2010 Australian Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

The 2010 Australian Grand Prix took place on 28 March at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit. As the second round of the season, it delivered drama, unpredictability, and a defining early statement from Jenson Button, who stormed to victory for McLaren from fourth on the grid.

Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:23.919
Fastest lap
Driver	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:28.358 on lap 47
Podium
First	Jenson Button	McLaren
Second	Robert Kubica	Renault
Third	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 March 2010	Practice 1	12:30 – 14:00
26 March 2010	Practice 2	16:30 – 18:00
27 March 2010	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
27 March 2010	Qualifying	17:00
28 March 2010	Race	17:00

Button’s bold strategy and composure in mixed conditions earned him his first win of the season. Robert Kubica delivered an outstanding drive to finish second for Renault, while Felipe Massa secured third for Ferrari after a race packed with incidents.

The result reshaped the early championship picture. Button’s win lifted him to third in the standings, just two points behind Massa and six behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. McLaren also closed the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship to 16 points. Meanwhile, Renault’s strong showing brought them level with Red Bull in fourth place, with 17 races still to run.

Background and Build-Up

Twelve teams lined up in Melbourne, including Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Williams, Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Hispania, and Virgin. Tyre supplier Bridgestone provided four compounds: soft and hard slicks, plus intermediates and full wets. Drivers were required to use both dry compounds unless running wet tyres.

Albert Park itself featured subtle but important updates, including revised kerbs at Turn 9 and extended run-off features at Turns 2 and 12.

Heading into the race, Alonso led the championship after victory in Bahrain, ahead of teammate Massa and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, fresh from a mechanical heartbreak in Bahrain, arrived confident his car had winning pace.

Off-track, controversy lingered over the late race start time—retained for TV audiences despite visibility concerns. Meanwhile, several teams arrived with updates: Virgin modified fuel tanks, McLaren adjusted aerodynamic elements after FIA clarification, and Sauber introduced an early version of the F-duct system.

Free Practice

Robert Kubica led a dry FP1, but Sauber’s front-wing problems twice interrupted the session. Kamui Kobayashi first struck a cone and ran into the gravel, then suffered another wing failure approaching Turn 3. Debris clearing cost valuable track time as teams began work around Albert Park.

Intermittent showers made FP2 a changing target, with the drying track helping Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button put McLaren ahead. Others also capitalised on improving grip, but Sebastian Vettel’s afternoon ended badly. He lost the rear of his Red Bull and became stuck in the gravel at Turn 6 near the finish.

Heavy traffic complicated FP3 as drivers prepared for qualifying. Mark Webber produced the fastest lap late on, while Fernando Alonso improved after changes to his rear suspension and front ride height. With the top ten covered by less than a second, finding clear space was an important part of the final preparations.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2010 Australian Grand Prix FP1, 26 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:26.927	22
2	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.199s	18
3	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.555s	22
4	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.584s	18
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.759s	23
6	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.820s	21
7	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.866s	22
8	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.087s	21
9	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.187s	25
10	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.265s	18
11	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.610s	25
12	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.623s	19
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.645s	21
14	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.756s	22
15	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+2.538s	13
16	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.785s	18
17	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+3.322s	26
18	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+4.661s	5
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.725s	13
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.727s	26
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+5.904s	25
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+6.474s	24
23	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	+7.324s	19
24	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+7.998s	8

Free Practice 2 Classification

2010 Australian Grand Prix FP2, 26 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:25.801	13
2	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.275s	16
3	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.447s	22
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.710s	16
5	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+0.931s	26
6	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.031s	29
7	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.033s	22
8	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.034s	17
9	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.103s	25
10	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.155s	22
11	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.307s	28
12	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+1.307s	25
13	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.654s	23
14	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.744s	25
15	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+3.224s	20
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+3.333s	19
17	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+3.790s	21
18	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.059s	15
19	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+4.709s	43
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.894s	17
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+6.316s	9
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	No time	2
23	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	No time	1

Free Practice 3 Classification

2010 Australian Grand Prix FP3, 27 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:24.719	16
2	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.210s	19
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.244s	17
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.403s	19
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.647s	16
6	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.680s	20
7	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.786s	14
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.806s	18
9	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.830s	20
10	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.063s	19
11	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.133s	17
12	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.385s	21
13	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.465s	21
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.556s	21
15	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.649s	17
16	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.942s	19
17	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+2.085s	19
18	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+2.099s	18
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.820s	19
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+5.081s	16
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+6.081s	18
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+6.395s	12
23	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	+9.615s	11
24	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+11.930s	8

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Mark Webber second and Fernando Alonso third.

Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Mark Webber, giving Red Bull the front row. Fernando Alonso qualified third and Jenson Button fourth, while Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 and started eleventh.

