2010 China F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Chinese Grand Prix
Track: Shanghai International Circuit

Weather: mixed, light rain then drying

Jenson Button won his 9th F1 World Championship race at the 2010 China F1 GP, a second win in three rounds and a McLaren 1-2 at Shanghai. The McLaren driver started fifth and won by 1.530 seconds from teammate Lewis Hamilton after another strategy masterclass in changeable conditions. It was McLarens 162nd F1 win.

Vettel pole again, Red Bull 1-2 on the grid

Shanghai on 18 April 2010 opened with Sebastian Vettel taking pole for Red Bull with a 1:34.558 lap, Webber second, Alonso third for Ferrari, Rosberg fourth. Button qualified fifth, Hamilton sixth for McLaren, ready to spring on the strategy calls if the weather intervened.

Race day: Buttons strategy call wins again

Rain arrived on lap 1. While Red Bull and Ferrari stopped for intermediates, Button gambled on staying out on dry tyres, judging the shower brief. He was right, and when the track dried he had built a lead the two-stop cars could not overhaul. Hamilton followed him home for a McLaren 1-2, Rosberg third for Mercedes GP, Alonso fourth, Kubica fifth for Renault, Vettel sixth. Hamilton set the fastest lap on lap 13 at 1:42.061.

Championship: Button 60, Alonso 49, Rosberg 46

Two wins in four rounds put Button on top of the standings; McLaren looked the best-managed team of the early season with tyre calls and race craft matching their raw pace. Spain at Barcelona in three weeks would be next.

Classification 2010 China F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	JensonButton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	5	56	38	1:46:42.163	25
2	2	LewisHamilton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	6	56		1:46:43.693+1.530s	18
3	4	NicoRosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	4	56	16	1:46:51.647+9.484s	15
4	8	FernandoAlonso	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	3	56	2	1:46:54.032+11.869s	12
5	11	RobertKubica	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	8	56		1:47:04.376+22.213s	10
6	5	SebastianVettel	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	1	56		1:47:15.473+33.310s	8
7	12	VitalyPetrov	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	14	56		1:47:29.763+47.600s	6
8	6	MarkWebber	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	2	56		1:47:34.335+52.172s	4
9	7	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	7	56		1:47:39.959+57.796s	2
10	3	MichaelSchumacher	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	9	56		1:47:43.912+1:01.749	1
11	14	AdrianSutil	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	10	56		1:47:45.037+1:02.874
12	9	RubensBarrichello	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	11	56		1:47:45.828+1:03.665
13	17	JaimeAlguersuari	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	12	56		1:47:53.579+1:11.416
14	19	HeikkiKovalainen	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	21	55		+1 lap
15	10	NicoHülkenberg	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	16	55		+1 lap
16	21	BrunoSenna	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	23	54		+2 laps
17	20	KarunChandhok	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	24	52		+4 laps
DNF	18	JarnoTrulli	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	20	26		Hydraulics
DNF	25	Lucasdi Grassi	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	22	8		Clutch
DNF	22	Pedrode la Rosa	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	17	7		Engine
DNF	16	SébastienBuemi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	13	0		Collision
DNF	23	KamuiKobayashi	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	15	0		Collision
DNF	15	VitantonioLiuzzi	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	18	0		Collision
DNS	24	TimoGlock	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	19	0		Engine

Fastest lap: 1:42.061 min. by Lewis Hamilton

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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