2010 Chinese Grand Prix

 2010 Chinese Grand Prix

Racing data
4th of 19 races in the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship
Surname:	VII Chinese Grand Prix
Date:	April 18, 2010
Place:	Shanghai
Course:	Shanghai International Circuit
Length:	305.066 km in 56 laps of 5.451 km
Weather:	rain
Spectator:	~ 121,500
Pole position
Driver:	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
Time:	1: 34.558 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Time:	1: 42.061 min (lap 13)
Podium
First:	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
Second:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Third:	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes

The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix took place on April 18 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai and was the fourth race of the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship .

Reports

background

After the Malaysian Grand Prix , Felipe Massa led the drivers' standings with two points ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel . Ferrari led the constructors' championship with ten points ahead of McLaren-Mercedes and with 15 points ahead of Red Bull-Renault .

With Rubens Barrichello , Alonso, Michael Schumacher , Lewis Hamilton and Vettel (once each), five former winners competed in this Grand Prix.

training

In the first free practice, Jenson Button was the fastest driver ahead of Nico Rosberg and his teammate Hamilton. During the training session, Sébastien Buemis had a curious accident in which both front wheel suspensions broke off when braking for the hairpin. Without steering, Buemi initially drove uncontrollably against the lane boundary and finally came to a standstill in the gravel bed, where he left the car unharmed. In the second free practice, Hamilton was again a McLaren driver in the lead. Rosberg and Button followed in second and third place. In the third free practice session on Saturday morning, Mark Webber posted the fastest lap ahead of Hamilton and Vettel.

Qualifying

In the first section of qualifying, Hamilton posted the fastest lap. The HRT , Virgin and Lotus pilots as well as Liuzzi were eliminated. In the second segment, Hamilton maintained the top position. The Sauber , Williams and Toro Rosso pilots, as well as Petrow, were eliminated. In the end, last year's winner Vettel secured pole position in the third section in front of his team-mates Webber and Alonso.

run

Rain showers had been announced in advance for the Chinese Grand Prix. However, it only rained lightly at the start and with the exception of Timo Glock , who chose intermediates , all the drivers started on slicks . Since Glock stopped at the start of the introductory lap, no one was told how promising his strategy would have been. Since his Virgin lost pressure in the valve drive system due to an air leak, he could not continue the race later.

Fernando Alonso initially took the lead with a jump start

Alonso had the best start at the front of the field and took the lead from third place. Vettel, who started the race from pole position, also lost another place and fell back to third place. Webber stayed in second place. The safety car had to go out on the track after the first lap. Liuzzi spun and collided with Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi . The race was over for all three drivers immediately. In the safety car phase, the drivers decided on different strategies. While most of the pilots switched to intermediate tires, Rosberg, Button, Robert Kubica , Petrow, Pedro de la Rosa and Heikki Kovalainen kept dry tires .

After the restart, Rosberg was able to maintain the lead. While the Mercedes driver achieved the fastest lap on slicks, Alonso was given a drive-through penalty because his good start was due to an early start. Before he could cancel the penalty, however, he came back to the pits to change tires and switched back from intermediates to slicks. Over the next few laps, all drivers switched back to slicks. The big profiteers were therefore the pilots who had not changed.

After seven laps, de la Rosa, who was fourth at the time, had to give up the race with a technical problem. Lucas di Grassi , who gave up the race after driving eight laps, caused another retirement. The clutch on his Virgin had to be changed before the race, but the newly installed clutch did not work properly either and forced him to give up. In the twelfth round there was a duel between Adrian Sutil , Vettel and Hamilton. The Briton managed to pass both pilots at once and take seventh place. After the overtaking maneuver, Hamilton was the driver with the fastest racing laps. While Vettel and Webber were able to pass Sutil, Hamilton caught up with Schumacher, who placed fifth. After he couldn't get past the German at first, the two dueled on the straight in front of the hairpin. Schumacher tried to defend the position, but had no chance and Hamilton improved to fifth place. One lap later, the Mercedes driver lost another position to Vettel.

