Webber wins F1 2010 Hungarian GP

Mark Webber wins in Hungary and moves into the lead in the battle for the F1 2010 drivers' title.
Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber comes through to win the Hungarian Grand Prix today, a result that puts him top in the F1 2010 drivers' championship ahead of the summer break.

Webber, who qualified second behind his team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, dropped to third at the start when he lost out to Fernando Alonso. However while all of his main rivals stopped early on when the safety car was deployed for debris on the track, Webber stayed out. The Aussie then put in a massive charge which allowed him to build up a cushion and then still pit and re-join in the lead.

Fernando Alonso claimed second for Ferrari, just ahead of early leader, Vettel. Vettel lost out to the Spaniard after he got a drive-through penalty for exceeding ten car lengths behind the safety car.

Felipe Massa was a distant fourth in the second Ferrari, followed by Renault man Vitaly Petrov, Williams' Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa, the latter finally opening his account for the season.

McLaren's Jenson Button claimed four points for eighth, with Kamui Kobayashi ninth – despite starting on the back-row of the grid.

Rubens Barrichello took P10 and the final point, passing Michael Schumacher near the end on the start-finish straight, although the German didn't make it easy, and almost put him in the wall. The stewards had said they will investigate the matter.

In terms of retirements, former championship leader Lewis Hamilton was the biggest casualty, forced out around a third of the way into the race with unconfirmed gearbox problems. Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil also failed to go the distance, after crashing in the pits, while Nico Rosberg retired after losing one of his rear wheels. Jaime Alguersuari did not complete more than a couple of laps after his engine expired.
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1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 70 laps 1hr 41m 05.571s
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 17.8s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 19.2s
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 27.4s
5. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +01m 13.1s
6. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +01m 16.7s
7. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
9. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap

11. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +3 laps
15. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +3 laps
16. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
17. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth +3 laps
18. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +4 laps
19. Sakon Yamamoto Japan HRT-Cosworth +4 laps

Rtd. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 24 laps completed (gearbox)
Rtd. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 24 laps completed
Rtd. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 17 laps completed (lost wheel)
Rtd. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 17 laps completed (accident)
Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap completed (engine)

Fernando Alonso wins the German Grand Prix

Team order controversy returns as Alonso wins
Fernando Alonso wins the German Grand Prix, but its a win tainted by controversy as Felipe Massa is asked to allow his team-mate through
Fernando Alonso has secured his second victory of the 2010 F1 season, but it proved to be a somewhat hollow success after team-mate Felipe Massa was told to allow the Spaniard through.

At the start of the race, Massa had jumped into the lead with pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel being so focused on defending from Alonso that he failed to notice the Brazilian blasting up the outside on the run into turn one.

Alonso got ahead of Vettel into the opening corner to put the Ferraris into first and second and the top three managed to break away from the chasing pack, which was headed by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton had battled ahead of Mark Webber on the opening lap of the race after going down the inside into the hairpin, with Webber running fifth and Jenson Button sixth – the defending champion having been forced to lift off at turn one to avoid running into the rear of Vettel's Red Bull.

After the top three made their stops, Alonso was able to put Massa under pressure as the Brazilian struggled to come to terms with the harder compound tyres with Alonso making a move for the lead on lap 20 as they pair lapped Bruno Senna and Timo Glock heading into the hairpin.

Massa was able to retain his lead and a series of quick laps allowed him to open up an advantage of more than three seconds, before Alonso responded to bring the gap back down as the two leaders made their way through the backmarkers. Vettel meanwhile had been close to the squabbling Ferraris before losing time passing Senna having been lucky to avoid running into the Hispania man.

It looked like Massa was set to celebrate the first anniversary of his accident in Hungary with a popular victory, before race engineer Rob Smedley came on the radio to tell the Brazilian that 'Fernando is faster than you. Confirm you understand'.

While team orders may be banned, ironically as a result of Ferrari's actions in the past, it appeared to be a clear request for the Brazilian to cede position and on lap 49, he slowed exiting the hairpin to allow Alonso through – with Smedley then coming back on the radio to tell his driver he was sorry.

Alonso pulled away from Massa through the closing laps of the race to take the chequered flag just over four seconds clear of his team-mate, with Vettel closing on the Brazilian through the final laps of the race to finish a second further back. The German managed to secure the fastest lap of the race as he attempted to fight his way up to second place.
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German Grand Prix, Hockenheim – Race results
Fernando Alonso takes hollow victory over Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa after Brazilian told to move over at Hockenheim.

