Results of the 2010 Australian F1 Grand Prix.
With a wet track, the Australian Grand Prix or Qantas Australian Grand Prix, delivered an exciting race weekend. Jenson Button was back in top form, winning the Australian Grand Prix. For Button, this was a back-to-back win - he won the Australian Grand Prix in 2009 for Team Brawn GP. Second place was taken by Robert Kubica for Team Renault, the first time he's actually finished the Australian Grand Prix. Third place was taken by Fernando Alonso for Ferrari.
F1 naysayers would have nothing to criticize about this Grand Prix, which was packed with overtaking maneuvers, accidents and action. The race started with all drivers having to change tyres, to accommodate the wet track, which meant drivers were using different tyres from the qualifying round. The qualifying round put Sebastian Vettel in pole position, followed by Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.
The race then started with a tangle between Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, which also involved Michael Schumacher. All drivers were able to continue the race. Newcomer Kamui Kobayashi encountered problems when his front wing failed and was spun into oncoming Nico Hulkenberg and Sebastien Buemi, all three exited the race due to the incident. In fact, 10 out of 24 racers were unable to finish the Australian Grand Prix.
Jenson Button was able to take the lead from Sebastian Vettel, who had been having a great race until lap 25, when he spun out into the gravel trap. This was a frustrating end to the race for Vettel, who could've clinched it. Towards the end of the race, Hamilton and Webber were involved in an incident, allowing Alonso to move up in position. Webber was later reprimanded by race officials regarding his role in the incident.
Button made a critical move, after the rain stopped, changing his tyres for slicks and he never looked back after that.
Overall, it was an eventful race under severe conditions. Michael Schumacher still holds the lap record for the track, dating back to 2004.
Full Race Results
- Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:33:36.531
- Robert Kubica (Renault) +12.0s
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +14.4s
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +16.3s
- Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) +16.6s
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +29.8s
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India-Mercedes) +59.8s
- Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) +60.5s
- Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +67.3s
- Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) +69.3s
- Jaime Alguersuari (Torro Rosso-Ferrari) +70.3s
- Pedro de la Rosa (BMW Sauber-Ferrari) +74.0s
- Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Karun Chandhok (Hispania-Cosworth) +5 laps
- Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) Retired, 41 laps
- Lucas di Grassi (Virgin-Cosworth) Retired, 26 laps
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) Retired, 25 laps
- Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) Retired, 9 laps
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault) Retired, 9 laps
- Bruno Senna (Hispania-Cosworth) Retired, 4 laps
- Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso- Ferrari) Accident
- Nico Hulkenberg (Williams-Cosworth) Accident
- Kamui Kobayashi (BMW Sauber-Ferrari) Accident
- Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Cosworth) Retired, 0 laps