High Drama in the Hunt for 2010 F1 Championship

Have you followed Formula 1 lately? If you haven't, you are missing a great show.  Formula 1 is supposedly not popular in the United States, but I'm constantly surprised by how many Americans follow it.  And why not the World's top series which, after a period of relative boredom with one team (Ferrari) and one driver (Schumacher) dominating, has been serving up season after season of drama and "down to the last race" suspense.  Make that "down to the last corner of the last race" suspense like in the 2008 season finale in Brazil where the race winner, Ferrari's Felipe Massa was world champion for about 15 seconds until Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton made a miraculous last corner pass in the pouring rain, scoring enough points to jump ahead for the Championship win.

Last season was not quite as dramatic, but the 2010 season has been a doozy. The season looked to be a Ferrari blowout after the season opener in Australia, but that did not last and now, with five races to go, the drama is high once more with five driver in the hunt for the title.  

Here is the cast of characters:

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari: Loved and Reviled.
For a segment of the fans, it's the most hated driver on the most hated team. For the tifosi's (Diehard Maranello fans) it's been ecstasy at having arguably the best driver of the moment in a red car but also anguish at his many mistakes this season. But the spaniard confounded his detractors by keeping his head down, his mouth shut and has crawled back into contention with a decisive win at the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari has traditionally made no secret that it favors the driver ahead in the championship and that may help it in the crucial last races. 

Mclaren: The Opposites
Mclaren has two world champions on its team, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Button is eager to prove that his 2009 title was not just due to the superiority of his car. Hamilton is out to prove he is the best driver out there. Button is smooth and calculating, Hamilton is very aggressive and prone to mental errors.  Some have compared them to Senna and Prost in the 80's. Hamilton had a comfortable championship lead but in the last race tried to win on the first lap and ended up crashing.

Red Bull:  Energy and Experience
Red Bull has the most successful design this season and everyone is copying them. They have been on pole almost every race,but they have a problem: The guy they want to win is not winning. 22 year old Sebastien Vettel has in two seasons become one of the top drivers, but he is driving, well, like a 22 year old. He crashed into his team mate in Turkey and he crashed into Jenson Button in Belgium. Meanwhile, the "old man", his team mate and a man arguably towards the end of his career, Australian Mark Webber has been fast and steady. This has caused no end of strife in the team culminating with Webber declaring on  the radio for the world to hear, "Not  bad for a #2 driver" after winning the British GP.  Webber, it would be fair to say, is the fan's sentimental favorite for the championship win.

There are five races left and a maximum of 125 points still to be awarded  Anything can happen, so don't miss it!

1. Mark Webber, Red Bull,  187
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mclaren,  182
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari,  166
4. Jenson Button, Mclaren,  165
5. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull,  163

Read more from Andrea Cairone at Axis of Oversteer