2010 Korean Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso won the inaugural Korean Grand Prix as both Red Bulls retired in a rain-delayed race. Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa completed the podium, while Alonso moved into the championship lead with two rounds remaining.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:35.585
Fastest lap	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:50.257 on lap 42
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Third	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 October 2010	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
22 October 2010	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
23 October 2010	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
23 October 2010	Qualifying	14:00
24 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 17 leading the 2010 F1 World Championship on 220 points, with Fernando Alonso on 206. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 426 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Korean Grand Prix. Jerome d'Ambrosio also took part in practice.

Free Practice

The new Korean circuit was dusty and short of grip in FP1, sending several drivers into the run-off areas as they learned its corners. Lewis Hamilton set the pace, while Bruno Senna spun after a rear-suspension failure. The Hispania stopped without hitting the barriers, but the incident curtailed important familiarisation mileage.

Improving grip brought substantially quicker laps in FP2, with Mark Webber leading despite a late spin. Jenson Button missed much of the session with an overheating exhaust, and Sakon Yamamoto’s stranded Hispania caused a stoppage. Heavy tyre graining also emerged as a concern, adding to the challenge of setting up for a new venue.

Changes to kerbs and extensive cleaning preceded FP3 as organisers addressed problems identified on Friday. Robert Kubica edged Lewis Hamilton, while Sebastian Vettel compromised his session with a trip onto the grass. Nico Rosberg narrowly avoided a collision with Fernando Alonso late on; the stewards investigated but imposed no penalty before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2010 Korean Grand Prix FP1, 22 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:40.887	15
2	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+0.081s	18
3	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.265s	21
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.484s	18
5	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.053s	16
6	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.135s	25
7	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.315s	23
8	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.406s	18
9	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.791s	21
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.996s	23
11	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.009s	22
12	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.167s	25
13	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.422s	20
14	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.715s	18
15	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+3.041s	21
16	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+3.053s	23
17	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+4.000s	21
18	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+4.254s	26
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.701s	20
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+5.726s	17
21	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+6.228s	22
22	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+9.460s	29
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+9.934s	15
24	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+10.814s	11

Free Practice 2 Classification

2010 Korean Grand Prix FP2, 22 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:37.942	23
2	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.190s	30
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.337s	29
4	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	+0.776s	29
5	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.784s	19
6	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.878s	32
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.262s	22
8	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.325s	28
9	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.326s	29
10	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.622s	26
11	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.646s	25
12	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.656s	26
13	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.870s	35
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+1.939s	27
15	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.029s	22
16	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+2.536s	30
17	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.636s	29
18	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.954s	32
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.831s	29
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.859s	19
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.173s	26
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+6.097s	29
23	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+7.224s	19
24	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+8.707s	3

Free Practice 3 Classification

2010 Korean Grand Prix FP3, 23 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:37.354	15
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.048s	16
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.072s	15
4	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.087s	13
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.275s	12
6	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.601s	16
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.065s	15
8	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	+1.147s	17
9	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.276s	12
10	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.278s	18
11	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.314s	14
12	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+1.379s	16
13	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.704s	21
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.791s	16
15	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.805s	21
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.426s	9
17	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+2.935s	17
18	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	+4.237s	15
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	+4.269s	15
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+4.499s	17
21	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	+4.741s	19
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	+5.757s	19
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	+6.063s	19
24	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	+6.526s	20

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 and Fernando Alonso on the new Korea International Circuit. Vitaly Petrov carried a five-place penalty for causing the opening-lap collision in Japan.

Qualifying Classification

2010 Korean Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 October 2010

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:37.123	1:36.074	1:35.585	19
2	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:37.373	1:36.039	1:35.659	21
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:37.144	1:36.287	1:35.766	23
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:37.113	1:36.197	1:36.062	20
5	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:37.708	1:36.791	1:36.535	18
6	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:37.515	1:36.169	1:36.571	18
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:38.123	1:37.064	1:36.731	21
8	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:37.703	1:37.179	1:36.824	21
9	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:37.980	1:37.077	1:36.950	22
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:38.257	1:37.511	1:36.998	25
11	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	1:38.115	1:37.620	—	18
12	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:38.429	1:37.643	—	15
13	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	1:38.171	1:37.715	—	16
14	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:38.572	1:37.783	—	18
15	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:38.174	1:37.799	—	18
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:38.583	1:37.853	—	18
17	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:38.621	1:38.594	—	16
18	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	1:38.955	—	—	10
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	1:40.521	—	—	10
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:40.748	—	—	8
21	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	1:41.768	—	—	9
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	1:42.325	—	—	10
23	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	1:42.444	—	—	10
24	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	1:43.283	—	—	7

Renault‘s Vitaly Petrov was given a retroactive five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Williams‘s Nico Hülkenberg at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.

