Barrichello Wins European F1 GP at Valencia

Sensational win for one of Formula 1's all-time veteran today in Valencia. The Brazillian took the victory after a skillfully built up performance and after Hamilton's unbelievable bad luck. It did seem like the hot weather from Valencia helped the BrawnGP cars get their tires up to temperature and manage efficient runs. Barrichello wore a new helmet for this race, with a very special mesage for Massa.

The start of the race saw a peaceful first half of the platoon where the only noticeable move was Kimi Raikkonen's impressive start that got him from sixth place on the grid to third position just after two turns. The second half of the formation however, dealt with the usual traffic congestion and lack of clear racing lines that inevitably lead to chaos and mild tire to tire collisions.

Hamilton and Kovalainen started both very well, having the lightest cars on the circuit, which of course meant lower fuel and thus a possible additional pit stop. Raikkonen looked very fast for the first 3 or 4 laps, but afterwards settled on the 4th place behind Rubens Barrichello.

As the race progressed all first four drivers showed composure and equilibrate lap times. Ferrari's Luca Badoer struggled at the bottom of the formation for the entire race, being on average 4 seconds slower per lap. But that is what appealed to us the most. The fact that Ferrari showed it has a heart and soul for racing. It came to Valencia with a seductively modest 38-year old Ferrari devotee for the passion of the sport. Instead of having a points-hungry attitude, the Scuderia chose to reward a worthy test driver.

But back to the race now, a very promising Vettel kept his pace up from the start, but unfortunately suffered an engine failure on the track, shortly after his first pit stop. And then, the unthinkable happened: comfortable in the first place from the start, Hamilton entered the pits for his second stop and stumbled upon his unprepared pit crew.

McLaren's pit stop crew didn't have Hamilton's tires ready. This costed the Brit precious seconds which translated in losing the victory to Barrichello. Yes, Kovalainen was right behind Hamilton, but the additional pit stop McLaren risked for a lighter car gave Barrichello and Raikkonen a clear shot at overtaking.

Afterwards the race settled down and the only noticeable event was that Buemi had to retire after his front left disc brake ruptured. Renault's Grosjean manged to finish 15th after a couple of minor driving errors, but otherwise a careful rookie drive. But here are the provisional results in full:

1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes              1h35:51.289
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes             + 2.358
3. Raikkonen Ferrari                                + 15.994
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes         + 20.032
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota                   + 20.870
6. Alonso Renault                                     + 27.744
7. Button Brawn-Mercedes                     + 34.913
8. Kubica BMW Sauber                            + 36.667
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault                   + 44.910
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes              + 47.935
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber                       + 48.822
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes     + 1:03.614
13. Trulli Toyota                                          + 1:04.527
14. Glock Toyota                                        + 1:26.519
15. Grosjean Renault                               + 1:31.774
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari       + 1 lap
17. Badoer Ferrari                                      + 1 lap
18. Nakajima Williams-Toyota                + 3 laps

Fastest lap: Glock, 1:38.683

Not classified/retirements:

Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari lap 42
Vettel Red Bull-Renault lap 24