Formula One Highlights: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Raceday.
Part 7
The race and with it, the 2010 Formula One season was drawing to a close. The balance for the championship had tilted substantially towards Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull – Were we in for a repeat of the 2008 season that saw Kimi Raikonnen win the championship in the final race of the season?
Robert Kubica had held Lewis Hamilton for nearly the entire stretch of the race. Lap 47 saw the Renault finally taking its well due scheduled pit stop. On making his way back on track, the Polish driver ran wide as he tried to gain track position on the cars behind him – No complains for Hamilton though, the British driver, having a clear set of track ahead of him posted the fastest time for the lap that followed – He was 11.4 seconds behind Vettel and making ground on the Red Bull; another twist in the tail for the offering?
On a new set of softer compound tyres, Kubica, set the fastest first sector for lap 49. He was just 2.8 seconds behind Nico Rosberg with nearly 7 laps to go in the race. It was arguably one of the best drives of the season for him after starting the race as back as row 6! – A case of save the best for last, Kubica?
The championship battle was spicing up yet again. The already unpredictable season still had another throw of the dice up its sleeve. If Vettel were to lose the lead to Hamilton, Alonso would effectively be crowned world champion – The McLaren was lapping a second quicker than Vettel’s Red Bull. With 6 laps to go, the gap was 9.4 seconds.
Alonso on the other hand, also had his own race to look up to. The Spaniard ran wide yet again and was looking increasingly frustrated being ‘slowed’ down by the Renault of Vitaly Petrov. Meanwhile, Red Bull encouraged Webber to get past Alonso – In the scenerio, what did Webber have to lose now?
While the championship contenders along with the leading teams were, so to speak, a more ‘prominent’ concern for the media; it was worth mentioning the heroics of the Renault that stood between the Ferrari and the championship. Petrov had driven an impressive race so far. He hadn’t made a single error and easily soaked up all the pressure from Alonso – Arguably, making a strong case for a Renault ace seat next year.
However, the story with the scarlet car behind the yellow Renaul was a touch gloomier. Alonso was looking increasingly desperate. He was getting close to Petrov as possible, hoping to induce an error. Meanwhile, at the front, Vettel had responded to Hamilton’s lap times. The tension and anticipation was evident in the Red Bull camp – Just 3 laps seperated the already crowned constructor’s champions from a memorable driver’s title to go along.
2 laps to go… Trulli’s rear wing failed and fell off! Subsequently, there was obvious debris on the track. However, owing to the fact that the pieces of carbon fibre were off the racing line, the safety car was not called up – A sensible decision by the race stewards, besides, it would have been rather dampening ending the season behind the safety car. Turning our attention to Trulli, the Lotus had been arguably one of the most unreliable cars on the track in 2010. Often suffering from gearbox issues, the feat of completing races had evaded them on most occasions. This time though, sadly for the team and Jarno Trulli, it was a totally different problem that induced yet another retirement and effectively, a premature goodbye for the season. Vettel on the other hand, still continued ahead of the pack with just a lap and a half to go.
Final lap… Vettel took the chequered flag and became the youngest world champion! Hamilton finished second while Button took 3rd with an impressive drive. Bitter disappointment for Alonso, however, who finished down in 7th.
To be continued…
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