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The 2010 Australian Grand Prix, officially the 2010 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix was the second race of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, on 28 March 2010.[1][2] The race would see Jenson Button secure his first victory as reigning World Champion, his first for McLaren-Mercedes.[2]

Qualifying had been an all Red Bull-Renault affair, although hopes of a home pole position for Mark Webber were dashed in Q3 as Sebastian Vettel claimed top spot on the grid.[2] Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was next ahead of Button, while Felipe Massa beat Nico Rosberg to fifth.[2]

The start of the race would be staged on a damp circuit, meaning everyone would start the race on intermediate tyres.[2] Regardless, Vettel would ease into an early lead off the grid, while a barnstorming start from Massa saw the #7 Ferrari leap into second.[2] Webber hence slipped to third ahead of another fast starter in Robert Kubica, as behind Button and Alonso made contact, resulting in the Spaniard spinning to the back of the field and being struck by Michael Schumacher.[2]

More contact came at turn three, as Kamui Kobayashi broke his front wing in an unseen incident, which duly fell off at turn six.[2] The loss of front downforce mean that the Japanese racer had trouble slowing for the left-hander, resulting in the errant BMW Sauber-Ferrari collecting Nico Hülkenberg and Sébastien Buemi and removing both from the precedings.[2]

The damaged cars meant that the Safety Car was required, which duly stayed out until the end of lap four.[2] Vettel duly aced the restart to ease clear of Massa, Webber fended off a lunge from Kubica, while Schumacher battled at the back of the field with the two Virgins.[2]

The order would steadily shift during the early stages, as Lewis Hamilton eased past teammate Button for sixth, while Massa's pace collapsed as the circuit began to dry.[2] That prompted Button to stop for slicks on lap seven, having debated with the McLaren team that it was the right call, although he would almost immediately slide off the circuit at turn three and rejoin.[2]

Yet, Button's pace would dramatically improve over the rest of the lap, prompting the rest of the field to flood into the pits over the following laps.[2] After the stops Vettel would retain the lead as Button leapt up to second, while Kubica had jumped Webber to claim third.[2]

The middle phase of the race would see Hamilton ease back up the field having lost out during the stops, moving up to challenge Kubica for third.[2] That, however, would soon become a fight for second, as Vettel's race came to a spectacular end, a brake failure sending him pirouetting out of the race at Ascari on lap 26.[2]

The second round of stops would further shake the order, although Button would retain a healthy lead over Kubica.[2] Hamilton was the big loser as he made numerous mistakes and slipped into a fight with Webber, while Massa and Alonso jumped up to third and fourth.[2]

The final laps would see Hamilton send a barrage of lunges at Alonso, only for the Spaniard to run him wide and allow Webber to get a run at the McLaren.[2] The Australian racer's lunge duly saw the two make contact and spit both into the gravel, although both managed to rejoin.[2]

Out front, meanwhile, Button would sweep across the line with a comfortable lead to claim victory, twelve seconds clear of Kubica.[2] Massa was next ahead of Alonso, while Nico Rosberg just fell shy of the #8 Ferrari at the line and hence had to settle for fifth.[2] Hamilton was next ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi, with Rubens Barrichello, Webber and Michael Schumacher completing the scorers list.[2]

Background[]

Fernando Alonso had claimed the early Championship lead with victory at the opening round, and established a seven point lead as a result of the new scoring system. Felipe Massa was his closest competitor in second, while Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg completed the early top five. Five other drivers had also claimed opening day points, namely Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello.