Qualifying Classification

2010 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying, 27 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:24.774	1:24.096	1:23.919	19
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:25.286	1:24.276	1:24.035	20
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:25.082	1:24.335	1:24.111	22
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:24.897	1:24.531	1:24.675	19
5	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:25.548	1:25.010	1:24.837	24
6	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.788	1:24.788	1:24.884	26
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:25.351	1:24.871	1:24.927	24
8	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:25.702	1:25.085	1:25.217	20
9	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:25.588	1:25.122	1:25.372	23
10	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:25.504	1:25.046	1:26.036	24
11	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:25.046	1:25.184	—	13
12	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:26.061	1:25.638	—	17
13	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:26.170	1:25.743	—	19
14	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	1:26.089	1:25.747	—	15
15	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	1:25.866	1:25.748	—	17
16	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:26.251	1:25.777	—	16
17	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:26.095	1:26.089	—	16
18	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:26.471	—	—	10
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	1:28.797	—	—	9
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	1:29.111	—	—	8
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:29.592	—	—	8
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	1:30.185	—	—	8
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	1:30.526	—	—	10
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	1:30.613	—	—	10

2010 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Rain before the start ensured a chaotic opening. All drivers began on intermediate tyres, and the first lap delivered immediate drama: Button clipped Alonso, sending the Ferrari spinning to the back, while Schumacher suffered damage in the aftermath.

Moments later, Kobayashi triggered a major incident that brought out the safety car.

When racing resumed, conditions began to improve—but the key moment came on lap seven. Button gambled early, diving into the pits for slick tyres while the track was still damp. It looked risky—he even slid wide—but it proved decisive as the circuit rapidly dried.

Up front, Vettel controlled the race comfortably until lap 26, when a mechanical issue caused a dramatic retirement. Sparks flew from his car before he spun into the gravel, handing the lead to Button.

From there, the McLaren driver managed the race expertly.

Behind him, the action remained intense. Hamilton battled Kubica for position but couldn’t find a way past. Alonso staged a remarkable recovery from last to fourth, while Webber and Hamilton collided late in the race after a failed overtake attempt, dropping both down the order.

The Finish

After 58 laps, Button crossed the line to claim a superb and strategic victory—his second consecutive win in Australia.

Kubica followed 12 seconds behind in second, delivering one of the standout drives of the day. Massa completed the podium in third, while Alonso’s recovery secured fourth.

Rosberg finished fifth, with Hamilton recovering to sixth. Liuzzi, Barrichello, Webber, and Schumacher rounded out the points.

Aftermath and Championship Impact

Button described the win as “very special,” particularly in just his second race for McLaren. Kubica hailed his result as a reward for persistence, while Massa praised Ferrari’s strategy and consistency.

Tensions flared between Hamilton and Webber after their collision, with Webber later apologising but receiving a reprimand.

In the standings, Alonso retained the championship lead with 37 points, ahead of Massa and Button. Ferrari stayed on top in the Constructors’ Championship, though McLaren had significantly reduced the gap.

With momentum shifting and multiple teams showing strong pace, the 2010 season was already shaping into a fiercely competitive battle.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	58	01:33:37	25
2	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	58	+12.034s	18
3	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+14.488s	15
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	+16.304s	12
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	+16.683s	10
6	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	58	+29.898s	8
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India Mercedes	58	+59.847s	6
8	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	58	+60.536s	4
9	6	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	58	+67.319s	2
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	58	+69.391s	1
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	58	+71.301s	0
12	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber Ferrari	58	+74.084s	0
13	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	56	+2 laps	0
14	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT Cosworth	53	+5 laps	0
NC	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	41	DNF	0
NC	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	26	DNF	0
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	25	DNF	0
NC	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	9	DNF	0
NC	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	9	DNF	0
NC	21	Bruno Senna	HRT Cosworth	4	DNF	0
NC	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	0	DNF	0
NC	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams Cosworth	0	DNF	0
NC	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	0	DNF	0
NC	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth		DNS	0

2010 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2010 Australian Grand Prix.

2010 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	37
2	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	33
3	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	31
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	23
5	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	20
6	Robert Kubica	Polish	Renault	18
7	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	12
8	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	9
9	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	8
10	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	6
11	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	5
12	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	0
13	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	0
14	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	0
15	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Lotus Racing	0
16	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Williams	0
17	Karun Chandhok	Indian	HRT	0
18	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	0
19	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Lotus Racing	0
–	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
–	Lucas di Grassi	Brazilian	Virgin Racing	0
–	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	HRT	0
–	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	0
–	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	0

2010 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	70
2	McLaren	54
3	Mercedes	29
4	Renault	18
5	Red Bull Racing	18
6	Force India	8
7	Williams	5
8	Toro Rosso	0
9	Sauber	0
10	Lotus Racing	0
11	HRT	0
–	Virgin Racing	0

2010 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2010 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	14 March
2	2010 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	28 March
3	2010 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	4 April
4	2010 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	18 April
5	2010 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	9 May
6	2010 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	16 May
7	2010 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	30 May
8	2010 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	13 June
9	2010 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	27 June
10	2010 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	11 July
11	2010 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	25 July
12	2010 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	1 August
13	2010 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	29 August
14	2010 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	12 September
15	2010 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	26 September
16	2010 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	10 October
17	2010 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	24 October
18	2010 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	7 November
19	2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	14 November