2009 Formula One World Championship

Jenson Button won his first and only World Championship driving for Brawn GP.
Sebastian Vettel, finished runner-up behind Button by eleven points, in his first year with Red Bull.
Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello (pictured in 2010), finished third in the championship.
Brawn GP won their only World Constructors' Championship in their first and only season with the Brawn BGP 001.
Red Bull Racing finished second in the World Constructors' Championship with the Red Bull RB5.
McLaren finished third in the World Constructors' Championship with the McLaren MP4-24.

The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 63rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 60th Formula One World Championship which was contested over 17 events commencing with the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March and ending with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 1 November.

Jenson Button and Brawn GP secured the Drivers' Championship and Constructors' Championship titles, respectively, in the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. It was both Button and Brawn's first and only championship success, Brawn becoming the first team to win the Constructors' Championship in their debut season. 2009 was the only season in which Brawn GP competed, before the team was sold to Mercedes for the 2010 season, also making them the only team ever to win 100% of championships in which they took part. 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 had been won by British drivers. Also notable was the success of Red Bull Racing, as well as the poor performances of McLaren and Ferrari compared to the 2008 season.

Ten teams participated in the championship after several rule changes were implemented by the FIA to cut costs to try to minimise the financial difficulties. 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 buyout of the 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. Red Bull Racing caught up in an unpredictable second half of the season, with the season being the first time since 2005 that all participating teams had scored World Championship points. Sebastian Vettel, Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber were his main challengers over the season, winning eight races between them to finish in second, third and fourth, respectively.

It would be the last time a British-licensed constructor won the constructors' title until McLaren in 2024.

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