The same can be said for these ten Formula One races. These results are final, even if Formula One has a history of retroactively changing results for technical infringements, which do not appear to be coming on the horizon.
The decade might seem split between two dynasties, one of Austrian funding based in Britain and the other of German funding based in Britain, but it was more than that.
There were 198 Formula One races this decade. Here are subjectively ten of the best...
10. 2019 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring
What Happened: A wet race and one that was appearing to be another dominating day for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in what was Mercedes' 200th grand prix.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel had to start tenth and 20th respectively but both made up ground in the opening laps. Leclerc moved into a position to put pressure on Hamilton around a third of the way through the race. At that same point in the race, the track was beginning to dry and slick tires were looking to be the better option.
Both Hamilton and Leclerc put on slick tires but Leclerc would got off course in turn 17 and end his race. Hamilton ran wide and damaged his front wing in the same part of the track, forcing an unscheduled pit stop and Hamilton would incur a five-second penalty for entering pit lane on the wrong side of the bollard at pit entrance.
This extra pit stop put Hamilton on intermediate tires and dropped him to fifth behind Max Verstappen, Nico Hülkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Alexander Albon. It did not take the Mercedes drivers long to move up to second and third and Hülkenberg would bring out the safety car when he went off course. Under this safety car, Verstappen and Bottas switched to slicks and the following lap Hamilton came in, put slicks back on and down to 12th after serving his five-second penalty.
Lance Stroll had put on slick tires prior to the Hülkenberg incident and inherited the lead but soon after the restart Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat overtook the Canadian.
Mercedes' dream 200th race took a turn for the worse when Hamilton spun in turn one and dropped to 13th on lap 53 and three laps later Bottas spun in the same corner and clattered the barrier, ending his race.
Bottas' accident bunched the field up again. Verstappen pulled away from the lead but the battle for second saw Kvyat, Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Vettel go at it over the final four laps. Verstappen took a comfortable victory while Vettel worked his way Kvyat, Stroll and Sainz, Jr. for second with Kvyat taking the final podium position.
How is it Remembered: It is fresh in our minds and it is a quintessential wet-weather race.
Unexpected drivers were at the front and competing for the podium, regular front-runners were spinning off and it led to five different teams finishing in the top five.
It was another impressive performance for Max Verstappen in the wet and he did not slip up when other top drivers around him did.
As time marches on, I think this race will be remembered for Hamilton and Mercedes letting this race slip through their fingers but it also saw Kvyat have a strong race, this race was the launch pad for Albon up to Red Bull, Vettel looked like the four-time world champion despite the massive setback and this was the race where Robert Kubica was elevated to tenth and got a point.
9. 2013 Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
What Happened: A mix of pit strategy and different teams battling for the victory.
It started with Sebastian Vettel in the lead but with the tire falloff, driver came early to change tires and this brought the leaders to pit lane as well. While the likes of Vettel and Fernando Alonso were aggressive on tire strategy, Kimi Räikkönen was getting good life out of his tires and ran longer on his second stint.
There did come a point where Alonso started to close on Räikkönen due to fresher tires but Räikkönen and the Lotus team timed its second pit stop just right. Alonso took the lead but was caught up in slower traffic. The Spaniard was hung up and lost a lot of ground to the Finn before making his third stop.
Räikkönen would get ahead of Alonso and Vettel and after Adrian Sutil made his final pit stop, Räikkönen re-inherited the lead and made the two-stop strategy work while the rest of the field were well off the Finn despite running a three-stop strategy. Räikkönen started the season with a victory, 12.451 seconds ahead of Alonso with Vettel in third.
How is it Remembered: The surprise of Räikkönen leading the World Drivers' Championship.
No one penned this result down on paper but we seem to have some off-the-wall, unpredictable results in the first race of the season and this was no different.
I am not sure anyone thought Räikkönen could actually put together a title push. It is one thing to win one race but to put together an entire season was going to be a tall task for the Finn driving at Lotus. Red Bull and Ferrari were bested but were not far off.
8. 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit
What Happened: A late-arriving storm made teams start on the intermediate tire but the storm's strength was greater than expected and it brought all the cars to pit lane quickly to switch to the full wet tire.
The rain brought out the safety car and led to a red flag for about 50 minutes.
Once the race restarted, Sergio Pérez worked his way to the lead for Sauber passing Lewis Hamilton. The lead lasted only two laps when Fernando Alonso took the top spot.