Fernando Alonso in front of Felipe Massa in the Ferrari box

In the 19th lap there was a change in leadership at the top. Button took over the leadership from Rosberg. After the overtaking maneuver, it started raining again and this time all drivers decided to switch to intermediate tires. Although the leading trio, which was completed by Kubica, retained their clear lead over the pursuers during the pit stop, there was a safety car phase because Alguersuari had lost parts of his front wing on the track. At the restart, Button kept the lead over Rosberg. In the middle part of the field, however, there were some position shifts. The most conspicuous was Hamilton, who first overtook Schumacher and one lap later Petrow and finally passed Kubica and drove up to third place.

While Jarno Trulli had to give up his race in the pits, there was a duel for second place between Rosberg and Hamilton. However, there was no overtaking maneuver on the track, as the drivers came back to the pits to change tires for fresh intermediates. Hamilton had the better strategy and took second place from Rosberg. Together with Button, who was the undisputed leader in the race, the McLaren were able to take the lead.

A little later Jaime Alguersuari (front) was overtaken by Vitaly Petrow and Felipe Massa

While the first two positions seemed distributed, Alguersuari, who was eighth, lost three positions within two laps and had to let Petrow, Massa and Sutil by. Further ahead, a duel for third place developed between Rosberg and Alonso, and a duel for fifth position between Kubica and Vettel. However, by the end of the race there should not be any more shifts in the first six positions. In midfield, Petrow continued to apply pressure and improved to seventh place with overtaking maneuvers against Schumacher and Webber. Schumacher also lost another place to his former team-mate Massa and took the last point in tenth.

Button won his second race of the season ahead of his teammates Hamilton and Rosberg. In addition, Button took the lead in the Drivers' World Championship from Massa, who dropped to sixth place. Rosberg took second place. There was also a change at the top among the designers and McLaren-Mercedes took over the top position from Ferrari.

There were a total of 67 pit stops during the race. The last time there was a similar number of pit stops was the legendary rain race in Donington Park , the 1993 European Grand Prix .

With Jenson Button another driver won for the seventh time in a row.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	01	Jenson Button	McLaren MP4-25	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	02	Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team	03	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes MGP W01	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	04th	Nico Rosberg
Red Bull Racing	05	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull RB6	Renault 2.4 V8	B.
	06th	Mark Webber
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	07th	Felipe Massa	Ferrari F10	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	08th	Fernando Alonso
AT&T Williams	09	Rubens Barrichello	Williams FW32	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
	10	Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team	11	Robert Kubica	Renault R30	Renault 2.4 V8	B.
	12	Vitaly Petrov
Force India F1 Team	14th	Paul di Resta	Force India VJM03	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
		Adrian Sutil
	15th	Vitantonio Liuzzi
Scuderia Toro Rosso	16	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso STR5	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	17th	Jaime Alguersuari
Lotus Racing	18th	Jarno Trulli	Lotus T127	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
	19th	Heikki Kovalainen
HRT F1 team	20th	Karun Chandhok	HRT F110	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
	21st	Bruno Senna
BMW Sauber F1 Team	22nd	Pedro de la Rosa	Clean C29	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	23	Kamui Kobayashi
Virgin Racing	24	Timo Glock	Virgin VR-01	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
	25th	Lucas di Grassi

1. ↑ ^{a b} Di Resta drove the Force India with the number 14 in the first free practice. Sutil then took over the vehicle for the rest of the race weekend.

Classifications

Qualifying

Item	driver	constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	begin
01	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1: 36.317	1: 35.280	1: 34.558	01
02	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1: 35.978	1: 35,100	1: 34.806	02
03	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1: 35.987	1: 35.235	1: 34.913	03
04th	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1: 34.952	1: 35.134	1: 34.923	04th
05	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 36.122	1: 35.443	1: 34.979	05
06th	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 34.641	1: 34.928	1: 35.034	06th
07th	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1: 36.076	1: 35.290	1: 35.180	07th
08th	Robert Kubica	Renault	1: 36.348	1: 35.550	1: 35.364	08th
09	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	1: 36.484	1: 35.715	1: 35.646	09
10	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1: 36.671	1: 35.665	1: 35.963	10
11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1: 36.664	1: 35.748	-	11
12	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 36.618	1: 36.047	-	12
13	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 36.793	1: 36.149	-	13
14th	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1: 37.031	1: 36.311	-	14th
15th	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	1: 37.044	1: 36.422	-	15th
16	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1: 37.049	1: 36.647	-	16
17th	Pedro de la Rosa	Clean Ferrari	1: 37.050	1: 37.020	-	17th
18th	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1: 37.161	-	-	18th
19th	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	1: 39.278	-	-	19th
20th	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	1: 39.399	-	-	20th
21st	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	1: 39.520	-	-	21st
22nd	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	1: 39.783	-	-	22nd
23	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1: 40.469	-	-	23
24	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	1: 40.578	-	-	24

