Massive congratulations to Sebastian Vettel. The right man won the 2010 World Championship and who could begrudge him. He has been the fastest driver all season. The German has been the fastest driver all season but a combination of driver errors, mechanical failures and pure bad luck had meant that Vettel was only third in the championship heading into the final race of the season. He also had not led the standings throughout the campaign. But today everything worked out perfectly for the him and he was able to punish Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber’s early decision to pit for the harder tyre. They faltered on the day it counted most, finishing seventh and eighth respectively while other championship contender Lewis Hamilton finishing behind Vettel in second place. Hamilton’s Mclaren team-mate Jenson Button completed the podium; it was fitting to see the last three World Champions on the podium together and next season we will now have five on the grid together. Vettel is the youngest ever F1 World Champion, eclipsing Lewis Hamilton’s record when he won the title two years ago. He finished four points clear of Alonso with 256 points, 14 ahead of Webber and 16 in front of Hamilton in fourth. Yes, the 2010 season really was that tight. And after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for much of the season, the result sealed Red Bull’s first driver’s championship to accompany their first constructor’s triumph, which was secured in Brazil last weekend. The Red Bull RB6 has been the class of the field for almost the entire season and both titles were fully deserved.
The race wasn’t a thriller, but as the championship pendulum swung back and forth you could not help but tense up such was the occasion. The 2010 season had final twist for us all. At the start Button immediately shot past Alonso and up into third place as Hamilton harried Vettel into Turn One. At Turn Six, Michael Schumacher spun after the faintest of touches from his team-mate Nico Rosberg. Schumacher’s car was in an awkward position on the track leaving Tonio Liuzzi nowhere to go as he smashed into the Mercedes. The nose of Liuzzi’s car narrowly missed Schumacher’s head. It was a dismal end to Schumacher’s disappointing comeback season and he will be hoping for better things next season. The safety car was instantly deployed as Rosberg, Petrov, Di Grassi and the two Hispania’s all pitted. The race restarted on lap six and Hamilton had to go off track to avoid contact with Vettel as he controlled the pack before the restart. Hamilton’s excursion saw Vettel pull away quickly at the restart.
Webber was distinctly off the pace and pitted on lap 12 for the harder tyre. He was stuck behind Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso are Red Bull’s sister team and one must suspect Alguersuari was promptly told to get out of the way by his superiors. Alonso pitted three laps later but crucially managed to get ahead of his fellow Spaniard; without Alguersuari, Webber would have no doubt jumped his title rival. They quickly caught Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, which ruined Alonso and Webber’s day. Petrov defended superbly from Alonso and as the Spaniard’s frustration grew his driving became desperate. Alonso did attempt a move on Petrov at the end of the long straight, but almost lost his front wing in doing so. Even if Alonso had passed Petrov he would still have to catch and pass Rosberg as fifth place would not earn him a third world title. Nevertheless his gestures towards the young Russian at the end of the race were appalling. What was Petrov supposed to do? He fought superbly to fight for his eventual sixth place and it is not his responsibility to allow Alonso to overtake. That would be scandalous and would have possibly changed the outcome of the championship. He eventually finished sixth, a result which may mean he retains his place in F1 next season. I hope so; we need to give the rookies more than a season to prove themselves.
Hamilton pitted on lap 23 but ended up behind Robert Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi who were running longer on the harder tyre. Vettel pitted a lap later and crucially managed to get ahead of all three of them. He was also lucky to avoid contact with Kobayashi upon exciting the pit lane. Kobayshi was passed by the Pole one lap later in a sublime overtaking manoeuvre. Kubica has arguably been the most impressive driver all season and passing the daring Kobayashi around the outside typified this. Hamilton passed Kobayashi on lap 27, but was stuck behind Kubica and began to complain of problems with his left front tyre. Vettel was thus able to comfortably build up a ten second gap over Hamilton. Meanwhile Button led the race until lap 40 before pitting. It was superb management of the soft tyres by the outgoing World Champion and he dropped back to third after his stop. By lap 46 Kubica had built up enough of a gap to rejoin ahead of the Petrov, Alonso and Webber battle. This he did and Alonso was now in seventh, with the impossible task needing to pass Petrov, Rosberg and Kubica to keep Vettel from winning the title.
As Vettel crossed the line he had no idea he had won his first world championship; he was only told after confirmation of Alonso’s result. He was choking back tears on his slow-down lap as he attempted to speak over the radio. It was a truly emotional moment and I cannot imagine the euphoria Vettel would have been feeling. Team principal Christian Horner shouted: "Sebastian Vettel you are the world champion!” The tears returned as the German anthem rang out at the Yas Marina circuit in what was a truly fitting end to a wonderful season. His tears of disbelief and joy left even Mr Bell with a slightly watery eye. I am a Vettel fan and this championship was totally deserved and I was delighted for such a likeable man. It is well known that he loves Little Britain, The Beatles and Fawlty Towers which is completely unheard of for a German. But it is indicative of the guy; he is simply unique. I believe he is now in the top bracket of drivers in Formula One which was currently reserved for just two men – Alonso and Hamilton. He could even surpass his friend Michael Schumacher's record of seven titles and 91 victories. He is only 23 and I am sure there will be plenty more titles to come. The 2010 season has been the best season I have ever witnessed and other than Bahrain and Valencia (as per usual) every race has had plenty of talking points. But as the curtain closes on a truly incredible campaign, there is only one name on everyone’s lips as we start the countdown to the 2011 season which is just 119 days away; Sebastian Vettel.
Abu Dhabi GP – Classified Results
1. Vettel (Red Bull) 1h39m36.837s
2. Hamilton (Mclaren) + 10.1s
3. Button (Mclaren) + 11.0s
4. Rosberg (Mercedes) + 30.7s
5. Kubica (Renault) + 39.0s
6. Petrov (Renault) + 43.5s
7. Alonso (Ferrari) + 43.7s
8. Webber (Red Bull) + 44.2s
9. Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) + 50.2s
10. Massa (Ferrari) + 50.8s
11. Heidfeld (Sauber) + 51.5s
12. Barrichello (Williams) + 57.6s
13. Sutil (Force India) + 58.3s
14. Kobayashi (Sauber) + 59.5s
15. Buemi (Toro Rosso) + 1m03.1s
16. Hulkenberg (Williams) + 1m04.7s
17. Kovalainen (Lotus) + 1 lap
18. Di Grassi (Virgin) + 2 laps
19. Senna (Hispania) + 2 laps
20. Klien (Hispania) + 2 laps
21. Trulli (Lotus) + 4 laps
FINAL STANDINGS DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Vettel 256
2. Alonso 252
3. Webber 242
4. Hamilton 240
5. Button 214
6. Massa 144
7. Rosberg 142
8. Kubica 136
9. Schumacher 72
10. Barrichello 47
11. Sutil 47
12. Kobayashi 32
13. Petrov 27
14. Hulkenberg 22
15. Liuzzi 21
16. Buemi 8
17. De la Rosa 6
18. Heidfeld 6
19. Alguersuari 5
CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Red Bull-Renault 498
2. McLaren-Mercedes 454
3. Ferrari 396
4. Mercedes 214
5. Renault 163
6. Williams-Cosworth 69
7. Force India-Mercedes 68
8. Sauber-Ferrari 44
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13
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