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 67laps 1hr 27m 38.864s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 04.1s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 05.1s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 26.8s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 29.4s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 43.6s
7. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +1 lap
8. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
9. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +1 lap

11. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
15. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +2 laps
17. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +2 laps
18. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
19. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth +4 laps

Rtd Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 56 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 50 laps completed
Rtd Sakon Yamamoto Japan HRT-Cosworth 19 laps completed
Rtd Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 3 laps completed
Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps completed

Webber wins F1 2010 British GP

Mark Webber wins at Silverstone for Red Bull and then tells his team over the radio at the finish that it was: 'Not bad for a number two driver' eh?
Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber came through to win the British Grand Prix this afternoon, the tenth round in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Webber, who qualified second, took the lead at the start and after that he claimed the victory with relative ease. It was the perfect response from the Australian, who felt hard done by on Saturday, when team boss Christian Horner took the decision to hand 'his' new front wing to Sebastian Vettel for qualifying. He showed his continued displeasure at the finish too, by telling his team over the radio that his performance was 'not bad for a number two driver'.

Vettel had to settle for seventh in the end, having picked up a puncture at the start - possibly following contact with Lewis Hamilton's front wing. That dropped the German right to the back, but he managed to fight his way into the points after a safety car period mid-race bunched up the pack.

Lewis Hamilton meanwhile took second for McLaren, much to the joy of the local crowd. He had no answer to Webber though, and despite trading fastest laps, never look likely to take gold.

Nico Rosberg completed the podium for Mercedes, just in front of reigning world champion, Jenson Button, who was sensational and claimed P4, despite starting way down in 14th.

Rubens Barrichello completed the top five for Williams followed by Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, then Vettel and Force India F1 man Adrian Sutil. Michael Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg round out the top ten.

Ferrari had a dismal race and failed to score, with Fernando Alonso 14th and Felipe Massa 15th. Alonso will quite justifiably though, feel aggrieved. He was running well and on course to finish in the top-five, until he got a drive-through for cutting the corner when he passed Robert Kubica. That cost him dear as he had to take it straight after the SC period and so he dropped right out of contention. Alonso set the fastest lap at the end, but that was scant consolation.

Race Results - British Grand Prix 2010

1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 52 laps 1hr 24m 38.200s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +1.3s
3. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +21.3s
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +21.9s
5. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +31.4s
6. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +32.1s
7. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +36.7s
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +40.9s
9. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +41.5s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +42.0s

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +42.4s
12. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +47.6s
13. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +59.3s
14. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +62.3s
15. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +67.4s
16. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
17. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
20. Sakon Yamamoto Japan HRT-Cosworth +2 laps

Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 44 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 29 laps completed
Rtd. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 19 laps completed
Rtd. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 9 laps completed

British Grand Prix: Vettel takes pole position

Sebastian Vettel pips Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to Silverstone pole, with the rest trailing...
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 29.615s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 29.758s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.426s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 30.556s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 30.625s
6. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 31.040s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 31.172s
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 31.175s
9. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 31.274s
10. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 31.430s

11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 31.399s
12. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 31.421s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 31.635s
14. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 31.699s
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 31.708s
16. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 31.796s
17. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 32.012s

18. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 32.430s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 1m 34.405s
20. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 34.775s
21. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 1m 34.864s
22. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 1m 35.212s
23. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 1m 36.546s
24. Sakon Yamamoto Japan HRT-Cosworth 1m 36.968s

Vettel wins European GP

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel came through to win the European Grand Prix this afternoon ahead of McLaren men Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel came through to win the European Grand Prix this afternoon at Valencia in Spain, the ninth round in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Vettel, who started from pole, led throughout and in the end took the victory with relative ease, after Lewis Hamilton's challenge was halted by a drive-through.

The Englishman was handed the penalty after over-taking the safety car, which was deployed after Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen came together in the early stages. Webber and Kovalainen were both uninjured, despite the fact it was a scary collision with the former's Red Bull flying through the air.

Jenson Button claimed third, while Williams' Rubens Barrichello and the Renault of Robert Kubica came in fourth and fifth respectively.

Adrian Sutil completed the top six in his Force India ahead of Kamui Kobayashi, who dived by Sebastien Buemi in the final corner. Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa took the final points' positions, with Vitaly Petrov 11th and Nico Rosberg 12th for Mercedes.

The classification however, remains provisional as nine cars are under investigation for speeding behind the safety car - including top-ten finishers Button, Barrichello, Kubica, Sutil, Buemi and de la Rosa.

