30.11.10

Going into this final race of what has turned into a thrilling season there were still four drivers in with a chance.  Button had finally lost all mathematical chances of winning the championship at the previous round in Brazil, and so it was down to Webber, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel to slug it out in a nerve-wracking late-afternoon race at, unfortunately, yet another Tilkedrome.  Overtaking would be impossible, meaning that it all had to be done in qualifying and at the start.

At the previous race the Red Bull team had garnered much criticism for allowing Vettel the win, rather than switching him with Webber who had the bigger points total at that stage. It meant that Webber went into the final race much further adrift of Alonso than he needed to have been. Although the official statements from Red Bull were that team orders were not going to be applied, it became very clear that, if necessary, at Abu Dhabi Vettel would give up his place to Webber if that secured the championship for the Australian.

Alonso had it relatively easy before the race; he just needed second to secure the title if Webber won, or fourth if Vettel won. There were many other permutations, but it seemed that either Webber or Alonso would be champion, with too many unlikely scenarios for either Vettel or Hamilton to surprise us all..... And, in the event, surprised we were.

Qualifying put some pretty clear writing on the wall. Whilst it was no surprise to see Vettel at the front, where the heck did the Maccas come from with Hamilton in second and Button in fourth....? Both cars looked sharp, a new rear wing being given the credit for the extra grip. With the McLarens being involved at the front end it suddenly became much more difficult for Alonso and Webber. The Spaniard could only qualify third and Webber was down in fifth – but if points had been awarded at that stage Alonso would still be the champion.

The tension on the grid was palpable, and we wondered how the four championship contenders would plan their getaway. Above all they had to ensure survival beyond the first lap because a retirement or a pit stop for a new wing would finish their chances. But Hamilton and Button, or even Massa down in sixth, would have no inhibitio8ns about diving down the inside at the first corner and see where they ended up. And we also wondered if Massa had been given a much lighter fuel load with which to get to the front of the field and control the pace of the Red Bulls until he ran out. There’s nothing in the rules that says you must have a full load of fuel....

When the lights went out Hamilton went for the inside of Vettel but just backed off in time before they made contact. Button out-dragged Alonso into the first corner and Webber slotted into fifth just ahead of Massa. But it was behind this group that trouble brewed that was to hugely influence the outcome of the race. Barrichello was being attacked by the two Mercedes’ of Rosberg and Schuey and, with the two Mercs next to each other, Schuey got it out of shape at the first chicane and slowly spun around, facing the rest of the traffic. The unsighted Liuzzi ploughed straight in to him and immediately the safety car was brought out.

This enabled some of the mid-field runners who had started on the softer tyres to come into the pits and change for the harder options which would run to the end of the race. None of the front runners opted for this, being too worried that a pit stop would put them right to the back of the traffic. One of the pit stoppers was Vitaly Petrov in the Renault.

The safety car pulled in on lap 6 and racing resumed. Vettel held his lead from Hamilton, Button and a slightly fading Alonso who had Webber tight up behind.  With passing all but impossible the Red Bull team then brought Webber in for a tyre change on lap 11, hoping to get him out in clear air and leap-frog the cars in front when they made their stop.  This then brought about the fatal error in the Ferrari strategy: the team were fixated solely on Webber and brought Alonso in for a stop to try to head off any charge from the Australian. But by the time Alonso was back on the track he was behind both Petrov in sixth and Rosberg in fifth, who had already stopped and were going to be running through to the end.

And that was the end of Alonso’s championship hopes. He simply could not pass the Renault and ran through to the end in seventh place, with nowhere near enough points to beat Vettel to the title. Had he stayed out until the normal pit stop window he could have safely followed the two McLarens round for a fourth place finish and the World Championship. But championships are won not by just one race result, it has been a long season and the Ferrari has not always been the quickest car.

Webber was similarly damaged by his early pit stop.  He too got caught in impassable traffic and finished down in eight place, just behind the Ferrari.

On the slowing down lap Alonso vented his frustration at Petrov for not allowing him past, but why should he have? They were both fighting for position and the Russian also had a job to do, which he did excellently.

In all honesty the right team and the right driver won the championship this year. The Red Bulls were simply the quickest cars all season and had a Ferrari or a McLaren driver stolen the title then that would have been a slight injustice. Similarly Vettel was the better of the two Red Bull drivers and it remains a shame that Webber will probably never get this close again.

So, congratulations to Sebastian Vettel, at 23 the youngest ever World Champion, and to the Red Bull team on producing a fantastic car. Bring on 2011!

Click here for FIA lap chart

Stefano Domenicali: “There is a great sadness at this moment, because to come so close to our goal and to see it slip away for just a few points really hurts. We made a wrong decision in terms of strategy for three reasons: we marked a rival with two cars, we were unduly concerned about the wear rate of the soft tyres and we did not take into consideration the difficulty of getting past other cars on the track. Congratulations to Vettel: he had the quickest car and in the end, he was the best, which the points table proved.”

Fernando Alonso: “It’s a shame to get to the end of the season and then lose the title at the final moment, but that’s racing, that is sport. Everything went wrong today, from the start itself to the strategy. Now there is some sadness, but I am sure that in a few hours, with a clear head, we will begin to appreciate better what we have achieved. We have to continue like that, staying united and determined. We must improve the car and ensure that the mistakes that all of us – we drivers and the team – have made during the year, are not repeated.”

Felipe Massa:“It’s a real shame the way things went in this race. We had decided to pit early to try and stay ahead of Webber, but we did not manage it and we were then stuck in traffic for almost the whole race, both myself and Fernando. Unfortunately, the cars ahead of us were very quick in a straight line and it was impossible to overtake.