their whites white – than.

Though the one good thing about Brawn GP is that they don’t have to wear those terminally uncool (design circa 1984) Mubadallah Abu Dhabi caps that Kimi Raikkonen has applied to his head.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, DNF
Eddie Jordan thought that Kimi Raikkonen should have been suspended because of his lack of application at Ferrari. As Father Jack would say “feckin’ eejit!” Raikkonen knows exactly when and where to apply himself and he duly demolished Jordan’s theory of not-trying-very-hard when he got himself up from 16th to 10th on the opening lap.

And then his KERS failed. It was commendable that he took a bullet for the team on Saturday by saying that he thought he was safe for Q2 as well as his engineers. Lewis Hamilton take note.

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 9th
Lewis is confirming my theory that he can’t actually speak to the press unless he has a suck from his drinks bottle first. It’s his “blue blanket”. Mr Motivator looked angrier than usual after the race, probably because he’d shipped his girlfriend in only for him to have a pants race.

Now we’re certain that in reality Nicole Scherzinger is a lovely girl, kind to animals with the virtues of a saint, but to the ill-informed outsider…well…she looks like high maintenance. Perhaps that’s why a grumbly, sulky Lewis said the car was worse with the upgrades. He’s a simple boy, he just likes to please…

It must be great if you’ve been working all hours in the factory at Woking to hear that honest uncomplicated appraisal from Lewis.

Lesson No.3 in the Schumacher F1 Driving School – never slag off your team’s best efforts. Michael always found a way to say something constructive.

2009 F1 Technical Regulations
The Spanish GP was proof, if proof were needed, that the 2009 regulations have not delivered considerably more overtaking this year. KERS has definitely given it a boost (arf), but the acceptance of the diffuser cars as within the rules has thrown all the speed development work back to the aero boys.

Credit: Planet F1

STAR OF THE RACE
Jenson Button showed that he has the metal to be a World Champion with his third win in four races. Driving a very careful race, the Brit brought his Brawn GP car home in such extreme conditions that his engineers were telling him to cool it as early as Lap 7 – and that was running in free air.

He made a great start, tucking up his championship rival Sebastian Vettel and condemning him to a first stint behind Lewis Hamilton. He dispatched Hamilton with a supreme bit of overtaking (more of that below) and then drove within the parameters laid down by Ross Brawn.

He was never really under pressure thanks to Vettel being delayed by Trulli and then Trulli being delayed by Vettel, but if Trulli couldn’t get past the Red Bull then he wouldn’t have got anywhere with the Brawn.

That ‘Milepost’ just gets quicker and quicker.

Overtaking Move of the Race
Lap 2: Jenson Button on Lewis Hamilton for P3.
Button knew that he needed to get past Lewis Hamilton in a hurry, and he also knew that it was going to be difficult getting past a McLaren equipped with KERS. Yet such is the Brawn’s agility in the braking zone that Button was able to dive inside into Turn 1 and get his car stopped. It looked a very neat move on a driver who hates being overtaken.

Alonso made a brave move on Trulli round the outside on Lap 14, but as we know, Trulli’s a pussy when it comes to strong arm stuff.

WINNERS

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2nd
‘Katie’s Dirty Sister’ took Seb to P2 and installed him as Jenson Button’s clear title contender. We ought to point out that Sebastian likes to give his cars names and for this race we got….Katie’s Dirty Sister. It would have been interesting to see what might have happened if the Dirty Sister hadn’t been held up behind The Anthony Hamilton Pension Scheme and the World’s Fastest Winemaker, but probably not that interesting as there was little on-track overtaking after half distance. Raikkonen steaming past Glock being the one glorious exception.

Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 3rd
Trulli proved that he is both faster than Glock, and that the Toyota is a knackering beast to drive. The difference between Lewis Hamilton and Trulli after the race was amazing. Lewis sauntered over to reporters with his drinks bottle (you notice how he can’t answers questions without it) looking like he’d finished a 10-lap charity karting sprint. Trulli looked like he’d been jammed into a microwave-grill unit for two hours on 215C.

Though he said he was disappointed that Toyota didn’t win their first GP, we could have told him that wasn’t going to happen from the moment they published the qualifying weights.

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 4th
Lewis came within a gnat’s of a podium when he grabbed P2 momentarily on Lap 1. Had he been able to delay Trulli long enough, then that would have been the Toyota strategy out of the window. It wasn’t to be and this time he really did settle for 4th place behind Jarno. As long as he can keep scoring points he stands a chance of a late-season recovery.