European Grand Prix - Race results

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 57 laps 1hr 40m 29.571s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +5.0s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +12.6s*
4. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +25.6s*
5. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +27.1s*
6. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +30.1s*
7. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +30.9s
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +32.8s
9. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +36.2s*
10. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +44.3s

11. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +46.6s
12. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +47.4s*
13. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +48.2s*
14. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +48.2s*
15. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +48.8s
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +50.8s*
17. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps**
20. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
21. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +4 laps

Rtd. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 49 laps completed mechanical*
Rtd. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 8 laps completed accident
Rtd. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 8 laps completed accident

Vettel Wins Pole Position at Valencia

Vettel heads Red Bull 1-2 in Valencia qualifying

Sebastian Vettel shows Canada was just a blip and puts Red Bull back on pole for the European GP, the team's eighth P1 of the F1 2010 season.
Sebastian Vettel re-asserted Red Bull Racing's authority in qualifying today for the European Grand Prix at Valencia in Spain by heading the pack and claiming his fourth pole position of the F1 2010 season.

Vettel, who had been fastest in final practice this morning, was on it throughout qualifying, posting the second best effort in Q1 and the fastest time in Q2 and Q3. He ended the session on a 1 minute 37.587 seconds, the best of the weekend.

Mark Webber meanwhile was next up, to give the Milton Keynes-based outfit its fourth front row lock of the season. Webber had held top spot through the first half of the top-ten shoot-out, but was pipped near the end and though he improved on his final run, it wasn't quite enough. He finished up just 0.075s adrift.

Lewis Hamilton took third and was the only other man in the 1m 37s. He was lucky to hang onto the place though after losing the rear end of his McLaren into turn 17 on his final run and blowing any hope of matching his Canadian GP pole of two weeks ago.

Fernando Alonso completes the second row, and given he was at the top of the times in practice on Friday, was disappointingly almost half a second off P1 in his Ferrari F10. His team-mate and inaugural Valencia GP race winner, Felipe Massa will start fifth, on a 1m 38.127s, just 0.052s slower.

Robert Kubica was again a force to be reckoned with in his Renault and took P6, ahead of reigning F1 world champion, Jenson Button, who made a mistake on his final lap. The Englishman was not at all pleased.

F1 2010 rookie's Nico Hulkenberg and Vitaly Petrov both made it into the final part of qualifying and will start eighth and tenth, sandwiching the Williams of veteran, Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello incidentally set exactly the same time as his team-mate, Hulkenberg, a 1m 28.428s, but starts one place slower as he posted the marker later on.

While Williams had much to celebrate though, especially given this year has been quite tough to date, Mercedes and Force India were both left looking a bit lacklustre and went out in Q2. They weren't even on the cusp either, as that 'honour' went to Sebastien Buemi and Toro Rosso, who was P11 in the second session.

Mercedes men Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher will thus line-up 12th and 15th respectively, with FIF1's Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi slotted in-between in 13th and 14th. Schumacher, who was criticised after his performance in Montreal, only just made out of Q3 too, posting a time to lift him up to 12th right at the end. However he continued to struggle in Q2, with reports suggesting he had some sort of power steering issue. It was his worst qualifying position since opting to return to F1 at the start of the year.

Lewis Hamilton's second successive victory

Lewis Hamilton increases the momentum behind his F1 title bid with a second successive victory.

Lewis Hamilton insisted he was thrilled with his second successive victory in the 2010 F1 season in Canada – reflecting afterwards that he was hopeful that McLaren would now be able to make the most of the increasing momentum behind the Woking-based team.

In a dramatic race in Montreal, the scene of his maiden F1 victory back in 2007, Hamilton was able to master challenging conditions brought about by severe tyre wear to lead McLaren to a second straight 1-2 finish..

The victory also allowed Hamilton to jump into the lead of the drivers' championship standings.

“It was an incredibly challenging afternoon, especially in the last 20 laps, when I was trying to look after my tyres while also keeping Jenson and Fernando [Alonso] behind me,” he said. “It wasn't easy, I can tell you that!

“In terms of pure pace, I still think the Red Bull car is still a little bit faster than ours. But, as a whole, I think our package is now stronger. So, going forward, we need to build on the progress we've made recently, and we're going to do just that; we'll now knuckle down and make a really big effort to increase that gap.

“We've got good momentum now, so I hope we can continue our winning run through to Valencia in two weeks' time.”

Hamilton added that the whole McLaren team had been lifted by recent results and insisted that things were now 'better than ever' as he and Jenson Button chase championship success.

“The feeling and atmosphere within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is better than ever,” he said. “The contribution that Jenson has brought is the best I've ever witnessed from a team-mate. He did another great job today to come from fourth to second – he's doing his part and I'm doing mine. The team is happier than ever.

“This has been a truly fantastic day.”