The track started to dry out but the forecasted for rain to return at some point during the lead. Alonso had a comfortable lead but with the track drying Pérez started to run down the Spaniard. The possibility of rain kept the teams on the intermediate tire out but the intermediate tires were getting severely worn due to the drying surface.
Daniel Ricciardo made the choice to take on slicks and reset fastest lap by three-seconds. The rest of the teams came for slicks. Alonso made his pit stop on lap 40 while Pérez stayed out and this decision cost Pérez, as he lost about five seconds to Alonso because of the extra lap on intermediate tires.
However, as Pérez had done earlier in the race, once on slicks he began to run down Alonso. Pérez pushed hard a slight off cost him nearly five seconds and provided insurance for Alonso. Pérez again closed the gap to the Ferrari driver but it was too little, too late.
Alonso won the race but Pérez stole the show and finished second with Hamilton rounding out the podium.
How is it Remembered: The race that put Sergio Pérez on the map.
If it wasn't for the few errors, Pérez may be a grand prix winner and maybe Ferrari would have taken him in instead of keeping Massa and letting Pérez go to McLaren for a dismal season.
While remembered for Pérez, it does have to be said that Alonso drove superb. He didn't really put a wheel wrong and Ferrari made the calls at the right time for him to take this victory.
7. 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit
What Happened: Many incidents and an unexpected result.
Lewis Hamilton jumped out to an early lead while other drivers had incidents behind him. Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen made contact and allowed Sebastian Vettel to take second position.
All the beating and banging led to Daniil Kvyat retiring and brought out a safety car.
During this safety car period, Hamilton felt the safety car was not going quick enough and, coming to the restart, Vettel ran into the back of Hamilton, causing damage to both drivers.
This contact allowed the Williams of Felipe Massa and the Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez to challenge Vettel for position. The Force India drivers collided in the battle and took each other out. The debris for the Force India clashed forced a tire puncture for Kimi Räikkönen and it forced a red flag for clean up.
Hamilton led at the restart ahead of Vettel and the Williams drivers Massa and Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo had worked his way to fifth.
Hamilton again had a respectable lead but his headrest came loose and forced him to make a pit stop. Simultaneously, Vettel was handed a ten-second stop/go penalty for his earlier incident with Hamilton. After both this incidents, the two drivers were still next to each other on the track with Vettel moving ahead of Hamilton but the drivers running seventh and eighth respectively.
Ricciardo had overtaken Stroll and now inherited the lead after the Hamilton and Vettel incidents. Ricciardo had a healthy lead but in the closing laps, Vettel and Hamilton closed on the podium positions. Stroll was holding on with Bottas charging as well.
Ricciardo took an unexpected victory from tenth on the grid and Bottas slipstreamed ahead of Stroll to get second at the line while Vettel and Hamilton came home in fourth and fifth.
How is it Remembered: The Hamilton-Vettel incident.
Did Hamilton brake check Vettel? The data says no. Should Vettel have been given a harsher penalty? It is was a matter for debate and it was more sparks from this rivalry that has never seemed to take off. Hamilton and Vettel have both been in Formula One since 2007 and never have they really gone toe-to-toe for a title.
Outside of 2010, when Vettel and Hamilton were alive along with Alonso and Mark Webber, Hamilton didn't really factor in any of Vettel's championship seasons and Vettel didn't factor in any of Hamilton's championship seasons and the drivers combined to win nine of ten championships this decade. Odd.
Ricciardo drove a smart race while others faltered in front of him. This was a day where Force India could have definitely put a car on the podium and possibly stolen a victory because of all the trouble with the top teams. Instead, Red Bull took the victory and Stroll was the surprise man on the podium.
What Happened: Chaos in a tight title fight.
Lewis Hamilton entered the final five races of 2016 knowing he needed to win races after his engine failure while leading the Malaysian Grand Prix. After finishing third in Japan with teammate Nico Rosberg taking the victory, Hamilton was now in a situation where even if he won out and Rosberg finished second in every race Hamilton could not win the championship.
Hamilton had won at Austin the week before and he had another pole position in Mexico City. Hamilton got out to the lead and ran a smart race while Rosberg just looking to stay in his shadow. Behind those two, Vettel worked a slightly alternate strategy to get into podium contention from seventh on the grid. Vettel led 12 laps before making a pit stop that gave Hamilton the lead once and for all.
