Yas Marina always brings back particularly significant memories. Especially when it comes to circumstances where the GP was the scene of a world championship clash played to the final corner. When you think of Abu Dhabi and three drivers fighting for the world championship it is almost practically impossible that 2010 will not occur to you.
And it's no coincidence that that very edition comes to mind. On reflection, there are many similarities between those circumstances and the current situation of drivers. At the time we had three drivers in the race: two from Red Bull and one from Ferrari. Now, 2 drive for McLaren and the other for the Milton Keynes team.
In 2010, the three were split by 15 points, while on this occasion Norris, Verstappen and Piastri will arrive at Yas Marina by a margin of 16 points. Back then, in the final stages of the world championship there was nothing but talk of Alonso and Webber. Vettel, at that historic moment, despite having won four races and arrived in Abu Dhabi as winner of the Brazilian GP, was not seen as a major threat.
On the grid for the final event of the season, Alonso led with 246 points, followed by Webber with 238 and finally Vettel with 231.
Ferrari's failure
So Ferrari made the huge mistake of not caring at all about the German's position and focused the race on Mark Webber. A mistake he paid dearly for. Fernando copied the Australian's strategy by getting stuck in (Petrov's) traffic. He managed to finish the GP ahead of Webber, but in seventh place. Vettel, left completely alone, had the opportunity to finish the race in the lead. An opportunity he didn't miss by winning his first world title.
Ferrari's failure should serve as a warning to both Norris and Verstappen. On that occasion, Red Bull exploited the presence of two forwards and deceived Maranello's team. Now Max is alone and will have to try to run his race without focusing on either challenger in particular (or focusing on both, a matter of philosophy).
Piastri, although many now exclude him, has shown that he can still drive very well and be very determined. Over the weekend in Qatar we saw perhaps one of his best performances of the whole year. The victory was lost for reasons not essentially due to his performance. No one can afford to underestimate other rivals. Each of them has a chance to win the title and, if history teaches us anything, everyone will have to keep their concentration high until the end of the last km.
In the current standings, Norris leads with 408 points, followed by Verstappen with 396 and Piastri third with 392.
Cover photo: X, Alonso Fedaisi; Foto interna: X, Michal Hylan;
Read also in italian language: Abu Dhabi, come nel 2010. Fallimento Ferrari monito per Norris, ma anche per Verstappen
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