Barrichello edges closer

Brawn GP saw a resounding return to form when Rubens Barrichello led team-mate Jenson Button over the historic finish line at Monza.

On the podium, the Brazilian fired imaginary arrows as a message to his son, Fernando, to celebrate his fourth birthday.

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton led for the first part of the race but his two-stop strategy proved no match for the one-stopping Brawns.

The night before, Barrichello could hardly sleep, frustrated his title hopes might be in tatters. Having suffered an exhaust fire at the previous race, there were concerns Rubens' gearbox might need to be replaced. This would have meant a five-place grid penalty, but the team chose to stick with it. The gamble paid off.

Throughout the race, Kimi Raikkonen had the Force India of qualifying star Adrian Sutil in his mirrors. They both made their second pitstop together on lap 36 and both made costly mistakes, keeping the order the same. Sutil braked too late for his pit box, hitting a mechanic, while Kimi made a false start. "I was in a hurry to get out," said Kimi. "The lollipop man flinched and I went. We lost a little bit of time as a result, but not too much."

And in the closing laps Button came under pressure from third placed Hamilton, until the world champion ran wide and threw his car in the wall, bringing the race to a premature end. "Lewis started pushing on the final three laps," said Jenson. "My engineer was getting a bit excited, but I think I had him covered. Besides, Lewis finished his race half a lap early."

Hamilton's accident promoted Raikkonen to the podium. "We got third place a little bit like a gift, but it doesn't matter, it still counts. Today we got the most out of the car."

Button is glad of eight points, which stretches his lead over the Red Bull drivers, who could claim only one point between them in Italy. However, Jenson has been out-driven by his team-mate at the last three races. "I struggled at the start of the season with the brakes, but since we changed them at Silverstone I've been much happier," said race winner Rubens.

RACE RESULTS

1. Rubens Barrichello - Brawn-Mercedes
2. Jenson Button - Brawn-Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
4. Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes
5. Fernando Alonso - Renault
6. Heikki Kovalainen - McLaren-Mercedes
7. Nick Heidfeld - BMW-Sauber
8. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull-Renault

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Button - 80
2. Barrichello - 66
3. Vettel - 54
4. Webber - 51.5
5. Raikkonen - 40

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Brawn GP - 146
2. Red Bull Racing - 105.5
3. Ferrari - 62
4. McLaren - 47