NINETEEN hard-fought races and every driver have their own story to tell. Here is my opinion of all the drivers from 2010 and how they did. . .
1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
HIGH POINT: Winning the world championship in style, with victory in Abu Dhabi
LOW POINT: Cracking under pressure and crashing into an innocent Jenson Button at Spa
SEBASTIAN Vettel has become the youngest champion in F1 history, and he deserves the world championship. His record on Saturday was outstanding, with ten pole positions. His dominant drives to victory in Malaysia, Europe and Japan were highly impressive, as once again, Vettel showed that once he got away at the front; no-one could stop him. Sure, he had some bad luck along the way, with a brake failure in Melbourne and the crushing engine blow-up that finished his Korean Grand Prix prematurely. Glaring errors in Istanbul and Spa cost more points, but his meticulous drives in the last five races, with a close second to Fernando Alonso in Singapore and three wins earned him the ultimate prize. Congratulations to Germany’s youngest new find.
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes)
HIGH POINT: Managing his tyres the best to record another victory in Canada
LOW POINT: A costly move on Felipe Massa during the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix that left him with no points
IT has been a rollercoaster year for Lewis Hamilton, but once more, his driving quality has shone through, in a car that simply wasn’t world championship material. Hamilton’s aggression and patience earned him three fantastic victories in Istanbul Park, Montreal and in slippery conditions at Spa. However, he shall lookback at some costly errors from team and driver which lost him the chance of the second world championship. A poor strategy left him high and dry in Melbourne, whilst a late tyre failure robbed Lewis of a deserved second place in the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix. However, it was two fumigating DNF’s in Singapore (coming off worse in a clash with Webber) and in Monza (his fault for trying a move on Massa that never was to work. Lewis will feel this is a title that slipped away.
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
HIGH POINT: A masterful weekend to win on his first Monza race as a Ferrari driver
LOW POINT: Smashing the car into the wall during practice, that cost him a chance of winning the Monaco Grand Prix
FERNANDO Alonso will be delighted with his season’s efforts, but too many mistakes early on in the season, plus a dodgy Ferrari strategy in the final race of the season ruined the Spaniard’s chances of a third world championship in 2010. Alonso made a dream start to his Ferrari career with victory in the season opener in Bahrain. Strong podium results in Spain and Canada were punctured by a blatant jump start in Shanghai, a practice crash in Monaco, spinning on the first corner in Melbourne and another accident at Spa. He won controversially in Hockenheim, due to the help of Felipe Massa, and his victories in Singapore, Monza and Korea towards the end of the campaign showed that Alonso can still deliver under pressure. However, like Hamilton – he will realise that it could well have been glory.
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
HIGH POINT: Dominant weekend in Monaco to win F1’s jewel in the crown
LOW POINT: Running wide and the smash in Korea that ultimately cost him his championship chance
DIFFICULT was the only word to describe Mark Webber’s start to the season. A scrappy home race in Melbourne was followed by leaving the door wide open into the first corner of the Malaysian Grand Prix that allowed Vettel to win. Flawless displays followed in Spain and Monaco, and then another win was lost by the controversial clash with Vettel in Turkey. His 196mph flip over Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia will always be remembered for a lucky escape, and then he won against the odds at Silverstone – on a weekend when it seemed like the whole team was against him. Another win in Budapest followed, but a lack of pace in the final third of the season, along with the unfortunate error he made in Korea was to undo his bid. A campaign that promised so much, yet ultimately – delivered so little.
5. Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes)
HIGH POINT: A masterful decision to switch onto slicks that ultimately won him the Australian Grand Prix
LOW POINT: Surprising lack of pace in Korea that ultimately derailed his championship bid
JENSON Button has produced a very solid first season at McLaren, and even though he lost his crown as champion, he was a contender all the way until the penultimate race of the season. Masterful and well-judged calls on strategy won Jenson two early season events in mixed conditions. The way he won in Melbourne and in Shanghai reminded everyone of why he took the title. His gamble on a high downforce set-up almost won him the Italian Grand Prix too, only to be denied by an inspired Alonso. Ultimately, it was moments such as Vettel smashing into him in Spa, a lack of pace in Korea and a cooked engine in Monaco that derailed his title bid, along with a lack of pace on Saturdays. However, Jenson has answered all his doubters this season and proven why he has been a world champion.
6. Robert Kubica (Renault)
HIGH POINT: Chasing the Red Bulls home to an outstanding third place in Monaco
LOW POINT: Outpaced and outperformed by his rookie team-mate Vitaly Petrov at Budapest
RENAULT loves him and he loves them and Robert Kubica put in a number of stellar drives in a car that never had race-winning potential in 2010, despite marked improvements on the previous year’s efforts. There were three podiums for Kubica this season, with his best drives coming in Monaco (qualified 2nd) and finished third and a third place finish on a power circuit at Spa, one that that the Renault team weren’t expecting. Robert’s best result came in Melbourne, where he held off stiff challenges from the Ferrari’s to come home a delighted second. Suzuka could have yielded a strong result but for a loose wheel after another stunning Q3 performance. Hungary was his weak weekend, outperformed by Petrov and crashed in the pits with Adrian Sutil. Give Kubica a car next season and he will be right up there.
