Few races have ever been so exciting as the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This year marked one of the closest battles for a Drivers’ Championship in Formula One history, and it all came down to one last race.

Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton were all in contention for the title. With each driver separated by just a handful of points, it was anybody’s game. We break down what happened at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and who emerged victorious as the world champion.

Welcome to Lore Tuesdays, a weekly series throughout the offseason that tells you stories about the greatest moments in Formula 1. Each week, we will retell an iconic Formula 1 story and why it is so ingrained in Formula 1 history. Strap in, here we go!

Pre-Race standings

Heading into the race weekend, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was best positioned to win with 246 points. Behind him were Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, with 238 and 231 points respectively. Lewis Hamilton, driving for McLaren, was also in contention for the title with 224 points.

Alonso was 8 points ahead of Webber and could secure his title by finishing P4 or better in the race. However, every other driver was not fully in control of their destiny. Even with a win, Mark Webber needed to limit Alonso to P3 or lower. The deficit was even larger for Sebastian Vettel, who needed to overcome a 15-point deficit to Alonso. For Lewis Hamilton, at 24 points behind, the only way he could win was by finishing in P1 and hoping for a disastrous result from everyone else.

The possibility of team orders at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

It’s important to note that throughout the season, Ferrari had been using team orders to benefit Alonso. Going into the final race weekend of the season, there was significant media coverage speculating whether Red Bull would use team orders to better position one of their drivers for the title.

However, this was shut down quickly. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz and team principal Christian Horner affirmed that Red Bull would not impose any team orders to prevent an Alonso championship. Despite having two drivers in contention for the title, Red Bull denied wanting to “interfere” with their drivers. Mateschitz even said that earning a second-place finish under “correct circumstances” was better for them than winning due to team orders.

Qualifying at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

In such a tight race for the championship, qualifying was going to be absolutely essential, and it was. The top 4 made it into the last session and were all vying for pole position. At the end of qualifying, it was Vettel who clinched pole, securing his tenth pole position of the season. Behind him were Hamilton in P2, Alonso in P3, and Webber qualifying in P5.

Webber was disappointed with this result, having qualified last out of the 4 championship contenders. After qualifying, he remained optimistic about his chances, stating:

“I didn’t seem to have the grip the other guys had, and I need to have a look where I was losing time. We will just have to do the best job we can tomorrow, it’s a long race – we’re still in the hunt and that’s the main thing.”

Despite Webber’s disappointment, the race was still winnable by any of the contenders. It was going to come down to strategy on race day.

The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Conditions were clean, and the grid was dry, setting the stage for an on-track showdown. At lights out, Vettel managed to hold his pole position into the first corner, but Alonso did not have an ideal start and went down to P4.

Suddenly, there was a crash between Vitantonio Liuzzi and Michael Schumacher at turn 6, which brought out a safety car. To avoid making an extra stop, several drivers made pit stops in lap 1, but the top 5 chose to stay out. Choosing not to pit, the championship contenders focused on building a gap.

During lap 11, Webber, who had been struggling for grip in both qualifying and the race, decided to pit for soft tyres. Coming out of the pit lane, he found himself in P16 and was faced with having to battle back up the grid. Shortly after, Ferrari made a move to try to hold off Webber. Felipe Massa pitted on lap 13, intending to come out in front, but was unsuccessful and emerged behind.

Renault’s defensive masterclass

A couple of laps later, Alonso came into the pit lane and rejoined in P12, just ahead of Webber, who had moved up the grid. Meanwhile, Hamilton and Vettel had stayed out, setting faster lap times than their title rivals on fresher tyres. As Alonso fought to keep his championship hopes alive, he found himself behind Vitaly Petrov. Despite numerous attempts, Alonso could not pass Petrov and lost a significant amount of time behind the Renault driver.

In the meantime, both Vettel and Hamilton pitted from P1 and P2, respectively. Following Vettel’s pit stop, he was in P2 behind Jenson Button, with Hamilton in P5, also blocked by a Renault driver. This time, it was Robert Kubica holding off a championship contender. Button finally pitted on lap 39, leaving Vettel in P1 once again. Both Alonso and Webber remained stuck behind Petrov, with a championship win looking less and less likely each lap.

“You just wait, sunshine.”

With all other contenders stuck behind a Renault and unable to pass, Vettel managed to win the race. Vettel’s race engineer held off on any celebrations until the remaining contenders, instructing Vettel, “You just wait, sunshine, you just wait.” Once it was clear Alonso and Webber were finishing outside of the top 5, Vettel’s victory was secured.

Despite not being the favourite to win, Sebastian Vettel managed to overcome a 15-point deficit and win his first-ever Driver’s Championship.

Where did it go wrong for Ferrari and Alonso?

Coming into the race as the favourite for the title, Fernando Alonso and Ferrari were definitely not expecting to lose out in this way. It was not Alonso’s day. From losing a place at the start to being unable to pass Petrov, Alonso’s window of opportunity slowly shrank as the race went on.

Alonso also made his pit stop early, while Vettel, Hamilton, and Button all went longer stints. Some fans believe that Ferrari was also too focused on chasing Webber. If Alonso had waited a few more laps to pit, he may have been able to overcut Rosberg and Petrov, rather than being stuck behind the Renault. It’s also reasonable to say that Ferrari couldn’t have anticipated how impossible overtaking would be that day.

Alonso went on to spend four more seasons with Ferrari but failed to secure a World Drivers’ Championship title during that time.

Final thoughts

This past season, we witnessed a 3-way battle for the championship that came down to the very last race. While Lando Norris was the championship leader and secured victory, the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a reminder that being the frontrunner is no guarantee of victory.

Overcoming a 15-point deficit to win the championship was an unlikely scenario for Sebastian Vettel, but it happened. Winning a Drivers’ Championship takes a massive amount of skill, strategy, and luck, and this is what enabled Vettel to win the championship.