In the Constructors Championship it had been a perfect start to the season for Ferrari, as their one-two left them with a maximum score of 43 after just one race. McLaren-Mercedes would start the season in second ahead of the factory Mercedes team, while Red Bull-Renault opened their account in fourth with sixteen points. The only other scorers at the season opener were Force India-Mercedes and Williams-Cosworth.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix is shown below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-25 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-25 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
3 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team Mercedes MGP W01 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
4 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team Mercedes MGP W01 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB6 Renault RS27-2010 2.4 V8 B
6 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB6 Renault RS27-2010 2.4 V8 B
7 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F10 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
8 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F10 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
9 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW32 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
10 Germany Nico Hülkenberg United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams FW32 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
11 Poland Robert Kubica France Renault F1 Team Renault R30 Renault RS27-2010 2.4 V8 B
12 Russia Vitaly Petrov France Renault F1 Team Renault R30 Renault RS27-2010 2.4 V8 B
14 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM03 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
15 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM03 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
16 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR5 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
17 Spain Jaime Alguersuari Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR5 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
18 Italy Jarno Trulli Malaysia Lotus Racing Lotus T127 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
19 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Lotus Racing Lotus T127 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
20 India Karun Chandhok Spain Hispania Racing F1 Team HRT F110 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
21 Brazil Bruno Senna Spain Hispania Racing F1 Team HRT F110 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Switzerland BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber C29 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
23 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber C29 Ferrari 056 2010 2.4 V8 B
24 Germany Timo Glock United Kingdom Virgin Racing Virgin VR-01 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
25 Brazil Lucas di Grassi United Kingdom Virgin Racing Virgin VR-01 Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 B
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
14 United Kingdom Paul di Resta India Force India F1 Team Force India VJM03 Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 B
Source:[3]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 1 1:24.774 1 1:24.096 1 1:23.919 1
2 6 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 6 1:25.286 2 1:24.276 2 1:24.035 2
3 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Ferrari 5 1:25.082 3 1:24.335 3 1:24.111 3
4 1 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 3 1:24.897 4 1:24.537 4 1:24.675 4
5 7 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 9 1:25.548 7 1:25.010 5 1:24.837 5
6 4 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes 2 1:24.788 5 1:24.788 6 1:24.884 6
7 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes 7 1:25.351 6 1:24.871 7 1:24.927 7
8 9 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 11 1:25.702 9 1:25.085 8 1:25.217 8
9 11 Poland Robert Kubica France Renault 10 1:25.588 10 1:25.122 9 1:25.372 9
10 14 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Mercedes 8 1:25.504 8 1:25.046 10 1:26.036 10
11 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 4 1:25.046 11 1:25.184 11
12 16 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 1:26.061 12 1:25.638 12
13 15 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi India Force India-Mercedes 16 1:26.170 13 1:25.743 13
14 22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Switzerland BMW Sauber-Ferrari 14 1:26.089 14 1:25.747 14
15 10 Germany Nico Hülkenberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 12 1:25.866 15 1:25.748 15
16 23 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland BMW Sauber-Ferrari 17 1:26.251 16 1:25.777 16
17 17 Spain Jaime Alguersuari Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15 1:26.095 17 1:26.089 17
18 12 Russia Vitaly Petrov France Renault 18 1:26.471 18
19 19 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth 19 1:28.797 19
20 18 Italy Jarno Trulli Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth 20 1:29.111 20
21 24 Germany Timo Glock United Kingdom Virgin-Cosworth 21 1:29.592 21
22 25 Brazil Lucas di Grassi United Kingdom Virgin-Cosworth 22 1:30.185 22
23 21 Brazil Bruno Senna Spain HRT-Cosworth 23 1:30.526 23
24 20 India Karun Chandhok Spain HRT-Cosworth 24 1:30.613 24
Source:[4]
  • Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 2
______________ Mark Webber
Row 2 3 ______________
Fernando Alonso 4
______________ Jenson Button
Row 3 5 ______________
Felipe Massa 6
______________ Nico Rosberg
Row 4 7 ______________
Michael Schumacher 8
______________ Rubens Barrichello
Row 5 9 ______________
Robert Kubica 10
______________ Adrian Sutil
Row 6 11 ______________
Lewis Hamilton 12
______________ Sébastien Buemi
Row 7 13 ______________
Vitantonio Liuzzi 14
______________ Pedro de la Rosa
Row 8 15 ______________
Nico Hülkenberg 16
______________ Kamui Kobayashi
Row 9 17 ______________
Jaime Alguersuari 18
______________ Vitaly Petrov
Row 10 19 ______________
Heikki Kovalainen 20
______________ Jarno Trulli*
Row 11 21 ______________
Timo Glock 22
______________ Lucas di Grassi
Row 12 23 ______________
Bruno Senna 24
______________ Karun Chandhok
  • * Trulli was unable to start the race duel to a hydraulic failure.[4]
  • Glock and di Grassi started from the pitlane after Virgin changed the fuel collectors on both of their cars.[4]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:33:36.531 4 25
2 11 Poland Robert Kubica France Renault 58 +12.034s 9 18
3 7 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 58 +14.488s 5 15
4 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Ferrari 58 +16.304s 3 12
5 4 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes 58 +16.683s 6 10
6 2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 58 +29.989s 11 8
7 15 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi India Force India-Mercedes 58 +59.847s 13 6
8 9 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 58 +1:00.536 8 4
9 6 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 58 +1:07.319 2 2
10 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes 58 +1:09.391 7 1
11 17 Spain Jaime Alguersuari Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 58 +1:11.301 17
12 22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Switzerland BMW Sauber-Ferrari 58 +1:14.084 14
13 19 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth 56 +2 Laps 19
14 20 India Karun Chandhok Spain HRT-Cosworth 53 +5 Laps 22
Ret 24 Germany Timo Glock United Kingdom Virgin-Cosworth 41 Suspension PL
Ret 25 Brazil Lucas di Grassi United Kingdom Virgin-Cosworth 26 Hydraulics PL
Ret 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 25 Brakes 1
Ret 14 Germany Adrian Sutil India Force India-Mercedes 9 Engine 10
Ret 12 Russia Vitaly Petrov France Renault 9 Spin 18
Ret 21 Brazil Bruno Senna Spain HRT-Cosworth 4 Hydraulics 21
Ret 16 Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 Collision 12
Ret 10 Germany Nico Hülkenberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 0 Collision 15
Ret 23 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0 Collision 16
DNS* 18 Italy Jarno Trulli Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth
Source:[5]
  • * Trulli was unable to start due to a hydraulic failure.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Fernando Alonso had retained the lead in the Championship after the second round in Australia, although his advantage at the head of the field had been cut almost in two. Indeed, Felipe Massa had moved to within four points of his teammate in second, while race winner Jenson Button had leapt into third, six off the early leader. Behind, Lewis Hamilton had slipped to fourth ahead of Nico Rosberg, while Robert Kubica had been the only driver to add their name to the scorers list in Melbourne.

