FORMULA ONE: 2010-2020

The last decade of Formula One has been emotional, dramatic and so much more. So much has happened in the sport since 2010. As we move into a new decade of racing in 2020 I aim to look back on the sport that I have such a big passion for. From Vettel dominating at Red Bull to the Mercedes domination from 2014 to the drivers who have moved on from F1 and those that are no longer with us.

You can't talk about the last 10 years of F1 without speaking about the two drivers who have been at the forefront of the sport since the decade began - Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. With 10 World Drivers Championships between them they are two of the most successful drivers this sport has seen.

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel won all four of his titles whilst at Red Bull between 2010-2013. He faced little challenges as the fastest man on the grid despite only winning five of the nineteen races in 2010 Vettel's consistency earned him 256 points to close rival Ferrari's Fernando Alonso's 252.

Then in 2011 Jenson Button at McLaren was the only driver to come (somewhat) close to Vettel in a year that he won 11 races earning him a grand total of 392 points in his second most dominant year in Formula One. Button finished with a points tally of just 270.

2012 was a lot closer between Vettel and Alonso. Vettel only managed five wins compared to his eleven the previous year but once again consistency helped Vettel on his way to what would be his third World Championship. But when thinking back to the 2012 season you can't not mention the Spanish Grand Prix - a race no one could have predicted where Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado won his first and only race in F1 in a Williams defending much of the race from Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. Maldonado is the only Venezuelan driver to race and win in Formula One history. A moment in F1 history every fan will always remember. Vettel finished the year with 281 points to Alonso's 278.

2013 was Vettel's last championship winning year and his penultimate with Red Bull before making the switch to Ferrari for the 2015 season. Vettel won a staggering 13 races. Winning nine in a row between the Belgian Grand Prix to the final race in Brazil. This was Vettel's best ever season on F1 finishing the year with 397 points beating his previous best of 392. Alonso was once again second to Vettel in the championship but far behind in points with 242.

Lewis Hamilton

By 2014 Hamilton had won the 2008 Drivers Championship with McLaren and moved to Mercedes in 2013.

2014 saw a new set of regulations bought into F1 giving us some questionable front nose designs. But Mercedes had found the formula needed to be quick and competitive in this new era of Formula One. Lewis won 11 races in 2014 the other races wins went to his teammate and childhood rival Nico Rosberg or Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo. 2014 would see a battle of two teammates span over three years with so much tension and emotion within it. Hamilton managed a points total of 384 to Rosberg's 317.

Hamilton was the driver to beat going into the 2015 season and to put it simply no one could stop him. Winning 10 races and finishing the season on 381 points to Nico's 322. That year Vettel managed his first race win with Ferrari. 2015 many had hoped would be the year Ferrari finally win a Championship as they last one a title back in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen.

2016 was the year Hamilton was stopped in his tracks by teammate Nico Rosberg. Despite winning 10 races to Rosberg's nine race wins Rosberg is one of only two drivers to stop Lewis winning a world title the first driver being Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 (Hamiltons rookie year). Rosberg finished the season five points ahead of Hamilton on 385. After emulating his father Keke, Nico made the decision to retire from F1.

2017 - 2019 Lewis won 31 races with a points total equalling 1184. Hamilton now a six times World Champion is the second most successful Formula One driver of all time now only one title behind Michael Schumacher's record seven titles.

Constructors

Since 2010 only Red Bull and Mercedes have won a Constructors World Title. But during this time we have seen teams come and go. Gone from the Formula One grid include;

Virgin / Marussia / Manor,

Caterham

and HRT

Teams have also gone through name changes including;

Lotus which became the current Renault team,

Force India became Racing Point and

Sauber became Alfa Romeo.

And a whole new team was formed in the shape of Haas.

Drivers

Formula One since 2010 has seen 45 drivers come and go.

In 2014 the world of motorsport stopped for Jules Bianchi a driver with so much talent and potential taken too soon. Jules was the first driver to be killed in F1 since the weekend the sport lost Roland Ratzenberger and the great Ayrton Senna.

This year the community stopped once more for F2 driver Anthoine Hubert killed in a crash during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

This year the sport also lost Race Director Charlie Whiting and three times World Champion Niki Lauda.

Despite the loss we as a community bought together by Formula One must now look forward to 2020 and the next decade of great racing. In ten years we are most likely going to be talking about drivers like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc and looking back at how they compare to the Hamilton's and Vettel's and possibly the Fangio's and Schumacher's of the racing world.