It was another Mercedes 1-2 with Hamilton taking victory ahead of Rosberg but the fight was for third. Max Verstappen was in third but a lock up into turn one forced the Dutchman to cut the course and led to a command from race control to seize the position to Vettel. Verstappen did not give up the position and backed Vettel back to Verstappen's teammate Daniel Ricciardo. While Ricciardo made a move for the position, Vettel blocked Ricciardo
Verstappen did not give the position up and crossed the line in third with Vettel in fourth and Ricciardo in fifth. Verstappen went to the podium room but that is where he found out he was handed a five-second penalty. Vettel moved up to third and went through all the podium procedures, getting a trophy and spraying the champagne. After all that, Vettel was given a ten-second penalty for his move on Ricciardo. This dropped Vettel from third to fifth, elevating Ricciardo to the podium and it put Verstappen back ahead of Vettel in fourth.
How is it Remembered: The podium mix-up.
We had three different drivers listed as the third place finisher in a short period of time. It was flabbergasting.
It also set the tone for Verstappen and Vettel. This was the first time we really got to see the fire of Verstappen and the competitiveness. This was his first real fight on track and it showed a driver that was not going to back down but would also push the boundaries and let the stewards make the call whether or not to penalize him, very Michael Schumacher-esque.
This is also the first glimpse of the unraveling of Vettel. This was a driver that didn't seem to be one could annoy in the first half of the decade. We saw him get testy during 2014 when Ricciardo came on the scene and immediately became top dog but Vettel didn't lash out. In this case, Vettel cursed out Charlie Whiting and the stewards over the radio. It was a very unsportsmanlike outburst and we have seen little things like this be more common in recent seasons.
What Happened: Within four corners, both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were out of the race.
Hamilton had a poor start to the season. Rosberg had won the first four races. Hamilton started on pole position but Rosberg had inched ahead of Hamilton at the start. The two drivers were side-by-side heading into turn four. Rosberg pinched Hamilton to the inside, forcing the Briton to the grass and this led to both Mercedes colliding. Both drivers were out, the tension reached a level reminiscent of Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna and there was still an entire race to run.
The incident put Daniel Ricciardo in the lead ahead of Max Verstappen, who was making his Red Bull Racing debut after the team flipped him and Daniil Kvyat after the Russian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz, Jr. was third with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen rounding out the top five.
The Red Bulls led but Vettel worked his way to third and was closing on them.
Red Bull and Ferrari both made the decision to split the strategies for both their drivers with Ricciardo and Vettel running three-stop strategies and Verstappen and Räikkönen going with two stops.
The two-stop strategy ended up being the way to go. The three-stop strategy took Ricciardo and Vettel out of the fight and left it to be Verstappen vs. Räikkönen.
While Räikkönen got in DRS range, he was not able to take the position from the Dutchman. Verstappen took a historic victory, becoming the youngest winner in grand prix history with Räikkönen in second and Vettel taking third after Ricciardo had run wide.
How is it Remembered: The breaking point for Mercedes.
When it comes to intra-team friction, this race has to go up there with the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, 1990 Japanese Grand Prix and 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton knew he could not lose any more ground to Rosberg and Rosberg knew he could not let Hamilton gain any momentum.
To say this race determined the championship and gave Rosberg his only title is an exaggeration. Hamilton did lose an engine while leading in Malaysia when he was poised to take the championship lead and he did have a disappointing Japanese Grand Prix. This race did play into Rosberg's favor. Though he did not extend the gap Hamilton didn't close it either. It was a result Rosberg could live with and one he and Hamilton knew could not be repeated.
For such a jaw-dropping first lap, it was only fitting this race saw Verstappen become the youngest grand prix winner in Formula One history and he did it in his first start with Red Bull. Red Bull could not have looked any smarter for this early season driver swap.
What Happened: A pre-race thunderstorm forced the entire grid to start on intermediate tires.
Nico Rosberg jumped out to the lead from pole position with Valtteri Bottas in second with Sebastian Vettel in third and Fernando Alonso in fourth. Lewis Hamilton started from the pit lane after his car caught fire during qualifying and he spun on the opening lap.
Hamilton would make his way up to 13th on lap nine and later that lap Marcus Ericsson would bring out a safety car after he had an accident. Jenson Button inherited the lead after staying out on intermediates while the rest of the field switched to slick tires. The timing of the safety car caught out the top four runners and shuffled them behind Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa, who were able to stop before queuing behind the safety car.
Ricciardo quickly took the lead, which he would hold until lap 24, when he stopped under a safety car period for Sergio Pérez's accident in the final corner. Alonso took the lead and led for 14 laps before making a pit stop where Hamilton would lead a lap before stopping and putting Ricciardo back in the lead.
