2010 Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber home in a Red Bull one-two at Suzuka, with Fernando Alonso third. Kamui Kobayashi delighted the home crowd with a string of bold overtakes on his way to seventh.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:30.785
Fastest lap	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:33.474 on lap 53
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Third	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
8 October 2010	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
8 October 2010	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
9 October 2010	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
10 October 2010	Qualifying (rescheduled)	10:00
10 October 2010	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Mark Webber arrived at round 16 leading the 2010 F1 World Championship on 202 points, with Fernando Alonso on 191. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 383 points.

Race entries

Sakon Yamamoto raced for HRT, replacing Christian Klien. Jerome d'Ambrosio also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel narrowly led Mark Webber in dry FP1, but Lewis Hamilton’s accident at Degner dominated the session. His McLaren bottomed out, ran wide and struck the tyre barrier, damaging its front-left corner. Jenson Button also had a moment there near the finish, although he stopped in the gravel before reaching the wall.

Red Bull remained strongest in FP2, with Sebastian Vettel improving after switching from hard to soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton missed almost the whole session while McLaren repaired the morning’s damage, returning only for the final minutes. Michael Schumacher also ran wide at Degner but avoided the barrier as Suzuka continued to demand precision.

Torrential rain made FP3 largely unusable. Standing water crossed several corners, visibility deteriorated and most drivers confined themselves to exploratory laps. Only Jaime Alguersuari and Timo Glock recorded times, leaving qualifying preparations incomplete and prompting discussion of postponing the grid-deciding session until Sunday morning.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2010 Japanese Grand Prix FP1, 8 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:32.585	23
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.048s	23
3	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+0.544s	23
4	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.054s	13
5	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.058s	9
6	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.092s	21
7	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.122s	24
8	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.154s	20
9	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.206s	23
10	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.246s	9
11	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.344s	25
12	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.457s	19
13	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.584s	23
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.686s	19
15	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.788s	24
16	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.794s	21
17	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.406s	26
18	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+3.099s	22
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.364s	25
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.744s	17
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.803s	23
22	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+5.193s	23
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+6.229s	28
24	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+6.858s	26

Free Practice 2 Classification

2010 Japanese Grand Prix FP2, 8 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:31.465	32
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.395s	29
3	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+0.735s	32
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.897s	34
5	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.054s	35
6	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.068s	28
7	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.238s	32
8	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.366s	27
9	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.377s	26
10	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.386s	26
11	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.415s	26
12	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.006s	31
13	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+2.016s	8
14	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.099s	16
15	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+2.232s	33
16	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.540s	32
17	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.590s	37
18	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+2.845s	33
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.630s	37
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.868s	33
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+5.165s	28
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.369s	28
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+5.887s	33
24	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+6.366s	34

Free Practice 3 Classification

2010 Japanese Grand Prix FP3, 9 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:55.902	9
2	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+11.595s	6
3	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	No time	1
4	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	No time	1
5	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	No time	1
6	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	No time	4
7	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	No time	1
8	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	No time	1
9	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	No time	2
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	No time	1
11	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	No time	1
12	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	No time	1
13	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	No time	1
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	No time	1
15	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
16	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	No time	1
17	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	No time	1
18	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	No time	1
19	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	No time	3
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	No time	1
21	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
22	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	No time	1
23	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	No time	2
24	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	No time	3

Qualifying

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

Heavy rain postponed qualifying from Saturday to Sunday morning. Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Mark Webber, while Lewis Hamilton qualified third but dropped five places for a gearbox change.

Qualifying Classification

2010 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying, 10 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:32.035	1:31.184	1:30.785	20
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:32.476	1:31.241	1:30.853	21
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:32.809	1:31.523	1:31.169	22
4	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:32.808	1:32.042	1:31.231	21
5	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.555	1:31.819	1:31.352	26
6	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:32.636	1:31.763	1:31.378	21
7	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.238	1:31.886	1:31.494	22
8	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:32.361	1:31.874	1:31.535	22
9	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	1:32.211	1:31.926	1:31.559	20
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:32.513	1:32.073	1:31.846	21
11	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	1:33.011	1:32.187	—	17
12	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:32.721	1:32.321	—	20
13	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:32.849	1:32.422	—	18
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:32.783	1:32.427	—	15
15	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:33.186	1:32.659	—	17
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:33.471	1:33.071	—	17
17	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:33.216	1:33.154	—	16
18	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:33.568	—	—	11
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	1:35.346	—	—	10
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	1:35.464	—	—	11
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	1:36.265	—	—	9
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:36.332	—	—	8
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	1:37.270	—	—	10
24	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	1:37.365	—	—	8

Lewis Hamilton served a five-place grid penalty for switching his gearbox as a result of abnormal oil pressure.

