2010 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jenson Button judged the changing conditions to win in China, leading Lewis Hamilton home in a McLaren one-two. Nico Rosberg finished third as repeated showers turned tyre choice into the key to the afternoon.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:34.558
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:42.061 on lap 13
First	Jenson Button	McLaren
Second	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Third	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
16 April 2010	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
16 April 2010	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
17 April 2010	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
17 April 2010	Qualifying	14:00
18 April 2010	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Felipe Massa arrived at round 4 leading the 2010 F1 World Championship on 39 points, with Fernando Alonso on 37. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings with 76 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Chinese Grand Prix. Paul di Resta also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Jenson Button led a dramatic FP1. Fernando Alonso stopped with a fire, while Sébastien Buemi escaped a frightening suspension failure when both front wheels detached under braking. The incident halted running and prompted Toro Rosso to keep Jaime Alguersuari in the garage while it investigated, leaving the team short of preparation.

Lewis Hamilton kept McLaren ahead in FP2, setting his quickest lap on soft tyres as several drivers spun or ran wide. Sebastien Buemi missed the session while Toro Rosso rebuilt his car after the morning’s failure. Lotus also lost running when Heikki Kovalainen pulled over late on with falling oil pressure.

Mark Webber moved Red Bull to the front in dry FP3, but Vitaly Petrov’s heavy accident brought another interruption. The Renault ran onto artificial grass exiting the final corner, slid across the gravel and struck the tyre barrier. Vitaly Petrov escaped injury, while marshals needed several minutes to clear the debris.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2010 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 16 April 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:36.677	15
2	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.071s	17
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.098s	19
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.832s	14
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.924s	20
6	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.039s	17
7	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.068s	25
8	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.303s	17
9	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.331s	13
10	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.421s	19
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.484s	19
12	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.698s	21
13	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+1.744s	19
14	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.892s	20
15	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.941s	26
16	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.001s	17
17	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+3.262s	5
18	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.854s	22
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+5.102s	23
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.153s	19
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+5.504s	27
22	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+7.198s	23
23	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	+7.272s	20
24	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	No time	6

Free Practice 2 Classification

2010 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 16 April 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.217	26
2	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.248s	22
3	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.376s	26
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.385s	28
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.574s	30
6	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.778s	29
7	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.037s	31
8	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.160s	43
9	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.172s	29
10	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.387s	33
11	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.727s	36
12	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.769s	27
13	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+2.204s	32
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.214s	33
15	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.440s	30
16	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+2.587s	31
17	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+2.650s	29
18	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.407s	35
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.730s	30
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.016s	27
21	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	+5.791s	32
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+5.890s	28
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+6.128s	32

Free Practice 3 Classification

2010 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 17 April 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:35.323	16
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.241s	12
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.368s	14
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.424s	14
5	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.534s	13
6	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.590s	12
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.939s	10
8	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+1.020s	16
9	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.093s	11
10	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.311s	16
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.556s	17
12	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.708s	16
13	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.869s	18
14	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.917s	18
15	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.016s	13
16	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.262s	13
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	+2.341s	19
18	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+2.461s	14
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.256s	15
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.293s	17
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+4.426s	13
22	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.453s	16
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+4.993s	19
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	+5.818s	18

Qualifying

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

Sebastian Vettel beat Mark Webber to pole, with Fernando Alonso third. The dry qualifying session gave little indication of the changing weather that would reshape the race.

Qualifying Classification

2010 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 17 April 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:36.317	1:35.280	1:34.558	21
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:35.978	1:35.100	1:34.806	17
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:35.987	1:35.235	1:34.913	15
4	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.952	1:35.134	1:34.923	17
5	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:36.122	1:35.443	1:34.979	17
6	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.641	1:34.928	1:35.034	13
7	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:36.076	1:35.290	1:35.180	19
8	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:36.348	1:35.550	1:35.364	21
9	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:36.484	1:35.715	1:35.646	21
10	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:36.671	1:35.665	1:35.963	23
11	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:36.664	1:35.748	—	15
12	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:36.618	1:36.047	—	17
13	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:36.793	1:36.149	—	17
14	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:37.031	1:36.311	—	10
15	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:37.044	1:36.422	—	16
16	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	1:37.049	1:36.647	—	14
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	1:37.050	1:37.020	—	15
18	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:37.161	—	—	9
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:39.278	—	—	6
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	1:39.399	—	—	9
21	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	1:39.520	—	—	8
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	1:39.783	—	—	6
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	1:40.469	—	—	10
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	1:40.578	—	—	7

