2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix, officially the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2010, was the eighteenth and penultimate race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on 7 November 2010.'18. Brazil 2010', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)'Vettel victory takes title battle down to the wire', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 07/11/2010), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/164859/1/vettel-victory-takes-f1-title-battle-down-to-the-wire, (Accessed 30/03/2020) The race would see Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber claim a one-two victory and the Constructors Championship for , and set up a four way fight for the Drivers Championship at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Qualifying had been held in wet but drying conditions, resulting in Nico Hülkenberg taking a surprise pole position for , the first and only of his career. Behind, the two Red Bull-Renaults of Vettel and Webber would claim second and third ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Championship leader Fernando Alonso claimed fifth on the grid.
It was dry on raceday with no rain expected, although that was of little consolation for Hülkenberg, who got too much wheelspin and was slow away. That allowed Vettel to blast around the outside to claim the lead into the Senna S, while Webber was too distracted keeping Hamilton at bay to challenge for second.
Webber duly seized second later around the opening lap as Hülkenberg slid wide, while Hamilton was struggling and hence had to defend from Alonso. Behind, Jenson Button, the dark horse in the title fight, would rise to eighth from eleventh, while Michael Schumacher slid down the field after running onto the grass.
The early stages saw the two Red Bulls ease clear at the head of the field, while Alonso scampered ahead of Hamilton before bearing down on Hülkenberg. The German racer would repulse the Spaniard' first few attacks and allowed Hamilton to keep pace, as behind Button was passed by Schumacher and saw his hopes of retaining the title fade away.
Alonso eventually forced his way past Hülkenberg on lap seven, although he faced an eleven second gap to the two Red Bulls and was unable to close. Elsewhere, Hamilton was unable to get past Hülkenberg's Williams, while Button gambled on an early stop, switching to medium compound Bridgestone tyres and rejoined in eighteenth.
The rest of the field slowly trickled in over the following laps, with Hamilton the first of the leaders to stop on lap 21. He rejoined just ahead of Button, who had gained a lot of time using the undercut, while Alonso pitted and rejoined, still in third, on lap 25. The two Red Bulls reacted over the following laps, Vettel in first ahead of Webber, while Hülkenberg dropped between the two McLarens.
The order out front remained stable, although Webber would close onto the back of his teammate as the German was continuously flustered by lapped traffic. Then, on lap 51 Vitantonio Liuzzi suffered a suspected suspension failure and slammed into the barriers at the Senna S, triggering a Safety Car.
Hamilton and Button were the only two in the lead group to stop, with the race resuming on lap 55 with lapped cars between Vettel and his pursuers. That allowed the German racer to break clear at the restart, although Webber and Alonso would quickly clear the traffic and give chase.
With that the race was run, with Vettel easing clear to claim victory ahead of Webber, securing the Constructors Championship for Red Bull-Renault. Alonso completed the podium ahead of Hamilton and Button, while Nico Rosberg beat teammate Schumacher to sixth. Hülkenberg, meanwhile, had slipped to eighth ahead of Robert Kubica, while Kamui Kobayashi completed the scorers.
As a result of the Brazilian Grand Prix the Championship situation was Alonso in first with 246 points, Webber eight behind on 238, while Vettel was on 231. Hamilton, who finished fourth in Brazil, was 24 points behind Alonso with 222 points, and was the last of the quartet capable of winning the title. This was the first time four drivers entered the final race was Championship victory possible.
==Background==
Fernando Alonso had moved to the top of the Championship as the title fight had shuffled once again, leaving the Korean circuit with 231 points to his name. Mark Webber had hence slipped to second, eleven off the lead after his non-score, while Lewis Hamilton had moved back into third on 210. Sebastian Vettel was next having also failed to score, and hence had slipped 25 off the lead, while Jenson Button was still mathematically in the hunt but would have to take two wins and see his rivals all fall by the wayside.
In the Constructors Championship had managed to hold their lead at the head of the field, although their non-score in Korea had left them on 426 points. had hence closed the gap to 27 points in second, while had remained in the hunt in third, moving onto 374 points. Behind, had extended their advantage over in the fight for fourth, while the three new teams were running out of time to score points in .
