F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/2010

2010 F1 Season

19 races · Red Bull RB6

The 2010 season was one of the most open and hard-fought of the modern era. Four drivers (Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton) arrived at the Abu Dhabi finale with mathematical title chances, something extraordinary.

Alonso, in his first year at Ferrari, had led the championship and was the big favourite, but a disastrous strategy call left him stuck behind Petrov's Renault, unable to pass, while Vettel won the race from pole.

The German thus took his first world title at 23, becoming the youngest champion in history and firing the starting gun on the Red Bull and Adrian Newey dynasty that would dominate the years to come.

Drivers’ Champion

Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull RB6

Constructors’ Champion

Red Bull Racing

19 races

See the 2010 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Abu Dhabi: four drivers with options, Vettel and the RB6 fastest when it mattered most.»

The 2010 grid, car by car

The 12 teams that raced in 2010, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Red Bull
98
Sebastian Vettel · Mark Webber
2McLaren
95
Lewis Hamilton · Jenson Button
3Ferrari
94
Fernando Alonso · Felipe Massa
4Mercedes
87
Michael Schumacher · Nico Rosberg
5Renault
83
Robert Kubica · Vitaly Petrov
6Williams
79
Rubens Barrichello · Nico Hulkenberg
7Force India
76
Adrian Sutil · Vitantonio Liuzzi
8Sauber
75
Kamui Kobayashi · Pedro de la Rosa
9Toro Rosso
73
Sebastien Buemi · Jaime Alguersuari
10Lotus
66
Jarno Trulli · Heikki Kovalainen
11Virgin
63
Timo Glock · Lucas di Grassi
12HRT
62
Bruno Senna · Karun Chandhok

How 2010 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Bahrain Grand Prix to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull25651010
2Fernando AlonsoFerrari2525102
3Mark WebberRed Bull2424105
4Lewis HamiltonMcLaren240391
5Jenson ButtonMcLaren214270
6Felipe MassaFerrari144050
7Nico RosbergMercedes142030
8Robert KubicaRenault136030

It came down to 4 points: Vettel and Alonso finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 5 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Sebastian Vettel.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

2010, race by race

All 19 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

5different drivers won: Alonso 5 · Vettel 5 · Webber 4 · Hamilton 3 · Button 2.

3different teams won: Red Bull 9 · Ferrari 5 · McLaren 5.

5different drivers took pole: Vettel 10 · Webber 5 · Alonso 2 · Hamilton 1 · Hülkenberg 1.

8different drivers stood on the podium.

9one-twos for a single team: Red Bull 4 · McLaren 3 · Ferrari 2.

8 of 19races were won from pole position.

0first-ever wins: every winner had won before.

From 5ththe win from furthest back: Jenson Button, Chinese Grand Prix.

22 years, 275 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Sebastian Vettel, Malaysian Grand Prix.

74%of starts reached the flag (336 of 452).

12 of 24cars finished the Monaco Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

2hat tricks (pole, win and fastest lap). Most fastest laps: Alonso 5 · Hamilton 5 · Vettel 3.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Bahrain Grand PrixFernando AlonsoFerrari3rd
2Australian Grand PrixJenson ButtonMcLaren4th
3Malaysian Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull3rd
4Chinese Grand PrixJenson ButtonMcLaren5th
5Spanish Grand PrixMark WebberRed Bull1st
6Monaco Grand PrixMark WebberRed Bull1st
7Turkish Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMcLaren2nd
8Canadian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMcLaren1st
9European Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull1st
10British Grand PrixMark WebberRed Bull2nd
11German Grand PrixFernando AlonsoFerrari2nd
12Hungarian Grand PrixMark WebberRed Bull2nd
13Belgian Grand PrixLewis HamiltonMcLaren2nd
14Italian Grand PrixFernando AlonsoFerrari1st
15Singapore Grand PrixFernando AlonsoFerrari1st
16Japanese Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull1st
17Korean Grand PrixFernando AlonsoFerrari3rd
18Brazilian Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull2nd
19Abu Dhabi Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull1st

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Fastest lap is the race fastest lap.

What if 2010 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2010 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 19-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Sebastian Vettelreal championRed BullP1.843%
Fernando AlonsoFerrariP233%
Lewis HamiltonMcLarenP2.224%
Mark WebberRed BullP4.10%
Jenson ButtonMcLarenP50%
Felipe MassaFerrariP60%

Sebastian Vettel takes the title 43% of the time: one in every 2 simulated championships goes to somebody else, almost always Fernando Alonso. It was not a dominated year, it was a won one.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2010 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Hypotheses from 2010

What if Alonso had driven the Red Bull in 2010?

One driver

▶ Simulate now

Vettel vs Webber 2010: the civil war at Red Bull

Duel

▶ Simulate now

What if Räikkönen had returned to F1 with Red Bull in 2010?

One driver

▶ Simulate now

Drivers of 2010

Sebastian Vettel★ 4Fernando Alonso★ 2Lewis Hamilton★ 7Mark Webber9 wins
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 2010 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

All articles