2009 Australian Grand Prix
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One World Championship. The 58-lap race was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after starting from pole position. Rubens Barrichello finished second in the other Brawn GP car, with Jarno Trulli third for Toyota.
| 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 1 of 17 in the 2009 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | ||||
| Date | 29 March 2009 | |||
| Official name | 2009 Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix | |||
| Location | Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia | |||
| Course | Temporary street circuit | |||
| Course length | 5.303 km (3.295 miles) | |||
| Distance | 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles) | |||
| Weather | Sunny with temperatures reaching up to 27 °C (81 °F) | |||
| Pole position | ||||
| Driver | Brawn-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:26.202 | |||
| Fastest lap | ||||
| Driver | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | ||
| Time | 1:27.706 on lap 48 | |||
| Podium | ||||
| First | Brawn-Mercedes | |||
| Second | Brawn-Mercedes | |||
| Third | Toyota | |||
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Lap leaders | ||||
Brawn GP became the first constructor since Mercedes-Benz at the 1954 French Grand Prix to qualify on pole position, and then go on to win the race on their Grand Prix debut. The race also became the second race in Formula One history to finish under stabilised safety car conditions—after the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix—following a collision between Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel, who were running second and third, on lap 56. This was Jenson Button's second Grand Prix victory, and his first since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.
This also marked the first race since the 1997 European Grand Prix that cars competed using slick tyres.