Brawn GP takes 1st and 2nd in Italy

Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, to score his second victory of the season and his eleventh Formula One win. Team-mate Jenson Button came home in second position in his Brawn-Mercedes car to complete a fantastic weekend which sees the team's eighth victory and fourth one-two finish of the 2009 season.

After a strong qualifying performance on Saturday, Rubens and Jenson began the race from fifth and sixth positions respectively with heavy fuel loads for a one-stop strategy. Rubens started on the harder prime tyre with Jenson favouring the softer option. Both drivers had excellent first laps to pass Heikki Kovalainen and get into position behind the two-stopping cars ahead of them.

With aggressive lap times, the pair were able to maintain the gap to the front-runners prior to their pit stops - on lap 28 for Jenson and lap 29 for Rubens - before jumping the three two-stopping cars at their second stops. Rubens crossed the line after 53 laps to take the flag just over 2.8 seconds ahead of Jenson. Kimi Raikkonen came in third in his Ferrari, 30.6 seconds after Jenson.

"We had to think strategically in qualifying because of the KERS cars, and our one-stop strategy really paid off. I had a great start to get ahead of Heikki, and from there I had the pace that we needed to beat the two-stopping cars who started ahead of us" said Rubens.

Team Principal Ross Brawn, although jubilant with his team's impressive result, isn't contented though. "This weekend has been a great result for Brawn GP, but the hard work is far from over. There are four crucial races coming up which will decide the championship battle, and we will be back at the factory in Brackley tomorrow and looking ahead to the next challenge in Singapore."

Brawn GP is currently leading the Constructors' Championship with 146 points, 40.5 points ahead of Renault. Jenson Button still leads the Drivers' Championship with 80 points and Rubens in second place with 66 points.

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