Hamilton emerged ahead of Rosberg, who was on the softer tire and was going to make another pit stop. The team ordered Hamilton to let Rosberg pass but refused to do so. Ricciardo made his final pit stop with 24 laps to go, dropping him to fourth and Rosberg stopped two laps later and re-joined in seventh.
Alonso was back in the lead with Hamilton in second but Ricciardo was closing on the fresher tires. With four laps to go, Ricciardo made an audacious move on the outside of Hamilton for second in turn two. Heading into turn one on the following lap, Ricciardo took the lead from Alonso.
Ricciardo took his second career victory with Alonso in second and Hamilton getting third from the pit lane despite a challenge from Rosberg.
How is it Remembered: Another stellar drive from Ricciardo but also from Hamilton.
Hamilton did everything he could not to win the world championship in 2014. He was the Mercedes that constantly had problems. It really was a title that should have gone to Rosberg but Hamilton had the drive to squeak out results like this one. He constantly found a way to steal points off Rosberg when he should not have been able to do so.
It was also possible because of the conditions. It was wet-to-dry and once dry it became a chess match with the slick tires. It is a kind of race Hungary is becoming known for in recent seasons.
What Happened: Lewis Hamilton started on pole position but he dropped to third after Nico Rosberg forced Hamilton off track and Sebastian Vettel skirted through to make it a German 1-2. The Marussias of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi got together on the first lap and brought out a safety car for the first seven laps.
Hamilton would get around Vettel shortly after the restart. Rosberg had a comfortable lead and Hamilton was in second while Vettel struggled on his tires and it moved the Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg.
The Mercedes teammates continued to battle with Hamilton pressuring Rosberg for the top spot. On Hamilton's second pit stop, a delay caused him to overheat his brakes. While back on track with Rosberg, he attempted an over take in the penultimate corner but blew that corner and allowed Rosberg back by. Hamilton's brakes were failing and it led to a retirement for the Brit.
Hamilton's retirement led to Mercedes telling Rosberg to conserve his brakes in the final half of the race. Pérez was in second and started to pressure Rosberg but he too was struggling with his brakes. This allowed the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel to close and Felipe Massa as well. Ricciardo took second into turn two while Vettel was balked behind the Mexican.
In two laps, Ricciardo took the lead on a vulnerable Rosberg. Meanwhile, Vettel, Pérez and Massa continued to battle. Vettel took third entering the final chicane coming to start the final lap. Massa made a run on Pérez heading into turn one but mistimed it entering turn one and made contact sending both drivers spinning off into the barrier.
Ricciardo cruised to his first career victory with Rosberg getting a lifeline to finish second and Vettel rounding out the podium.
How is it Remembered: Daniel Ricciardo getting this first victory, shaking the apple cart at Red Bull while Mercedes showed it had a weakness.
Ricciardo had been the better driver than Vettel leading into Canada and the gap would have been greater had it not been for a disqualification from second in Australia. This result was always coming and Vettel could not stop it. Vettel lost the top spot at Red Bull and never got it back.
This is also one of the few races that set up the title fight for 2014. Hamilton was strong but the brakes went on his car, not Rosberg. Rosberg was the fortunate one. He could conserve and while he lost the victory he still left Canada with 18 points to his name.
It was an intense battle in the closing laps. Not only did you have Ricciardo hunting down the sketchy Rosberg but the battle for third could have gone any one of three ways and the crowd let out an noticeable gasp when Massa and Pérez collided. When you hear the crowd about the car noise, it sets the tone for what a race is.
2. 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring
What Happened: Max Verstappen won his first career pole position and held off Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton while Hamilton made a pass on Bottas for second into turn three but it left Bottas with slight front wing damage.
Hamilton remained in Verstappen's tracks throughout the first stint. Verstappen relinquished the lead after 24 laps with Hamilton leading the next seven laps. Though Hamilton emerged from the pit lane further behind Verstappen than when Verstappen made his stop, Hamilton closed back in on the Red Bull and got to the Dutchman's rear wing whilst navigating traffic.
While lapping Ricciardo, Hamilton was able to make a run on Verstappen but ran wide in turn four and had to give up the position. Hamilton remained in the wake of Verstappen and the crew made a decision to make an extra pit stop and switch to the medium-compound tire with 21 laps to go. Verstappen had a chance to counter the move but a combination of lapped traffic and pace lost forced Verstappen to stay out and hope he would have the pace late and Hamilton would not.
