2009 Grand Prix season so far...

FORMULA ONE: SUZUKA, Japan, Oct 3, 2009: Story of the Formula One season so far ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix here on Sunday:

Australian Grand Prix - March 29: In a sensational start to the season, Brawn GP took first and second in Melbourne during their maiden race after emerging from the ashes of Honda Racing.

Britain's Jenson Button won only his second GP in 154 starts, controlling the race from the outset, with veteran team-mate Rubens Barrichello runner-up.

World champion Lewis Hamilton came third but was later disqualified over an incident involving Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who had been demoted from third to 12th for overtaking during a safety car period but was subsequently reinstated. Timo Glock was fourth, Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Nico Rosberg came sixth.

Standings: Button 10pts, Barrichello 8, Trulli 6.

Malaysian Grand Prix - April 5: Sepang will be best remembered for McLaren suspending sporting director Dave Ryan and then Hamilton making an emotional apology after being accused of lying over the Trulli incident in Melbourne.

On the race front, Button made it two out of two, winning a Grand Prix that began at 5:00 pm and was abandoned after 32 laps when a ferocious storm lashed the circuit and daylight faded. Only half points were awarded as the race had run less than three-quarter distance.

Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber came second, Glock in a Toyota was third with his team-mate Trulli fourth. As in Melbourne, Ferrari failed to pick up a point for their worst start to a season since 1992.

Standings: Button 15pts, Barrichello 10, Trulli 8.5.

Chinese Grand Prix - April 19: Germany's Sebastian Vettel gave Red Bull a first victory, thriving in the torrential rain of Shanghai. The 21-year-old German came home ahead of team-mate Mark Webber of Australia in a one-two finish.

The result ended the early-season domination of the Brawn GP team as Button finished third ahead of Barrichello with the race coming at the end of a week when the team's controversial diffuser was declared legal by the FIA.

Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton finished fifth and sixth respectively in the first race for McLaren since Ron Dennis stepped down as chief executive.

Ferrari again failed to score for the third time this season, their worst start to a racing year since 1981 with Felipe Massa retiring with mechanical problems and Kimi Raikkonen coming home in a midfield position.

Standings: Button 21pts, Barrichello 15, Vettel 10

Bahrain Grand Prix - April 26: Button claimed his third win in four races this year and the fourth of his career.

The 29-year-old came home 7.2 seconds ahead of Vettel. Trulli, who started from pole for Toyota, finished third ahead of Hamilton in his McLaren Mercedes and Barrichello in fifth.

Next came Raikkonen, who finally claimed points for Ferrari, so ending their hugely disappointing start to this season and avoiding the ignominy of recording their worst start in history.

Standings: Button 31pts, Barrichello 19, Vettel 18

Spanish Grand Prix - May 10: Button led home Barrichello in a Brawn GP one-two as the team swept aside all doubts about their durability as championship contenders with a dominant performance in Barcelona.

Webber came home third to maintain Red Bull's competitive form ahead of team-mate Vettel, who was fourth, Spaniard Fernando Alonso in his Renault and Massa, who slowly rolled over the line as his Ferrari ran out of fuel on the final lap. Hamilton finished just outside the points.

Standings: Button 41pts, Barrichello 27, Vettel 23

Monaco Grand Prix - May 24: Button made it five wins out of six races and became the first driver since Michael Schumacher in 2006 to complete a hat-trick of consecutive Grand Prix wins. Starting from his fourth pole position of this fairy-tale season and the seventh of his career, Button pulled clear at the start and, apart from brief interruptions due to pit stops, led all the way with a supreme performance of mature and well-judged racing.

Standings: Button 51pts, Barrichello 35, Vettel 23

Turkish Grand Prix - June 7: Button extended his lead in the championship when he cruised to an unexpectedly comfortable victory in Istanbul.

The Englishman clinched his sixth win in seven races after being gifted the lead on the opening lap, when pole-sitting Vettel ran off while leading.

Vettel battled to come home third on the rear wheels of Red Bull team-mate Webber. Barrichello stalled and then collided with several cars as he tried to recover his position before dropping out with gearbox problems.

Standings: Button 61pts, Barrichello 35, Vettel 29

British Grand Prix - June 21: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish to win ahead of Webber. It was the 21-year-old German's first victory in dry weather conditions after his two previous triumphs in torrential rain in Italy last year and China earlier this season.

Webber came home second ahead of Barrichello in a Brawn and Felipe Massa of Ferrari.

