So this is it!
The 2010 Formula One season has been an outstanding season so far for all drivers and all teams. The fight to the finish for both the Driver's Championship and Constructor's Championship is coming to a head and as the following opinion shows, is still a race to the finish line. (Sorry about the pun!) A female with an opinion, I believe that Mark Webber will win the Driver's Title with Red Bull Racing following up with the Constructor's Title. But I am aware that by asking readers to comment and vote will start some major debates. But as this count down will show, anything can and will happen to any driver in the 2010 season.
Coming in at Number 5 is Lewis Hamilton in SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.
Lap 36 is when the action happened. Hamtilon pitted and lost his 3rd place standing to Mark Webber. The McLaren pit crew were able to get Hamilton back out on track rather close to Webber. Hamilton had fresher tyres than Webber and when Hamilton attempted to pass Webber on the 7th corner of the restart lap due to the Senna / Kobayashi collision. Things didn't go so well for Hamilton and he ended up making contact with Webber. Hamilton's suspension was broken and he was forced out of the race. 
Heard around the world by all Formula One fans:
"Disaster for Hamilton...he is OUT. The McLaren man throws his steering wheel out of his cockpit. He is FURIOUS. Hamilton tried to take Webber but his rear left made contact with the Aussie's front right. I will leave the stewards to decide who was at fault there."
And anyone that was watching the race soon discovered that the Race stewards investigated the incident but decided to take no further action. It was considered 'a racing incident' with no one at fault. Again, anywhere on the Internet, you can find Red Bull fans blaming Hamilton and McLaren fans blaming Webber.
With Lewis Hamilton's issue with his teammate Button fighting for #1 and the need to regain some lost points due to previous retirements, Lewis Hamilton takes the 5th spot on my list for fantastic Did Not Finish in the 2010 Formula One Season. Coming in at Number 4 is Jarno Trulli & Karun Chandhok in the Grand Prix de Monaco.
As ever, the Grand Prix de Monaco was shaping up to be a superb race. 9 other drivers were knocked out of the race prior due to accidents or engine problems. Then came the infamous lap 70.
Trulli was behind Chandhok after a slow pit stop, and once he reeled him in, he attempted to pass up the inside of La Rascasse. Chandkok, unaware of Trulli attempting a move from such a long way back, took the corner as usual and the pair banged wheels. The impact saw Trulli's Lotus end up on top of Chandhok's HRT, with just the roll-hoop protecting the Indian driver's head. Both drivers were able to walk away from the crash. The incident occurred just in front of race leader Webber, who avoided being caught up in the tangle. 
Nearly the entire race was run under safety car conditions. 24 drivers started the race and only 12 drivers finished. Anyone who has watched the Monaco Grand Prix knows that the race will drone on under the safety car for lap after lap and this race was no different. The only different was the HRT / Lotus sandwich that occurred on lap 70 with only 8 laps left. Leaving both HRT and Lotus missing out on their highest pole position's in the 2010 season. 
But what the home viewer saw was an amazing stunt that would forever be the 4th spot on my list for fantastic Did Not Finish in the 2010 Formula One Season.
Coming in at Number 3 on the list is Jenson Button in the Grand prix de Monaco.
Reigning World Champion and 2009 winner Jenson Button was the race's second retirement with an overheating engine ending his day on the second lap where he parked his car on the exit to the pit lane.
During the safety car lap, the engineers had spotted the error and implored Button to switch off his engine, but it was a belated and hopeless attempt. By the time Button arrived on the grid, his engine was “cooked” and he lasted only one corner into the second lap of a race that he won easily last year.
But this couldn't have just been the mechanics fault as Button should know: he drove off into qualifying with the remote control for his garage television still in the car. He threw it into a gap in the fencing at the Rascasse hairpin and, remarkably, it was retrieved. And it still works.
So for this issue, having your own team knock you out of the race the day after you had driven off with extra equipment in the car already, this is the reason that Button has been given the 3rd spot on my list for DNF in the 2010 F1 Season.