Hamilton clawed out some time but with nine laps to go he was still over nine-seconds back and was unsure over if the tires would be there at the end. Verstappen continued to struggle with his tires and Hamilton continued to close. At the start of lap 67, Hamilton took the top spot with ease into turn one.
Hamilton took the victory while Verstappen made a late pit stop for fresh tires and to take fastest lap as a consolation with his runner-up performance. Sebastian Vettel had a late battle with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for third with the German taking the final spot on the podium.
How is it Remembered: This is still fresh but it is another case of the strategically superiority of Mercedes.
Mercedes has not won six consecutive World Drivers' Championships and World Constructors' Championship just because it has had Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari keeps shooting itself in the foot and Vettel left Red Bull. Mercedes has been dominant because it has hired the best person in every position needed to run a Formula One team.
The team saw an alternate strategy to get the lead but it would have been playing the long game. It would have required no safety car interference. It was a gamble but one the team knew it could take. Hamilton had no pressure from behind for second. Sitting within DRS range but not being able to have it be effective was no use to Hamilton so the team made the call to beat Red Bull and Verstappen over the long run and it paid off.
Red Bull stuck to its guns. It could have made the extra pit stop but one lap of waiting erased any margin of error. It made no sense to pit once Hamilton got within the pit delta. Red Bull had to cross its fingers and play from front. Verstappen did all he could but his tires were a softer compound and twice as old as Hamilton's. He was a sitting duck.
What Happened: Sebastian Vettel headed to Interlagos with a 13-point championship lead over Fernando Alonso. A fourth-place finish for the German would clinch his third consecutive World Drivers' Championship. Vettel had finished on the podium in six consecutive races while Alonso had four consecutive podium finishes.
Vettel qualified where he needed to finish, fourth. Alonso started seventh. It all went sideways immediately.
Vettel spun at the start after contact from Bruno Senna but Vettel avoided any serious damage and resumed racing in 22nd. However, Alonso had moved up to third, exactly where he needed to finish to take the world title if Vettel failed to score any points.
As Vettel worked his way back up the field rain started to fall and it led to teams jumping to the intermediate tire. The rain did not last long and many drivers would be forced to return to the pit lane for slicks.
When the safety car was deployed for debris on lap 23, Alonso and Vettel were fourth and fifth respectively. The damage Vettel suffered from his opening lap spin hampered his race and he would lose a spot to Kamui Kobayashi not long after the restart.
At the front of the field, Nico Hülkenberg led after staying on slicks during the first rain shower but the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were giving him a fight and Hamilton took the lead after Hülkenberg had a moment. The German made a charge to re-take the position but collided with Hamilton, knocking Hamilton out of the race and Hülkenberg down the running order.
Button inherited the lead and the rain returned but this time it was here to stay. Vettel had radio issues and the crew was not ready when he came in to switch to intermediates. The long delay knocked him down the order while Alonso had moved up to second and was provisionally World Drivers' Champion.
Alonso was too far back of Button and Vettel was working his way up the order. Vettel was up to seventh, which would have given him the title by one point but he was gifted sixth from Michael Schumacher, in his final Formula One race, to add a cushion.
The title did not go to the final lap, as Paul di Resta suffered an accident with two laps to go. The safety car neutralized the field. Button took the victory, Alonso was second, Felipe Massa rounded out the podium but sixth place was all Vettel needed to secure his third World Drivers' Championship.
How is it Remembered: This was a great race.
I don't want to hark on this being the most recent great title fight in Formula One. The title did go to the wire in 2014 and 2016 but in both cases it was Mercedes vs. Mercedes, Hamilton vs. Rosberg. This was the last time we had two constructors going at it down to the final laps of the season and boy was it a finale.
Vettel started where he needed to and he may have been a little too aggressive at the start or perhaps he was cautious, either way, the nightmare scenario started to play out immediately. He went down to last and had some damage. The title very well could have been lost and Vettel's only hope would be something going wrong for Alonso.
However, Vettel fought back. He overcame the damage. He put himself back in position of control. This was something he did the year prior at Interlagos when gearbox issues hampered his race but he was still able to take a car that most drivers would retire and finish second. This is the Vettel we have not seen for some time. It is almost a driver we have lost.
I think this finale should put into perspective Vettel's four consecutive championships and this decade as a whole. There were only three different world champions in the 2010s. Vettel started with four straight and Hamilton ended with three straight. As much as people look back and think Vettel was untouchable for four years that is far from the truth.