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap
01	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	56	2	1: 46: 42,163	05	1: 42.886 (14th)
02	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	56	4th	+ 1.530	06th	1: 42.061 (13.)
03	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	2	+ 9.484	04th	1: 43.245 (14th)
04th	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	5	+ 11.869	03	1: 44.134 (14.)
05	Robert Kubica	Renault	56	2	+ 22.213	08th	1: 43.630 (14th)
06th	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	56	4th	+ 33.310	01	1: 42.358 (14th)
07th	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	56	2	+ 47,600	14th	1: 43.801 (14.)
08th	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	56	4th	+ 52.172	02	1: 42.609 (14.)
09	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	4th	+ 57.796	07th	1: 44.594 (14th)
10	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	56	4th	+1: 01.749	09	1: 44.298 (14th)
11	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	56	4th	+1: 02.874	10	1: 44.364 (14th)
12	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	56	4th	+1: 03.665	11	1: 45.559 (17.)
13	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	56	6th	+1: 11.416	12	1: 43.755 (14th)
14th	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	55	2	+ 1 lap	21st	1: 47.141 (14th)
15th	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	55	6th	+ 1 lap	16	1: 44,549 (13.)
16	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	54	4th	+ 2 rounds	23	1: 48.216 (16.)
17th	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	52	4th	+ 4 rounds	box	1: 48.788 (15.)
-	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	26th	4th	DNF	20th	1: 49.675 (14th)
-	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	08th	0	DNF	22nd	1: 53.185 ( 07.)
-	Pedro de la Rosa	Clean Ferrari	07th	0	DNF	17th	1: 47.739 ( 06.)
-	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	00	0	DNF	13	-
-	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	00	0	DNF	15th	-
-	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	00	0	DNF	18th	-
	Timo Glock 1	Virgin Cosworth	-	-	DNS	19th	-

¹ Timo Glock stopped at the start of the formation lap because his Virgin lost pressure in the valve drive system due to an air leak.

World Cup stands after the race

The first ten of the race got 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 60 02  Nico Rosberg Mercedes 50 03  Fernando Alonso Ferrari 49 04th  Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 49 05  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 45 06th  Felipe Massa Ferrari 41 07th  Robert Kubica Renault 40 08th  Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 28 09  Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 10 10  Michael sSchumacher Mercedes 10 11  Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 8th 12  Vitaly Petrov Renault 6th

Item driver constructor Points 13  Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 5 14th  Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2 15th  Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1 16  Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 17th  Pedro de la Rosa Clean Ferrari 0 18th  Heikki Kovalainen Lotus Cosworth 0 19th  Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 0 20th  Lucas di Grassi Virgin Cosworth 0 21st  Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 0 22nd  Jarno Trulli Lotus Cosworth 0 -  Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth 0 -  Kamui Kobayashi Clean Ferrari 0

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  McLaren-Mercedes 109 02  Ferrari 90 03  Red Bull-Renault 73 04th  Mercedes 60 05  Renault 46 06th  Force India-Mercedes 18th

Item constructor Points 07th  Williams-Cosworth 6th 08th  Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2 09  Clean Ferrari 0 10  Lotus Cosworth 0 11  HRT-Cosworth 0 12  Virgin Cosworth 0

Individual evidence

1. ^ "GP China in Shanghai / 1st free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 16, 2010)
2. ↑ "Bizarre accident overshadows the first training session" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 16, 2010)
3. ^ "GP China in Shanghai / 2nd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 16, 2010)
4. ^ "GP China in Shanghai / 3rd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 17, 2010)
5. ↑ ^{a b c} "Both Virgin racers victims of technology" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 18, 2010)
6. ↑ "Clean: bitter double-off in Shanghai" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 18, 2010)

Web links

Commons : Chinese Grand Prix 2010  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Weekend statistics at Motorsport-Total.com