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is shown below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jenson Button 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-25 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-25 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
3 	Michael Schumacher 	Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team 	 	MGP W01 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
4 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team 	 	MGP W01 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB6 	 	RS27-2010 2.4 V8 	
6 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB6 	 	RS27-2010 2.4 V8 	
7 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F10 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
8 	Fernando Alonso 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F10 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
9 	Rubens Barrichello 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW32 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
10 	Nico Hülkenberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW32 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
11 	Robert Kubica 	Renault F1 Team 	 	R30 	 	RS27-2010 2.4 V8 	
12 	Vitaly Petrov 	Renault F1 Team 	 	R30 	 	RS27-2010 2.4 V8 	
14 	Adrian Sutil 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM03 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
15 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM03 	 	FO 108X 2.4 V8 	
16 	Sébastien Buemi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR5 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
17 	Jaime Alguersuari 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR5 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
18 	Jarno Trulli 	Lotus Racing 	 	T127 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
19 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Lotus Racing 	 	T127 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
20 	Christian Klien 	Hispania Racing F1 Team 	 	F110 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
21 	Bruno Senna 	Hispania Racing F1 Team 	 	F110 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
22 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	C29 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
23 	Kamui Kobayashi 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	C29 	 	056 2010 2.4 V8 	
24 	Timo Glock 	Virgin Racing 	 	VR-01 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
25 	Lucas di Grassi 	Virgin Racing 	 	VR-01 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
25 	Jérôme d'Ambrosio 	Virgin Racing 	 	VR-01 	 	CA2010 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	10 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	11 	1:20.050 	 	8 	1:19.144 	 	1 	1:14.470 	1
2 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	3 	1:19.025 	 	2 	1:18.691 	 	2 	1:15.519 	2
3 	6 	Mark Webber 	 	 	2 	1:19.025 	 	1 	1:18.516 	 	3 	1:15.637 	3
4 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	10 	1:19.931 	 	4 	1:18.921 	 	4 	1:15.747 	4
5 	8 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1 	1:18.987 	 	7 	1:19.010 	 	5 	1:15.989 	5
6 	9 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	7 	1:19.799 	 	6 	1:18.925 	 	6 	1:16.203 	6
7 	11 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	4 	1:19.249 	 	3 	1:18.877 	 	7 	1:16.552 	7
8 	3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	 	8 	1:19.879 	 	5 	1:18.923 	 	8 	1:16.925 	8
9 	7 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	6 	1:19.778 	 	10 	1:19.200 	 	9 	1:17.101 	9
10 	12 	Vitaly Petrov 	 	 	16 	1:20.189 	 	9 	1:19.153 	 	10 	1:17.656 	10
11 	1 	Jenson Button 	 	 	9 	1:19.905 	 	11 	1:19.288 	 	 	 	11
12 	23 	Kamui Kobayashi 	 	 	5 	1:19.741 	 	12 	1:19.385 	 	 	 	12
13 	4 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	13 	1:20.153 	 	13 	1:19.486 	 	 	 	13
14 	17 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	 	14 	1:20.158 	 	14 	1:19.581 	 	 	 	14
15* 	16 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	 	12 	1:20.096 	 	15 	1:19.847 	 	 	 	19*
16 	22 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	15 	1:20.174 	 	16 	1:19.899 	 	 	 	15
17 	15 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	17 	1:20.592 	 	17 	1:20.357 	 	 	 	16
18* 	14 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	18 	1:20.830 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22*
19 	24 	Timo Glock 	 	 	19 	1:22.130 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
20 	18 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	20 	1:22.250 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
21 	19 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	21 	1:22.378 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
22 	25 	Lucas di Grassi 	 	 	22 	1:22.810 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
23 	20 	Christian Klien 	 	 	23 	1:23.083 	 	 	 	 	 	 	23
24† 	21 	Bruno Senna 	 	 	24 	1:23.796 	 	 	 	 	 	 	24
Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2010 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2010), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2010/races/877/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 30/03/2020)
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
** Sutil and Buemi served five place grid penalties for causing collisions in the 2010 Korean Grand Prix.
*† Senna received a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.