Without Vitaly Petrov, Vettel probably does not win the 2010 title. Vettel did not lead the 2010 championship until after the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. In this season, Vettel very well could have finished second. If his damage is only marginally worse than it was it could have forced him to retire or maybe at best finish ninth and that would not have been good enough for the title.
Vettel did dominate 2011 and he destroyed the field in 2013 but in the even-numbered years, Vettel was far from spotless. Though not spotless, Vettel did show the ability to rise to the occasion. In 2010, Vettel lost the engine with ten laps to go in South Korea. If he had won that race he would have had 231 points and led Alonso by seven points. Instead, he went into the final two races down 25 points, cut it 15 points after a victory in Brazil and then drove a flawless race in Abu Dhabi while Alonso and Webber, who was second to Alonso entering the finale, were outwitted. Vettel went for it while those two were so focused on the battle between themselves they lost sight that Vettel was still in it.
In 2012, Vettel won four consecutive races, Singapore, Japan, Korea and India to take the championship lead. It helped that Alonso did not complete a lap in Japan and the championship went from Alonso +29 to Alonso +4 in a blink. Vettel had a 50-point swing from -37 to +13 after winning four consecutive races.
While Vettel found a way to win, Alonso could not breakthrough. The gap remained +13 to Vettel heading into the finale. Alonso had not won any of the previous nine races entering the finale. He had a great record of finishing on the podium but he finished behind Vettel in seven of those nine races. In a race where it was time for Alonso to step up, get a victory and put all the pressure he could on Vettel he fell short.
When it came time to win a championship, Vettel always seemed to come through and I think that has been lost. Vettel didn't luck out with the best car and just had to put him left foot down. Vettel was a ruthless winner that Formula One has somehow lost.
I don't want to hark on this being the most recent great title fight in Formula One. The title did go to the wire in 2014 and 2016 but in both cases it was Mercedes vs. Mercedes, Hamilton vs. Rosberg. This was the last time we had two constructors going at it down to the final laps of the season and boy was it a finale.
Vettel started where he needed to and he may have been a little too aggressive at the start or perhaps he was cautious, either way, the nightmare scenario started to play out immediately. He went down to last and had some damage. The title very well could have been lost and Vettel's only hope would be something going wrong for Alonso.
However, Vettel fought back. He overcame the damage. He put himself back in position of control. This was something he did the year prior at Interlagos when gearbox issues hampered his race but he was still able to take a car that most drivers would retire and finish second. This is the Vettel we have not seen for some time. It is almost a driver we have lost.
I think this finale should put into perspective Vettel's four consecutive championships and this decade as a whole. There were only three different world champions in the 2010s. Vettel started with four straight and Hamilton ended with three straight. As much as people look back and think Vettel was untouchable for four years that is far from the truth.
Without Vitaly Petrov, Vettel probably does not win the 2010 title. Vettel did not lead the 2010 championship until after the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. In this season, Vettel very well could have finished second. If his damage is only marginally worse than it was it could have forced him to retire or maybe at best finish ninth and that would not have been good enough for the title.
Vettel did dominate 2011 and he destroyed the field in 2013 but in the even-numbered years, Vettel was far from spotless. Though not spotless, Vettel did show the ability to rise to the occasion. In 2010, Vettel lost the engine with ten laps to go in South Korea. If he had won that race he would have had 231 points and led Alonso by seven points. Instead, he went into the final two races down 25 points, cut it 15 points after a victory in Brazil and then drove a flawless race in Abu Dhabi while Alonso and Webber, who was second to Alonso entering the finale, were outwitted. Vettel went for it while those two were so focused on the battle between themselves they lost sight that Vettel was still in it.
In 2012, Vettel won four consecutive races, Singapore, Japan, Korea and India to take the championship lead. It helped that Alonso did not complete a lap in Japan and the championship went from Alonso +29 to Alonso +4 in a blink. Vettel had a 50-point swing from -37 to +13 after winning four consecutive races.
While Vettel found a way to win, Alonso could not breakthrough. The gap remained +13 to Vettel heading into the finale. Alonso had not won any of the previous nine races entering the finale. He had a great record of finishing on the podium but he finished behind Vettel in seven of those nine races. In a race where it was time for Alonso to step up, get a victory and put all the pressure he could on Vettel he fell short.
When it came time to win a championship, Vettel always seemed to come through and I think that has been lost. Vettel didn't luck out with the best car and just had to put him left foot down. Vettel was a ruthless winner that Formula One has somehow lost.
