I'm sure many of you were glued to your TV sets to watch the final Formula 1 race of 2010. Going into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, an unprecedented four drivers were in contention with the championship going right down to the wire.
And it was Sebastian Vettel who took the chequered flag, becoming the youngest ever driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship!
Going into the final weekend, all eyes were on championship leader Fernando Alonso and Australian Mark Webber, who had relinquished the championship lead after crashing in Korea.
Both Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel were in mathematical contention, although they'd need a miracle to leap frog Alonso and Webber…
Before the race there was plenty of talk about whether Vettel would be willing to play a supporting role to team mate Webber.
However it proved an unnecessary question. Having qualified on pole, Vettel led from the start, narrowly keeping Hamilton at bay going into the first corner. For Alonso and Webber however, things would take a turn for the worse.
Tires would prove the deciding factor. The pivotal moment came when Vettel (above) was able to manage his 'Option' tires, whereas team-mate Webber pitted early because the rears were graining heavily. Alonso followed suit and pitted as well, a deliberate move so he would stay in front of his nearest championship rival. And while Alonso did indeed manage to emerge in front of Webber, it presented Vettel with the chance to build a healthy margin. With Alonso and Webber unable to overtake Renault's Petrov, Vettel would end up with enough points (four to be exact) to take the title.
To the victor go the spoils. In case you were wondering why there wasn't much champagne spray during the podium presentation, that's because it wasn't champagne. Alcohol isn't allowed in Abu Dhabi, so the top three were instead given bottles of Waard, a traditional non-alcoholic drink.
Red Bull Racing took a clean sweep of both the Constructor's and Drivers' World Championships.
Whether you're a Vettel fan or not, it's impossible to deny that at only 23 years of age he has the Formula 1 world at his feet. But will he be able to back it up in 2011? Or will Ferrari give Alonso and Massa a more competitive car? Perhaps it'll be a battle between Hamilton and Button. Or maybe it'll be veteran Mark Webber who will come out on top. With a host of changes coming next season (including new aero regulations, KERS and a switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli tires), it's really anyone's guess. One thing's for sure however; we're already counting down the days until the opening race. Bring on March 13!
- Charles Kha
Photos copyright Getty Images/Red Bull Photofiles
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desktop of picture with a larger picture of the auto.
please. that skylline at the top is beautiful.
With the events that took place in the last few races (mainly starting at Korea), I actually found the race to be quite boring -- aside from the Force India car running up Schumachers car. Being my favorite track, even I was getting annoyed by the Renault's blocking.
Absolutely amazing, though, at the age of 23!!! Congrats to Vettel!
would love a desktop of 1, 2, 6 and 7.
Skyline? You mean lighting of the Yas hotel!
Here you go.: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/vett_redb_abud_2010-7.jpg
And Vettel was the strongest, fastest and more mature then many might think.
Pole position, Race win and WDC!
Alonso / Ferrari should've raced Vettel and not Webber!
In hindsight.
Abu Dhabi proved to be a boring circuit, no overtaking or outbraking maneuvres to be had.
After Alonso pitted and got stuck behind Petrov, who drove the race of his life. It was a sudden death.
Red Bull really does give you wings...
desktop that side shot of the car with the lights blurring by.
Vettel earned it!
Good for Sebastian. For a site with an F1 nerd as the creative director I'm amazed you guys don't have more F1 articles
pic 6!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vettel is amazing
yes, desktops from 1,2,6 and 7. wonderful,
i would have been glued to my tv set, if dumb espn wouldve televised this instead of football. only rednecks care about football.
@Akdawg99, by blocking, I assume you meant to say racing for track position, right?
Poor tactical decisions from Ferrari not-with-stading, the race was solidly won by Vettel, who was pretty untouchable all weekend. I'd have loved to have seen Webber take the title, but I feel he lost heart and confidence in the last 3 races and let the 'team is supporting Vettel more than me' deamons (imagined or otherwise) play with his head.
Roll on 2011, lets hope it proves to be as enjoyable as this years battle's been.
@Akdawg99
The Renault ran their race and if Alonso was such faster than Petrov he should have overtaken him. But he wasn't, the F60 was slower than the R30 which has the strongest engine of the field. I was also supporting Alonso for the race but the fact is that he lost championship chance when his own team had him pitted too early in the race and too far from Vettel.
@Ralph, I agree : to have an interesting track you gotta have elevation changes :Spa, Nür, Suzuka...
this was the best F1 season since 2008!!! haha! what i really cant belive is that the only time that Vettel led the chamionship was at the end when he won the title!
looking forward to 2011!!!
Good for Vettel, he drove his butt off all year. All of the top 5 drivers did. Great season. As for the Renault driver Petrov, he didn't necessarily block Alonzo. Nothing in the rules say Championship contenders get free passes from the rest of the field, and i saw Petrov pull away from Alonso in many parts of the track, so it wasn't blocking. Alonso simply didn't have enough to get by. He lost by strategy.
Bring on 2011!
Speed TV's coverage was beyond lame. Thank god for BBC streaming on Justin TV.
Cheers to Vettel. I think it was well played and well fought. Sure, Vettel may have shown he needed to grow up earlier in the season, but there was a steep learning curve and he followed it. And let's face it, none of these guys are ever willing to give the other room (hence the usual crash on the 1st lap of nearly every race)! Looking fwd to next year.
I feel bad for Alonzo but a Red Bull driver deserved to come out on top, especially because they had the most poles all year. Make the pole baby!! We need more F1 coverage next year!!! Can't wait!
@motorsportphotographers.com & MrZuffenhausen: Yeah... I used blocking, but I soon realized that it was the wrong word choice. Im not saying that the Renaults did anything wrong, just saying that maybe if Alonzo and some of the quicker drivers could have passed it might have been a more exciting race. I am actually a Vettel fan, so I'm quite pleased with the results. I agree that the strategies did not work so well during this race for a lot of the teams -- mainly Alonzo.
I cannot wait to see what the 2011 season has in store for us.
Desktop of 7!! Please!
Desktop of 6!! Please!!
He looks like Clarkson
Best F1 season in years...except for the first and last races.