OCTOBER 18, 2009

Button is the World Champion

Jenson Button became the second British World Champion in succession in Sao Paulo, his fifth place gave him a total of 89 points and with Sebastian Vettel picking up only five points for fourth place and Rubens Barrichello one point for eighth, after a late race puncture, their totals ended up being 74 and 72, with only 10 available for victory in Abu Dhabi. The Brawn GP won the Constructors' World Championship, needing only half a point to put the title out of reach of Red Bull Racing. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel added 15 points with first and fourth places, but with a maximum of 18 points available in Abu Dhabi, Brawn has a lead of 25.5 points.

There are plenty of arguments about whether Brawn is the first new team to win the Constructors' title at its first attempt. Legally-speaking the company has existed since it was established by Ken Tyrrell in 1964. The company was called Tyrrell until 1998 when it became British American Racing and it then passed through a number of other legal entities before becoming Honda GP Ltd, and ultimately Brawn GP.

There will be some interest left in Abu Dhabi as the fight for third place in the Constructors' Championship sees McLaren having moved one point clear of Ferrari in Brazil. BMW Sauber may also be able to snatch sixth place from Williams F1 as they are just 2.5 points apart after Robert Kubica's unexpected second place at Interlagos.

In the Drivers' Championship, The fight for second place between Barrichello and Vettel in close while the difference in the fight for fifth between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen is one point.