Karun Chandhok was given a five-place grid penalty after the team broke the FIA seal on the F110 ‘s gearbox without a representative of the governing body being present. He also started from the pit lane due to a change of a hydraulic pump assembly.

What happened in the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix?

Alonso jumped the start to pass the Red Bulls and later served a drive-through penalty. An opening-lap accident brought out the safety car, and several leaders stopped for intermediates as rain began to fall.

Rosberg, Button and the Renaults stayed on slicks, gaining a substantial advantage when the rain failed to intensify. Button moved ahead when Rosberg ran wide, then managed the next changes in conditions from the lead.

Hamilton fought his way back through the field and gained second from Rosberg through the final stops. Another safety-car period had kept the pack close enough for recovery drives to remain possible.

Button won ahead of Hamilton and Rosberg, with Alonso recovering fourth. Petrov finished seventh to become the first Russian driver to score world championship points. Button left Shanghai leading the drivers’ standings.

Further down the points places, Vitaly Petrov, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher completed the scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2010 rules.

After the race, Jenson Button headed the drivers’ standings with 60 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 50. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 109, with Ferrari on 90.

2010 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 18 April 2010, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	1:46:42.163	25
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	56	+1.530	18
3	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+9.484	15
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+11.869	12
5	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	56	+22.213	10
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	56	+33.310	8
7	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	56	+47.600	6
8	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	56	+52.172	4
9	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+57.796	2
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	56	+1:01.749	1
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	56	+1:02.874	0
12	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	56	+1:03.665	0
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	56	+1:11.416	0
14	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
15	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	55	+1 Lap	0
16	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	54	+2 Laps	0
17	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	52	+4 Laps	0
Ret	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	26	Hydraulics	0
Ret	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	8	Clutch	0
Ret	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	7	Engine	0
Ret	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0
Ret	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	0	Collision	0
Ret	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	0	Collision	0
DNS	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing		Engine	0

2010 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	13	1:42.061	192.273
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	14	1:42.358	191.715
3	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	14	1:42.609	191.246
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	14	1:42.886	190.731
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	14	1:43.245	190.068
6	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	14	1:43.630	189.362
7	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	14	1:43.755	189.134
8	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	14	1:43.801	189.050
9	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	14	1:44.134	188.445
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	14	1:44.298	188.149
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	14	1:44.364	188.030
12	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	13	1:44.549	187.697
13	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	14	1:44.594	187.616
14	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	17	1:45.559	185.901
15	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	14	1:47.141	183.156
16	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber	6	1:47.739	182.140
17	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	16	1:48.216	181.337
18	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT	15	1:48.788	180.383
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	14	1:49.675	178.925
20	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	7	1:53.185	173.376

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 Chinese Grand Prix.

2010 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	60
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	50
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	49
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	49
5	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	45
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	41
7	Robert Kubica	Polish	Renault	40
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	28
9	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	10
10	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	10
11	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	8
12	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	6
13	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	5
14	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	2
15	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Williams	1
16	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	0
17	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	0
18	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Lotus Racing	0
19	Karun Chandhok	Indian	HRT	0
20	Lucas di Grassi	Brazilian	Virgin Racing	0
21	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	HRT	0
22	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Lotus Racing	0
–	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
–	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	0

2010 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	109
2	Ferrari	90
3	Red Bull Racing	73
4	Mercedes	60
5	Renault	46
6	Force India	18
7	Williams	6
8	Toro Rosso	2
9	Sauber	0
10	Lotus Racing	0
11	HRT	0
12	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