The 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally the 2010 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix)[2] was the third round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Sepang, Malaysia on 4 April 2010.[3]
Mark Webber took pole position for Red Bull Racing, on a wet and wild day of Qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The brave switch Webber made to intermediate tyres, after a delay during Q3, as a heavy storm lashed the circuit, proved pivotal – as the track started to dry in the last moments of qualifying.[5]
The weather provided numerous high-profile casualties during the early period of the session, as both McLaren and Ferrari drivers inexplicably opted to remain in their garages while the rest of the field set banker laps, before the rain arrived. By the time they made their way onto the track, the rain had set in, and it proved impossible to complete a lap good enough to make it into Q2.
Jenson Button had set a lap time that was good enough to advance from Q1, but he ended up beached in the gravel, meaning that he would not take his place in Q2.
Mercedes GP team principal, Ross Brawn, believes that Saturday's wet qualifying session proved that teams rely too much on sophisticated weather radars, and do not use enough common sense when it comes to assessing the conditions.[6]
"We learned a lesson there, because we almost got caught out,” he said.
“It [the radar] was so definitive that there wouldn't be any rain for the rest of the session.
Race
Sebastian Vettel takes the lead at the first corner of the race.
Prior to the race, Pedro de la Rosa's engine failed as the cars were making their way from the pit lane to their grid positions, and so he did not even take the formation lap.[7]
Hamilton was on a charge, and soon was up to 10th within 4 laps, passing a car a lap. The Ferraris and Button could not get past Sébastien Buemi's Toro Rosso and were stuck with Massa 14th, Alonso 15th (having passed Button) and Button 16th. On the fifth lap, Hamilton passed Vitaly Petrov for ninth at the final turn, but Petrov came back at him at the back straight and regained the position. Two laps later, Hamilton once again passed Petrov at the final corner, however then weaved 4 times from side to side along the start finish straight in an effort to break the tow. He failed to do so as Petrov followed tightly behind and made an attempt to pass back at the first corner which did not succeed. Hamilton's manoeuvre of crossing from side to side 4 times courted controversy, dividing race pundits and drivers alike as to whether it was in breach of the regulations regarding the blocking of an overtake. The race stewards investigated the incident and issued Hamilton with a warning.
Kobayashi, Schumacher and Liuzzi retired in quick succession on laps 8,9 and 12 with engine, loose wheel nut[8] and throttle failures respectively. This left the top 10 as: Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, Kubica, Sutil, Hülkenberg, Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari, Massa and Alonso. Button had passed Alonso on lap 9, but then immediately pitted to change to the harder tyres. He was the first man to pit. He resumed on a clear track, and immediately set the fastest lap of the race, with a 1:41.044. Hülkenberg soon pitted, releasing Hamilton, who immediately ran under 1:41, setting a 1:40.9 on lap 16. He had improved that to a 1:40.4 by lap 20, when Rosberg, Kubica, and Sutil all pitted. The Red Bulls stayed out until laps 24 and 25, with Vettel coming in first. He rejoined side by side with Hamilton, but got ahead taking the inside line on Turn 1. Webber's pit stop was not as smooth, with a problem on his wheelnut costing him 2 seconds, and he rejoined 4 seconds behind teammate Vettel, with Hamilton in between. Vettel immediately got into the 1:39s with a lap of 1:39.854. Webber responded by going two tenths quicker on the next lap. The top 10 at the end of lap 26 were: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Rosberg, Kubica, Massa, Alonso, Sutil, Button, and Hülkenberg.
The three drivers who started on hard tyres—Hamilton, Massa, and Alonso—were the only top drivers who had not pitted. Massa pitted on lap 27 from sixth and rejoined ninth, just ahead of Hülkenberg. Massa, on the softs, and with clear track, immediately went over a second quicker than anyone else. On lap 28, he set a 1:38.002, a second and a half faster than the previous fastest lap. Hamilton followed suit, pitting on lap 31 from second. He rejoined seventh, just ahead of teammate Button. He immediately closed in on Sutil like a rocket, setting a new fastest lap of 1:37.745. By lap 34, he was right behind Sutil. Massa similarly was closing in on Button. Alonso was the last of the frontrunners to pit, on lap 37. He rejoined in ninth, behind Massa. He did what Massa and Hamilton did before, on the new softs, setting a string of fastest laps, the last being a 1:37.231 on lap 41, half a second quicker than anyone else, allowing him to close a gap of over 10 seconds to Massa and Button in five laps.
Massa passed Button on lap 46 at the first corner, taking seventh place. He set about closing in on Hamilton, who was unable to pass Sutil. His lap times decreased by a second, but his tyres were 20 laps old, and he did not go as quickly as he had before. Alonso had been battling a gearbox problem for the entire race, and this affected his ability to pass Button. He made an attempt on lap 48, and then on the penultimate lap of the race, tried at Turn 1 and went wide. Alonso's engine then blew up, and he was out of the race from ninth. Also, on lap 53, Webber set a new fastest lap, 1:37.054.