Rubens Barrichello, BrawnGP, 5th
Rubens suffered a bout of old-gitism in the middle of the race when he got stuck behind Nelson Piquet Junior. As they were racing for position it seemed hard to know who he was appealing to by constantly taking his hand off the wheel. They weren’t going to blue flag Junior and I can’t imagine anyone in Flavio Briatore’s Renault team asking Nelson to move over because the Brawn GP was on a different strategy. Not even for The Nearly-Retired-one.

A three-stop strategy wasn’t the way to go, but he made the best of a bad job by squeaking in front of Raikkonen in the final pit-stop.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 6th
Though commentators were keen to say that Raikkonen had saved the Scuderia from their worst season start ever, it’s hard to see why. In 1980 Jodi Scheckter scored a 5th place at Long Beach in the fourth race; in 1981 Didier Pironi scored a 5th place at Imola in the fourth race. In what way are those 5th place finishes better than a 6th?

It hardly matters, the fact is that Raikkonen looked good for his result and didn’t inherit any places. Had Barrichello stumbled in the tiniest way possible on his final pit-stop it would have been a 5th place. What’s more he had the wrong tyres (Grommit) to go mixing it up with Timo Glock on Lap 44, but he still got in front of the Toyota.

What he needs to do is bring a recognisable father figure to the races so that the TV crews can focus on Raikkonen Senior and not Luiz Massa when something happens to him on track.

Fernando Alonso, Renault, 8th
Alonso had a pretty scary start where he stuck two wheels onto the grass to avoid Nico Rosberg running down to Turn 1 and almost lumped his car into the back of Felipe Massa. He pulled a fantastic move to get by Jarno Trulli, but otherwise it was a fairly low-key race. He was only 13 seconds in front of Junior by the line.

Nelson Piquet Junior, Renault, 10th
Junior bought some time at Renault. He was in sight of his team-mate at the finish line and did nothing stupid on track. He also renewed his friendship with Rubens Barrichello, so all in all, a good afternoon’s work.

LOSERS

Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 14th
This was more like a 57-lap race simulation than an attempt at points after a first corner sandwich that broke his front wing and an issue with his KERS device. You can’t imagine the ongoing KERS saga is going to be fixed any time soon, especially when they’re so busy redesigning the diffuser and the floor.

What Felipe needs most, though, is for Kimi Raikkonen to do well. Because if the Finn chucks in the towel at the end of 2009, then he’s going to be sitting alongside Fernando Alonso in 2010 when Ferrari will have a Championship Contender again.

And Fernando likes a lot of attention.

Mark Webber, Red Bull, 11th
Despite working his way up to 11th place early in the race, Webber struggled to make up further places. He was desperately unlucky to be stranded at the back of the grid, but it might be God’s way of saying – get your killer Qualy 1 lap in early.

Robert Kubica, BMW, 18th
Kubica’s driving style is getting him into incidents with a lot of cars. In the three races I’ve seen him this year he’s had contact of some kind with another car. When he overtakes anyone, the carbon fibre vultures gather. As a ratio of overtaking moves made to cars hit, he and Rubens Barrichello must have the highest strike rate in F1. Or just the highest strike rate full stop. Button and Raikkonen are the other end of the scale.

F1 As A Spectator Sport…?
The Crown Prince of Bahrain admitted on camera that his country’s race isn’t a sporting event. No, it’s a branding exercise. The state of Bahrain uses the Grand Prix to promote the country in the world as a brand.

There is no groundswell of popular support for F1 in Bahrain. On Saturday for Qualifying the grandstands had less people than an English Football League Two bottom of the table clash. In Japan or Spain or the UK the grandstand on the start-finish straight would have been almost full for Qualifying.

During the race the main grandstand was half full. It was embarrassing. What’s more the landscape the race passes through is a sandy quarry. State of the art? No, state of my ****. And it’s the same story in China and in Malaysia where free tickets help boost the numbers.

What Bernie Ecclestone has to understand is the overwhelming majority of F1 fans don’t care that the media centre is able to hold 500 accredited journalists, or that the grandstand looks like two wings of a Stormy Petrel (especially when it’s equipped to seat 10,000 and 17 turn up). What they want is a circuit where they can instantly distinguish where the cars are, that facilitates overtaking and produces a good race.

