Mark Webber was the winner of the 2010 Spanish GP. He started from pole and stayed in first place throughout the entire race, without having anyone challenging him.
The rain was absent during the race, for the first time in a while this season. RBR was the fastest team and everyone new that only a mechanical failure or a mistake could make them loose. The rain that did not show up this weekend took all excitement away, and showed that in stable conditions, the differences between teams are great.
There was almost no overtaking during the race, at least within the points awarding zone. But the Spanish Grand Prix had some surprises.
After the start of the race Mark Webber and his teammate Sebastian Vettel were in front, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso behind them. The Australian started increasing the gap with his chasers steadily, and all four leaders were increasing their gap with the rest of the drivers. The situation remained unchanged until the first pit stop. During the first pit stop Lewis Hamilton passed Vettel and took second place. Webber was a full 9 seconds ahead and Alonso was trying to stabilize the gap between his Ferrari and Vettel's RBR.
Behind them Michael Schumacher was in good shape and was leading the group that was fighting for the 5th place. He managed to keep Jenson Button and Felipe Massa behind him. Massa had a good pace at that time, but a small collision, slightly damaged his front wing, causing him to lose pace, along with his chances for a better position.
Things seemed to be going just like this for quite a long time. But then Vettel drove wide in Turn 7 causing him to pit for a tyre change. He left the pit lane to rejoin the race in fourth place well ahead of the following group. And as it looked like he had no chances for a podium finish, his luck smiled at him. Lewis Hamilton saw his front left tyre collapsing and his McLaren on the wall in Turn 3, two laps before the end. Vettel had also been facing trouble with his brakes since his last pit stop, and he was lucky he managed to finish the race, as his mechanics were urging him to slow down, describing his brakes condition as "critical", he did slow down as he was more than 20s ahead of Michael Schumacher, and managed to get the third place on the podium.
The race results are as follows:
1 Mark Webber Red Bull
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +24.00
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull +51.30
4 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP +62.10
5 Jenson Button McLaren +63.70
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari +65.70
7 Adrian Sutil Force India +72.90
8 Robert Kubica Renault +73.60
9 Rubens Barrichello Williams +1 lap
10 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso +1 lap
11 Vitaly Petrov Renault +1 lap
12 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber +1 lap
13 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP +1 lap
14 Lewis Hamilton McLaren +2 lap
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India +2 lap
16 Nico Hulkenberg Williams +2 lap
17 Jarno Trulli Lotus F1 Racing +3 lap
18 Timo Glock Virgin Racing +3 lap
19 Lucas Di Grassi Virgin Racing +4 lap
Ret Karun Chandhok Hispania Racing
Ret Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso
Ret Pedro de la Rosa Sauber
Ret Bruno Senna Hispania Racing
Ret Heikki Kovalainen Lotus F1 Racing
