Barrichello leads Brawn to 1-2 finish

MONZA, Italy – Rubens Barrichello picked up his second win in three races to lead Brawn GP to a 1-2 finish at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday that put the British team in the driver’s seat for the Formula One title.

Barrichello and teammate Jenson Button both passed the top three thanks to one-stop strategies to lead a sweep at the Monza circuit that severely hampered Red Bull’s championship aspirations.

Barrichello, coming off his first victory in five years at Valencia last month, shaved two points off of Button’s overall Formula One championship lead by getting within 14 points with four GPs to race.

Barrichello was relishing the prospect of an open battle against his teammate after playing second fiddle to Michael Schumacher for so many years at Ferrari.

“I can show my true me behind the wheel,” Barrichello said after picking up his 11th career win. “I’m going to give my very best. It’s going to be a good and healthy fight.”

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren crashed on his final lap while running third, allowing Kimi Raikkonen to finish on the podium for the fourth straight race at Ferrari’s home GP.

Hamilton’s crash also allowed Sebastian Vettel to pick up one point by finishing eighth, but Red Bull’s title hopes were hanging by a thread after Mark Webber crashed on the opening lap. (AP)