In the Constructors Championship it was Ferrari who continued to lead the charge in the early stages, moving onto 70 points after two rounds. McLaren-Mercedes were still their closest combatants in second, sixteen off the lead, while Mercedes had retained third on 29. Behind, Renault were on the board for the first time in 2010 and moved into fourth, Red Bull-Renault had slipped to fifth, while Force India-Mercedes and Williams-Cosworth were the only other scorers.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 37
2 Brazil Felipe Massa 33
3 United Kingdom Jenson Button 31 ▲4
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 23 ▼1
5 Germany Nico Rosberg 20
6 Poland Robert Kubica 18 ▲5
7 Germany Sebastian Vettel 12 ▼3
8 Germany Michael Schumacher 9 ▼2
9 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 8
10 Australia Mark Webber 6 ▼2
11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 5 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 70
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 54
3 Germany Mercedes 29
4 France Renault 18 ▲3
5 Austria Red Bull-Renault 18 ▼1
6 India Force India-Mercedes 8 ▼1
7 United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 5 ▼1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 '2. Australia 2010', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/australie.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2020)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 'Button calls the shots for superb Melbourne victory', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 28/03/2010), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/158158/1/button-calls-shots-for-superb-melbourne-f1-triumph, (Accessed 25/03/2020)
  3. 'Australia 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/australie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2020)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 '2010 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/861/australia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 25/03/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Australia 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/australie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2020)
V T E Australia Australian Grand Prix
Circuits Adelaide Street Circuit (1985–1995) • Albert Park Circuit (1996–present)
Albert Park
Races 198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
V T E 2010 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren | Mercedes | Red Bull | Ferrari | Williams | Renault | Force India | Toro Rosso | Lotus | HRT | BMW Sauber | Virgin
Engines Mercedes | Renault | Ferrari | Cosworth
Race Drivers 1 Button | 2 Hamilton | 3 Schumacher | 4 Rosberg | 5 Vettel | 6 Webber | 7 Massa | 8 Alonso | 9 Barrichello | 10 Hülkenberg | 11 Kubica | 12 Petrov | 14 Sutil | 15 Liuzzi | 16 Buemi | 17 Alguersuari | 18 Trulli | 19 Kovalainen | 20 Chandhok | 20 Klien | 20/21 Yamamoto | 21 Senna | 22 de la Rosa | 22 Heidfeld | 23 Kobayashi | 24 Glock | 25 di Grassi
Other Drivers Paffett | Turvey | Bird | Hartley | Ricciardo | Coulthard | Fisichella | Badoer | Gené | Bianchi | Bottas | Stoneman | Maldonado | Tung | d'Ambrosio | Charouz | Aleshin | di Resta | Felix da Costa | Buurman | Vergne | Fauzy | González | Arabadzhiev | Valsecchi | Kral | Gutiérrez | Pérez | Soucek | Razia | Haryanto
Cars MP4-25 | MGP W01 | RB6 | F10 | FW32 | R30 | VJM03 | STR5 | T127 | F110 | C29 | VR-01
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Bahrain | Australia | Malaysia | China | Spain | Monaco | Turkey | Canada | Europe | Great Britain | Germany | Hungary | Belgium | Italy | Singapore | Japan | Korea | Brazil | Abu Dhabi
Team Reports McLaren | Mercedes | Red Bull | Ferrari | Williams | Renault | Force India | Toro Rosso | Lotus | HRT | BMW Sauber | Virgin
Driver Reports Button | Hamilton | Schumacher | Rosberg | Vettel | Webber | Massa | Alonso | Barrichello | Hülkenberg | Kubica | Petrov | Sutil | Liuzzi | Buemi | Alguersuari | Trulli | Kovalainen | Chandhok | Klien | Yamamoto | Senna | de la Rosa | Heidfeld | Kobayashi | Glock | di Grassi
Tests Barcelona 1 | Valencia | Jerez 1 | Jerez 2 | Barcelona 2 | Vairano | Paul Ricard
See also 2009 Formula One Season | 2011 Formula One Season | Category
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