2009 in Formula One

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 67. Chapters: 2009 Formula One race reports, 2009 Formula One season cars, 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, 2009 Australian Grand Prix, Renault Formula One crash controversy, Brawn BGP 001, 2009 European Grand Prix, 2009 Singapore Grand Prix, 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 2009 Italian Grand Prix, 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, 2009 Spanish Grand Prix, 2009 British Grand Prix, 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix, FIA-FOTA dispute, 2009 German Grand Prix, 2009 Turkish Grand Prix, Red Bull RB5, Force India VJM02, Ferrari F60, McLaren MP4-24, BMW Sauber F1.09, Renault R29, Toyota TF109, Williams FW31, Toro Rosso STR4. Excerpt: The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Jenson Button and Brawn GP secured the driver and constructor titles respectively in the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. It was both Button and Brawn's first Championship success, Brawn becoming the first team to win the Constructors Championship in their début season. Button was the tenth British driver to win the championship, and following Lewis Hamilton's success in 2008 it was the first time the Championship had been won by English drivers in consecutive seasons, and the first time since Graham Hill (1968) and Jackie Stewart (1969) that consecutive championships have been won by British drivers. Also notable was the success of Red Bull Racing, as well as the poor performance of McLaren and Ferrari compared to the previous season. Ten teams participated in the Championship after several rule changes were implemented by the FIA to cut costs to try and minimise the effect of the global financial crisis. There were further changes to try to improve the on-track spectacle with the return of slick tyres, changes to aerodynamics and the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) presenting some of the biggest changes in Formula One regulations for several decades. The Brawn team, formed as a result of a management buy out from the former Honda team, won six of the first seven races, their ability to make the most of the new regulations being a deciding factor in the Championship, before other teams caught up in an unpredictable second half of the season. The 2009 season was the first time since 2005 that all participating teams had scored World Championship points. FIA President Max Mosley announced dramatic rule changes for the 2009 season in a bid to improve the spectacle of the sp