Red Bull driver Mark Webber won the FIA Formula One 2009 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil Saturday at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil.
Robert Kubica came in second for BMW Sauber, and Lewis Hamilton finished third for McLaren.
Webber’s teammate Sebastian Vettel started from 15th place on the starting grid after he couldn’t come up from the first qualification session, but finished 4th in front of his championship rival.
Brawn Grand Prix driver Jenson Button finished 5th to win his title. His team, representing the remnants of Honda Racing, also won the 2009 Constructors’ championship after leading through the season.
The team’s road to victory was not smooth – a scandal broke with the “double-decker diffuser” of the BGP001 car. After the FIA declared them legal and other teams started to borrow the idea, Brawn sped up by collecting points on the way to the title.
Brawn GP, the winning constructor
Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) dropped one place from the starting grid and finished behind Button.
Button’s teammate and possible vice-champion Rubens Barrichello, who won pole position on his home soil after nearly three hours of a long rainy qualification session, had a tire puncture on the dying laps of the race and was forced to make an unscheduled third visit to his pit. He closed in the top eight.
This Brazil GP featured Japanese rookie driver, Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota), who replaced recovering Glock. In his first race this young driver qualified 11th and finished 10th in the race.
Adrian Sutil qualified 3rd for Force India, but was taken out by Jarno Trulli (Toyota) on the first lap.
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Ivan Rodriguez appears headed to the Houston Astros. Cole Hamels and Manny Ramirez aren’t sure when they’ll be back in spring training games. A 14-time All-Star catcher, Rodriguez was closing in on a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Astros, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press on Monday. The deal would contain $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced by the team. “There isn’t anything certain yet. Right now the only team I have is Puerto Rico,” Rodriguez said in Spanish before a World Baseball Classic game against Venezuela in Miami. “There’s interest, but I haven’t received a call yet. Let’s wait and see what happens in the coming hours or days.” Houston needs a veteran catcher to replace Brad Ausmus, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros have several young catchers in camp who need time to develop. Humberto Quintero had been in line to start this season, but he’ll likely move to a backup role.
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Track map of Autódromo José Carlos Pace (AKA Interlagos).
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Motorhome of Brawn GP on Istanbul Park’s paddock during 2009 Turkish Grand Prix weekend.
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Ivan Rodriguez appears headed to the Houston Astros. Cole Hamels and Manny Ramirez aren’t sure when they’ll be back in spring training games. A 14-time All-Star catcher, Rodriguez was closing in on a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Astros, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press on Monday. The deal would contain $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced by the team. “There isn’t anything certain yet. Right now the only team I have is Puerto Rico,” Rodriguez said in Spanish before a World Baseball Classic game against Venezuela in Miami. “There’s interest, but I haven’t received a call yet. Let’s wait and see what happens in the coming hours or days.” Houston needs a veteran catcher to replace Brad Ausmus, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Astros have several young catchers in camp who need time to develop. Humberto Quintero had been in line to start this season, but he’ll likely move to a backup role.
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