Formula 1: 2009 Season Wrap Up

RBR-Renault's Sebastian Vettel took advantage of a brake failure for Lewis Hamilton, and roared to victory in the inaugural race at the Yas Marina circuit at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mark Webber completed the 1-2 for RBR-Renault, and in 3rd place came the 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

The title for world champion and constructor had already been decided, so this race drew interest in two things; the new Abu Dhabi circuit and the fight for the 3rd place in team standings. Now would you believe that none of the cars from Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes finished in the point-scoring positions, which meant that the team standings for them remained the same (McLaren-Mercedes kept the 3rd place).

Driver Standings (2009)

DRIVER	POINTS
Jenson Button	95
Sebastian Vettel	84
Rubens Barrichello	77
Mark Webber	69.5
Lewis Hamilton	49
Kimi Räikkönen	48
Nico Rosberg	34.5
Jarno Trulli	32.5
Fernando Alonso	26
Timo Glock	24
Felipe Massa	22
Heikki Kovalainen	22
Nick Heidfeld	19
Robert Kubica	17
Giancarlo Fisichella	8
Sebastien Buemi	6
Adrian Sutil	5
Kamui Kobayashi	3
Sebastien Bourdais	2

Constructor Standings (2009)

TEAM	POINTS
Brawn-Mercedes	95
RBR-Renault	84
McLaren-Mercedes	77
Ferrari	69.5
Toyota	49
BMW Sauber	48
Williams-Toyota	34.5
Renault	32.5
Force India-Mercedes	26
STR-Ferrari	24

The 2010 season will witness a lot of shuffling regarding drivers and teams. Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes will look to wrest back the initiative they enjoyed over the years. And for the first time in years, Formula 1 will be looking at something like at least 5 - 6 drivers that can realistically compete for the world champion title. So, the wait is going to be worth it.