Valencia greets us on our return to Europe with the European Grand Prix. From this race on, all tracks will have two DRS zones which have proven effective for overtaking, but have drawn mixed reactions. Also new for the season is Pirelli's Medium tire, identified by the blue branding. With qualifying engine mapping banned and off-throttle exhaust next in line, this could be the turning point in the season, which has seen domination from Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel.
2010 Race Summary
The race began with Hamilton beating Webber off the line and attempting a brave pass down the inside of Vettel at the first corner that result in contact. Hamilton's car was slightly damaged in the process, though he was able to continue racing. Further down in the field, Jarno Trulli tangled with one of the Virgins and damaged his front wing, whilst Nico Rosberg was forced wide at the fourth corner and strayed into the no-man's land of the run-off. The first lap was otherwise clean, with Vettel establishing a large lead.
Drama unfolded on the ninth lap when Mark Webber attempted to pass Heikki Kovalainen on the approach to turn thirteen, the fastest point on the circuit. The Red Bull ploughed into the back of the Lotus, obliterating its front end and launching Webber into a flip. The Australian landed upside-down before bouncing back over and careering into the tyre wall in an accident similar to Josef Král's in the GP2 support race earlier in the day and Webber's incidents at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours, in which his Mercedes-Benz CLR twice became airborne. Webber emerged from the accident unscathed, whilst Kovalainen, who had spun off into the wall, drove slowly back to the pits where he retired with collision damage.
Webber's accident triggered a controversial moment in the race. The safety car was deployed onto the circuit in front of Hamilton and the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa, and behind Vettel. Hamilton passed the safety car slightly after the point on track at which it would be legal to do so, and when Alonso complained, the 2008 World Champion was served with a drive-through penalty. However, it took the stewards twenty minutes to settle on a verdict, and when Hamilton served his penalty from second place, he suffered no change in position; Alonso complained to his garage that he felt it was unfair and Ferrari concurred as they felt they should have been racing Hamilton. In a related incident, nine driversJenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Nico Hülkenberg, Robert Kubica, Vitaly Petrov, Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sébastien Buemi and Pedro de la Rosawere all cited for speeding on their in-laps in the wake of the Webber-Kovalainen crash.
The biggest winner from the carnage was Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi. In stark contrast to Montreal, where tyres were rapidly degrading, Kobayashi was able to set the then-fastest lap of the race after spending forty laps on the harder prime compound. As he did not pit under the safety car, he was promoted to third on the road, and would emerge in ninth when he pitted. He would later catch Alonso at the bottom of the circuit as he enjoyed the additional levels of grip the softer option compound offered, and moved on to take Buemi at the final corner of the final lap, finishing seventh for his efforts.
A similar accident to the Webber-Kovalainen collision was narrowly avoided when Timo Glock challenged Bruno Senna late in the race. The Hispania and the Virgin collided, causing a puncture on Glock's car that very nearly threw him into the wall and forced him to pit, though his crew were not ready for him and he lost several seconds as the tyres were brought out. Senna remained out on the circuit with a damaged front wing, but pitted on the next lap. With Kovalainen out, Lotus's hopes rested on the shoulders of Trulli, but a gearbox problem after his early altercation almost ended his race. His team managed to get him back out and racing again, but he lost three laps to the leaders in the process. Elsewhere, Nico Hülkenberg was forced into retirement when his exhaust system exploded, damaging his rear bodywork and tyre.
Although serving a penalty had put some distance between them, Hamilton's pace in the later phase of the race meant that catching and passing Vettel, who had so far led the race unchallenged, was a possibility, but as the two drivers moved into the final laps of the race, Hamilton's grip peaked too soon and he was forced to settle for second place. Kobayashi's pit stop meant Button was promoted to third, followed by Barrichello, Kubica and Sutil twenty-five seconds adrift. Kobayashi's last-corner move on Buemi saw him home seventh, with the Swiss driver edging out Alonso. Pedro de la Rosa took the final point.
Circuit Info
[Click map for onboard lap]
Laps
57
Circuit length
5.419 km (3.367 mi)
Race length
308.883 km (191.931 mi)
Most Wins (Drivers)
Michael Schumacher (6)
Most Wins (Constructors)
Ferrari (6)
Previous Winners
Videos highlighting the Canadian Grand Prix
Highlights from 1993 European GP at Donnington Park
Highlights from 2009 European GP at Valencia
Highlights from 2006 European GP at the Nurburgring
Drivers Championship
Constructors Championship
Fantasy League Championship