Canadian Grand Prix - Race results

Lewis Hamilton wins his second race in succession in Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with team-mate Jenson Button again in the runners-up spot in the sister McLaren.
1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 1hr 33m 53.456s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +2.2s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +9.2s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +37.8s
5. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +39.2s
6. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +56.0s
7. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +57.3s
8. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
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11. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +2 laps
18. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
19. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 50 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 42 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 30 laps completed
Rtd. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 13 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap completed


Fastest lap:

Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 16.972s

McLaren Bounced Back in Turkey

McLaren 1-2 after Red Bulls crash
McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, and McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button of Britain steer their cars during the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix.

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, and McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button of Britain steer their cars during the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton led a McLaren 1-2 at the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday after a run-in between teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel denied Red Bull a sweep.

The Red Bull pair touched as Vettel looked to pass along the Istanbul Park Circuit's fastest section, causing the German driver to spin out of the race. Webber, who had led for the entire 40 laps to that point, recovered for third behind Jenson Button as Red Bull's pit-lane team looked on in astonishment.

The McLaren team also tensed up near the end as its drivers exchanged the lead but Hamilton eventually earned his first win of the season by 2.6 seconds after rain had sprinkled the circuit.

"It was quite an exciting race," said Hamilton, the 2008 champion.

Webber leads Formula One's driver standings with 93 points, while Button moved into second with 88 points - four more than Hamilton. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari finished eighth to improve to 79 points and Vettel stayed on 78.

The race was filled with excitement following the dramatic incident between the Red Bull drivers.

Vettel moved inside Webber as the two raced down the last straight but appeared to try to close his teammate off early. The pair touched wheels, sending Vettel sliding into the gravel as bits of his car - including his rear left tire - went flying off. Vettel raised his hands at Webber, who returned to the track but lost ground on the McLarens after pitting to repair the damage.

Webber had won the last two races from pole but finished 24.2 seconds back this time.
Button and Hamilton battled along the same stretch a few laps later. Button got past by the start of lap 50 before Hamilton retook the lead around the first set of corners to deny his teammate a second straight win at the "Otodrom."

Vettel's accident allowed the rest of the field to move up one spot as Michael Schumacher finished fourth ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Robert Kubica of Renault was sixth ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Vettel jumped ahead of Hamilton out of the start to sit behind Webber but Hamilton quickly regained his place soon after, as did teammate Button by the last corner of the first lap after Schumacher had got ahead.

Hamilton tried in vain to pass Webber on the anticlockwise track but the Australian driver held him off until the 16th lap, when the front two pitted. Hamilton re-emerged behind Vettel, who had changed tires one lap earlier.

Hamilton, with Button behind him, pressured Vettel throughout but could not get past as the German driver kept him at bay until the late drama.

While the two leading teams battled for podium order, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault fought behind them as Alonso worked his way up from 12th.

Adrian Sutil of Force India was ninth while Kamui Kobayashi picked up Sauber's first points of the season with a 10th-place finish. - AP
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1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps 1hr 28m 47.620s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 02.6s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 24.2s
4. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 31.1s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 32.2s
6. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +00m 32.8s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 36.6s
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 46.5s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 49.0s
10. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 05.6s

11. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 05.9s
12. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 07.8s
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +1 lap
16. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
17. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
19 Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
20. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +6 laps

Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 46 laps completed
Rtd Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 39 laps completed
Rtd Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 33 laps completed
Rtd Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 32 laps completed

Webber conquers Monaco

Mark Webber leads from start-to-finish to win the Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull
Just a week after winning the Spanish Grand Prix, Mark Webber ruled the roost on the streets of Monte Carlo with a dominant victory in the Monaco Grand Prix – moving him into the lead of the F1 drivers' standings in the process.

The Red Bull ace qualified on pole position and led the race from start to finish, establishing an advantage early on that he would retain throughout despite a race hit by no fewer than four Safety Car periods.

When the lights went out, Webber made the perfect start to lead into turn one, but behind, team-mate Sebastian Vettel was able to jump ahead of Robert Kubica. Further back, Rubens Barrichello jumped up to sixth from ninth but Jenson Button went the other way and slipped down to eleventh.

Although the pack made it through the opening corner unscathed, the Safety Car was soon deployed when Nico Hulkenberg – who had dropped to the rear of the field with a clutch issue – went off going through the tunnel.

There was further drama behind the Safety Car when points leader Button then stopped with smoke pouring from the rear of his McLaren – possibly down to the team failing to remove a blanking plate from the sidepod as the Briton headed round to the grid.

The Safety Car period allowed Fernando Alonso – who had started from pitlane due to his practice accident – to make an early stop for medium tyres and it would prove to be a key call for the Ferrari man as the race wore on.

