10s MOTORSPORT

Intense rivalries, the introduction of hybrid power in F1 and endurance racing, and the fastest rally cars yet seen... the 2010s had it all

- RICHARD MEADEN

IF YOU WANTED TO WIN A WORLD TITLE IN THE 2010s it helped immensely if your name was Seb. Between Vettel, Loeb and Ogier, no fewer than 13 drivers' championships were claimed across Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship, the young German ace taking four F1 titles on the bounce between 2010 and 2013, while the two French rally sensations took an extraordinary nine WRC titles between them.

Such dominance belied extremely close competition in both categories, none of it closer than the battle between teammates Vettel (pictured) and Mark Webber, who extracted the most from themselves and Adrian Newey's string of increasingly untouchable Renault-powered Red Bulls. The pair's famous race-ending collision in the Turkish Grand Prix summed up the intensity of their rivalry in the decade-opening season, but 2010 also saw McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button - reigning champion after his brilliant 2009 season with Brawn GP - locking horns. With Fernando Alonso newly ensconced at Ferrari and Michael Schumacher coming out of retirement to spearhead the new Mercedes F1 team effort, it was a truly epochal season. Somewhat against expectation, it was Vettel who prevailed, his fine win in a topsy-turvy Abu Dhabi season finale propelling him from third going into the race weekend to a very slim points lead for the first time all year. Meanwhile Webber and Alonso endured races to forget.