GP Australia: Race

1. J. Button, McLaren, 1:33:36.531
2. R. Kubica, Renault, +12.034 secs
3. F. Massa, Ferrari, +14.488 secs
7. V. Liuzzi, Force India, +59.847 secs

Tonio has secured his second consecutive points’ finish of 2010 in today’s Australian Grand Prix! He drove the VJM03 home to seventh position overall, scoring six valuable points and bringing his and the team’s season tally to eight points.

After a rain shower arrived just minutes before the start of the race, Tonio switched to the intermediate tyre on the grid. As the rain eased and a dry line emerged the Italian made a stop for the option dry tyres on lap nine. He remained on this set until the end of the race, overtaking the Sauber of Pedro de la Rosa for tenth on lap 20 and then keeping Rubens Barrichello, who was on a newer set of rubber, at bay. When Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber clashed in the closing stages Tonio was promoted to seventh to secure his second points finish of the year.

After the race, a happy Tonio said: “Another great race and another great result for the team! It’s a confirmation of the pace we showed in Bahrain and the work the team did over the winter. We worked hard all weekend for this seventh place and it’s a brilliant result at the end of what was a crazy race. At the beginning of the race on the intermediate tyres we were struggling a little and lost a few positions but after I pitted for the dry tyres I was able to recover and stay on the race pace. Towards the end of the race the rear tyres were going off a lot as I had been on them for a long time, but it was just enough to hold onto the position. I think it was another perfect weekend and now we can look forward to Malaysia.”