Barrichello’s win and Badoer’s struggle examined (European Grand Prix analysis)

All the signs before the race were that Rubens Barrichello had the strategy to take on the McLarens.
And so it proved – but would he have won without Hamilton’s problem? Let’s take a look at how the European Grand Prix unfolded.

European Grand Prix stats and facts

The European Grand Prix saw Rubens Barrichello’s first win for almost five years, and the 100th race victory for a Brazilian driver.
Here’s the stats and facts round-up from the European Grand Prix.

European Grand Prix teams’ quotes

Here’s what the teams had to say after the European Grand Prix:
McLaren
Lewis made a good start from pole position, and drove a strong first stint to lead the opening laps, stretching his advantage over Heikki and Rubens Barrichello in so doing. Pitting for the first time on lap 16, Lewis resumed in fourth position but [...]

European Grand Prix in pictures

The streets of Valencia may not quite be a match for Monte-Carlo, but there was definitely a splash more colour about the place this year.
Here’s a look back at the race in pictures, including Sebastien Buemi aand Timo Glock’s coming-together, Sebastian Vettel’s retirement – and a very happy Rubens Barrichello.

Rubens Barrichello grabs win from Lewis Hamilton (European Grand Prix)

Rubens Barrichello ended his F1 victory drought of nearly five years with a classy win on the streets of Valencia.
A crucial mistake by McLaren on Lewis Hamilton’s final pit stop gave Barrichello the opportunity to snatch victory – but his 35-second lead over team mate Jenson Button showed how well the Brazilian had driven.

Championship standings after Valencia

Drivers’ championship

Driver
Points

1
Jenson Button
72

2
Rubens Barrichello
54

3
Mark Webber
51.5

4
Sebastian Vettel
47

5
Nico Rosberg
29.5

6
Lewis Hamilton
27

7
Kimi Raikkonen
24

8
Jarno Trulli
22.5

9
Felipe Massa
22

10
Timo Glock
16

11
Fernando Alonso
16

12
Heikki Kovalainen
14

13
Nick Heidfeld
6

14
Sebastien Buemi
3

15
Robert Kubica
3

16
Sebastien Bourdais
2

17
Romain Grosjean
0

18
Nelson Piquet Jnr
0

19
Luca Badoer
0

20
Kazuki Nakajima
0

21
Jaime Alguersuari
0

22
Giancarlo Fisichella
0

23
Adrian Sutil
0

Constructors’ championship

Driver
Points

1
Brawn
126

2
Red Bull
98.5

3
Ferrari
46

4
McLaren
41

5
Toyota
38.5

6
Williams
29.5

7
Renault
16

8
BMW
9

9
Toro Rosso
5

10
Force India
0

European Grand Prix result

1. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
4. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes
5. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota
6. Fernando Alonso, Renault
7. Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes
8. Robert Kubica, BMW
9. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault
10. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW
12. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India-Mercedes
13. Jarno Trulli, Toyota
14. Timo Glock, Toyota
15. Romain Grosjean, Renault
16. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17. Luca Badoer, [...]

Rate the race: European Grand Prix

Last year’s European Grand Prix was rated the worst of the season. Was this year’s instalment any better?
Rate the European Grand Prix out of 10 and have your say about the race below.

European Grand Prix Live Blog

Review the European Grand Prix Live Blog below.

Hamilton using short wheelbase MP4/24

Lewis Hamilton is using a short wheelbase version of the MP4/24 at Valencia this weekend. Team mate Heikki Kovalainen’s MP4/24 has the original wheelbase length.
This caught my attention because of what Martin Whitmarsh told this site earlier this week:
Other teams have historically run much more different cars across the garage than we have. Based on [...]