What happened in the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix?

Vettel led away while Kubica passed Webber for second. Separate opening-lap collisions eliminated Petrov, Hülkenberg, Massa and Liuzzi, bringing out the safety car; Kubica then retired when a rear wheel detached.

Vettel and Webber controlled the race after the restart, with Alonso following. Button extended his first stint on the harder tyres but could not build enough of an advantage to keep the lead after stopping.

Hamilton lost third gear and was passed by Button for fourth. Kobayashi attacked repeatedly at the hairpin, overtaking rivals including his team-mate Heidfeld during an energetic recovery.

Vettel won ahead of Webber and Alonso, with Button and Hamilton completing the top five. Schumacher took sixth, followed by the two Saubers. Webber remained championship leader, while Vettel moved level on points with Alonso.

Further down the points places, Kamui Kobayashi, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Sébastien Buemi completed the scoring positions. Mark Webber set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2010 rules.

After the race, Mark Webber headed the drivers’ standings with 220 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 206. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 426, with McLaren on 381.

2010 Japanese Grand Prix race results

The 2010 Japanese Grand Prix was held on 10 October 2010, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	53	1:30:27.323	25
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	53	+0.905	18
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	+2.721	15
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	+13.522	12
5	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	53	+39.595	10
6	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	53	+59.933	8
7	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	53	+1:04.038	6
8	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	53	+1:09.648	4
9	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	53	+1:10.846	2
10	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	53	+1:12.806	1
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
12	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	52	+1 Lap	0
13	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	51	+2 Laps	0
14	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	51	+2 Laps	0
15	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	51	+2 Laps	0
16	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	50	+3 Laps	0
17	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	47	Wheel	0
Ret	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	44	Engine	0
Ret	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	2	Wheel	0
Ret	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	0	Collision	0
Ret	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	0	Collision	0
Ret	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	0	Collision	0
Ret	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	0	Collision	0
DNS	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing		Accident	0

2010 Japanese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	53	1:33.474	223.647
2	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	1:33.529	223.515
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	51	1:33.653	223.219
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	1:33.823	222.815
5	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	49	1:34.365	221.535
6	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	50	1:34.486	221.251
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	52	1:34.853	220.395
8	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	52	1:35.116	219.786
9	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	35	1:35.182	219.633
10	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	52	1:35.521	218.854
11	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	53	1:35.597	218.680
12	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	1:36.108	217.517
13	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	43	1:36.319	217.041
14	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	51	1:37.620	214.148
15	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	28	1:39.710	209.660
16	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	33	1:39.806	209.458
17	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	51	1:39.813	209.443
18	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	49	1:40.329	208.366
19	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	2	2:41.378	129.541

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 Japanese Grand Prix.

2010 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	220
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	206
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	206
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	192
5	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	189
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	128
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	122
8	Robert Kubica	Polish	Renault	114
9	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	54
10	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	47
11	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	41
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	27
13	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	19
14	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Williams	17
15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	13
16	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	8
17	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	6
18	Nick Heidfeld	German	Sauber	4
19	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	3
20	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Lotus Racing	0
21	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Lotus Racing	0
22	Karun Chandhok	Indian	HRT	0
23	Lucas di Grassi	Brazilian	Virgin Racing	0
24	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
25	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	HRT	0
26	Sakon Yamamoto	Japanese	HRT	0
–	Christian Klien	Austrian	HRT	0

2010 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	426
2	McLaren	381
3	Ferrari	334
4	Mercedes	176
5	Renault	133
6	Force India	60
7	Williams	58
8	Sauber	37
9	Toro Rosso	11
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