When the Safety Car peeled in, Webber led from Vettel and Kubica with Felipe Massa slotting into fourth and Lewis Hamilton and Barrichello rounding out the top six. Michael Schumacher had jumped Nico Rosberg for seventh at the start with Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil rounding out the top ten.

Those positions would remain unchanged as Webber eased away at the front of the field with all eyes on Alonso at the back as he set about making up places. Although Lucas di Grassi in the Virgin made it difficult, Alonso soon cleared the backmarkers and when Hamilton became the first runner to stop and rejoined just ahead of Alonso, it became clear that the early stop had put him right into contention.

By the time all the stops had taken place, Webber continued to lead from Vettel, Kubica, Massa and Hamilton, but Alonso had now jumped to sixth ahead of Schumacher, Rosberg, Sutil and Barrichello – who was one of the big losers during the stops.

Monaco Grand Prix – Race results

Mark Webber heads Red Bull 1-2 on streets of Monaco.
1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 78 laps 1hr 50m 13.355s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 00.4s
3. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +00m 01.6s
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 02.6s
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 04.3s
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 06.3s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 06.6s
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 06.9s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 07.3s
10. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 08.1s

11. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 09.1s
12. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 25.7s
13. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +5 laps [DNF]
14. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +8 laps [DNF]
15. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +8 laps [DNF]

Rtd Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 58 laps completed
Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 58 laps completed
Rtd Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 30 laps completed
Rtd Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 26 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 25 laps completed
Rtd Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 22 laps completed
Rtd Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 21 laps completed
Rtd Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2 laps completed
Rtd Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 0 laps completed

Fastest lap:

Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.192s lap 71

Webber takes Spanish Grand Prix with ease

Mark Webber cruised to victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, as his pursuers hit trouble in Barcelona.

Mark Webber confirmed the Circuit de Catalunya's reputation for rewarding polesitters by becoming the first driver to win from the front of the grid in five races in 2010.

While the poleman struggled to find the top step of the podium during the four 'flyaway' races, Webber lived up to the Spanish circuit's record by becoming the tenth man to lead from lights to flag, claiming a comprehensive victory to open his account for 2010.

The Australian held his hard-earned qualifying advantage off the line and then pulled comfortably away from Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Likewise Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso held station in third and fourth, leaving the action to the rear of the field, where Sebastien Buemi clipped Pedro de la Rosa, forcing both to pit for repairs - and, ultimately, head into retirement.

Bruno Senna also departed the fray, on the opening lap, while Heikki Kovalainen didn't even make the start, after gearbox problems hobbled his Lotus. Karun Chandhok completed the casualties making it a bad day for 'home' team HRT.

As well as continuing to crown polewinners, Barcelona also lived down to its reputation of providing a largely uneventful race, with only the pit-stops and unreliability helping to shuffle to order. Vettel suffered with a slow stop, allowing Hamilton to vault him for second as the pair came across Lucas di Grassi entering turn one, while Michael Schumacher was also able to swap places with Jenson Button after the Briton similarly suffered during his tyre change.

Neither Hamilton or Vettel was able to claim the reward their grid position suggested, however, with the Briton suffering a penultimate lap rim failure that sent him into the turn three tyre barrier, and Vettel's brakes gave out, forcing the Red Bull team to urge the German to calm his pace after a precautionary second pit-stop.

The late drama promoted home hero Alonso to second place, with Vettel soldiering on to complete the podium in third. Schumacher also benefited, confirming his best result since returning from retirement in fourth place, one ahead of a frustrated Button, who was unable to find a way past the Mercedes.

Felipe Massa overcame a damaged front wing for sixth, coming home ahead of Adrian Sutil, Robert Kubica, Rubens Barrichello - despite the Brazilian's poor qualifying - and Jaime Alguersuari, who ensured two point-scorers for Spain.

Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona – Race results 2010

1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 66 laps 1hr 35m 44.101s
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 24.0s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 51.3s
4. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 02.1s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +01m 03.7s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +01m 05.7s
7. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +01m 12.9s
8. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +01m 13.6s
9. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
10. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap

11. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +1 lap
12. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +2 laps [DNF]
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +2 laps [DNF]
16. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +2 laps
17. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +3 laps
18. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
19. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +4 laps

Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 42 laps completed
Rtd Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 27 laps completed
Rtd Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 18 laps completed
Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 0 laps completed

Dns Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth


Fastest lap:

Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.357s lap 59

Jenson Button win the Chinese Grand Prix 2010

SHANGHAI (AP) — Jenson Button gambled on tire strategy to win the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton for a 1-2 finish for McLaren.

