YallaF1.com 2009 Formula 1 Awards poll facts
To produce this poll 37,158 unique visitors to our site and 12,554 YallaF1.com Facebook fans were canvassed for their opinions on the 2009 Formula 1 season. The poll ran throughout December and closed at 11.59pm on 31 December 2009.

Six lucky voters (we added an extra prize winner because we were feeling generous) who have won the 2009 Formula One Season Review DVD prize are :
• Ahmed Nafea from Cairo, Egypt
• Surya Kumar from Dubai, UAE
• Lyndsay Young from Edinburgh, Scotland
• Grace Meidijanti from Jakarta, Indonesia
• Ernest Ng from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Sunil Paryani from Mumbai, India

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2009 Formula 1 Driver of the Year: Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has been voted YallaF1.com 2009 Formula 1 Driver of the Year by our readers. Although the 22 year old German did not win the 2009 F1 World Championship he was deemed the best driver of the season by the voters, beating 2009 World Champion Jenson Button in the month long poll conducted on the YallaF1.com website.

Significantly Vettel was in top form in the final races of the season, winning the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. Although Button clinched the title in the penultimate race in Brazil, the Briton was dominant in the early part of the year but faltered towards the end.

There is no doubt that Vettel, even at an early stage in his career, is World Champion material and must be destined to notch up a title or two in years to come.

Vettel attracted 38% of the votes to Button’s 27% with ever popular Kimi Raikkonen impressing 20% of the people polled.

Poll results:

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2009 Formula 1 Rookie of the Year: Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi was by far the best rookie of 2009 according to YallaF1.com readers who cast their vote in the website’s 2009 Formula 1 Awards poll. Kobayashi registered more votes than any other driver in all the voting categories and unanimously receives the accolade.

The 23 year old Japanese driver won the 2008/2009 GP2 Asia Series and went on to impress in the GP2 Series with DAMS. As Toyota’s reserve driver he was called on to replace injured Timo Glock in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, but did not race as Glock returned to the cockpit.

However for the next two races in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi Kobayashi was drafted back into the Toyota team and made an immediate impact with an impressive performance in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Two weeks later, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Kobayashi was again in the spotlight with a strong race performance which netted him sixth place in the race, points in only his second Grand Prix.

Kobayashi had arrived on the big stage with a bang and seized the moment accordingly. With Toyota’s withdrawal from the sport, he was quickly snapped up by the Sauber team. Our voters gave him a 73% vote of confidence over Sebastien Buemi’s 19%.

Poll results:

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2009 Formula 1 Team of the Year: Brawn GP

Brawn GP was overwhelmingly chosen by YallaF1.com readers as the 2009 Formula 1 Team of the Year. After Honda’s withdrawal, at the end of 2008, Ross Brawn took over the reigns and galvanised the team on a minimal budget but knowing that the BGP001 was a very special chassis. What has since transpired will go down as Formula 1 legend, as the “new” team wnt on to win both the 2009 Formula 1 Constructors and Drivers World Championship.

Brawn GP is a direct descendant of Tyrrell Racing Organisation which was founded by the late Ken Tyrrell. It is hence fitting that the only other team to win the F1 Constructors and Drivers titles on their first attempt was in fact Tyrrell Racing in 1971 with Jackie Stewart in the driving seat of the Tyrrell 003.

Red Bull Racing registered 22% of the votes and was the next most admired team by YallaF1.com readers.

Poll results:

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2009 Formula 1 Track of the Year

Yas Marina Circuit, venue of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, impressed YallaF1.com readers enough for them to declare it the 2009 Formula 1 Track of the Year. Few people will forget tuning into the final Grand Prix of the season and marvelling at the spectacular setting.

At the start of 2009 there were doubts on the Herman Tilke designed Abu Dhabi venue being ready to host a Grand Prix. Undeterred the organisers ignored the negative publicity, stayed on course and delivered. Few people could find a negative thing to say about the venue and the race weekend, which was also the first time an F1 race started in daylight and ended at night.

If there was anything to complain about it would be the apparent lack of overtaking opportunities offered by the track to F1 cars and perhaps a somewhat boring final race. But then the title was decided and no one was going to go out on the edge with the holidays fast approaching.

Spa-Francorchamps was the second most popular F1 track attracting 30% of the votes.

Poll results:

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2009 Formula 1 Villain of the Year

Flavio Briatore emerged as 2009 Formula 1 Villain of the Year as voted by readers  in the YallaF1.com 2009 Formula 1 Awards poll. With 50% of the votes, Briatore was a central figure in the crash-gate scandal that erupted a year after he was alleged to have instructed Renault driver Nelson Piquet to crash, during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, so as to benefit team leader Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard went on to win the race.

The incident was suspicious at the time but was not scuritinised until Piquet, after being dismissed by Renault in July, went public in what was a clear attack on Briatore. Within a few weeks Briatore and co-accused Pat Symonds were shown the door and have subsequently been banned by the FIA; Briatore for life and Symonds for five years.

With 25% of the votes cast his way, Piquet was the second most notorious character of 2009, according to YallaF1.com readers. Lewis Hamilton a percent short, of Piquet, on 24% for his role in lie-gate which erupted after the Australian GP. Clear message from our readers: Keep it clean!

Poll result:

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2009 Formula 1 Shock of the Year

We deliberately omitted Felipe Massa’s horrific freak accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix from this poll, as injury to drivers or life threatening situations for drivers is always shocking. Nothing compares. In massa’s case there was nothing more shocking to witness the accident and then await news of his well being.

As for the next most shocking events of the year, it was a close call as YallaF1.com readers decided that BMW’s unexpected decision to quit Formula 1 was the 2009 Formula 1 Shock of the Year. Of all the departing manufacturer’s BMW enjoyed the most success in Formula 1, nevertheless modest for the amount invested over a decade.

Interesting to note that Michael Schumacher’s decision to cancel his comeback (he was to replace injured Massa) with Ferrari shocked YallaF1.com readers.  Ironically four months on and Schumi is making a return, but how things have changed….

Poll result:

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2009 Formula 1 Wooden Spoon Award

Nelson Piquet had to get an Award this year and an unsavoury one at that. YallaF1.com readers voted that he be awarded the Wooden Spoon Award for his achievements, or lack thereof in 2009.

The Brazilian was under performing at Renault before he was given his marching orders by team principal Flavio Briatore, From that point onwards things got really ugly, Piquet decided, after a year of silence, to reveal that his crash during the 2008 Singapore GP was as a result of a direct order from his team bosses – the rest is dirty laundry.

Close on Piquet’s heals was the woeful perfomance of Luca Badoer (drafted in to replace injured Felipe Massa) at Ferrari which attracted 32% of the votes with equally woeful Giancarlo Fisichella (drafted in to replace under performing Badoer) raking in 25% of the votes.

Poll result:

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