===Grid===
** Klien would start the race from the pitlane.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	71 	1:33:11.803 	2 	25
2 	6 	Mark Webber 	 	71 	+4.243s 	3 	18
3 	8 	Fernando Alonso 	 	71 	+6.807s 	5 	15
4 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	71 	+14.634s 	4 	12
5 	1 	Jenson Button 	 	71 	+15.593s 	11 	10
6 	4 	Nico Rosberg 	 	71 	+35.320s 	13 	8
7 	3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	71 	+43.456s 	8 	6
8 	10 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	1 	4
9 	11 	Robert Kubica 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	7 	2
10 	23 	Kamui Kobayashi 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	12 	1
11 	17 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	14 	
12 	14 	Adrian Sutil 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	22 	
13 	16 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	19 	
14 	9 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	6 	
15 	7 	Felipe Massa 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	9 	
16 	12 	Vitaly Petrov 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	10 	
17 	22 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	15 	
18 	19 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	69 	+2 Laps 	20 	
19 	18 	Jarno Trulli 	 	69 	+2 Laps 	18 	
20 	24 	Timo Glock 	 	69 	+2 Laps 	17 	
21 	21 	Bruno Senna 	 	69 	+2 Laps 	24 	
22 	20 	Christian Klien 	 	65 	+6 Laps 	23 	
NC* 	25 	Lucas di Grassi 	 	62 	+9 Laps 	21 	
Ret 	15 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	49 	Accident 	16 	
Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)	Source:'Brazil 2010: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2010/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/03/2020)
** di Grassi was unable to be classified as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
* declared as the FIA Formula One World Championship for Constructors Championship.
** This was the first World Championship for Red Bull as a constructor.
** Renault claimed their ninth Championship as an engine supplier.
* 300th Grand Prix start for as an engine supplier.
* 50th entry for Christian Klien.[Archived], '2010 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409233317/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2010&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 30/03/2020) - Original
* Nico Hülkenberg claimed his first and only pole position.
** This was also the first and only pole for as an engine supplier.
* Sebastian Vettel claimed his ninth career victory.
* Red Bull claimed their fourteenth win as a constructor.
** Renault claimed their 129th win as an engine supplier.
==Standings==
Fernando Alonso had retained his Championship lead heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi, and would hold an eight point advantage. Mark Webber was the second man in the fight on 238 points, and would have to win with Alonso third or lower to take the title. Sebastian Vettel would arrive in Yas Marina in third, needing to outscore Alonso by sixteen to take the crown, while Lewis Hamilton would have to win and likely see none of the top three score if he was to claim his second World Championship.
In the Constructors Championship the fight was over, for had moved 48 points clear with just 43 points left to fight for Abu Dhabi, handing them their maiden World Championship. hence had to console themselves with second, although they would have to fend of at the finale. However, the Scuderia would have to outscore their Anglo-German rivals by 32 points in the finale to claim the runner-up spot, while and completed the top five.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Fernando Alonso 	246 	
2 	Mark Webber 	238 	
3 	Sebastian Vettel 	231 	1
4 	Lewis Hamilton 	222 	1
5 	Jenson Button 	199 	
6 	Felipe Massa 	143 	
7 	Nico Rosberg 	130 	1
8 	Robert Kubica 	126 	1
9 	Michael Schumacher 	72 	
10 	Rubens Barrichello 	47 	
11 	Adrian Sutil 	47 	
12 	Kamui Kobayashi 	32 	
13 	Nico Hülkenberg 	22 	2
14 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	21 	1
15 	Vitaly Petrov 	19 	1
16 	Sébastien Buemi 	8 	
17 	Pedro de la Rosa 	6 	
18 	Nick Heidfeld 	6 	
19 	Jaime Alguersuari 	3 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	469 	
2 	 	421 	
3 	 	389 	
4 	 	202 	
5 	 	145 	
6 	 	69 	1
7 	 	68 	1
8 	 	44 	
9 	 	11 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:2010 Grands Prix
Category:Brazilian Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Brazil