Season Review: Vettel becomes champion despite season of reliability woes

The 2010 Formula One season will be forever remembered as the most closely fought year of racing in the sport's history, after it took the full complement of 19 races to crown the champion, having had four drivers still in contention going into the final weekend. Cries for immediate canges to the sport following the processional season-opener in Bahrain are a long and distant memory after an otherwise thrilling, action-packed and edge-of-your-seat season of qualifying and racing, punctuated by various curveballs that ensured the fans remained enthralled until the final lap in Abu Dhabi today.

In truth, the title should always have belonged to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, having performed so strongly throughout the season. Blips in Turkey and Belgium blighted a tremendous season for him, only to be let down by his machinery time and time again. Had he not suffered an unfortunate engine failure in Korea, he would have ended the year with four consecutive victories but instead had to settle for five race wins, enough to take the crown by four points from Alonso.