Button, the reigning world champion, vaulted to the top of the Formula One standings by employing some cool-headed decision making amid the chaos of changing weather conditions which forced most drivers to pit at least four times. Button, by contrast, made only two stops.

Rain began to fall just before the race started, yet all the cars started on dry-weather tires. A dampening track soon forced a critical decision. Many of the leaders elected to change to wet-weather tires after a couple of laps, while Button, and third-place finisher Nico Rosberg chose to stay out on dry-weather tires.

Drivers who had changed to wet-weather ones soon found the treaded tires were wearing quickly and after three or four more laps, returned to the pits to change back. That allowed Button, Rosberg and Renault's Robert Kubica to dash to the front.

"It was my best race victory," Button said. "This one was pretty special because it was very tough conditions.

"It was a tricky race out there and again we called it right," Button said. "It was not just about being quick, it's about reading the conditions.

"Sometimes you have to take those risks. That is what won us the race — being on the right tire and the right time made all the difference."

Vettel takes pole position in Shanghai

We're proving that we have a very good car indeed, says Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel claims his third pole position of the year - and Red Bull's fourth in a row in China as the Milton-Keynes-based outfit locks-out the front row of the grid.

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel produced a 'phenomenal' lap to secure pole for the Chinese Grand Prix today and after struggling in practice he was delighted to get the better of his team-mate, Mark Webber.

Vettel took the top spot in the end by some margin, posting a 1 minute 34.558 second lap, which was 0.248 seconds up on the sister car. It was another great result for the German, who won last time out in Malaysia and who has started from pole in three of the four first races.

Speaking after he paid tribute to his mechanics who had worked flat-out between final practice and qualifying to adjust the set-up on his Renault-powered RB6 to try and make it more to his liking.

"It was tough today. I was not happy yesterday and this morning, as Mark was quite a bit quicker than me," Vettel conceded. "We made some changes to the car in Mark's direction [after FP3], but it was still extremely difficult.

"I was struggling in the first sector, but then I got a purple (fastest) time in sector one on my last lap, so I think we made a good step forward! I found a better line that worked, remembering things from last year.

"I lost my way a little bit in free practice this morning, but I had two very good runs in Q3. I think the first would have already been a good time, but I was too wide in the last corner. The second run was better – it was a fantastic lap.

"We got a fourth consecutive pole position for Red Bull now. We're proving that we have a very good car, no matter what the circuit. I'm very pleased with today. Thanks to the mechanics, as they had zero lunch due to all the changes that were required between free practice and qualifying."

Red Bull Racing team boss, Christian Horner meanwhile was delighted to see his two drivers lock-out the front-row, something they had also managed to do in Australia.

He also took the opportunity on the team radio to send a message to RBR's rivals - who had previously maintained the outfit had some sort of special suspension system - by declaring: "Who needs ride height-control?"

"I have no idea where Sebastian produced that last lap from, it was quite phenomenal," Horner added. "Mark was in great shape throughout qualifying today too and got pipped right at the end there. So, both cars at the front of the grid again for another Red Bull Racing one two. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race."

Sebastian Vettel wins Malaysian Grand Prix 2010

Sebastian Vettel heads home team-mate Mark Webber for a Red Bull 1-2 with Nico Rosberg third for Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel took victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of team-mate Mark Webber as Red Bull Racing finally realised the potential it had shown in the opening two races.

Vettel took the lead from team-mate Mark Webber at the start and then headed the pack pretty much throughout. It was a welcome - and some might say crucial - result for the Milton Keynes-based outfit after reliability woes cost the team victories in Bahrain and Australia.

Nico Rosberg took the final spot on the podium for Mercedes followed by Robert Kubica's Renault and Adrian Sutil, who held off Lewis Hamilton, to take sixth for Force India.

Felipe Massa was seventh for Ferrari with Jenson Button eighth and Jaime Alguersuari ninth in his Toro Rosso. Nico Hulkenberg took the final point in tenth.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Results

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 56 laps 1hr 33m 48.412s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +04.8s
3. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +13.5s
4. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +18.5s
5. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +21.0s
6. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +23.4s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +27.0s
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +37.9s
9. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +70.6s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +73.3s

11. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +78.9s
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
13. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +2 laps
14. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
15. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +3 laps
16. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
17. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 46 laps completed
Rtd. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 32 laps completed
Rtd. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 12 laps completed
Rtd. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 9 laps completed (mechanical)
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 8 laps completed (mechanical)
Rtd. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps completed (accident)

Dns. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0 laps completed (engine)

2010 Jenson Button wins Australian Grand Prix

Button calls shots for superb Melbourne F1 triumph

Jenson Button made an audacious early tyre call pay off to perfection as his smooth driving style and level-headed calmness earned the defending F1 World Champion a superb victory in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
The critics had written him off, he himself admitted that he thought he had made 'a catastrophic decision' early on in electing to becoming the first driver to change over to slick tyres in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix – but reigning F1 World Champion Jenson Button has kicked his challenge for title glory firmly into gear with a brilliant victory in Melbourne, twelve months on from the triumph that launched a successful title challenge.

