Weekend review and result round-up

August 31st, 2009

The 2009 Formula 1 season has already packed a remarkable number of surprises into its first two thirds, but no one could have expected the bizarre change in the pecking order at Spa, as back of the grid regulars Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India burst into victory contention.

But while an underdog impressed, the tribulations continued for the man who had the world at his feet in the opening rounds – with Jenson Button enduring a season-worst qualifying and a first lap exit. The only consolation was that most of his title rivals fared little better.

Force India’s shock progress and the continuing speculation over Luca Badoer’s future dominated much of the news agenda until a few hours after the race, when a bombshell emerged in the form of an FIA probe into the conspiracy theories regarding Nelson Piquet’s crash in last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

While the F1 title battle changed little as other drivers hit the forefront at Spa, that was not the case in other championships around the world. Vitaly Petrov’s disastrous weekend made a Nico Hulkenberg GP2 crown ever more likely, despite the German being harpooned at the start of Sunday’s race.

In MotoGP, a crash for Valentino Rossi and a win for Jorge Lorenzo at Indianapolis threw the latter a lifeline and reopened a contest that had appeared to be all but resolved, while elsewhere in America Ryan Briscoe’s win in a stunning Chicagoland IndyCar race made the Australian the first man all year to get a little breathing space in the epic three-way championship chase.

The F1 sessions

Trulli sets pace in rain-hit practice