2010 Japanese Grand Prix

 2010 Japanese Grand Prix

Racing data
16th of 19 races in the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship
Surname:	XXXVI Japanese Grand Prix
Date:	October 10, 2010
Place:	Suzuka
Course:	Suzuka International Racing Course
Length:	307.573 km in 53 laps of 5.807 km
Weather:	slightly cloudy
Spectator:	~ 86,000
Pole position
Driver:	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
Time:	1: 30.785 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
Time:	1: 33.474 min (lap 53)
Podium
First:	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
Second:	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault
Third:	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari

The 2010 Japanese Grand Prix took place on October 10th at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka and was the 16th race of the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship .

Reports

background

After the Singapore Grand Prix , Mark Webber led the drivers' standings with 11 points ahead of Fernando Alonso and 20 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton . Red Bull-Renault led the constructors' championship with 24 points ahead of McLaren-Mercedes and with 64 points ahead of Ferrari .

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

At HRT-Cosworth , Sakon Yamamoto returned to the cockpit and replaced Christian Klien .

training

Jérôme D'Ambrosio in the first free practice on Friday

In the first free practice, Vettel achieved the fastest lap ahead of his team-mate Webber and Robert Kubica . At Virgin-Cosworth , Jérôme D'Ambrosio took over the cockpit from Lucas di Grassi for this training . In the second free practice session there were no changes in the first three positions. In the third free practice session, only two pilots set a time due to heavy rain. Jaime Alguersuari was the fastest ahead of Timo Glock .

Qualifying

The qualifying was postponed several times on Saturday due to heavy rain and finally canceled. The race management postponed qualifying to the morning of race Sunday. On Sunday morning, qualifying finally took place under dry conditions. In the first segment, Vettel achieved the fastest lap. The HRT, Virgin and Lotus pilots as well as Sébastien Buemi were eliminated. In the second section, Vettel kept the leadership position. The Force India and Sauber pilots as well as Liuzzi , Petrow and Massa were eliminated. In the last section, Vettel secured pole position in front of his team-mate Webber and Hamilton, who was moved five positions back due to a gearbox change.

run

The weekend was over for di Grassi even before the start of the Grand Prix. The Virgin rider got off the track on the grid lap in the 130R and hit the tire wall . Although he was able to leave the car unharmed, it was so badly damaged that he had to forego the start. A technical defect was then ruled out.

Sebastian Vettel led the field ahead of Robert Kubica and Mark Webber after the first lap

At the start, Vettel maintained the lead. His team-mate Webber, starting from second place, lost one position to Kubica. In the middle part of the field Petrov overlooked the Williams-Cosworth of Nico Hulkenberg and collided with him. Another incident occurred on the First curve. Massa tried to pass Nico Rosberg on the right . He got onto the grass, his car lifted off the curbs and collided with Liuzzi. All four drivers were eliminated and the rescue work triggered a safety car phase. On the third lap, which was driven behind the safety car, Kubica was also eliminated. The right rear wheel of his racing car had come loose and he had to park his car on three wheels.

When the race restarted, there were no shifts at the top. Vettel kept the lead over Webber, Alonso, Button and Hamilton. In sixth place there was a shift after Schumacher overtook Barrichello. At the front, the Red Bull drove the fastest times and Vettel and Webber set themselves apart from the other three drivers. However, there were no greater gaps between the first five pilots.

Local hero Kamui Kobayashi was initially in eleventh place behind Alguersuari. He surprised the Toro Rosso driver with a late braking maneuver in the hairpin turn and passed him. Four laps later, Kobayashi passed Adrian Sutil at the same point .

The safety car in front of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber

A little later, the drivers who had not stopped in the safety car phase began the pit stops. Webber came one lap to Vettel and thus took the lead for one lap. After his stop, Button was in first position because, unlike the other drivers in the front, he had started with hard tires and therefore stopped later. Hamilton temporarily fell behind Kobayashi, who, like Button, wanted to stop later, but was able to overtake him without any problems.

Button and Kobayashi completed their stop on the same lap. So Vettel took over the leadership position again. Button fell behind the first four pilots (Vettel, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton). Since Hamilton had transmission problems and he could no longer engage third gear, his team-mate Button managed to drive past him without any problems. In midfield, Kobayashi was back behind Alguersuari and attacked the Spaniard again in the hairpin curve. This time Alguersuari tried not to let him pass so easily and damaged his front wing in the process. Kobayashi made up another position when Sutil retired with an engine failure.

In the meantime, a prolonged position battle for sixth place between the Mercedes drivers had developed. Thanks to an earlier stop, Rosberg was in front of Schumacher and kept him behind for a long time. In the 47th round the duel was decided by a technical defect. Rosberg's rear suspension broke on the Dunlop corner and he hit the tire wall. He was classified six laps behind. In the meantime, Kobayashi had also overtaken Barrichello and his teammate Nick Heidfeld . However, he did not catch up with Schumacher.

Finally, Vettel won the race ahead of Webber and Alonso. McLaren drivers Button and Hamilton followed in fourth and fifth place. Schumacher was sixth ahead of Kobayashi, Heidfeld, Barrichello and Buemi. Heidfeld, who had only completed his second race of the season, scored his first points. With some pilots eliminated, five pilots from the new teams who made it to the finish achieved their best result of the season.

In the World Cup, Webber maintained the lead over Alonso. Vettel improved to third place tied with Alonso. Thanks to the double victory, Red Bull-Renault extended its lead in the constructors' championship ahead of McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari.

