The tops and flops of Valencia

The tops

Rubens Barrichello
After 17 years at the highest level, Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) proved that Ross Brawn was right to entrust him with his car at the start of the season. With a perfect strategy, the Brazilian managed to overtake both McLaren in the stands. A deserved tenth victory? which he dedicated to his friend Felipe Massa – for the veteran of the stage, who waited five years before playing the Brazilian anthem again. Thanks to this victory, he regains second place in the general classification and still believes in the title.

Romain Grosjean
For his first Grand Prix in Formula 1, Romain Grosjean justified his tenure within the team Renault. Qualified in Q2 with ease, the Franco-Swiss did not go very far from Q3: he achieved his best time just three tenths behind his teammate Fernando Alonso. On Sunday, he saw his race ruined by contact with Badoer on the first lap, which forced him to return to the pits to change wings. Cautious the rest of the race, he accumulated experience by ranking 15th.

McLaren
Martin Whitmarsh?s team have confirmed their return to the forefront in Valencia. After the victory of Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, McLaren displayed a high level of competitiveness during qualifying by placing its two cars on the front row. Second and fourth at the end of the Grand Prix, the team however let victory slip away by making an error in the pits. But the facts are there: the McLarens will indeed be the arbiters of the Brawn / RBR duel at the end of the season.

The flops

Red Bull
Feared by Brawn GP before the start of the European GP, ​​the Red Bulls completely missed their point in Valencia. Sebastian Vettel thus broke two engines during the weekend and Mark Webber finished in a disappointing ninth place. With no points scored, a first since Australia, Christian Horner's men find themselves behind Brawn GP in both rankings. A reaction is essential at Spa.

Luca Badoer
We did not expect miracles from him, but Luca Badoer was frankly not up to the level and left many observers speechless. Unable to take the correct trajectory twice in a row, relegated to more than a second and a half from 19th in qualifying, the Italian reached the finish line in penultimate place. The choice of Ferrari to replace Massa seems difficult to understand, even if officially we are satisfied with the first race of the transalpine.

Fernando Alonso
In front of his audience, the Spaniard was unable to repeat his performance from Budapest where he had won pole position. Only eighth fastest in qualifying, Fernando Alonso tried everything but his R29 lacked pace. In the race he did what he could by attacking from start to finish and took sixth place. A positive result if we consider his position on the grid, but the fans would certainly have liked to see their champion higher up in the hierarchy.