Formula 1: Jenson Button and Brawn Clinch Championship
SÃO PAOLO, Brazil — An action-packed Brazilian Grand Prix Sunday ended with Mark Webber atop the podium and Jenson Button on top of the racing world as he clinched the Formula 1 driving championship with a 5th-place finish.
The 29-year-old Englishman could be heard joyously singing Queen’s “We Are the Champions” as he drove around the Interlagos track after the race ended.
The four points Button won also secured the constructors’ championship for Brawn GP in the team’s first year of competition, a first in F1 history.
Webber dominated the race and finished more than 7 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica. Lewis Hamilton, last year’s F1 champ, took a surprising 3rd-place finish, coming from the 18th spot in the 20-car grid.
Button and one of his challengers for the driving title, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, also started deep in the field, Button 14th and Vettel 16th. Vettel and Button’s teammate, Rubens Barrichello, both came into the penultimate race with a mathematical chance of overtaking Button, but the new champion’s finish put his points total out of reach.
Barrichello started on the pole in his 16th attempt to win his home country’s Grand Prix. Webber quickly established dominance in his Red Bull machine. Barrichello was running 4th in the late going before a punctured tire relegated him to an 8th-place finish.
The season concludes November 1 with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a new course in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
Inside Line says: Early-season dominance by Button and Brawn GP was overcome by Red Bull. However, Button maintained sufficiently competitive to roll to the championship. — David Green, Correspondent