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Formula 1
German GP
2009 German Grand Prix Race day at the Nurburgring
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Lap 39: Felipe Massa is on for a podium this afternoon and is looking to see if he can take second away from Vettel at the final stop. Massa stopped much later at the first round and seems to be making the softer tyres work in this stint.
Lap 39: Glock is ninth in the Toyota and still to come in for a stop. Kubica is now tenth with Heidfeld 11th, Buemi 12th, Piquet 13th, Nakajima 14th, Sutil 15th and Fisichella 16th.
Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton continue to bring up the rear after early problems in the race. Lewis reports on the team radio that he thinks there could be some rain coming.
Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton continue to bring up the rear after early problems in the race. Lewis reports on the team radio that he thinks there could be some rain coming.
Lap 41: Hamilton comes into the pits and rejoins still in last place after a total pitlane time of 24 seconds.
Lap 43: Mark Webber has eased his pace in recent laps but still has a comfortable lead over the battle between Vettel and Massa over second.
Nico Rosberg continues in a strong fourth, with Barrichello fifth, Button sixth and Alonso seventh. All have one more stop to make.
Nico Rosberg continues in a strong fourth, with Barrichello fifth, Button sixth and Alonso seventh. All have one more stop to make.
Lap 43: At the lower end of the points, Fernando Alonso has been closing on Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn pits, handing seventh place to the Renault driver.
Lap 44: Mark Webber pits his Red Bull from the lead.
Lap 45: Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica have swapped places. This allows Nick through into eighth place. He is clearly the quicker of the two drivers at the moment.
Lap 45: Webber gets a clean stop for another set of the harder tyres and resumes in second behind Vettel but ahead of Massa.
Lap 46: Despite the clouds beginning to roll in, there is no risk of rain for the next 25 minutes. Lewis Hamilton radioed the team in the hope that a shower would hit the track a few minutes ago as we said, but all the radars available both on the pitwall, and to us, indicate that there is no imminent rain.
Lap 46: Vettel is the next man in for a final stop.
Lap 46: Vettel takes the softer tyres for his run to the flag.
Lap 47: Jenson Button is fifth but struggling for heat in his harder tyres. He is right on the case of team-mate Barrichello.
Lap 47: Robert Kubica comes into the pits from ninth place in the BMW. He rejoins outside the top ten.
Lap 47: Felipe Massa makes his final pit visit, taking the harder tyre. He is out in seventh, behind Vettel and Alonso - who is lapping quickly ahead of his last stop.
Lap 48: Timo Glock did eventually come into the pits. Before the single stop he was in a straight race with Kazuki Nakajima. Williams have been great with their strategy this afternoon, and Nakajima emerged well ahead of Glock - so much so that Nakajima is in tenth place and has a chance of scoring a point.
Lap 48: Fernando Alonso is now in the pits, taking the harder tyre for his run to the finish.
Lap 49: Adrian Sutil comes into the pits from 11th in the Force india. He rejoins after his third stop of the day down the order.
Lap 49: The Brawn duo continue to run in formation and are weaving on the straights to try and warm the harder tyres.
Lap 50: Nick Heidfeld pits from seventh, as does Nelson Piquet from ninth position. This promotes Nakajima into eighth place and the final points position for the time being.
Lap 51: Mark Webber continues to lead from the Brawns of Barrichello and Button, who need to make late, short final stops.
Sebastian Vettel is fourth but will move up when the Brawns stop again. Massa is fifth, ahead of Rosberg and a flying Alonso - the latter pair having recently completed their stops.
Sebastian Vettel is fourth but will move up when the Brawns stop again. Massa is fifth, ahead of Rosberg and a flying Alonso - the latter pair having recently completed their stops.
Lap 51: After a good start and a positive first stint to the race, Heikki Kovalainen has simply fell away. He's ninth at the moment, but over 13 seconds behind Kazuki Nakajima.
Lap 51: Fernando Alonso again sets the fastest lap of the race as the Spaniard revels in the grip from a set of the harder tyres at this late stage.
Lap 52: The Williams team is anticipating a stop and this will be for Nakajima, who, having moved up into eighth, will soon relinquish that spot to Kovalainen.
Lap 52: Rubens Barrichello is the first of the Brawns to pit, releasing Jenson Button to try and leapfrog his team-mate.
Lap 52: It is a short stop for Rubens and he resumes in a current sixth, behind Massa and Rosberg.
Lap 53: Kazuki pits the FW31 and Kovalainen takes over the final point, with Glock ninth, Heidfeld tenth, Nakajima rejoining in 11th and Fisichella now 12th.
Lap 53: Jenson Button is on for his best lap of the race as he tries to jump Barrichello ... he heads for the pitlane.
Lap 53: Button is out on soft tyres and it is going to be very tight ...
Lap 53: Button has done it - that single quick lap more than Rubens has put Jenson ahead of his team-mate.
Lap 54: The order is Webber leading comfortably from Vettel and Massa.
Nico Rosberg has secured an excellent fourth. Brawn's three-stop strategy has put Button down to fifth and Barrichello sixth.
Fernando Alonso is seventh and closing on the Brawn pair.
Nico Rosberg has secured an excellent fourth. Brawn's three-stop strategy has put Button down to fifth and Barrichello sixth.
Fernando Alonso is seventh and closing on the Brawn pair.
Lap 54: So Kovalainen now holds the final point in his hands, but that could yet change again. Timo Glock is right behind him and Heidfeld is there, and Nakajima makes it a four-car group with his fresh tyres.
Fisichella is 12th and can;t quite latch on to the back of the group.
Fisichella is 12th and can;t quite latch on to the back of the group.
Lap 55: The battle isn't over outside the podium finishers as Button is catching Rosberg and Alonso is homing in on Barrichello.
Lap 56: Glock now starts to attack Kovalainen for that point, but can't get alongside the McLaren, and will struggle to do so as Heikki uses the KERS each lap.
Fisichella is catching the group and is now just 1.1 seconds behind Nakajima.
Fisichella is catching the group and is now just 1.1 seconds behind Nakajima.
Lap 57: Alonso is now right on the tail of Barrichello, who has caught Button after a slow lap for the championship leader.
Lap 57: The super soft rear tyres look in bad shape on Button's car and he is struggling for pace at the moment.
Lap 58: The five cars battling for eighth are now altogether. Kovalainen maintains track position over Glock, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Fisichella.
Lap 58: Mark Webber continues to lead strongly and is well on course for a maiden victory, with three laps to go in Germany.
Lap 59: Button continues to hold on in fifth, despite the heavy graining on his super soft rear tyres.
Lap 59: Heikki Kovalainen runs wide in sector two allowing Glock a sniff up the inside as they dive down to the NGK Chicane. Again, Glock cannot get alongside the McLaren and the train of five continues in the same order.
Lap 60: Heikki Kovalainen responds with 1m35.728s - his quickest lap of the race. That should see him safe against Glock to claim the final point of the afternoon.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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