So the 2010 Formula One season has drawn to a close and the flames of the championship which were fanned by nine months of bitter rivalries and intense on-track action have been well and truly put out by Sebastian Vettel.
His extreme dominance of the last race of the year at Abu Dhabi, now more than a week ago at this time of writing, well and truly cemented not only his eminence as the new World Champion, but crowned him with that extra respect and admiration for driving so well. Indeed, it is worth pointing out Jenson Button’s similar late surge last year to be part of the elite World Champion club, by sealing the deal with some breath taking drives in the last few races, risking his position on-track with some crucial overtakes.
Upon reviewing the 2010 season, however, it seems to me that one word was a narrative for the whole fracas of regular championship top spot-shifting and teammate relationships being strained and sugar-coated with as best as some teams’ PR machines could manage. This word would be mistakes. Now I know it’s easy, as with any sport, to criticise the mistakes made by its participants whilst sat comfily in your armchair and this is not how I intend to reference the errors made by certain drivers. On the contrary, I believe that these miscalculations made along the season show two positive things; that on the technical side Formula One is as on the edge as it has ever been and that the drivers are more than willing to put themselves in danger and risk sabotage to their own race in order to gain that extra vital place.
To start with, let’s consider the World Champion, Vettel and his coming together with Mark Webber in Turkey in May. This was a collision, which in my opinion was 100% Vettel’s fault but at least showed that he is afraid of no one and willing to battle against even his teammate; something which is considered almost sacrilegious by most teams.
And again in Belgium where Sebastian wrecked his and Jenson Button’s race by misjudging the track conditions on a slippery entrance to the last corner. From these driver errors alone, he would have ended up with at least 28 more points than he ended up with, sealing him the championship many races before the eventual finale.
Next under the microscope comes Lewis Hamilton, a man who will freely admit that his nature got the better of him on a number of occasions this year which lost him the title. The best example of this is undoubtedly the Italian Grand Prix where he shot up the inside of Felipe Massa, who gave him just about enough room to get by, but trashed his front right tyre and suspension on Massa's left sidepod and rear tyre and was forced to retire. The position he was in could have granted him at least 12 more points for the eventual shot at the title, something which he was just out of the running for in the last race.
Finally, before I go through each driver in the field and write a stupidly long blog, there is the man who at one point in the season had a commanding lead and petered out towards the end, which no one could have predicted would have happened. Mark Webber’s unfortunate incidents this year appear more spectacular than other protagonists’, but lead to the same outcome; a lot less points than he deserved for that final Abu Dhabi showdown. The moment that stands out in my mind, along with many other fans who watched with wincing expressions and held breath is best summarised not by words, but the picture below. Webber was fighting his way back up the field when he misjudged a slow-going Kovalainen and literally took off of the back of the Lotus’ rear tyres.
Overall I thought the season was one of the most entertaining, both in terms of on and off-track action and drama. The point standings going into the final Grand Prix was exactly what the sport needed from a commercial and fan-attracting point of view and it made for tense but pleasurable viewing. I find it comforting to know that the sport hasn’t shut down entirely for the three month break; Pirelli entering the sport next year in the experienced and successful place of Bridgestone has created much more need for testing, something which is rigorously controlled and limited. I’m sure the momentum from this excellent season will continue from March next year and a thrilling battle will commence straight away.
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