2010 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso began his Ferrari career with victory in Bahrain, leading Felipe Massa home in a one-two. Sebastian Vettel had controlled the race before a loss of power opened the door for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:54.101
Fastest lap	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:58.287 on lap 45
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
12 March 2010	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
12 March 2010	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
13 March 2010	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
13 March 2010	Qualifying	14:00
14 March 2010	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

The 2010 F1 World Championship introduced a 25-point reward for victory and points for the top ten. Jenson Button joined Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, Fernando Alonso moved to Ferrari and Michael Schumacher returned with Mercedes. Race refuelling was banned, reshaping strategy around fuel conservation and tyres.

Race entries

Lotus Racing, Virgin Racing and HRT joined the championship, expanding the grid to 24 cars. Michael Schumacher returned after three seasons away, while Felipe Massa resumed racing following his serious injury in 2009.

Free Practice

Adrian Sutil set the pace in FP1 as the expanded grid began its first race weekend. The newcomers faced a steeper learning curve: Lucas di Grassi failed to complete a full lap, while Hispania was still finishing its cars. Bruno Senna eventually managed two installation laps, giving the team its first tentative running.

Nico Rosberg brought Mercedes to the front in FP2, with Michael Schumacher also among the leading runners on his return to Formula One. At the opposite end, Bruno Senna continued Hispania’s shakedown and began building speed, although the new car remained well behind even the other newcomers after its rushed arrival.

Fernando Alonso led FP3, but the new teams again lost valuable preparation. A hydraulic problem prevented Karun Chandhok from taking part, leaving him without practice mileage before qualifying. Timo Glock’s Virgin also shed its left-front wheel, a problem traced to an inadequately tightened wheel following an airgun issue.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 12 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:56.583	18
2	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.183s	18
3	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+0.458s	19
4	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.472s	19
5	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.485s	19
6	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.580s	19
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+0.611s	19
8	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.616s	15
9	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.672s	17
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.079s	16
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.139s	18
12	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.311s	20
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.360s	17
14	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.816s	13
15	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.199s	11
16	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.297s	13
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+3.667s	18
18	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+4.805s	11
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+7.097s	8
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+7.265s	21
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+7.387s	15
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	No time	2
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	No time	3

Free Practice 2 Classification

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 12 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:55.409	23
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.445s	22
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.494s	23
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.667s	28
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.050s	18
6	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.092s	26
7	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.146s	30
8	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.341s	26
9	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.731s	25
10	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+1.846s	24
11	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.943s	27
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.952s	29
13	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.043s	21
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+2.424s	29
15	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+2.746s	29
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+4.390s	31
17	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+5.035s	12
18	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+5.464s	23
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+5.581s	14
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+6.628s	3
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+6.779s	21
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+11.559s	17
23	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	No time	1

Free Practice 3 Classification

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 13 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:54.099	14
2	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.269s	13
3	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.401s	15
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.434s	13
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.547s	16
6	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.640s	14
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.901s	14
8	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.232s	15
9	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.333s	11
10	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.362s	13
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.422s	13
12	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.761s	8
13	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+1.964s	14
14	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.160s	15
15	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.196s	17
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.405s	16
17	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.431s	14
18	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.712s	16
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.074s	10
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+5.690s	15
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+7.160s	5
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+9.902s	11
23	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	No time	2

Qualifying

Qualifying used three knockout sessions lasting twenty, fifteen and ten minutes. Drivers progressed through Q1 and Q2 before the final ten competed for pole in Q3.

Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. The season opener used Bahrain’s longer Endurance layout, while qualifying no longer required the leading cars to carry race fuel following the ban on race refuelling.