Vettel took the chequered flag ahead of Webber, leading a Red Bull one-two,[9] with Rosberg completing the podium in third.[10] Kubica was fourth, Sutil held off Hamilton for fifth, and Massa and Button got seventh and eighth after gritty drives from the back. Alguersuari and Hülkenberg rounded out the point-scoring finishes, both scoring their first points in Formula One.[11][12] Alguersuari's points made him the second youngest points scorer in Formula One history. Further back, Virgin got their first ever finish with Lucas di Grassi 14th[13] and HRT got both their cars to the finish line for the first time, with Karun Chandhok 15th and Bruno Senna 16th.[14]Jarno Trulli was last of the 17 classified finishers, having suffered hydraulic problems, although his teammate Heikki Kovalainen was still running at the end. He had pitted during the race with hydraulic issues and resumed nine laps adrift of the leader. He circulated six laps behind his nearest rival and did not complete enough laps to be classified as a finisher, ultimately taking the chequered flag ten laps down. Massa's 7th place finish promoted him to the lead of the Drivers' Championship.
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Related Research Articles
The 2010 British Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2010 Formula One season. On 7 December 2009, it was confirmed that the race would take place at Silverstone for the next seventeen years after the failure of Donington Park to raise the necessary funds to hold the race. The event was staged on 11 July, the same day as the 2010 FIFA World Cup final . The race was won by Red Bull driver Mark Webber, taking his third victory of the season.
The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010 at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was the first time since 2006 that Bahrain had hosted the opening round and the race took place on a lengthened layout of the track.
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the second round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship. McLaren driver Jenson Button won the 58-lap race starting from fourth position. Robert Kubica finished second for the Renault team and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was third.
The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 May 2010 at the Istanbul Park, Tuzla, Turkey. It was the seventh round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the sixth Turkish Grand Prix. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton won the 58-lap race starting from second position. His teammate Jenson Button finished second, and Red Bull driver Mark Webber took third.
The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held on 9 May 2010 at the Circuit de Catalunya. It was the first European race of the 2010 season, and was ultimately won by Red Bull's Mark Webber after the Australian qualified on pole and led every lap of the race.
The 2010 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 13 June 2010. This was the first Grand Prix to be held on the North American continent since the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix. The race was won by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, his second Canadian Grand Prix victory, ahead of teammate Jenson Button and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.
The 2010 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 June at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the ninth round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the 57-lap race from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second for the McLaren team and his teammate Jenson Button was third. It was Vettel's second win of the season, and the seventh of his Formula One career.
The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Shanghai International Circuit in the Jiading District of Shanghai on 18 April 2010. Approximately 85,000 people attended the event. It was the fourth race of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the seventh Chinese Grand Prix. McLaren driver Jenson Button won the 56-lap race starting from fifth position. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished in second and Nico Rosberg of the Mercedes team was third.
The 2010 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 July at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the eleventh round of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and the seventy-first German Grand Prix. The 67-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso after he started from second position. His teammate Felipe Massa finished second, and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel came in third. This was the first Ferrari 1-2 finish since the 2008 French Grand Prix.
The 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Hungaroring, Hungary on 1 August 2010. Red Bull driver Mark Webber claimed his fourth victory of the season, and reclaimed the championship lead after Lewis Hamilton's retirement from the race. Pedro de la Rosa scored his last World Championship points at this race.
The 2010 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium, on 29 August. It was the 13th round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the 55th Belgian Grand Prix held as part of the Formula One World Championship. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the 44-lap race after starting from second position. Red Bull's Mark Webber was second ahead of Robert Kubica's third-placed Renault. It was Hamilton's third victory of the season and the 14th of his career.
The 2010 Italian Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy on 12 September 2010. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the race from pole position, taking Ferrari's first win on home soil since 2006 and their last until 2019.
The 2010 Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 2010, at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore. It was the fifteenth race of the 2010 Formula One World Championship, and the third Singapore Grand Prix held as part of the Formula One World Championship. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the 61-lap race from pole position. Sebastian Vettel finished second for Red Bull and his teammate Mark Webber was third.
The 2010 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 October 2010 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan. It was the 16th round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the 26th Japanese Grand Prix held as part of the Formula One World Championship. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the 53-lap race from pole position. His team-mate Mark Webber finished second and Fernando Alonso was third in a Ferrari.
The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 November 2010 at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island, an island on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It was the nineteenth and final round of the 2010 Formula One season. The 55-lap race was won by Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, and teammate Jenson Button completed the podium, in third place.
The 2010 Korean Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 October 2010 at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. It was the seventeenth round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the first Korean Grand Prix. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the 55-lap race starting from third position. Lewis Hamilton finished second for McLaren and Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was third.
The 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in the city of São Paulo on 7 November 2010. It was the 18th round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the 38th Brazilian Grand Prix to be held as part of the series. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the 71-lap race starting from second. His teammate Mark Webber finished second and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third.
The 2011 Korean Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 16 October 2011 at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. It was the sixteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season, the second running of the Korean Grand Prix, and the first race after Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 World Drivers' Championship.
The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 April 2013 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. The race was the third round of the 2013 season, and marked the tenth running of the Chinese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The race was won by Fernando Alonso.
The 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix, formally known as the 2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 30 March 2014 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Mark Webber 
