2010 Australia F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Australian Grand Prix
Track: Albert Park Circuit

Weather: mixed, wet start drying to dry

Jenson BUTTON won his 8th F1 World Championship race at the 2010 Australia F1 GP, his first for McLaren after switching from Brawn. The McLaren driver started fourth and won at Albert Park on an inspired early switch to slicks by 12.034 seconds from Robert Kubica for Renault. It was McLarens 161st F1 win.

Vettel pole, rain on race morning

Melbourne on 28 March 2010 saw Sebastian Vettel take a Red Bull pole with a 1:23.919 lap, Webber second, Alonso third for Ferrari, Button fourth for McLaren. Race morning brought heavy rain that soaked the Albert Park circuit and turned the opening laps into a lottery.

Race day: Buttons early gamble on slicks pays off

The race began on intermediates with Vettel leading. Button, sensing the drying line, made an early switch to slicks on lap 6, one of the first cars to do so. When the rest followed 5-8 laps later they had lost decisive time. Vettel led until a brake failure ended his afternoon on lap 26 and elevated Kubica to second, where the Renault driver stayed until the flag. Massa third for Ferrari, Alonso fourth after a first-corner spin and recovery drive, Rosberg fifth for Mercedes GP, Hamilton sixth for McLaren. Webber set the fastest lap on lap 47 at 1:28.358.

Championship: Alonso 37, Massa 33, Button 31

Alonso and Massa held a Ferrari 1-2 in the championship but the seasons character was already established: an intensely competitive field with Red Bull the quickest chassis and McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes GP all capable of winning. Malaysia at Sepang in a fortnight would be next.

Classification 2010 Australia F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	JensonButton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	4	58	33	1:33:36.531	25
2	11	RobertKubica	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	9	58		1:33:48.565+12.034s	18
3	7	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	5	58		1:33:51.019+14.488s	15
4	8	FernandoAlonso	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	3	58		1:33:52.835+16.304s	12
5	4	NicoRosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	6	58		1:33:53.214+16.683s	10
6	2	LewisHamilton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	11	58		1:34:06.520+29.989s	8
7	15	VitantonioLiuzzi	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	13	58		1:34:36.378+59.847s	6
8	9	RubensBarrichello	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	8	58		1:34:37.067+1:00.536	4
9	6	MarkWebber	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	2	58	2	1:34:43.850+1:07.319	2
10	3	MichaelSchumacher	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	7	58		1:34:45.922+1:09.391	1
11	17	JaimeAlguersuari	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	17	58		1:34:47.832+1:11.301
12	22	Pedrode la Rosa	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	14	58		1:34:50.615+1:14.084
13	19	HeikkiKovalainen	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	19	56		+2 laps
14	20	KarunChandhok	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	22	53		+5 laps
DNF	24	TimoGlock	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	23	41		Suspension
DNF	25	Lucasdi Grassi	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	24	26		Hydraulics
DNF	5	SebastianVettel	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	1	25	23	Wheel
DNF	14	AdrianSutil	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	10	9		Engine
DNF	12	VitalyPetrov	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	18	9		Spun off
DNF	21	BrunoSenna	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	21	4		Hydraulics
DNF	16	SébastienBuemi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	12	0		Collision
DNF	10	NicoHülkenberg	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	15	0		Collision
DNF	23	KamuiKobayashi	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	16	0		Collision
DNS	18	JarnoTrulli	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	20	0		Hydraulics

Fastest lap: 1:28.358 min. by Mark Webber

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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