What happened in the 2010 Korean Grand Prix?

Heavy rain delayed the start and forced the opening laps behind the safety car. A red flag followed, and a lengthy stoppage was needed before the race could resume, again under safety-car control.

Once racing began, Webber spun, hit the wall and slid into Rosberg’s path, eliminating both. Vettel continued to lead while Alonso and Hamilton battled behind through the interruptions and pit stops.

Vettel suffered an engine failure late in the race, handing the lead to Alonso. As daylight faded, Alonso pulled away from Hamilton, whose tyres were losing performance.

Alonso won ahead of Hamilton and Massa, with Schumacher fourth and Kubica fifth. The full 55 laps were completed and full points awarded. Webber’s retirement and Vettel’s failure put Alonso thirteen points clear at the top of the standings.

Further down the points places, Rubens Barrichello, Kamui Kobayashi, Nick Heidfeld and Nico Hülkenberg 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 231 points, followed by Mark Webber on 220. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 426, with McLaren on 399.

2010 Korean Grand Prix race results

The 2010 Korean Grand Prix was held on 24 October 2010, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	55	2:48:20.810	25
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	55	+14.999	18
3	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	55	+30.868	15
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	55	+39.688	12
5	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	55	+47.734	10
6	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	55	+53.571	8
7	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	55	+1:09.257	6
8	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	55	+1:17.889	4
9	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	55	+1:20.107	2
10	10	Nico Hülkenberg	Williams	55	+1:20.851	1
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	55	+1:24.146	0
12	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	55	+1:29.939	0
13	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	54	+1 Lap	0
14	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	53	+2 Laps	0
15	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	53	+2 Laps	0
Ret	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	46	Collision	0
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	45	Engine	0
Ret	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	39	Accident	0
Ret	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	31	Collision damage	0
Ret	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	30	Collision	0
Ret	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	25	Accident	0
Ret	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	25	Hydraulics	0
Ret	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	18	Collision	0
Ret	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	18	Collision	0

2010 Korean Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	42	1:50.257	183.335
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	44	1:50.375	183.139
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	42	1:50.430	183.048
4	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	1:50.502	182.928
5	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India	45	1:51.371	181.501
6	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	45	1:51.564	181.187
7	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	45	1:51.604	181.122
8	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	43	1:51.835	180.748
9	17	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	43	1:51.962	180.543
10	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams	43	1:51.982	180.511
11	1	Jenson Button	McLaren	42	1:52.193	180.171
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	40	1:52.601	179.518
13	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	39	1:53.031	178.835
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	42	1:53.086	178.748
15	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	42	1:53.263	178.469
16	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Racing	43	1:55.018	175.746
17	16	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	27	1:56.768	173.112
18	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	29	1:58.102	171.157
19	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT	36	1:58.313	170.851
20	21	Bruno Senna	HRT	30	1:59.290	169.452
21	6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	18	2:00.025	168.414
22	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	18	2:00.652	167.539
23	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	25	2:02.635	164.830
24	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Racing	20	2:05.161	161.503

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 Korean Grand Prix.

2010 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	231
2	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	220
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	210
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	206
5	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	189
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	143
7	Robert Kubica	Polish	Renault	124
8	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	122
9	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	66
10	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	47
11	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	47
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	31
13	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Force India	21
14	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	19
15	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Williams	18
16	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	8
17	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	6
18	Nick Heidfeld	German	Sauber	6
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	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	HRT	0
24	Lucas di Grassi	Brazilian	Virgin Racing	0
25	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	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	399
3	Ferrari	374
4	Mercedes	188
5	Renault	143
6	Force India	68
7	Williams	65
8	Sauber	43
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