The 2010 Formula One Season is almost at an end, two races remain in Brazil and Abu Dhabi and 5 drivers remain in contention, some in better positions than others, to become champion. The result of the poll carried out in August when 7 races remained showed that 51% of those who voted believed that Mark Webber would be champion, followed by Lewis Hamilton (21%), Fernando Alonso (14%), Sebastian Vettel (8%) and Jenson Button (4%).

Since then the order of the 5 contenders has changed and it is time to ask once more who people think will be world champion. For the analysis of each driver’s season up until the Belgium Grand Prix please take a look at the previous post.

Fernando Alonso

It seemed after the Belgium Grand Prix that Alonso’s title challenge had suffered another blow after a disappointing race which ended with him spinning out, the result of which left him 16 points behind in the standings.

However since then he has put together the best string of results of any of the top 5 all season with victories at the Italian, Singapore and Korean Grand Prix’s. Along with a third place finish in Japan Fernando Alonso now leads the drivers championship, the first time since Australia.

The only major concern for Fernando will be how long his remaining engine will survive as a DNF at this point will most likely lose him his lead as well as the championship.

Mark Webber

The Belgium and Italian Grand Prix were considered the tracks that were the “weakest” for Red Bull and it was about limiting the damage. With a second and sixth place Webber took the lead of the championship aided by Hamilton’s retirement and subsequent podiums in the next two races gave him a 14 point lead.

However after non-finish in Korea Webber’s lead was wiped out and left him 11 points behind the new leader Alonso. The Red Bull car should be strong in both the final races of the season leaving Webber a good chance to still win the championship.

It is worth noting that Webber has not won a race since the Hungarian Grand Prix back at the start of August something that will have to change if he is to win the championship.

Lewis Hamilton

Going in to the Belgium Grand Prix Hamilton was in second and only 4 points behind Webber, the victory at Spa allowed him to regain the lead in the championship that he lost after a retirement in Hungary. However the following races lead to a down turn in fortune for Hamilton with 2 DNF’s at the Italian and Singapore Grand Prix and gear box problems in Japan resulted in only 10 points across the three races.

A second place finish in the Korean Grand Prix has kept his championship hopes alive but he is 21 points behind leader Alonso and will need victories in the final races and for Alonso and Webber to score small or no points in order to win the championship.

Sebastian Vettel

After what was a disastrous race for the young German in Spa where he seemed to be crashing into everyone around him, he managed to rebound at the Italian Grand Prix with a fourth place finish on a strategy that saw him make the prime tyre last the majority of the race.

Whilst he managed a second place at the Singapore Grand Prix had he managed to get his qualifying lap together then he might not have spent the 2 hours staring at the back of Alonso’s Ferrari unable to pass. The race victory in Japan, where no one had an answer for his speed, left him 14 points behind in the championship. The Korean Grand Prix seemed to be going the same way, but his engine gave out 10 laps before the end of the race leaving him 25 points behind Alonso in the championship.

Jenson Button

The promising start made by Button at the Belgium Grand Prix had put him into second place, however his race was ended after a disastrous overtake attempt by Vettel. Button managed to rebound at the Italian Grand Prix after going down a different setup route to that of his team mate leading the race until the pit stops where Alonso managed to get past him, the second place gave his championship chances a boost.

However fourth place finishes in Singapore and Japan were finishes behind those in front of him in the championship. Along with a non points finish in Korea leaves Button 42 points behind Alonso and unlikely to regain the title, his only hope now being that the others all retire or not score in the remaining races.

With two races remaining it is unlikely that Jenson Button will be able to win this year’s championship being as far back as he is. While Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton remain in contention, failure to outscore Webber and Alonso in Brazil could end their championship challenges. Fernando Alonso could secure his third championship (and become the youngest triple world champion) in Brazil if he wins and Mark Webber finishes fifth or lower. Should that not happen, then we could go to Abu Dhabi with all 5 still in contention but based on recent results it would seem we will head with less than 5 although the exact number is impossible to guess as this season has seen the championship change race after race.

Form guide (last five races)

Now it is over to you once again, who do you think will be World Champion?