With the biggest Albert Park crowd in years, precipitation hanging in the air in the build-up to the race and rain increasingly threatening, the heavens opening barely ten minutes before the start turned proceedings into a lottery, with all competitors heading out on intermediates and grip at a real premium. All the ingredients were there for a Formula 1 thriller – and that is precisely what we would get.

A textbook launch from pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel when the lights went out was not mirrored by those behind. Team-mate Mark Webber alongside the German made a more sluggish getaway, and was passed for second by the sprightly Felipe Massa in the Ferrari from row three, the Brazilian making a storming start at a circuit that has never really smiled upon him.

The real drama, however, came as world championship leader Fernando Alonso found himself caught in the middle of a pincer movement between the McLaren of defending title-winner Button inside him and Michael Schumacher in the Mercedes Grand Prix on the outside. As the three squeezed together and tangled, the Ferrari was tipped into a spin and left facing backwards as the oncoming pack darted left and right around him, with some – Schumacher and the fast-starting Lewis Hamilton amongst them – forced to leave the track in avoidance.

That left Vettel leading from Massa, Webber and Robert Kubica in the first of the Renaults, with the Pole having made a lighting getaway right down the middle to vault from ninth to fourth. Later around the opening lap, a front wing-less Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber found himself out-of-control heading into Turn Three and quite literally harpooned the luckless Nico Hulkenberg in the Williams and the Scuderia Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi, with all three departing the scene on the spot in a nasty-looking coming-together that thankfully resulted in no injuries.

As the remainder of the competitors literally tip-toed around the lap on the tricky track surface, the safety car unsurprisingly emerged, enabling Schumacher to pit to replace his own dragging front wing. That left the order at the front Vettel from Massa, Webber, Kubica, Nico Rosberg, McLaren duo Button and Hamilton and Adrian Sutil, with Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov confirming the fast-starting abilities of the Renault R30 by leaping up from 18th to tenth. Bruno Senna has similarly profited well from the chaos to put his HRT an excellent 14th – though the Brazilian's race would unfortunately not last long.

At the re-start, whilst Vettel bolted away, Webber got very loose into the final corner to allow a racy Kubica to pull alongside on the start/finish straight as the Renault displayed superb traction in the wet, though the man from Krakow was unable to make a move stick on the outside line. Shortly afterwards, Hamilton asserted himself in the McLaren camp by diving up the inside of team-mate Button into turn three and aggressively squeezing him wide to make sure there was no comeback.

Further back, Schumacher was having fun and games with both feisty rookie Lucas Di Grassi and Lotus ace Heikki Kovalainen duelling energetically with the most successful driver in the sport's history and the former even having the audacity to re-pass the German legend once he had been overtaken in the unheralded Virgin Racing entry.

Up at the sharp end of proceedings, meanwhile, Webber found a way past Massa to re-instate the Red Bull one-two, with Kubica and Rosberg moving in to hassle the Paulista immediately afterwards, and Hamilton next up similarly on the attack. Button became the first driver to pit for slick tyres when he made a late call on lap seven, in an audacious bid that initially looked to have failed as the Briton shot off-track not long after – but the gamble would not take long to start paying off.

2010 Australian Grand Prix

1. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps 1hr 33m 36.531s
2. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +00m 12.0s
3. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 14.4s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.3s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 16.6s
6. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 29.8s
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 59.8s
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 00.5s
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +01m 07.3s
10. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 09.3s
====================================================
11. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 11.3s
12. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 14.0s
13. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
14. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 41 laps completed
Rtd Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 25 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 24 laps completed
Rtd Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 9 laps completed
Rtd Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 9 laps completed
Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 4 laps completed
Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps completed
Rtd Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 0 laps completed
Rtd Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0 laps completed

2010 Alonso not carried away with win

Alonso not getting carried away by Ferrari 1-2
Fernando Alonso has admitted that little can be read into Ferrari's 1-2 finish in Bahrain, with other potential frontrunners looking strong during the weekend.
Fernando Alonso insists that Ferrari's 1-2 finish in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix does not make the Scuderia favourites to dominate this year's Formula One campaign.

