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Formula 1
Spanish GP
2009 Spanish Grand Prix Race day at the Circuit de Catalunya
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Lap 41: Jenson Button leads by almost five seconds ahead of his second stop. He his lapping at times half a second quicker than team-mate Barrichello, who is told to push once again.
Lap 43: Felipe Massa continues in second, but has recently lost a wheel fairing from the Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel continues to hound the Brazilian, with the pair likely to stop at the same time.
Barrichello is fourth on that three-stop strategy and will have to push very hard to make up ground once the others switch to the harder tyre.
Mark Webber is fifth, from Webber, Alonso and Rosberg.
Barrichello is fourth on that three-stop strategy and will have to push very hard to make up ground once the others switch to the harder tyre.
Mark Webber is fifth, from Webber, Alonso and Rosberg.
Lap 43: Nick Heidfeld is eighth and in recent laps has been able to extend the gap over Hamilton just slightly. The difference between them is 5.6s with Glock behind Lewis in tenth.
Glock still has Robert Kubica breathing down his neck in 11th. Nelson Piquet is 13th and maintaining that 11s buffer over Nakajima, with Fisichella bringing up the rear in 14th.
Glock still has Robert Kubica breathing down his neck in 11th. Nelson Piquet is 13th and maintaining that 11s buffer over Nakajima, with Fisichella bringing up the rear in 14th.
Lap 44: Felipe Massa continues to edge closer to Button but pits the Ferrari.
Lap 44: Vettel follows the Ferarri in.
Lap 44: Massa is down and away and Red Bull can't do anything as they resume together in the same order on the unwelcome hard tyre.
Lap 45: Lewis Hamilton has visible severe tyre wear on his right front tyre, which could be the reason why he cannot stay with Heidfeld's pace just ahead.
Lewis reports over the team radio that his rear tyres are finished. Timo Glock in 11th still has Kubica close behind him, but they are both beginning to close down the four second gap to Hamilton.
Lewis reports over the team radio that his rear tyres are finished. Timo Glock in 11th still has Kubica close behind him, but they are both beginning to close down the four second gap to Hamilton.
Lap 46: Jenson Button now leads by 12 seconds over team-mate Barrichello. Jock Clear tells his man to push to beat Massa and Vettel, who pitted earlier than Brawn expected.
Lap 46: Fernando Alonso makes his final stop from fourth and comes out on top in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Hamilton.
Lap 47: Hamilton is struggling for pace and is now over eight seconds behind Heidfeld - his progress being hampered further by Alonso's recent exit from the pits.
Lap 47: Hamilton continues in ninth but Glock is now just one second behind him, with Kubica sticking to the Toyota like glue over the last 10 laps.
Lap 49: Button continues to lead as he moves near his final stop. Barrichello also has another - later - stop to make but is hardly making up any ground on his team-mate.
Mark Webber is yet to make a final stop and runs third.
Mark Webber is yet to make a final stop and runs third.
Lap 49: Button pits from the lead.
Lap 49: Robert Kubica and Nelson Piquet pit together from 11th and 12th places. They resume in the same order, but further down the list behind Nakajima.
Lap 49: Button takes his mandatory hard tyres and resumes in clean air. This is the time for Rubens Barrichello to make a charge, with his advantage of soft tyres and lower fuel than his team-mate.
Lap 50: Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel stopped early for hard tyres and now have very poor pace in the mid 1:25s bracket.
Lap 50: Timo Glock closed right up to the back of Hamilton, but then comes into the pits.
Hamilton now pits on the following lap and keeps track position ahead of Glock as the pair continue their fight outside the points.
Hamilton now pits on the following lap and keeps track position ahead of Glock as the pair continue their fight outside the points.
Lap 51: Rubens Barrichello now has 15 seconds advantage over Button. He needs to draw that out to over 20 to take position at his late stop.
Lap 51: Barrichello pits, so has no chance to get ahead of Button.
Lap 52: Jenson Button leads from Rubens Barrichello.
Webber has pitted, with a long run on the soft tyre, and has leapt ahead of Massa and Vettel to take third.
Webber has pitted, with a long run on the soft tyre, and has leapt ahead of Massa and Vettel to take third.
Lap 52: That early move to hard rubber has been extremely costly for Massa and Vettel, with their slow pace allowing Webber to take advantage.
