2010 F1 season: Young Sebastian Vettel vs. four top drivers (Part 1)
Only a month back, nobody really thought that the 2010 Formula One season will be seeing the youngest world champion of its 60 years’ history. The journey to the championship of this season had been one of the toughest and most demanding ever witnessed in
the sport. After a long period of brawl and intense fight, finally Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull was the last man standing and embraced the first title of his life.
Although all the top five drivers faced a tough battle with a lot to endure yet it was incredibly tough call for Vettel due to a number of reasons. First of all, Vettel was the youngest man among the leading five title contenders of the season. Fernando
Alonso of Ferrari after winning the first race of the season saw a long lulled period. However, just at the moment when he was being considered as an outsider for the battle title, he came back to the tug with a loud roar - the very controversial victory
at the German Grand Prix. The Italian squad followed one of the most restricted strategies in FIA i.e. following the team-orders and asked Felipe Massa to hand over his race win to the Spanish driver. From here onwards there was no stopping the driver. Alonso
had complete support of his team which made him stand out in several races of the season. Above all what gave him a very big advantage over all the other title contenders of the season was his glorified past. Having won two world championships already made
him one of the most prestigious drivers. He had the courage to come out and challenged Michael Schumacher during the latter’s peak time, depicting his unmatched confidence and self assurance. His dominance put all his rivals under great threat and this season
was majorly a battle of handling pressure and stress.
The other very strong, aggressive and frightening rival that Vettel had to face this season was Lewis Hamilton. A man who has always believed in ‘doing or dying’ entered the season with a lot of conviction and determination. The British racer, until Vettel’s
victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held the record of being the youngest Formula One champion, a record he grabbed from Fernando Alonso in 2008. Hamilton got centre of attention, great media coverage and a lot of fanfare during his debut season with the
sport in 2007. His entry in Formula One was already embellished with his brilliant performance in GP2 where he managed to win the championship in his debut season. During his first season in Formula One under McLaren’s umbrella, the driver once again made
his mark as he was able to bag 4 race wins, while he lost the championship only at the last race ending the first season at second place. After finishing at 5th place last year, the driver entered this season with a firm resolution to bag the championship
at any cost. With his 3 race wins, 9 podium positions, and having stayed at the top of the drivers’ championship for most part of the season, Hamilton posed a great threat to this year’s title. However, as the season reached its final episode in Abu Dhabi,
to unfold the last race, Hamilton strived hard but failed to beat Vettel, and had to stand at second place on the podium.
Vettel’s teammate and one of the strongest players of the season, Mark Webber has given the toughest and the most merciless battle to the new champ. Vettel not only had to fight the points’ battle with his teammate but also a tough emotional and psychological
war kept heating up all through the season between the two.
To be continued…
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