Sebastian Vettel Wins The 2010 Grand Prix Championship

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by: Osborne
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Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2010 Time: 8:58 AM
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The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix took place at the impressive Yas Marina circuit. Here, the racetrack goes around the island's newly-built marina, replete with beautiful yachts. Overlooking the race course is the five-star, 500-room Yas Marina Hotel.

The race is a 55 lap affair. The race distance is 305.355 km and the circuit length is 5.554 km. The lap record for the course is 1:40.279, set by Sebastian Vettel in 2009.

Saturday's qualifying session saw Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel take the pole position for the Sunday race. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes secured second spot on the starting grid. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was third in qualifying, with McLaren-Mercedes Jenson Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber rounding out the top five starters.

The raced began with a skirmish on the first lap. Former world champion Michael Schumacher spun out and was hit by Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi. It was a direct hit but Schumacher did manage to escape without being injured.

The safety car came out as a result of this bang up. This allowed Nico Rosberg of Mercedes GP and Renault's Vitaly Petrov to pit, which would have ramifications later in the race.

After the safety car, with full racing resuming, pole sitter Sebastian Vettel opened up his lead on Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button was in third spot, having overtaken Fernando Alonso. Red Bull's Mark Webber, contending for the title, battled for position in back of Alonso.

Fernando Alonso needed a fourth place finish minimum to secure the Drivers Championship. However, he could not get past Vitaly Petrov, Nico Rosberg, and Robert Kubica, and his hopes were effectively dashed. The early pit stops by Rosberg and Petrov meant they could stay on the course later on, which contributed to them staying ahead of Alonso.

For Sebastian Vettel it was a case of driving a controlled, smart race from start to finish. He only relinquished the lead when he had to stop for tires, which saw Jenson Button momentarily take over first place. Button eventually pitted as well, giving up his lead, and ended up driving a solid race taking third spot on the podium.

As the race wound down to its final laps, Vettel had a nice 10 second lead on Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button was a couple more seconds back in third place. Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica were next, followed by Petrov.

It was difficult for Fernando Alonso to work his way up the pack to garner the points he needed to win the F1 Championship. He ended up in seventh spot, gaining six 6 points for his efforts, but at least he and the other drivers can plan their 2011 ski holidays now.

Sebastian Vettel's teammate Mark Webber finished in eighth spot, his title hopes dashed as well. Webber also found that he had trouble trying to pass Petrov, which hurt his chances for moving up to a podium position.

Lewis Hamilton did drive a strong race for McLaren-Mercedes and did put the heat on Vettel for a while. In the end, he ended up stuck behind Renault's Robert Kubica, which saw him eventually lose more ground to Vettel. However, it was a good day for the McLaren-Mercedes team, with Hamilton and Button finishing second and third respectively.

Once again, Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg drove a fine race to secure fourth spot in the race and 12 points. He has been a consistent performer throughout the season. He finishes the season with 142 points, good for seventh spot overall in the Drivers Standings.

Aside from the opening lap accident, there was one other retirement during Sunday's Abu Dhabi GP. Timo Glock had to leave the race on lap 44 because of excessive gearbox temperatures.

With his victory in Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel is the youngest F1 champion in history. He ends the season with 256 points. Close behind was Ferrari's Alonso who ended the season with 252 points.

Mark Webber secured third in the Drivers Championship, ending the 2010 Formula 1 season with 242 points. Lewis Hamilton came in fourth position with 240 points. Jenson Button ended up in fifth place with 214 points.

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