Speaking after leading team-mate Felipe Massa to the chequered flag in a largely uneventful 49-lap race – the first under F1's new 'no refuelling' regulations – Alonso pointed to the performance of other teams through the weekend as reason to believe that Ferrari would face stiff competition in what many are forecasting to be the most closely-contested championship in years.

“The eight drivers in the top four teams are contenders for the championship,” the Spaniard maintained, “Maybe this is only the first race, but we saw the potential of the Mercedes in free practice and Q1, and we saw the potential of the McLaren today, being on the podium. We saw the potential of Red Bull, that they were quicker than us in qualifying, and maybe a little bit quicker than us in the race as well. And, of course, [there is] Felipe, with the same car…. There will be races that one of us will win and some races that the other will win.”

With interesting intra-team rivalries up and down the pit-lane, and his own history of acrimonious partnerships – Alonso was quick to underline the harmony that currently exists at Ferrari, even if some of his comments in the post-qualifying press conference appeared more than a little pointed.

“First of all, [Felipe]'s not an enemy, maybe a rival but not an enemy,” he underlined, “The important thing is to score many more points for the team and, hopefully, both Ferrari drivers will be on the podium.

“I think this will depend track to track. Here in Bahrain, for whatever reason, it was a little bit better for us, maybe we go to Australia for the next race and Mercedes or McLaren or whoever is a little bit ahead of everybody. We need to understand this and prepare our car perfectly for each grand prix, in terms of set-up, in terms of developing a programme in the wind tunnel, engine-wise and so on. There is a package that is a combination of many things that we need to get ready.

"I start from zero again in Australia, and we can have a bad race at any time, if we make some little mistakes or we are not fully concentrated, so we need to take each grand prix like a new one, like the last one. We need to do solid races now, at the beginning of the championship, and come back to Europe with some good points."

Having been out-qualified by his new team-mate, Alonso made a decisive move on Massa to claim second place on lap one, putting himself in prime position to inherit the lead when Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel ran into engine problems.

“The start was good,” the double world champion admitted, “I think being on the clean line here is a difference. There is a bit of sun close to the walls, so the start was more or less okay and the first corner was also good and I was lucky to overtake Felipe.

2010 Alonso wins Bahrain GP

Fernando Alonso heads Ferrari 1-2 in season-opening F1 race after poleman Sebastian Vettel falters.

Fernando Alonso completed a famous debut for Ferrari by claiming victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, and heading a 1-2 result for the Scuderia.

The Spaniard ensured that he was best placed to take advantage of the problems that beset pole winner Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages after using the outside line at turn one on the opening lap to supplant Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa into turn two. From there, the pair kept a watching brief in second and third, although Vettel initially pulled out a five-second lead.

After the pit-stops, however, the gap to the leader began to shrink at a rapid rate and, when Vettel reported a loss of power believed to have been due to an exhaust problem, Alonso was able to sweep past heading onto the start-finish straight on lap 34. Massa soon followed his team-mate through, but had no answer to the Spaniard as Alonso pulled out a 16-second victory margin in the remaining 15 laps.

While the Prancing Horse galloped on, however, the increasingly lame Vettel also fell prey to Lewis Hamilton, and only just managed to hold off countryman Nico Rosberg on the final lap to confirm fourth place.

Rosberg duly headed high-profile Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher, who marked his return with sixth place, coming home ahead of reigning world champion Jenson Button and Mark Webber, who lost a strong starting spot when his Red Bull began belching oil smoke on the opening lap. The ensuing cloud accounted for both Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil;, who touched and spun away top ten starts.

In their place, accepting the newly created scoring places in ninth and tenth, were Sutil's Force India team-mate Tonio Liuzzi and Williams veteran Rubens Barrichello. Kubica and Sutil recovered to eleventh and twelfth.

The only one of the new teams to make the chequered flag was Lotus, for whom Heikki Kovalainen finished a respectable 15th.

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir – Race results

Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir – Race results
Fernando Alonso heads Ferarri 1-2 in opening race of the 2010 F1 season.

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 49 laps 1hr 39m 20.396s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.0s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 23.1s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 38.7s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 40.2s
6. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 44.1s
7. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 45.2s
8. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 46.3s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 53.0s
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 02.4s
------------------------------------------------
11. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +01m 09.0s
12. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +01m 22.9s
13. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 32.6s
14. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
=============================================
Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 46 laps completed
Rtd Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 46 laps completed
Rtd Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 28 laps completed
Rtd Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 17 laps completed
Rtd Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 16 laps completed
Rtd Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 13 laps completed
Rtd Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 11 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps completed
Rtd Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 1 lap completed

Fastest lap:

Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 58.287s lap 45