2010 CHINESE GRAND PRIX

Race

Button had won the Australian Grand Prix and his teammate Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in the previous two races of the season. Despite this, the McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said that the team did not meet its targets but sought to establish themselves at the front of the field, "One of the greatest qualities of this team is its considerable strength in depth. After establishing a strong and solid start to the season, we're confident we'll become an even more formidable contender as... Several teams made modifications to their cars in preparation for the event. Red Bull installed a small vertical exhaust duct to the rear of the RB6 to stop hot air from hitting the exhaust onto its rear wheels and better direct airflow towards the diffuser 's side channel. Mercedes introduced a modified rear wing controlled by pressure sensors to feed airflow through two small openings and the back of its flap. Ferrari brought a revised aerodynamic package for the F10 , which incl... Several drivers, including Alonso, made pit stops for the intermediate compound tyres at the end of the second lap due to the intensifying rain. Rosberg, Button and the Renaults of Kubica and Petrov chose to remain on the circuit and the former led the field back to racing speed when the safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap three. On the lap after, Kovalainen in seventh was passed by the eighth-placed Barrichello driving towards turn six. As Rosberg continued to pull away from Butto... Webber was overtaken by his teammate Vettel on the back straight into the turn 14 hairpin for eighth on lap 11 and lost a further position to Hamilton on the lap after. The two drivers passed Kovalainen soon after. On lap 13, Vettel attempted to pass Sutil for seventh at the same corner though Hamilton got past the two on the inside line. Sutil delayed Vettel until the latter clung onto his slipstream before making a pass on the inside line driving towards the turn 14 hairpin. On the 15th lap, S... Rain began to fall heavier on lap 20. The leading trio of Button, Rosberg and Kubica made pit stops and switched to the intermediate tyres on the following lap. Their advantage – Petrov gradually fell off the pace to be within striking distance of the more experienced competitors – was negated when Alguersuari had an encounter with an Hispania car that damaged his front wing. As he made a pit stop for a new nose cone, the wing fell off, scattering debris across the circuit and triggering... On the 29th lap, Hamilton closed up to Kubica and overtook him on the outside going into the turn 14 hairpin for third. Alonso passed Sutil for sixth soon after at the same corner. Two laps later, Barrichello lost 11th to Webber on the inside of turn six. Rosberg's tyres began to degrade on lap 32 as well as Hamilton's though his team told him to remain on the track because more rain was forecast later in the Grand Prix. On the following lap, Petrov had an oversteer that caused him... Alguersuari attempted to keep Petrov and Massa behind him though Petrov overtook Alguersuari at the turn 14 hairpin and Massa passed the Spaniard at the final corner on lap 45. At the front, Button increased his advantage over his teammate Hamilton to 9.5 seconds but it was reduced to 5.3 seconds when he ran deep at the turn 14 hairpin six laps later. On lap 52, Petrov overtook Schumacher on the outside for eighth at the turn 14 hairpin. Massa drew close to Schumacher on the next lap. He ... The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Button hailed the win as "my best victory" and emphasised the importance of changing to the intermediate tyres during the safety car early in the Grand Prix, "That made the race. If we didn't have that safety car later on for debris we would have been a long... well, I don't know, I don't know how quick Lewis was in the race. But the safety car definitely helped ... The Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali made the incident between Alonso and Massa entering the pit lane on lap 22 less important and called it "a racing incident", adding, "We only saw it afterwards on the television replay. There is absolutely no problem between the two drivers. When you are always racing to win, you can have moments like this." Massa said he was unsure whether Alonso went beyond the sporting regulations, "He was inside so there was nothing I could do there. In te... The Renault team principal Éric Boullier praised Petrov's pace and remaining calm under pressure on the wet track, and spoke of his belief that the manufacturer's first double-points finish was indicative of their aggressive development plan. Conversely, Webber commented that the pace of the Red Bulls was not enough to challenge McLaren, "We got blown away, it was a difficult grand prix. We weren't quick enough. We know [why the car falters in the wet conditions] and we have to improve it... Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

Practice

With ten minutes remaining, the front wheels on Sébastien Buemi 's Toro Rosso sheared under braking the turn 14 hairpin due to the right-front upright failing, causing the front-right wheel to break free. The front-left wheel followed suit when its upright section was suddenly forced to bear the entire load of the front. He was pitched into a gravel trap and a barrier at high speed. Although Buemi was unhurt, the FIA race director Charlie Whiting stopped the session for debris clearing and his t... McLaren continued to run strong with Hamilton setting the fastest lap of the day in the second practice session of 1 minute, 35.217 seconds on the soft compound tyres and his teammate Button was third. The Mercedes of Rosberg and Schumacher duplicated their first practice session results in second and fourth. Vettel, Webber, Sutil, Alguersuari, Kubica and Alonso followed in the top ten. During the session, where several drivers pirouetted and ran off the circuit, Buemi was unable to set a...

Qualifying

Chandhok received a five-place grid penalty as the Hispania team broke the FIA seal on his F110 's gearbox without a representative of the governing body being present; he was then further penalised for his mechanics changing a hydraulic pump assembly with parts of a different specification to the originals overnight, and was made to start from the pit lane . The fastest lap in each of the three sessions is denoted in bold . Notes: