- 1 -
FERRARI AND ITS DRIVERS LEAD F1 TITLE CHASE AFTER MELBOURNE
Felipe Massa on the podium in third place and Scuderia Ferrari team-mate, Fernando Alonso, right behind him in fourth, ensures that Ferrari and its drivers continue to lead both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships after the second round in the 2010 F1 series, the Qantas Australian Grand Prix yesterday (28 March 2010).
Albert Park often delivers thrilling races and this was no exception, aided by the rain that fell just before the start and a first lap collision that brought out the very traditional Melbourne Safety Car. The race was action packed from start to finish and proved that Ferrari Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali was right to advise caution, when others started talking about rule changes following a rather processional opening race in Bahrain.
“We can be satisfied with this result. At the end of an incident packed race we managed to get one driver onto the podium and the other – who had been last after the first corner – into fourth spot,” said Stefano Domenicali. “Fernando staged a fantastic climb through the field and might have got an even better result, but we know overtaking is always difficult, especially when it involves cars with similar performance levels. He was perfect when defending his position against Hamilton in the closing stages. Felipe got a really good start which formed the basis of his final result: he had a difficult weekend and I am sure this second consecutive podium is pleasing for him. Reliability however is the key factor, as we saw again today. In terms of the championship, today’s result is very positive: those who are our strongest competitors at the moment picked up just a few points and even when compared to other drivers, we have extended our lead. Now we must remain focussed and prepare as well as possible for the next week’s race in Malaysia, where we will again find different conditions to those we have experienced in the first two Grands Prix.”
Massa was also, all things considered, happy with the result.
“I am very happy with this result, for myself and for the team,” he said after the race. Given everything that happened, rain at the start, the safety car, the switch to slick tyres when the track was still very slippery – we did a great job. These points are very important for the classification: I have never been very lucky here and in the past, I have often struggled in the early part of the season. The key to getting on the podium was the start. I managed not to spin the wheels, while other drivers struggled for grip and I managed to move up to second. Then I lost some places in the early stages, when I had a few problems with grip, but thanks to the strategy, I then managed to make up some. I was able to close on Kubica but I never had a real chance of passing him, while behind me Fernando got very close on more than one occasion, making the most of a few errors. I think the spectators in the grandstands and in front of their TV screens had fun today: you could hardly call it boring!”
Alonso staged an epic fight back,from last place after the first corner to fourth place.
“I got an awful start, because I had wheel spin on a white line and was last after the first corner following a collision with two other cars, so to finish fourth is very significant, especially given what happened to some other drivers, meaning we have increased our lead over some of our closest rivals in the title fight,” explained the Spaniard. “Thanks to the strategy, we managed to get this result. The car was perfect and we were able to run a very long stint with the soft tyres. When I found myself behind Felipe, maybe I could have gone a bit quicker, but we know it’s very hard to pass in Formula 1 and between team-mates, one should not take any unnecessary risks. If we had managed to get past Kubica, then it might have been a different story, but it wasn’t possible, apart from the fact I also had to defend my position against Hamilton and Webber, who were on fresher tyres than us. For sure, after an exciting and action packed race like this, I don’t think we’ll hear much more talk about boring races!”
The race was won by Jenson Button, the reigning world champion thus claiming his first win for McLaren and, ahead of Felipe came Robert Kubica, second in the Renault. As the lights went out, Sebastian Vettel led from pole in the Red Bull, ahead of Felipe who got a really good start, to get ahead of second placed man Mark Webber. Where was Fernando? He was squeezed by Button, with Schumacher on his outside which sent him into a spin which dropped him all the way down to eighteenth. It was to be the start of a great charge through the field.
The Safety Car came in on lap 4 and Kubica moved ahead of Webber, with Fernando already 15th, but Felipe seemed to struggle a bit and was passed by Webber to go third on lap 6. One lap later, with Button the first to come in, the entire field gradually came in to change to slick tyres as Fernando was now 13th. Felipe changed tyres on lap 8 and two laps later, Fernando was in the points zone in tenth place, gaining another place on lap 13 and another on lap 14.