Lap 52: Nick Heidfeld pits from seventh place in the BMW for the final time this afternoon. It is a very quick 22.2 seconds time in the pitlane. He emerges in seventh place - ahead of Rosberg.
A great performance by the BMW pit crew.
A great performance by the BMW pit crew.
Lap 53: Jenson's pace is good on the hard rubber and he's almost a second quicker than the Ferrari of Massa.
Lap 53: Kazuki Nakajima pits from ninth place. Prior to the stops he was 11 seconds behind Nelson Piquet, and will be hoping that stopping later will narrow that gap down.
Lap 54: Button has a eight second advantage over Barrichello, with Webber a further two seconds behind and catching the Brawn.
Felipe Massa is now fourth and being forced to use his KERS in defence from Vettel's Red Bull.
Felipe Massa is now fourth and being forced to use his KERS in defence from Vettel's Red Bull.
Lap 55: Giancarlo Fisichella pits for the final time this afternoon in the Force India. He resumes at the rear of the field in 14th position.
Lap 55: Felipe Massa is told by engineer Rob Smedley to try and save fuel as the Brazilian seems to be marginal on fuel to make the flag.
Lap 55: Mark Webber is the man to watch at this stage as he closes on the Brawn of Barrichello.
Lap 56: Jenson Button is the fastest man on the track at the moment and has extended his lead to almost ten seconds.
Lap 56: Before the second round of stops Timo Glock had been closing down on Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton had the better stop but does not seem to have the pace today.
Glock has caught the four second gap between them easily and they are about to battle over ninth place.
They are a full 21 seconds behind Rosberg in eighth, and neither of them have a chance to score this afternoon unless one of the top eight drivers drops out in the remaining 12 laps.
Glock has caught the four second gap between them easily and they are about to battle over ninth place.
They are a full 21 seconds behind Rosberg in eighth, and neither of them have a chance to score this afternoon unless one of the top eight drivers drops out in the remaining 12 laps.
Lap 57: Nakajima in 13th did bring that gap down between himself and Piquet in 12th. Before the stops they were 11 seconds apart. The gap now stands at 3.5 seconds as Kazuki continues to close down the Renault.
Lap 58: Felipe Massa deploys his KERS once again to fend off Vettel but is told that he won't make the flag unless he saves fuel.
Lap 60: Lewis Hamilton isn't enjoying good pace on this set of tyres either. He is turning laps in the 1:26s bracket with all the drivers behind him running up to one second per lap faster.
Hamilton is clinging on to ninth at the moment but Glock is right there now, and Kubica and Piquet are closing in too.
Hamilton is clinging on to ninth at the moment but Glock is right there now, and Kubica and Piquet are closing in too.
Lap 60: Jenson Button is flying on the hard tyres and has pulled to almost 12 seconds clear of Barrichello. Mark Webber continues to keep the second Brawn busy.
Behind them is that battle between Massa and Vettel, which may be resolved in the latter's favour if the Ferrari runs out of fuel.
Behind them is that battle between Massa and Vettel, which may be resolved in the latter's favour if the Ferrari runs out of fuel.
Lap 61: Kubica and Piquet pulled in 0.7s on the battling Hamilton and Glock on the last lap. We are set for a four car scrap soon for ninth.
Entertainment for the crowd but no fun for the drivers as there are no points on offer.
Entertainment for the crowd but no fun for the drivers as there are no points on offer.
Lap 62: Felipe Massa is 17 seconds clear of Alonso and could make a quick stop for fuel and resume ahead of the Spaniard.
The lack of fuel in the Ferrari will hand fourth to Vettel unless Massa can conserve enough to make the finish.
The lack of fuel in the Ferrari will hand fourth to Vettel unless Massa can conserve enough to make the finish.
Lap 63: Amazingly, the quickest driver on the circuit at this time is Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian is 14th and last, but is flying with his last lap being 1:23.9. Giancarlo is 24 seconds adrift of Nelson Piquet in 13th.
Lap 64: Vettel is through on Massa over the line.
Lap 64: Felipe has slowed in the Ferrari in an attempt to cruise to the finish without a stop.
Lap 65: Massa was told on the radio to let Vettel through and he needs to find a lap of fuel to make the flag.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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