2009 European Grand Prix

2009 European Grand Prix
Race 11 of 17 in the 2009 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
The Valencia Street Circuit
Race details
Date	23 August 2009
Official name	2009 Formula 1 Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe
Location	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia, Spain
Course	Temporary street circuit
Course length	5.419 km (3.367 miles)
Distance	57 laps, 308.883 km (191.931 miles)
Weather	Hot and dry with temperatures reaching up to 33 °C (91 °F)[1]
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1:39.498
Fastest lap
Driver	Timo Glock	Toyota
Time	1:38.683 on lap 55
Podium
First	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
Second	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2009 European Grand Prix (formally the 2009 Formula 1 Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe)^[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 23 August 2009 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 11th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 57 laps, an overall race distance of 308.9 km (191.9 mi). The winner was Rubens Barrichello for Brawn GP after starting from third on the grid.^[3] The 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton finished second for McLaren-Mercedes, while 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen finished in third for Ferrari. Championship leader Jenson Button finished in seventh for the second race in a row, but extended his lead as Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel both failed to score.

It was Barrichello's first Grand Prix victory since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, 85 races before, while he was still driving for Ferrari. He also marked the 100th victory for a Brazilian driver in F1.^[4] Hamilton's second place granted him another podium, while Räikkönen's third place was his second podium in a row. The race saw the debut of GP2 Series driver Romain Grosjean. He replaced Nelson Piquet Jr. at Renault. This race also saw the Grand Prix return of Luca Badoer who had not raced since the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix. He replaced the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari. Also, Timo Glock scored his first, and Toyota's last, fastest lap.

Barring the first lap, no on-track overtakes were recorded during this race, making this one of five Formula One races to have no overtakes. It is the only one out of the five to have neither been held at Monaco (the 2003 and 2021 races), nor under any controversial circumstances (the 2005 United States Grand Prix which had only 6 runners, and the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which ran entirely under Safety Car conditions).^[5]