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An emotional Rubens Barrichello took his first win of the season and signaled a return to form for Brawn-Mercedes. Rubens, driving with consistency and determination, piled on the pressure in the middle stage of the race on pole position holder and race leader Lewis Hamilton, to win the European Grand Prix at Valencia. Kimi Raikkonen, another man who made astute use of strategy, finished on the lowest step of the podium.

Barrichello slotted into third at the start of the race, but knowing he had more fuel on board, just kept in touch with second place man Heikki Kovalainen. This allowed Hamilton to escape some 8 seconds up the road. Rubens began setting fastest laps once Hamilton and Kovalainen were in the pits and when he came out he had jumped the Finn. Now it was a straight race between Hamilton and Barrichello. They were only separated by 2 seconds after the first round of pits stops on lap 21.

By lap 30, the duo of Hamilton and Barrichello were matching each other's pace with the gap stable hovering around four seconds.

On lap 32 Rubens got a call saying that he had to reduce the gap, and had 8 laps to do it. By lap 34 he was back to setting fastest laps and brought the gap down to 3.9s. A couple of laps later, he set another fastest lap. It was the turning point of the race, as the Brawn homed in on the McLaren.

On lap 37, as Hamilton pitted for the second and last time, the mechanics fumbled with the tyres; and didn't seem ready for him. That effectively ended any chance the Briton had of staying ahead of Rubens.

But at Brawn, they weren't taking anything for granted. As the drama unfolded at the McLaren pit, Barrichello's race engineer Jock Clear came on the radio and exhorted him with a "5 qualifying laps Rubens, c'mon." Rubens responded, setting one fastest lap after another. The Brazilian had the bit between his teeth and sensing his first win of the season was giving it his all.

On lap 40, he pitted and came out well-ahead of the McLaren. Game, set and match Rubens Barrichello and Brawn! The Valencia circuit didn't offer much action, and the race itself was sterile, but the tactical battle between Rubens and Lewis made up for the lack of on-track action. Sort of.

Behind the two, Kimi Raikkonen's longer strategy had allowed him to jump past compatriot Heikki Kovalainen. The Ferrari once again showing that while it might not be a genuine race winning car yet, in the Finn's hands its capable of showing up on the podium on a regular basis.

Kovalainen's 4th place finish is unlikely to have impressed McLaren. The Finn has been under-pressure all weekend from the team to up his pace and prove that he deserves a place with a team that is likely to be fighting at the sharp end of the field next year. It will be interesting to see if they decide to retain him or go for one of the many drivers floating around right now, including Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg only highlighted his class by finishing a fine 5th, after an nondescript race in the Williams-Toyota.

Alonso was 6th at the end of one of his two home races. He had a bit of drama at the start of the race, but then settled down and drove comfortably to finish ahead of Jenson Button in the second Brawn car. Button's scrappy race - especially when compared to his race-winning team mate - was helped by the fact that Mark Webber - his closest challenger in the world championship race - finished outside the points in 9th. Webber who has been locked in battle with Button for most of the race, lost out to the Brawn driver at his final stop as he slid wide while exiting the pits. He also lost a place to Robert Kubica in the BMW. Disaster for Red Bull all around as Button gained more points in the championship fight with both the Red Bull drivers.

Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel had a nightmare of a race. He was racing in 5th place when he made his first pit stop on lap 16. The team however did not realize that the fuel rig was not working and sent him on his way. Once they realized, they then had to ask him to return on the next lap. That effectively destroyed any chance he had of winning or having a decent result. On lap 24, it was all made academic as his car ground to a halt with a puff of smoke from the back of the car. If it was another engine failure - his 2nd of the weekend - he's quick running out of the 8 engines he's allowed this season, which might seriously hamper him once the season enters its final phases.

Adrian Sutil in the Force India was up to 5th at one point, but was out of sync with the front-runners and their pit-stops, he eventually finished a creditable 10th, just outside the points. There's points out there somewhere for the young German and his team; they just need to be patient, and keep plugging away.

Luca Badoer on his debut for Ferrari, finished 17th after a very scrappy race. The Italian was given a drive through for crossing the white line as he exited the pits. A few laps later he even managed a spin. Not a good day for the old war horse. It will be a tough call for Ferrari if they decide to keep him in the car till Massa returns, or if they decide to gamble with someone younger. Of the others, Kazuki Nakajima retired in the pits in the last couple of laps and was classified 18th. Sebastien Buemi spun out of the race when his brakes failed just after the midway point. Jaime Alguersuari completed his first race at home in 16th place.

Top 10:

1. Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes 1h35:51.289
2. Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes + 2.358
3. Raikkonen, Ferrari + 15.994
4. Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes + 20.032
5. Rosberg, Williams-Toyota + 20.870
6. Alonso, Renault + 27.744
7. Button, Brawn-Mercedes + 34.913
8. Kubica, BMW Sauber + 36.667
9. Webber, Red Bull-Renault + 44.910
10. Sutil, Force India-Mercedes + 47.935

File Photograph Copyright: Jose M Izquiredo Galiot

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