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Featured Sport News

All change in Formula One

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 16/05/2009

The unexpected dominance of Brawn GP in the opening weeks of the new Formula One season has made a pleasant change, but has upset some of the traditional powers in the sport.

Jenson Button's four wins in five races have made the Englishman a strong favourite with the sportsbooks to succeed compatriot Lewis Hamilton as world champion, with the latter struggling to be competitive in his McLaren.

Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen have garnered just 13 points between them this season, but things are even worse over in the Ferrari garage.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have a mere three points apiece to date, although Brazilian Massa did give a promising display in Spain, before dropping back late on in the race due to fears that he would run out of fuel.

The struggles of Ferrari have prompted a dire threat, with the only team to have contested every season in the sport's history threatening to pull out next season due to worries over a planned budget cap.

If this season's races to date are anything to go by, it is debatable whether anyone would notice Ferrari's absence!

Brawn opened in style in Australia, with Button and team-mate Rubens Barrichello finishing first and second, while Toyota served notice that they would challenge as Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock came in third and fourth.

Rain played havoc with the race in Malaysia, with Button declared the winner after proceedings had been halted.

More rain in China brought Red Bull to the fore, with Sebastian Vettel taking the chequered flag, closely followed by colleague Mark Webber, with Button and Barrichello having to settle for lowly third and fourth-placed finishes!

Brawn reasserted their dominance in Bahrain as Button proved unstoppable and he made light of the return to Europe by winning from pole in Spain to make it four wins out of five.

The tight street circuits of Monaco are the next challenge on the agenda, but Brawn have no reason to be fearful that their dominance could be broken.

Not only have they ruled the roost on race day, but they have also got their tactics spot-on in qualifying and with overtaking at a premium in Monte Carlo, Button and Barrichello will be favourites to start from the front row.

Such an impact from Brawn has given hope to every other team that they might be able to gain success in a short space of time, especially if Ferrari back out of the game.

The rulers of F1 hoped to make the racing more exciting this season by making a number of technical changes, but even they must be pleasantly surprised by the pace at which the change has come.

They may not be so pleased that the knock-on effect is that the most prestigious name in motorsport is pondering a complete pull-out.

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