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP)
HIGH POINT: A fantastic performance in China that saw him leading the early stages and finish with a deserved podium
LOW POINT: Back-to-back retirements in the Far East (Japan and Korea) through no fault of his own
NICO Rosberg was always going to be under scrutiny this campaign, especially being paired alongside a seven-time world champion. Ultimately, he delivered and left Michael Schumacher looking very ordinary that it was no surprise when he was beating him mid-season on a regular basis. Early season podiums in Malaysia and China left Rosberg up in second place in the championship after the four flyaway events, but the return to Europe was a struggle, with a new chassis not adjusted to his likely. Another fighting third place followed at Silverstone and Nico was desperately unlucky not to at least pick up a podium in Korea, when he was taken out by the spinning Mark Webber. His stock has risen this season to high proportions, so it will be interesting to see what he can do in a better car next season.
8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
HIGH POINT: An excellent return to Grand Prix racing bought him a second place result in the Bahrain season opener
LOW POINT: Failing to get into Q3 at Suzuka, and then wiping himself out in the first corner fracas
9. Adrian Sutil (Force India Mercedes)
HIGH POINT: Brilliant fifth place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix
LOW POINT: Smashing into cars left, right and centre in Korea
HAVING been an accident waiting to happen in 2009, Adrian Sutil emerged as a matured man in 2010, scoring points in nine races and putting in some notably strong drives. Sutil’s best moments came early season, where he qualified fourth in Malaysia and finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton. He did well to finish seventh in Barcelona, under pressure from Robert Kubica all day and pulled off a super pass on the old master, Michael Schumacher on his way to eighth at Silverstone. Spa was his best weekend, qualifying eighth, and finishing fifth, passing Schumacher and harassing Massa’s much stronger Ferrari all day. In Korea, he returned to his old self, crashing into several cars and not reporting brake issues. However, his maturity has impressed me and now; I think Adrian is ready for the big time.
10. Kamur Kobayashi (BMW Sauber Ferrari)
HIGH POINT: Making the most of the Safety Car strategy and pulled off a cheeky pass on Alonso in Valencia
LOW POINT: A messy Singapore Grand Prix, crashing into Schumacher and Bruno Senna in the race
KAMUR Kobayashi is one of the most exciting drivers to watch in Formula One, and he simply doesn’t give a damn about the reputations of the best. Japan’s finest had a nightmare start to the season, lucky to walkaway from a big first lap shunt in Australia and basically, looking like a miniature figure of the man who starred for Toyota at the backend of last season. Valencia was his turning point, making the most of an advanced strategy to run third for most of the race, and then pull off cheeky passes on Alonso and Buemi in the last two laps. After that, Kobayashi didn’t lookback, with sixth at Silverstone his best finish, a notable ninth in Budapest from the back row of the grid and a stunning seventh in his homeland, after pulling off five fantastic passes. Kobayashi has proven in 2010 that Japan has talent in F1.
11. Rubens Barrichello (Williams Cosworth)
HIGH POINT: Finishing a strong fifth at Silverstone and beating The Stig around the Top Gear racetrack!
LOW POINT: His 300th GP event at Spa, which didn’t even last a lap
STICKING around next year for a 19th season, Rubens Barrichello’s versatility has given Williams a solid foundation to build on. There were testing times early on in the championship, including shock Q1 elimination in Spain and running behind Bruno Senna’s slow Hispania for the first ten laps of the Turkish Grand Prix. However, from Valencia, when new updates came on the car, Barrichello looked a far happier driver, winding up 4th in Valencia, followed up by fifth at Silverstone and later in the season, sixth place in Singapore. His on-track clashes with Michael Schumacher also stood out, mainly when Schumi tried to put him into the pitwall in Hungary. Spa was a major disappointment, smashing into Alonso on lap one of GP 300. He will be back for more in 2011.
12. Michael Schumacher ` (Mercedes GP)
HIGH POINT: Spirited drive in Korea to wind up fourth in very challenging conditions
LOW POINT: Shocking drive in Singapore – quite possibly the worst ever in his great career
THE comeback was a failure, one of the most spectacular flops of 2010 and Michael Schumacher will know that deep down, even if he refuses to admit it. Not even a single podium for the first time in his F1 career since 1991 left him trailing behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg. Three fourth place results in Barcelona, Istanbul and Korea were the stand-outs, as was a strong sixth on one of his favourite circuits, Suzuka. Schumacher’s moments of madness though will stand out sadly though, especially the dangerous chop on Barrichello in Hungary on far worse tyres. His attempts to shove Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa into concrete walls in Canada can’t be forgotten, nor can his diabolical event in Singapore, when he drove like a granny. 2011 will be a make or break season for the former great.
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