In Massa's second pit stop he was released straight into the path of Force India driver Adrian Sutil, and had to back off to avoid a collision.

They later ruled that Ferrari would be fined €10,000 for the pit lane incident, but that Massa would keep his victory, as although the release was unsafe, no sporting advantage had been gained.

Hamilton's closest rival in the Drivers' Championship going into the race, Kimi Räikkönen, failed to finish, after having an engine failure.

[5] The teams, also known as "constructors", were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Honda, Force India, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Toro Rosso.

[9] In technical developments, McLaren and Ferrari modified their front winglets, to make sure that the maximum amount of air flow was diverted.

[10] Ferrari also revised their sidepod chimneys and winglets, with the aim of making sure the engine remained cool in hot conditions.

[13][14] Sébastien Bourdais went fastest early on, but it was his Toro Rosso teammate Sebastian Vettel who posted the quickest time of the session.

[15] Following the session, the drivers and personnel observed a minute's silence for those killed in the plane crash in Madrid two days previously.

[14][16] Kimi Räikkönen topped the timesheets in second practice, having traded fastest times with teammate Massa for the majority of the session.

[17] Fernando Alonso had the set the quickest time late, but was surpassed by Räikkönen in his final flying lap.

[18] A notable incident in the session involved Nico Rosberg spinning under brakes in the final corners, and narrowly missing Mark Webber on the inside, before rejoining the track with no damage done.

[21] Rain overnight meant that the Valencia track began with almost no rubber on the surface, but Robert Kubica was still able to carry enough speed to become the first man of the weekend to break into the 1:38s, with Rosberg and Bourdais close behind.

Cars failing to make the final period were allowed to be refuelled before the race but those competing in it were not, and so carried more fuel than they had done in the earlier qualifying sessions.

[12] Massa clinched pole position with a time of 1:38.989, and was joined on the front row by championship leader, Hamilton.