The 2009 German Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2009) was the ninth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on 12 July 2009 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany; the earliest German Grand Prix on the calendar (a feat since beat by the 2013 race), since 1926. Australian Mark Webber took both his first pole position and his first Grand Prix win, with Sebastian Vettel coming in second, giving Red Bull their third 1-2 of 2009. Championship leader Jenson Button could only manage fifth. This was the last race for Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais who was dropped in favour of test driver Jaime Alguersuari for the . Report Background In the lead-up to the race, despite 6th place at the , Jenson Button maintained a 23-point lead over Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello in the Drivers' Championship. Barrichello was 2 points further in front of Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, winner of the British Grand Prix. Brawn GP had a sizeable lead of 30.5 points in the Constructors' Championship with Red Bull Racing in second place. Toyota were 30 points behind the Austrian Red Bull team, with only Force India yet to score a point. The three former World Champions in the F1 field, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton were 9th, 10th and 11th in the Championship, with 11, 10 and 9 points respectively. 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 German Grand Prix for McLaren-Mercedes, at Hockenheim. Former German Grand Prix winners in the field for 2009 include Fernando Alonso of Renault and Rubens Barrichello of Brawn GP. Barrichello and Alonso have also been successful at the Nürburgring when the circuit hosted the European Grand Prix. The Nürburgring has the unique honour of hosting four different Formula One Grands Prix (see List of races at the Nürburgring): the German Grand Prix on the old track in the 1950s, 60s and 70s as well as on the GP track in 1985 and on the revised circuit in 2009; the European Grand Prix in 1984 and from 1995 to 2007, with the exception of 1997 and 1998, when it was the Luxembourg Grand Prix. Most recently, F1 raced at the Nürburgring in 2020 for the Eifel Grand Prix, as part of a revised calendar due to Covid-19. Practice and Qualifying Qualifying saw drivers switch strategies to using wet weather