Sunday saw the end of the 2009 Formula 1 season, and with the world championship and constructor’s title already a foregone conclusion, it was all about the new circuit and the other remaining standings for the season.
Red Bull Renault’s Sebastian Vettel took advantage of a brake failure for Lewis Hamilton, and roared to victory in the inaugural race at the Yas Marina circuit at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mark Webber completed the 1-2 for Red Bull, and in 3rd place came the 2009 world champion Jenson Button.
The title for world champion and constructor had already been decided, so this race drew interest in two other things―the new Abu Dhabi circuit, and the fight for the 3rd place in the team standings. Now, would you believe that none of the cars from Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes finished in the point-scoring positions, which meant that the team standings for them remained the same (McLaren-Mercedes kept 3rd place).
Driver Standings (2009)
| DRIVER | POINTS |
| Jenson Button | 95 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 84 |
| Rubens Barrichello | 77 |
| Mark Webber | 69.5 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 49 |
| Kimi Räikkönen | 48 |
| Nico Rosberg | 34.5 |
| Jarno Trulli | 32.5 |
| Fernando Alonso | 26 |
| Timo Glock | 24 |
| Felipe Massa | 22 |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 22 |
| Nick Heidfeld | 19 |
| Robert Kubica | 17 |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 8 |
| Sebastien Buemi | 6 |
| Adrian Sutil | 5 |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 3 |
| Sebastien Bourdais | 2 |
Constructor Standings (2009)
| TEAM | POINTS |
| Brawn-Mercedes | 95 |
| RBR-Renault | 84 |
| McLaren-Mercedes | 77 |
| Ferrari | 69.5 |
| Toyota | 49 |
| BMW Sauber | 48 |
| Williams-Toyota | 34.5 |
| Renault | 32.5 |
| Force India-Mercedes | 26 |
| STR-Ferrari | 24 |
The 2010 season will witness a lot of shuffling regarding drivers and teams. Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes will look to wrest back the initiative they enjoyed over previous years. And for the first time in years, Formula 1 will be looking at something like at least 5 – 6 drivers that can realistically compete for the world championship. So, the wait is going to be worth it.