Lap 70 of the Singapore Grand Prix, Sébastien Buemi made contact in the final sector of the lap with Heikki Kovalainen, with the Lotus driver spinning around in front of the Toro Rosso, who was quick to avoid a head-on collision. Buemi came out of the collision unscathed but Kovalainen had other problems. Kovalainen's car suffered damage to the fuel system, to the gas tank. He suffered a crack in the gas tank and he tried limped back to the pits, the rear of his Lotus catching fire during the final few turns.
Kovalainen decided that entering the pit's would be too dangerous. He later stated to BBC One: "It always looks dramatic when it (car) is like that. I did not want to go into the pit lane with the car like that as it could have hurt a lot of people. I looked for the fire marshal on the pit straight and took the car there. There was a bit of damage but no-one got hurt and that is the man thing."
There has been plenty of chat on whether Kovalainen should have been punished for not stopping earlier when his car was on fire at the end. Many people think that he should have gone into the pits and subjects all the other teams and fuel supply to the possibility of fire as well. I think that stopping out of the racing line where he did was best. There were openings in the fence to get a fire extinguisher and also for escape if necessary. Kovalainen pulled away from any pit walls and took matters into his own hands.
If all else fails, the Finn could forge a career as a fireman - superb work with the extinguisher. But, jokes aside, it was all rather dangerous. He was standing on the start-finish straight with his back turned to oncoming traffic.
Coming in at Number 3 on the list is Jenson Button in the Grand prix de Monaco.
Reigning World Champion and 2009 winner Jenson Button was the race's second retirement with an overheating engine ending his day on the second lap where he parked his car on the exit to the pit lane. The problem for Button was that a cooling cover from the air intake used in the garage was left on when Button’s car before the world champion made his way from the garage to the start. The engine heated up and when the safety car was introduced, the car could not get enough airflow to cool down.
During the safety car lap, the engineers had spotted the error and implored Button to switch off his engine, but it was a belated and hopeless attempt. By the time Button arrived on the grid, his engine was “cooked” and he lasted only one corner into the second lap of a race that he won easily last year. But this couldn't have just been the mechanics fault as Button should know: he drove off into qualifying with the remote control for his garage television still in the car. He threw it into a gap in the fencing at the Rascasse hairpin and, remarkably, it was retrieved. And it still works.So for this issue, having your own team knock you out of the race the day after you had driven off with extra equipment in the car already, this is the reason that Button has been given the 3rd spot on my list for DNF in the 2010 F1 Season. On the list at Number 2 is the most recent. Heikki Kovalainen in the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.
Lap 70 of the Singapore Grand Prix, Sébastien Buemi made contact in the final sector of the lap with Heikki Kovalainen, with the Lotus driver spinning around in front of the Toro Rosso, who was quick to avoid a head-on collision. Buemi came out of the collision unscathed but Kovalainen had other problems. Kovalainen's car suffered damage to the fuel system, to the gas tank. He suffered a crack in the gas tank and he tried limped back to the pits, the rear of his Lotus catching fire during the final few turns. Kovalainen decided that entering the pit's would be too dangerous. He later stated to BBC One: "It always looks dramatic when it (car) is like that. I did not want to go into the pit lane with the car like that as it could have hurt a lot of people. I looked for the fire marshal on the pit straight and took the car there. There was a bit of damage but no-one got hurt and that is the man thing." The Finn stopped on the main straight and put out the fire himself. As he was off the racing line, yellow flags were waved in the final corners instead of a safety car deployment.
There has been plenty of chat on whether Kovalainen should have been punished for not stopping earlier when his car was on fire at the end. Many people think that he should have gone into the pits and subjects all the other teams and fuel supply to the possibility of fire as well. I think that stopping out of the racing line where he did was best. There were openings in the fence to get a fire extinguisher and also for escape if necessary. Kovalainen pulled away from any pit walls and took matters into his own hands. If all else fails, the Finn could forge a career as a fireman - superb work with the extinguisher. But, jokes aside, it was all rather dangerous. He was standing on the start-finish straight with his back turned to oncoming traffic. For his courageous effort to drive with flames licking out his fuel tank, to a safe spot and then exit the car, Heikki Kovalainen, you take 2nd position on my list for the best Did Not Finish in the 2010 Formula One Season.
