2010 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Track: Yas Marina Circuit

Weather: dry, dusk into night

Sebastian VETTEL won his 10th F1 World Championship race at the 2010 Abu Dhabi F1 GP, sealing his first F1 drivers world championship at 23 years and 134 days, the youngest world champion in F1 history. The Red Bull driver started from pole and won at Yas Marina by 10.162 seconds from Lewis Hamilton for McLaren. It was Red Bulls 14th F1 win.

Vettel pole, four drivers can still win the title

Yas Marina on 14 November 2010 was one of the more remarkable title finales in F1. Alonso led on 246, Webber 238, Vettel 231, Hamilton 222 - four different drivers still mathematically capable of taking the crown. Vettel took pole with a 1:39.394 lap, Hamilton second by just 0.031, Alonso third, Button fourth for McLaren.

Race day: Ferraris strategy trap, Vettel drives to the title

Alonso had only to finish ahead of Webber to become champion regardless of Vettels result. When Webber pitted early on lap 12 to cover Rosberg, Ferrari mirrored the call on lap 15 to cover Webber. Both cars emerged behind Vitaly Petrovs Renault and were stuck there for the rest of the race, unable to overtake on Yas Marinas narrow layout. Vettel controlled the front, won by ten seconds, and became world champion. Hamilton second for McLaren, Button third. Alonso seventh, Webber eighth. Hamilton set the fastest lap on lap 47 at 1:41.274. At just 23 years and 134 days, Vettel became F1s youngest ever world champion, breaking Lewis Hamiltons 2008 record.

Championship: Vettel 256 champion, Alonso 252, Webber 242, Hamilton 240

An extraordinary season, five different winners at some point in the year, four drivers still capable at the finale, and Vettel taking the title he had been chasing since the seasons early rounds. The Ferrari strategy at Yas Marina became one of the most-analysed decisions in modern F1.

Classification 2010 Abu Dhabi F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	5	SebastianVettel	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	1	55	40	1:39:36.837	25
2	2	LewisHamilton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	2	55		1:39:46.999+10.162s	18
3	1	JensonButton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/25Mercedes FO 108	4	55	15	1:39:47.884+11.047s	15
4	4	NicoRosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	9	55		1:40:07.584+30.747s	12
5	11	RobertKubica	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	11	55		1:40:15.863+39.026s	10
6	12	VitalyPetrov	Renault	Renault R30Renault RS27	10	55		1:40:20.357+43.520s	8
7	8	FernandoAlonso	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	3	55		1:40:20.634+43.797s	6
8	6	MarkWebber	Red Bull	Red Bull RB6Renault RS27	5	55		1:40:21.080+44.243s	4
9	17	JaimeAlguersuari	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	17	55		1:40:27.038+50.201s	2
10	7	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari F10Ferrari 056	6	55		1:40:27.705+50.868s	1
11	22	NickHeidfeld	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	14	55		1:40:28.388+51.551s
12	9	RubensBarrichello	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	7	55		1:40:34.523+57.686s
13	14	AdrianSutil	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	13	55		1:40:35.162+58.325s
14	23	KamuiKobayashi	BMW Sauber	Sauber C29Ferrari 056	12	55		1:40:36.395+59.558s
15	16	SébastienBuemi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR5Ferrari 056	18	55		1:40:40.015+1:03.178
16	10	NicoHülkenberg	Williams	Williams FW32Cosworth CA2010	15	55		1:40:41.600+1:04.763
17	19	HeikkiKovalainen	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	20	54		+1 lap
18	25	Lucasdi Grassi	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	22	53		+2 laps
19	21	BrunoSenna	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	23	53		+2 laps
20	20	ChristianKlien	HRT	HRT F110Cosworth CA2010	24	53		+2 laps
21	18	JarnoTrulli	Caterham	Lotus T127Cosworth CA2010	19	51		Rear wing
DNF	24	TimoGlock	Virgin Racing	Virging VR-01Cosworth CA2010	21	43		Gearbox
DNF	3	MichaelSchumacher	Mercedes	Mercedes W01Mercedes FO 108	8	0		Collision
DNF	15	VitantonioLiuzzi	Force India	Force India VJM03Mercedes FO 108	16	0		Collision

Fastest lap: 1:41.274 min. by Lewis Hamilton

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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