As long as Silverstone or Donington or Montreal or even an improved Imola can do that, they should be on the calendar.

BBC Coverage
More underwhelming coverage from the BBC who seem incapable of running Grand Prix highlights after the race. When they broadcast a football match, they immediately go back to the pundits in the studio to review the highlights and the controversial incidents.

There’s none of this second class treatment; “if you’d like to hear what Alan Hansen thinks about the sending off decision, or see the two goals, or see if Torres was offside, press the red button.” No, give it to us straight.

We had a few more Leggardisms to enjoy: “What magic is Ross Brawn weaving on the pitwall…?” I don’t know, let’s see, has he got his cape on again…?

Plus the hilarious moment when the timing screens reshuffled as they do at the end of each session in Qualifying and Jonathan announced that Button and Barrichello were 14th and 15th in Q1. Martin Brundle’s reply was witheringly brief.

Oh, and we missed Mike Gascoyne.

Credit: Planet F1

The third round of the 2009 F1 World Championship takes place at China’s Shanghai International Circuit. Watch the Chinese F1 GP live online at www.livef1.net as Jenson Button strives to extend his points lead.

The new Brawn GP team has dominated the season so far, winning the opening races in Australia and Malaysia. Half points were awarded at Sepang after torrential rain forced the GP to be stopped for safety reasons. Jenson Button was declared the winner, followed by BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Toyota’s Timo Glock. Jarno Trulli was fourth in the other Toyota, Rubens Barrichello fifth in his Brawn, Mark Webber sixth for Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton seventh in a McLaren and Nico Rosberg scored half a point in eighth for Williams.

2009 is proving to be one of the most unpredictable F1 seasons for many years, with a host of new front runners emerging. You can keep up to date with all the action by subscribing to www.livef1.net and watching F1 live online. Incredibly, after two races, McLaren have only scored one point and Ferrari has yet to register its first points finish of the season.

The Chinese F1 GP venue is one of the most impressive in the sport. Fans can watch Formula 1 cars tackle the demanding 5.451 km (3.387 miles) circuit via live online F1 streaming. The track held its first GP in 2004, with victory going to then Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello. The veteran Brazilian will again be one of the favourites for victory this year. Watch F1 live online to see if he can score his second Chinese GP win.

Barrichello’s main opposition is likely to come from his Brawn GP team-mate Jenson Button. The Briton will be trying to make it a hat-trick of victories at the start of the 2009 F1 season. Every race of the 2009 F1 season will be shown live online at www.livef1.net.

After years of underachieving Toyota finally appear to have produced a car that could win races. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock currently lie third and fourth in the points standings. Red Bull and BMW Sauber have also produced quick cars and will be chasing victory in the Chinese F1 GP, live online at this site.

Williams driver Nico Rosberg has been quickest in five out of six practice sessions so far during the 2009 season. Despite leading the Malaysian GP he eventually dropped back and finished eighth.

Fans of double World Champion Fernando Alonso can watch F1 live online here and see if the talented Spaniard can extract some more speed from his Renault during the Chinese F1 GP. A subscription to www.livef1.net includes not only live online F1 coverage but also F1 news and features. Other racing categories are also streamed live online, including NASCAR and MotoGP.

McLaren will arrive in China with a cloud hanging over them, following the dismissal of their team manager Dave Ryan and the team’s upcoming appearance in front of the FIA World Motorsport Council to explain their actions in Melbourne, where it is alleged that they lied to stewards. Things don’t look much better for the team on track. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton has only one point to his name, while his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen has none. Watch F1 live online here to see if the Finn can complete his first full racing lap of the season.

Ferrari endured a disastrous weekend in Malaysia, where an ill-times tyre change ruined Kimi Raikkonen’s chances, while Felipe Massa could only finish ninth. Follow the action at www.livef1.net to see if the great Italian team can finally get on the scoreboard. The only other team without any points is Force India, but they will be hoping to beat their nearest competitors Toro Rosso in China.

The Shanghai International Circuit features a variety of challenges for the F1 drivers, with slow, medium and high speed corners. See who can master it by watching the Chinese F1 GP live online here. The lap record dates from 2004 and is held by Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari. The 2009 Chinese GP will be held over 56 laps, a total distance of 305.066 km (189.568 miles). Ferrari has won the Chinese GP three times, with McLaren and Renault taking one win apiece. Watch the Chinese F1 GP live online here to see if a new team can claim the top step of the podium.