Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello and Brawn GP created a slice of Formula One history with a memorable one-two in today's Australian Grand Prix.
Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello and Brawn GP created a slice of Formula One history with a memorable one-two in today's Australian Grand Prix.
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For the first time since 1954 when the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio led home Karl Kling for Mercedes in the French Grand Prix, a debut team captured the top two places in a race.
It was a relatively easy day for Button, a walk in Albert Park you could say, as he led from start to finish for only the second win of his 154-race career.
However, for veteran Barrichello it was an eventful day as he was initially involved in a first-corner melee.
After surviving that, he only took the runner-up spot thanks to Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica colliding three laps from home when running second and third.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who had started in the pit lane along with team-mate Timo Glock after their cars were yesterday deemed to be using illegal flexi wings, finished third with the German fifth.
The duo sandwiched Lewis Hamilton, who produced a world champion's drive from 18th in a woefully under-performing McLaren.
The race, as expected, started as dramatically as it finished, and it was thanks to Barrichello who suffered a poor getaway, which led to him being swallowed up by a number of cars.
On the run down to the first corner, as Barrichello attempted to pass down the inside of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, he collided into the German, sparking a domino effect.
Heidfeld in turn sideswiped Red Bull's Mark Webber, who then caught the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil in his Force India.
Remarkably, of the five involved in the incident, only Barrichello managed to avoid returning to the pits, and for Kovalainen it was terminal as he was forced to retire.
The accident was perfect for Hamilton, though, as it allowed him to make up six places on the first lap.
The chaos behind him allowed Button to comfortably pull away, and by the end of lap 17 he had built up a lead of nearly 35 seconds, albeit he had yet to pit.
That became crucial as on lap 18 Kazuki Nakajima caught a kerb coming out of the left-hander turn four, sending him careering nose first into a wall.
It then became a question of how quickly the safety car would be deployed as Nakajima's car was strewn across the track.
In the past, when such an incident has occurred, the stewards have swiftly acted, but on this occasion there was a considerable delay.
Whatever the reason, it worked in Button's favour as he was able to mercifully make his stop, moments prior to the safety car finally being sent out, even if his lead had been whittled down to nothing.
But by the time of his second stop on lap 46, he had built up such a cushion again that he comfortably emerged ahead of second-placed Vettel.
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