Nico Rosberg finished fifth for Williams ahead of Button in his Brawn, Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Timo Glock for Toyota.

Standings: Button 64pts, Barrichello 41, Vettel 39

German Grand Prix - July 12: Mark Webber secured his maiden Formula One victory and Australia's first since 1981 when he led team-mate Vettel home in a triumphant one-two for the Red Bull team at Nurburgring.

Webber, in his 130th F1 race after eight years in the sport, started from his first pole position and overcame a drive-through penalty for a first lap collision on his way to a spectacular win.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa grabbed his first podium finish of the year, with Nico Rosberg fourth for Williams. Button battled through to finish fifth ahead of team-mate Barrichello.

Standings: Button 68pts, Vettel 47, Mark Webber 45.5

Hungarian Grand Prix - July 26: Defending champion Lewis Hamilton returned to form with a vengeance, ending a 10-race winless streak with a flawless drive for McLaren Mercedes in a race overshadowed by an accident in qualifying involving Massa.

Hamilton won by 11.5 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with Mark Webber third for Red Bull, two weeks after his maiden victory in Germany.

Championship leader Jenson Button struggled into seventh while German Sebastian Vettel, second in the title race, retired early. Pole-sitter Fernando Alonso was also forced to retire after his front right tyre flew off his Renault.

Standings: Button 70pts, Webber 51.5, Vettel 47

European Grand Prix - August 23: Brazil's Rubens Barrichello claimed his 10th Formula One victory and his first triumph in five years, since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix for Ferrari, driving his Brawn GP car through a perfectly judged race in searing heat.

A popular victory, it was greeted with delight and also with tears in the paddock.

Barrichello's win lifted him from fourth to second in the drivers' championship standings.

The 37-year-old driver from Sao Paulo delivered one of his finest races of modern times as he came home ahead of Hamilton in a McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen for Ferrari under a high sun and blue skies over the Mediterranean street circuit in eastern Spain.

Standings: Button 72pts, Barrichello 54, Webber (AUS) 51.5

Belgian Grand Prix - August 30: Finland's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen won his first Grand Prix since last year's Spanish race in a thrilling contest.

While it was a notable and much-needed win for both Raikkonen and Ferrari it was even more so for the much less well-funded Force India who gained their first points in their present guise in style as veteran Italian Giancarlo Fisichella drove a magnificent race to finish second after giving them their first pole.

It proved a poisoned chalice for Force India as the Italian was snapped up by Ferrari for the rest of the season.

The race was overshadowed by a multiple accident on the opening lap which wrecked the hopes of drivers championship leader Jenson Button and defending champion and fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton, of McLaren Mercedes, both of them crashing out.

However, despite Button's worrying form in recent races, none of his main pursuers took advantage.

Standings: Button 72pts, Barrichello 54, Mark Webber 51.5

Italian Grand Prix - September 13: Rubens Barrichello produced a beautifully measured drive from fifth on the grid to grab his second win of the season and close the gap on Brawn GP team-mate Jenson Button at the top of the drivers' standings to 14 points. The 37-year-old Brazilian posted his 11th victory in a 284-race career by coming home 2.8 seconds ahead of Button.

Hamilton, who started from pole, looked certain to come home third for McLaren Mercedes, but crashed heavily on the final lap and failed to finish.

This left Kimi Raikkonen to take the third podium place for Ferrari ahead of Adrian Sutil of Force India, two times champion Fernando Alonso, who was fifth for Renault, and Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren.

Nick Heidfeld finished seventh for BMW Sauber and German compatriot Sebastian Vettel eighth for Red Bull.

Standings: Button 80pts, Barrichello 66, Vettel 54

Singapore Grand Prix - September 27: Lewis Hamilton produced a masterful drive to win the night race ahead of Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso as Jenson Button got more points on the board to shore up his championship lead.

Starting from first on the grid, the McLaren driver led from start to finish in difficult driving conditions for his second victory of the season.Germany's Sebastien Vettel took fourth but it could have been much better.

The Red Bull star was second and in a close-fought battle with Hamilton, but after pitting for a second time on lap 39 exited too quickly and incurred a drive-through penalty.

At least he finished one place ahead of championship leader Button, but with just three races left the gap between the two is 25 points and Vettel's chances of catching the Briton are disappearing.

Button's Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello ended sixth.

Standings: Button 84pts, Barrichello 69, Vettel 59.

Still to race: Japanese Grand Prix - Oct 4

Brazilian Grand Prix - Oct 18: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Nov 1