Qualifying Classification

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 13 March 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:55.029	1:53.883	1:54.101	14
2	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:55.313	1:54.331	1:54.242	16
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:54.612	1:54.172	1:54.608	20
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:55.341	1:54.707	1:55.217	19
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:55.463	1:54.682	1:55.241	13
6	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:55.298	1:54.318	1:55.284	13
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:55.593	1:55.105	1:55.524	15
8	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:55.715	1:55.168	1:55.672	17
9	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:55.511	1:54.963	1:55.885	17
10	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:55.213	1:54.996	1:56.309	16
11	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:55.969	1:55.330	—	12
12	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:55.628	1:55.653	—	13
13	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	1:56.375	1:55.857	—	14
14	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	1:56.428	1:56.237	—	13
15	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:56.189	1:56.265	—	14
16	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:56.541	1:56.270	—	13
17	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:56.167	1:56.619	—	14
18	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:57.071	—	—	6
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:59.728	—	—	7
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	1:59.852	—	—	6
21	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	2:00.313	—	—	7
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	2:00.587	—	—	7
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	2:03.240	—	—	6
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	2:04.904	—	—	7

What happened in the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Vettel led from pole while Alonso passed Massa for second. Further back, smoke from Webber’s car contributed to an opening-corner scramble in which Sutil and Kubica spun and lost ground.

The leading Red Bull and Ferraris pulled clear as reliability problems thinned the field. Hamilton gained a place over Rosberg through the pit stops, putting himself in position to profit if the leaders faltered.

Vettel then slowed with a spark-plug problem. Alonso, Massa and Hamilton all passed, leaving the Red Bull driver to defend fourth from Rosberg for the remainder of the race.

Alonso won on his Ferrari debut, with Massa second on his return to full-time competition. Hamilton completed the podium ahead of Vettel and Rosberg, while Schumacher finished sixth in his comeback race.

Further down the points places, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello completed the scoring positions. Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2010 rules.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 25 points, followed by Felipe Massa on 18. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 43, with McLaren on 21.

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 14 March 2010, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	49	1:39:20.396	25
2	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	49	+16.099	18
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	49	+23.182	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	49	+38.799	12
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	49	+40.213	10
6	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	49	+44.163	8
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	49	+45.280	6
8	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	49	+46.360	4
9	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	49	+53.008	2
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	49	+1:02.489	1
11	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	49	+1:09.093	0
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	49	+1:22.958	0
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	49	+1:32.656	0
14	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	48	+1 Lap	0
15	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	47	+2 Laps	0
16	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	46	Electrical	0
17	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	46	Hydraulics	0
Ret	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	28	Hydraulics	0
Ret	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	17	Airbox	0
Ret	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	16	Gearbox	0
Ret	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	13	Suspension	0
Ret	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	11	Hydraulics	0
Ret	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	2	Hydraulics	0
Ret	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	1	Accident/Spun off	0

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	45	1:58.287	191.706
2	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	49	1:59.393	189.930
3	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	45	1:59.487	189.781
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	42	1:59.560	189.665
5	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	38	1:59.732	189.392
6	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	47	1:59.833	189.233
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	39	1:59.906	189.118
8	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	28	1:59.964	189.026
9	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	45	1:59.970	189.017
10	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	41	2:00.080	188.844
11	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	45	2:00.204	188.649
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	32	2:00.218	188.627
13	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	45	2:00.236	188.599
14	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	33	2:00.474	188.226
15	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	34	2:01.401	186.789
16	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	27	2:01.650	186.406
17	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	47	2:02.701	184.810
18	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	34	2:02.930	184.465
19	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	7	2:04.307	182.422
20	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	4	2:05.044	181.347
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	11	2:07.062	178.467
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	14	2:09.127	175.613
23	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	2	2:09.361	175.295

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2010 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2010 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	25
2	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	18
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	15
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	12
5	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	10
6	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	8
7	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	6
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	4
9	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	2
10	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	1
11	Robert Kubica	Polish	Renault	0
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	0
13	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	0
14	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Williams	0
15	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Lotus Racing	0
16	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	0
17	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Lotus Racing	0
–	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	0
–	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	HRT	0
–	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
–	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	0
–	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	0
–	Lucas di Grassi	Brazilian	Virgin Racing	0
–	Karun Chandhok	Indian	HRT	0

2010 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	43
2	McLaren	21
3	Mercedes	18
4	Red Bull Racing	16
5	Force India	2
6	Williams	1
7	Renault	0
8	Toro Rosso	0
9	Lotus Racing	0
–	Sauber	0
–	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