Felipe was coming under pressure from Webber and as the two fought it out, Hamilton managed to slip past both of them, only for Felipe to regain his position when the Red Bull and the McLaren tangled. Lap 16 and Fernando was now seventh, but Felipe had Hamilton right on his tail. By lap 20 of 58 the order was Vettel, comfortably leading Button, Kubica, Rosberg, Felipe in fifth, then Hamilton with Alonso still seventh. Hamilton got past the Brazilian Ferrari man on lap 22 and while they duelled, Fernando had to slow, which meant he was overtaken by Webber so that the two Ferrari men were now sixth and eighth. On lap 26, race leader Vettel appeared to have a technical problem and went out of the race in a gravel trap which meant Button now lead ahead of Kubica, Hamilton, Rosberg, Felipe again fifth, Webber and Fernando seventh. Webber again got the better of the Brazilian on lap 31, but the Australian pitted again on lap 32. Making only one pit stop for dry tyres was going to be the secret of success for the eventual top four, as when Rosberg changed tyres on lap 33, Felipe and Fernando were now running fourth and fifth and then moved into their final positions when Hamilton pitted again on lap 34. The Ferrari duo did close on Kubica in the Renault but not enough to make a real challenge and in fact, in the closing stages, Fernando was again being pushed hard by Hamilton.
So at the flag, the order was Button, Kubica, Massa, Alonso, Rosberg, Hamilton, Liuzzi, Barrichello, Webber, with the final point for tenth place going to Schumacher.
“Before the race, we had hoped for a better result, but after what happened at the start and the first corner, with Fernando relegated to the back of the pack, we have to be happy with taking home a third and a fourth place,” says Chris Dyer, Ferrari Team Manager. We opted to run just one set of dry tyres and that proved to be the right decision. If we had pitted a second time, we would definitely have lost a few places, while staying out on track, we knew our pursuers would catch us in the closing stages and then it would be a case of defending position which is exactly what happened, with a positive outcome. After two races, we are leading both championships and that means we can look forward with confidence to the rest of the season.”
In just five days time, the cars will be back in action at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit for the third round of the world championship.
(ends)
2010 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
F. Massa3rd 1:33.51.019 + 14.488 58 281
F. Alonso4th 1:33.52.835 + 16.304 58 283
Weather: air temperature 21/26 °C, track temperature 25/24 °C, light rain at the start, covered skies.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro comes away from the Australian Grand Prix with 27 points to its name, thanks to a third place for Felipe Massa and a fourth for Fernando Alonso. This result means that the Maranello team continues to have its drivers in the top two places in the Drivers’ Championship (Fernando first on 37 points and Felipe second with 33) and the team also leads the Constructors’ classification on 70 points.
Result
1. Jenson ButtonBritain McLaren-Mercedes58 laps 1hr 33m 36.531s
2. Robert KubicaPoland Renault-Renault+00m 12.0s
3. Felipe MassaBrazil Ferrari-Ferrari+00m 14.4s
4. Fernando AlonsoSpain Ferrari-Ferrari+00m 16.3s
5. Nico RosbergGermany Mercedes-Mercedes+00m 16.6s
6. Lewis HamiltonBritain McLaren-Mercedes+00m 29.8s
7. Vitantonio LiuzziItaly Force India-Mercedes+00m 59.8s
8. Rubens BarrichelloBrazil Williams-Cosworth+01m 00.5s
9. Mark WebberAustralia Red Bull-Renault+01m 07.3s
10. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes+01m 09.3s
11. Jaime AlguersuariSpain Toro Rosso-Ferrari+01m 11.3s
12. Pedro de la RosaSpain BMW Sauber-Ferrari+01m 14.0s
13. Heikki KovalainenFinland Lotus-Cosworth+2 laps
14. Karun ChandhokIndia HRT-Cosworth +5 laps
Rtd Timo GlockGermany Virgin-Cosworth41 laps completed
Rtd Sebastian VettelGermany Red Bull-Renault25 laps completed
Rtd Lucas di GrassiBrazil Virgin-Cosworth24 laps completed
Rtd Adrian SutilGermany Force India-Mercedes9 laps completed
