2010 Formula 1 Season

The 2010 season delivered an extraordinary four-way championship battle that went down to the very last race, the closest multi-driver finale in F1 history at the time. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren all entered the Abu Dhabi finale with a mathematical chance of the title. The introduction of a new points system rewarding the winner with 25 points, plus the ban on in-race refuelling, reshaped strategy and kept the field tightly packed throughout the year.

Red Bull, with Adrian Newey's brilliantly fast RB6, had the quickest car but was plagued by reliability problems, internal tension between Vettel and Webber, and the occasional self-inflicted wound, most notably the pair colliding while running first and second in Turkey. Alonso's Ferrari and Hamilton's McLaren capitalised on Red Bull's stumbles, and for much of the season Webber and Alonso looked the more likely champions. Alonso's late-season surge, including a controversial team-order win in Germany where Massa was instructed to move aside, put him in pole position heading to the finale.

The Abu Dhabi decider became infamous for Ferrari's strategic blunder. Leading the championship, Alonso was pitted early and covered Webber, only to find himself trapped behind the slow Renault of Vitaly Petrov for the rest of the race, unable to pass. Vettel, who had qualified on pole and led from start to finish, won the race and leapfrogged everyone to claim the title by four points over Alonso. At 23, he became the youngest World Champion in the sport's history.

The 2010 title launched the Vettel and Red Bull dynasty, the beginning of a four-year period of dominance built around Newey's aerodynamic genius. Vettel's late charge from third in the standings, never having led the championship until the final round, made his triumph all the more remarkable. The season also saw the return of Michael Schumacher with the new Mercedes works team and the debut of several new outfits. It stands as one of the most thrilling and unpredictable championships ever, with four genuine contenders separated by a handful of points at the final flag.