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Racing revisitations: 2010 F1 season - Part 1

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Roar Guru
21st April, 2020
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Formula One celebrated its 60th championship season in 2010 with an epic title race that went down to the wire.

It was a transition for the sport into what was then a new decade, with new regulations such as the ban on refuelling, the introduction of a new points system, and the addition of three new teams to the grid – which achieved little in their respective tenures.

The 2009 title holder, Jenson Button, made the switch to McLaren to defend his maiden crown, alongside fellow world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was hunting a second title in three years.

Formula One’s relative newcomers in Red Bull Racing had firmed up in 2009 and the combination of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber looked set to contend for the team’s first championship, while Ferrari’s controversial sidelining of 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen saw the team appoint two-time champ Fernando Alonso with Felipe Massa – who was returning from a frightening head injury.

Constructors’ champions Brawn were bought out by Mercedes-Benz, who made their fully-fledged works return to Formula One for the first time in decades, facilitating the return of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher press conference

Michael Schumacher (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, file)

The 19-race schedule commenced at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which for the first time since the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in 1996, was the curtain-raiser. The Sakhir circuit debuted a new, 6.2km endurance layout – which to this day is perplexing.

Red Bull were the immediate pace setters, as Vettel took the first pole position of the season, while Massa was on the front-row alongside the German. Timo Glock in the new Virgin Racing Team had the wheels come off his car, a metaphor for the three new teams’ fates.

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Reliability plagued the energy drinks giant straightaway, with Vettel suffering from a loss of power. This allowed Alonso to capitalise, winning on debut for Ferrari – filling the Tifosi with the hope that the Spaniard would be their new champion.

A wet and wild race in Melbourne saw chaos from the outset, with Alonso, Schumacher and Button all tangling at the first corner. Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber lost his third front-wing for the weekend, and rookie Nico Hulkenberg clashed with Sebastien Buemi’s Toro Rosso.

Button, after six laps, was the first of the front-runners to gamble on the slick tyres, with the reigning world champion a master of these changeable conditions. The Red Bulls were in command until both Webber and Vettel’s races were turned upside down, as the Aussie repeatedly made contact with Hamilton and his junior teammate suffered a brakes failure.

There was trouble at McLaren too while Button led the race, as Hamilton was fast approaching in third. The team elected to pit the 2008 world champion for a third time, much to the driver’s dismay – as it took him out of contention for the podium. In the moment, it felt as if Hamilton’s race was compromised to avoid conflict with Button in the lead, though tyre life fading was cited officially.

Button won his first race as a McLaren driver and was joined on the podium by Robert Kubica, who made a strong showing for his new Renault team.

Jenson Button

Jenson ‘the hardest button to’ Button
Photo: GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram

Rain wreaked havoc again in Malaysia, with McLaren and Ferrari caught out in qualifying. This played into Red Bull’s favour who took their first one-two of the season, with a Vettel victory. Nico Rosberg put the new Mercedes team on the podium for the first time, while Alonso lost points with an engine failure and the McLarens only bagging minor placings.

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China will always be remembered for Buemi’s front tyres both simultaneously ejecting themselves, though another wet race saw the championship pendulum shift. Vettel started from his third pole in four races, as Alonso jumped the start and was penalised.

Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India crashed into Buemi and Kobayashi which triggered the safety car and many of the drivers to pit for intermediate tyres. Only Button and Rosberg took the gamble to stay out on slicks and thus were at the head of the field.

Hamilton and Vettel spectacularly duelled in and out of the pits as they made the switch back to prime tyres, with the German in front. Another band of rain came and so did another safety car, which cemented Button’s second win of the season and McLaren’s first one-two, with Hamilton second and another brilliant drive from Rosberg for third.

The return to Europe commenced speculation about Red Bull’s dominant qualifying pace. They’d claimed five out of five pole positions, only this time it was Webber who commanded the win ahead of Alonso and Vettel – after Hamilton succumbed to a puncture with only three laps to go and second seemingly in the bag.

Webber made it back-to-back wins in Monaco from pole, stating his intent for a maiden championship. Vettel had completed another one-two for Red Bull, lunging past Kubica at the first corner as the Pole settled for third. Both Webber and Vettel found themselves tied on 78 points at the top of the standings, while difficult races for their rivals proved costly, including a DNF for Button.

From the highs of Monaco came the lows of Turkey and the infamous flashpoint in the fiery history between the Red Bull teammates.

Webber had a third consecutive pole and while Hamilton split the leaders early, he lost out on second to Vettel with a delay in his pit-stop.

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With Vettel seemingly the quicker car behind his teammate and the pressure from the McLarens building from behind, a desperate attempt down the inside of Webber saw both Red Bulls make contact and send the young German out of the race. The Aussie looked to slowly move to cover the inside line, which Vettel was sneaking up and with no room to move – the contact was unavoidable.

This sparked a war between the teammates, of which the ramifications were felt in subsequent seasons, though in the immediate present the advantage was thrown over to McLaren – who had to manage their own drivers to secure a one-two and Hamilton’s first win of the season. Webber’s consolation was bottom spot on the podium.

Tensions were still rife in the Red Bull camp and Canada was not a venue that would favour their car. This saw the first non-Red Bull pole taken as the honours went to Hamilton, at a track he has a strong affinity with. Webber looked to benefit by starting on the prime tyre, though Alonso had bested the Aussie for a spot on the podium.

Vettel had to nurse a gearbox problem and still finished ahead of his teammate in fourth, while another McLaren one-two saw Hamilton atop the standings for the first time and Button back into second.

Valencia in Spain was another power-sensitive circuit at which Red Bull were tipped to struggle, though Vettel made the place his own with a dominant victory from pole position. Webber’s race, by contrast, ended up in the air, after rear-ending an unawares Heikki Kovalainen in the new Lotus car. The Aussie was thankfully unhurt.

This triggered the safety car and the start of Alonso’s grievances, as the Spaniard was furious that Hamilton passed when it was deployed, which the Ferrari driver constantly reminded everyone of throughout the race. Even a penalty didn’t really punish the Briton, who still claimed a spot on the podium.

The Red Bull battle again reared its head at Silverstone, as the team elected to give Vettel, who had crashed and wrecked his own front-wing, the updated wing that was supposed to be for Webber. The pair again locked out the front row of the grid, with Vettel on the pole and the Aussie left to gesticulate his frustration during the post-qualifying press conference.

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In the race it was advantage Webb er, as Hamilton had given Vettel an early puncture and ended any hopes that the German had of back-to-back wins. Alonso, who was winless since the first race in Bahrain, hit trouble when he was penalised for passing Kubica off the track.

“Not bad for a number two driver,” were the bold words from Webber on the team radio, after Red Bull congratulated him on his third win of the season. Hamilton delighted the British crowd with second and Rosberg claimed his third and final podium of the season for Mercedes.

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Hamilton extended his lead in the championship after Britain, with 145 points to his teammate’s 133. Webber found himself back into third with 128, seven ahead of Vettel, while Alonso was languishing in fifth on 98.

McLaren also led Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, 278 points to 249 – with their F-duct equipped MP4-25 proving superior in race-spec to the RB6, which had suffered from reliability issues, but was still strong thanks to the exhaust blown diffuser.

Ferrari were 113 points behind McLaren meanwhile and only 39 ahead of Mercedes.

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