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	Adrian Sutil	Force India VJM03	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	B.
	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	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT F110	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
	21st	Bruno Senna
BMW Sauber F1 Team	22nd	Nick Heidfeld	Clean C29	Ferrari 2.4 V8	B.
	23	Kamui Kobayashi
Virgin Racing	24	Jérôme D'Ambrosio	Virgin VR-01	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.
		Timo Glock
	25th	Lucas di Grassi

1. ↑ ^{a b} D'Ambrosio drove the Virgin with the number 24 in the first free practice. Glock 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: 32.035	1: 31.184	1: 30.785	01
02	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1: 32.476	1: 31.241	1: 30.853	02
03	Lewis Hamilton 1	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 32.809	1: 31.523	1: 31.169	08th
04th	Robert Kubica	Renault	1: 32.808	1: 32.042	1: 31.231	03
05	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1: 32.555	1: 31.819	1: 31.352	04th
06th	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 32.636	1: 31.763	1: 31.378	05
07th	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1: 32.238	1: 31.886	1: 31.494	06th
08th	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1: 32.361	1: 31.874	1: 31.535	07th
09	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1: 32.211	1: 31.926	1: 31.559	09
10	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	1: 32.513	1: 32.073	1: 31.846	10
11	Nick Heidfeld	Clean Ferrari	1: 33.011	1: 32.187	-	11
12	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1: 32.721	1: 32.321	-	12
13	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1: 32.849	1: 32.422	-	13
14th	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	1: 32.783	1: 32.427	-	14th
15th	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1: 33.186	1: 32.659	-	15th
16	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 33.471	1: 33.071	-	16
17th	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1: 33.216	1: 33.154	-	17th
18th	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 33.568	-	-	18th
19th	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	1: 35.346	-	-	19th
20th	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	1: 35.464	-	-	20th
21st	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	1: 36.265	-	-	21st
22nd	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	1: 36.332	-	-	22nd
23	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1: 37.270	-	-	23
24	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT-Cosworth	1: 37.365	-	-	24

¹ Lewis Hamilton was moved five positions back due to a gear change.

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap
01	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	53	1	1: 30: 27.323	01	1: 33.653 (51st)
02	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	53	1	+ 0.905	02	1: 33,474 (53.)
03	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	1	+ 2.721	04th	1: 33.823 (53.)
04th	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	53	1	+ 13,522	05	1: 33,529 (53.)
05	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	53	1	+ 39.595	08th	1: 35,182 (35.)
06th	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	53	1	+ 59.933	10	1: 34.853 (52nd)
07th	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	53	1	+1: 04.038	14th	1: 34.486 (50th)
08th	Nick Heidfeld	Clean Ferrari	53	1	+1: 09.648	11	1: 35,521 (52nd)
09	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	53	1	+1: 10.846	07th	1: 35,597 (53.)
10	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	53	1	+1: 12.806	18th	1: 35,116 (52nd)
11	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	52	2	+ 1 lap	16	1: 34.365 (49.)
12	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	52	1	+ 1 lap	20th	1: 37.620 (51st)
13	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	51	1	+ 2 rounds	19th	1: 39.710 (28th)
14th	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	51	2	+ 2 rounds	22nd	1: 39.813 (51.)
15th	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	51	1	+ 2 rounds	23	1: 40.329 (49.)
16	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT-Cosworth	50	1	+ 3 rounds	24	1: 39.806 (33.)
17th	Nico Rosberg 1	Mercedes	47	1	DNF	06th	1: 36.108 (44.)
-	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	44	1	DNF	15th	1: 36,319 (43.)
-	Robert Kubica	Renault	02	0	DNF	03	2: 41.378 ( 02nd)
-	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	00	0	DNF	09	-
-	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	00	0	DNF	12	-
-	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	00	0	DNF	13	-
-	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	00	0	DNF	17th	-
-	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	-	-	DNS	21st	-

¹ Not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered.

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  Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 220 02  Fernando Alonso Ferrari 206 03  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 206 04th  Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 192 05  Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 189 06th  Felipe Massa Ferrari 128 07th  Nico Rosberg Mercedes 122 08th  Robert Kubica Renault 114 09  Michael sSchumacher Mercedes 54 10  Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 47 11  Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 41 12  Kamui Kobayashi Clean Ferrari 27 13  Vitaly Petrov Renault 19th 14th  Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 17th

Item driver constructor Points 15th  Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 13 16  Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8th 17th  Pedro de la Rosa Clean Ferrari 6th 18th  Nick Heidfeld Clean Ferrari 4th 19th  Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 3 20th  Heikki Kovalainen Lotus Cosworth 0 21st  Jarno Trulli Lotus Cosworth 0 22nd  Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 0 23  Lucas di Grassi Virgin Cosworth 0 24  Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth 0 25th  Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 0 26th  Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 0 -  Christian Klien HRT-Cosworth 0

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  Red Bull-Renault 426 02  McLaren-Mercedes 381 03  Ferrari 334 04th  Mercedes 176 05  Renault 133 06th  Force India-Mercedes 60

Item constructor Points 07th  Williams-Cosworth 58 08th  Clean Ferrari 37 09  Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11 10  Lotus Cosworth 0 11  HRT-Cosworth 0 12  Virgin Cosworth 0

Individual evidence

1. ^ "GP Japan in Suzuka / 1st free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 8, 2010)
2. ^ "GP Japan in Suzuka / 2nd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 8, 2010)
3. ^ "GP Japan in Suzuka / 3rd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 8, 2010)
4. ↑ "Land under in Suzuka: Qualifying only on Sunday" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 9, 2010)
5. ↑ "Virgin: Di Grassi crashes before the race" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 10, 2010)
6. ↑ "Ferrari at the Limit: More was not possible" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 10, 2010)
7. ^ "Hamilton: Gear exchange & penalty transfer" (Motorsport-Total.com on October 9, 2010)

Web links

Commons : Japanese Grand Prix 2010  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Weekend statistics at Motorsport-Total.com