Sebastian Vettel Becomes Youngest Formula One World Champion

Red Bull Racing could not have asked for a better end to the 2010 Formula One season. After they had already clinched the constructor's title in the previous race itself at Brazil, Sebastian Vettel put the icing on the cake with a win at Abu Dhabi, and helped by other driver placings, went on to win the driver's world championship.

No one would have guessed this kind of ending, not even Vettel. The most likely person to win the title seemed to be Ferrari's Alonso, with Mark Webber close behind. Alonso started on P4, and had to simply keep that position till the end of the race to win the title. But a disaster in pit stop strategy by Ferrari meant that he came back out behind the Renaults in 11th place. From then on he drove like a driver possessed, but could only end up in 7th place, which was not enough to get the title, since Vettel won the race. Vettel owes quite a bit to the Renaults for his title, since they did not let the experienced Alonso overtake them, which was the main factor in deciding the champion.

At 23, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest Formula One world champion, and is also only the 2nd German after Michael Schumacher to win the coveted championship. He had the most pole positions (10) than any other driver, and was the one to beat in nearly all the races. Alonso came back strongly in the 2nd half of the season, but Vettel won the last 2 races of the season to seal the championship.

The race standings were as follows: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 25 pts, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) 18 pts, Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes) 15 pts, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 12 pts, Robert Kubica (Renault) 10 pts, Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 8 pts, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 6 pts, Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 4 pts, Jamie Alguersuari (STR-Ferrari) 2 pts, Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1 pt.

2010 Final Driver Standings

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	256
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	252
3	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	242
4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	240
5	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	214
6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	144
7	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	142
8	Robert Kubica	Renault	136
9	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	72
10	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	47
11	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	47
12	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	32
13	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	27
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	22
15	Vitantonio Luizzi	Force India-Mercedes	21
16	Sabastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	8
17	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	6
18	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	6
19	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	5

2010 Final Constructor Standings

Position	Team	Points
1	Red Bull-Renault	498
2	McLaren-Mercedes	454
3	Ferrari	396
4	Mercedes Benz GP Ltd	214
5	Renault	163
6	Williams-Cosworth	69
7	Force India-Mercedes	68
8	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	44
9	STR-Ferrari	13
10	Lotus-Cosworth	0
11	HRT-Cosworth	0
12	Virgin-Cosworth	0

It was one of the most exciting seasons in Formula One history, with the champion being decided right at the last race which was the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Teams can now enjoy the much deserved break, while Red Bull Racing have earned the right to party for a few days. The 2011 Formula One season will commence in a few months time, till then there is no doubt that the time will be used well to develop strategies and the cars. Heartiest congratulations to Vettel and Red Bull for the 2010 season.