Rtd Vitaly PetrovRussia Renault-Renault9 laps completed
Rtd Bruno SennaBrazil HRT-Cosworth4 laps completed
Rtd Sebastien BuemiSwitzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari0 laps completed
Rtd Nico HulkenbergGermany Williams-Cosworth0 laps completed
Rtd Kamui KobayashiJapan BMW Sauber-Ferrari0 laps completed
Dns Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth
Fastest lap:Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 28.358s lap 47
F1 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 (after round 2 of 19)
POSITION / DRIVER / TEAM / POINTS1 / Fernando Alonso / Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro / 37
2 / Felipe Massa / Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro / 33
3 / Jenson Button / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 31
4 / Lewis Hamilton / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 23
5 / Nico Rosberg / Mercedes GP Petronas / 20
6 / Robert Kubica / Renault F1 Team / 18
7 / Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull Racing / 12
8 / Michael Schumacher / Mercedes GP Petronas / 9
9 / Vitantonio Liuzzi / Force India F1 Team / 8
10 / Mark Webber / Red Bull Racing / 6
11 / Rubens Barrichello / AT&T Williams / 5
12 / Nico Hulkenberg / AT&T Williams / 0
= / Sebastien Buemi / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 0
= / Jaime Alguersuari / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 0
= / Jarno Trulli / Lotus F1 Racing / 0
= / Heikki Kovalainen / Lotus F1 Racing / 0
= / Karun Chandhok / Hispania Racing Team / 0
= / Bruno Senna / Hispania Racing Team / 0
= / Timo Glock / Virgin Racing / 0
= / Lucas di Grassi / Virgin Racing / 0
= / Kamui Kobayashi / Sauber / 0
= / Pedro de la Rosa / Sauber / 0
= / Vitaly Petrov / Renault F1 Team / 0
= / Adrian Sutil / Force India F1 Team / 0
F1 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 (after round 2 of 19)
POSITION / TEAM / POINTS1 / Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro / 70
2 / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 54
3 / Mercedes GP Petronas / 29
4 / Red Bull Racing / 18
= / Renault F1 Team / 18
6 / Force India F1 Team / 8
7 / AT&T Williams / 5
8 / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 0
= / Lotus F1 Racing / 0
= / Hispania Racing Team / 0
= / Virgin Racing / 0
= / Sauber / 0
The F1 2010 Calendar
DATES / GRAND PRIX / Ferrari PositionsMar 14 / Bahrain, Sakhir / Alonso:1st / Massa: 2nd
Mar 28 / Australia, Melbourne / Massa: 3rd / Alosno: 4th
Apr 04 / Malaysia, Kuala Lumpar
Apr 18 / China, Shanghai
May 09 / Spain, Catalunya
May 16 / Monaco, Monte Carlo
May 30 / Turkey, Istanbul
Jun 13 / Canada, Montreal
Jun 27 / Europe, Valencia
Jul 11 / Britain, Silverstone
Jul 25 / Germany, Hockenheim
Aug 01 / Hungary, Budapest
Aug 29 / Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps
Sep 12 / Italy, Monza
Sep 26 / Singapore, Singapore
Oct 10 / Japan, Suzuka
Oct 24 / Korea, Yeongam
Nov 07 / Brazil, Sao Paulo
Nov 14 / Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit
For further information, please contact
Kevin Wall
/ Tel: +61 2 8577 8000General Manager, European Automotive Imports / Fax: +61 2 85778069
Official Ferrari importer Australia & New Zealand / E:
Edward Rowe
/ Tel: +61 2 8577 8000Public Relations Manager / Fax: +61 2 85778069
European Automotive Imports / Mob: +61 407 913 244
Official Ferrari importer Australia & New Zealand / E:
EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE IMPORTS PTY LTD
Street Address: 862 – 874 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo, Sydney, NSW 2017 Australia.
Postal Address: Ateco Automotive, 862 – 874 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo, Sydney, NSW 2017, Australia
A.B.N. 79 115 107 189
EAI Media web site: Australia:
New Zealand:
If this material contained within this releases is not relevant to your purpose you may wish to prevent further deliveries. If so, please hit ‘forward’ on your e-mail, send the e-mail to and place “Remove from Mailing List” in the Subject Line.
Release Number: Ferrari_445
Date of Issue: 22 October 2018. Time of Issue: 12:54:02