Moments of 2010

[frostie]

I posted this on my site as a poll but can't seem to post polls here on 10tenths so maybe if a mod could edit this post to include a poll. Below is a selection of what I think were some of the more significant moments of the year, some are a single incident while others are pretty much entire races (Canada etc)


Button wins in Melbourne after daring strategic decision
A shower before the start of the race sees everyone start on intermediate tyres before changing to slicks by the 10th lap. Jenson Button pitted before the rest of the field and got quickly up to speed. It was a perfect race by the world champion and thoroughly deserving victory even if he needed Sebastian Vettel to retire from the lead to sow up the victory

Red Bull shows its true potential for the first time in Malaysia
With Mark Webber leaving the door open into turn 1 Vettel charged through to take the lead and was never headed. The performance of the Red Bull in race trim showed just how dominant the team could be on occasion in 2010 with third placed Nico Rosbery left for dead. Webber and Vettel enjoyed a clear 0.3s advantage per lap in Sepang.

Webber becomes a championship contender with Monaco win
On a day of four restarts Webber was peerless and opened a gap over Vettel at every opportunity and his win never looked in doubt. Coming one week after his Spanish victory these two races showed the potential for Webber to launch a title challenge.

Red Bull’s lock horns in Turkey
Arguably the most incendiary incident of the season with the Red Bull drivers clashing while running 1-2 in Turkey. With Webber leading the Australian was told to save his fuel and reduce his engine revs, at the same time that Vettel was told to drive flat out. On the back straight Vettel had a terrific run on Webber and made his move. With the cars side by side Vettel started to edge towards Webber and the pair clashed. Vettel was removed from contention immediately and Webber was only able to hobble to a third place finish behind the McLaren drivers.

Tyres troubles in Montreal cause a superb race
With tyres on a knife-edge Montreal provided a classic Grand Prix. Not for the first time the track surface in Canada caused issues for the team, but created excitement for the fans! As one of the few races to throw teams a “curveball” in terms of tyre life the battles throughout the field were immense with Hamilton winning his second race of the season, and taking the title lead for the first time.

Webber’s crash in Valencia
One of the lasting images of 2010 will be that of Mark Webber’s Red Bull somersaulting in Valencia after crashing with the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen. The crash was terrifying with Webber catching his rival at incredible speed and unable to avoid the Finn.

Red Bull wing fiasco at Silverstone
Silverstone saw the intra team relationships of Red Bull once more come to the fore. With a newly developed front wing in use for the British GP each driver had one wing to last for the weekend. After Vettel’s failed in the morning the team decided to take Webber’s wing and give it to Vettel based on the championship standings heading into the weekend. Coming so soon after the Turkish incident and a lack of public support from the team in his favour, Webber now felt that his place in the team was perfectly clear. He emphasised this on the team radio after winning the race by saying “not bad for a number two!”

Massa letting Alonso through in Germany
Team orders constantly underpinned the season. Whether it was McLaren’s refusal to use them and let Hamilton and Button race in China and until they had a near miss in Turkey. Or the Red Bull crashes in Turkey nearly every race saw the spectrum of team orders discussed. The German Grand Prix took these discussions to a much higher level. After making a storming start Felipe Massa led the race ahead of teammate Alonso. The Spaniard was their principle title challenger but the decision to order Massa to let Alonso through was handled so badly by the team that this incident did much to lose public favour for Alonso’s title challenge.

While the decision can be understood the manner of it, and indeed the teams public statements thereafter, did little to calm the storm of public disapproval towards the Prancing Horse.

The constant drama of Belgium
Spa was one of the most action packed races of the season with a great battle for the lead involving Hamilton, Kubica and Webber. Webber made a poor start but got himself back into contention and managed to pressure Kubica into a mistake during his pitstop (the Renault driver out braked himself and Webber managed to slip by.) With rain falling in the dying moments Hamilton ran wide and through the gravel trap. He was lucky not to hit a barrier or get bogged down in the gravel and win the race.

Alonso crashed out during the dying laps after being caught out by the rain. The Spaniard looked to be under severe pressure at this point but afterwards he said “don’t rule us out of the championship!” He then went on a run of podiums that brought him firmly into title contention.

At the time it looked as though Vettel had removed himself from contention after an error strewn race where the German seemed to make contact with every car he tried to overtake. The most significant of these crashes was when he rammed into Button at the Bus Stop chicane and forced the Englishman into retirement.

Alonso wins from pole at Monza for Ferrari after tense battle with Button
Monza saw one of the races of the season with Button leading the early stages of the race from Alonso but with the Ferrari driver applying incredible pressure on his rival. Alonso had a higher top speed but Button, with more downforce, was able to get out of the lat corner superbly and able to just hold off his rival into the first chicane.

There was nothing to separate the pair during the opening stint but with Button pitting first Alonso was able to emerge from his pitstop just ahead of the world champion. It was clear how much this race meant to Alonso as he celebrated his pole position and win with the adoring tifosi.

Vettel and Alonso race at 100% in Singapore
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel used the Singapore Grand Prix to produce arguably their finest drives of the season. Both raced at the limit under the night lights of the Asian city state. Alonso managed to win the race but this ace went some way to showing that Vettel was a deserving champion as he put as much pressure as possible on Alonso throughout the entire race. Lesser drivers would have made a mistake but Alonso showed precisely why he is a double world champion and generally regarded as the most complete driver on the grid.

Kobayashi’s overtaking moves in Japan
Kamui Kobayashi lit up the Japanese Grand Prix with a series of exciting overtaking moves throughout the race to show his hard charging nature once more. The Sauber rookie had a challenging season but his second half of the season showed a lot of promise and this race did a lot to show why he has garnered a lot of support from the public.

Webber’s crash in Korea
In atrocious conditions Mark Webber made the biggest error of his career by crashing out of the Korean Grand Prix. The mistake cost him a likely podium and those lost points were to cost him dearly when the season ended in Abu Dhabi.

Hülkenberg’s Brazilian pole
During a wet qualifying session German rookie Nico Hülkenberg claimed the first pole position of his career with a series of perfect laps that saw him end the session over one second faster.

Vettel winning the title
Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever world champion after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver had a trying season that saw him and his team make numerous mistakes but with his title hopes hanging in the balance Vettel was flawless for the last five races and a deserving world champion.