The count down so far;
5th place goes to the overtaking blunder during the Singapore Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton tried to impose on Mark Webber.
4th place is Jarno Trulli and Karun Chandhok's high speed, poor overtaking, car sandwich. With 70 out of 78 laps under their belt.
In 3rd place is Jenson Button's infamous retirement in the Grand prix de Monaco. It goes to prove that mechanics can make mistakes too.
2nd place goes to Heikki Kovalainen in the Singapore Grand Prix. Thanks to new safety regulations put in place by the F.I.A, the Finnish fireman was able to extinguish his own fire.
And now, one of the most spectacular Did Not Finish's of 2010, and one of the best we have seen in years is when Mark Webber proved that Red Bull really does give you wings!
And holding the First place position, Mark Webber taking flight in the European Grand Prix.
Webber said “Going down the back straight he went a little bit to the left, so I thought maybe he’s going to let me go,
“I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, whether he was going to release me, because sometimes it’s happened before that when you catch those guys they don’t put a fight up.
The one quote that has been read all around the world by Mark Webber is "I knew I was involved in a huge crash, and that I was just a passenger."
So kudos to you Mark Webber! Thank you for providing your fans and all F1 fans a fantastic flight and the best Did Not Finish of the 2010 Formula One Season to date!
The count down so far;
5th place goes to the overtaking blunder during the Singapore Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton tried to impose on Mark Webber.
4th place is Jarno Trulli and Karun Chandhok's high speed, poor overtaking, car sandwich. With 70 out of 78 laps under their belt.
In 3rd place is Jenson Button's infamous retirement in the Grand prix de Monaco. It goes to prove that mechanics can make mistakes too.
2nd place goes to Heikki Kovalainen in the Singapore Grand Prix. Thanks to new safety regulations put in place by the F.I.A, the Finnish fireman was able to extinguish his own fire.
And now, one of the most spectacular Did Not Finish's of 2010, and one of the best we have seen in years is when Mark Webber proved that Red Bull really does give you wings!
And holding the First place position, Mark Webber taking flight in the European Grand Prix.
Lap 9 and Webber emerged from the pits behind time due to a delay as the left front tyre did not want to come off. He was released and exited the pits behind Heikki Kovalainen. Mark Webber attempted to pass Heikki Kovalainen on the approach to turn thirteen, the fastest point on the circuit and it did not work out too well. The Red Bull ploughed into the back of the Lotus, obliterating its front end and launching Webber into a flip going 193mph. The Australian landed upside-down before bouncing back over and careering into the tyre wall. Webber emerged from the accident unscathed, while Kovalainen, who had spun off into the wall, drove slowly back to the pits where he retired with collision damage.
Webber apparently walked away from the sight of the crash reportedly with no injuries other than being a little shaken. Webber was taken to have checkups to make sure there were no injuries where he was stormed by reporters. Which he gave the reporters the following play by play.
Webber said “Going down the back straight he went a little bit to the left, so I thought maybe he’s going to let me go,
“I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, whether he was going to release me, because sometimes it’s happened before that when you catch those guys they don’t put a fight up.
“Then he went back to the right, so I thought okay, he’s going to fight. I was in the slipstream, I looked to the left, then he went back left, and then as soon as I looked right, he braked. It was so far before the braking point, it was 80 metres earlier than my previous lap – I couldn’t believe it."
Webber than continued; “My car felt like it was airborne for a long time, I had time to worry about whether there were any bridges at that point on the track, which, luckily there weren’t. If there had been one, I would have hit it because I went pretty high. But the car stood up to the accident well.”
What I find interesting is that Mark Webber said that his biggest fear immediately after his Red Bull took flight in the European Grand Prix was hitting something whilst airborne.
So kudos to you Mark Webber! Thank you for providing your fans and all F1 fans a fantastic flight and the best Did Not Finish of the 2010 Formula One Season to date!
For me, it's Hamilton's DNF in Singapore. It changed everything in the championship.
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