Ferrari mechanic gives verdict on why Maranello team lost 2010 F1 title in Abu Dhabi. Modesto Menabue on why Ferrari lost the 2010 Formula 1 title in Abu Dhabi.

The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, more than ten years later, is still remembered by motorsport enthusiasts as the race where Scuderia Ferrari staged an unbelievable harakiri, despite being the favorite, managing to make a series of wrong choices and lose, with Fernando Alonso, a Formula 1 world championship that was well-deserved and within reach.

Since 2007, with Kimi Raikkonen, a Ferrari driver had not won a world title, and, never more than in 2010, the Prancing Horse came close to the feat. In the last GP of the year, Fernando Alonso arrived as the championship leader, with an eight-point lead over Mark Webber and 15 over Sebastian Vettel. A situation where, for the Spaniard and the Scuderia, the championship victory seemed almost certain, especially after securing third place on the grid, with Webber only fifth.

However, given the events of that day, this scenario did not materialize, and a series of favorable circumstances led Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to win their first title in history. Among these circumstances that played against Fernando Alonso was Ferrari’s adopted strategy, stopping the Spaniard early to cover Mark Webber, forgetting Sebastian Vettel’s other Red Bull, who, with the two rivals falling behind and trapped in traffic (unable to make a comeback), comfortably headed towards the championship.

A race that is still controversial and debated, which the editorial team of Formula1.it exclusively discussed with former Ferrari engineer Modesto Menabue, who was present that day in Abu Dhabi. A race that still evokes strong emotions in the former engineer of Fernando Alonso.

“I’m still pissed off about the one we lost in 2010 in Abu Dhabi with a suicidal tactic. We struggled to lose it.” – he admitted.

A race lost, as mentioned, due to a daring and incorrect strategy but also, and this is a new element emerging 14 years later, due to a completely wrong aerodynamic setup that, looking at the data, prevented Fernando Alonso from overtaking Petrov’s Renault.

“We lost with the strategy and with a setup from Monaco, with which it was impossible to overtake. Why that strategy with Alonso? You had to copy the others, that’s it. The car was a gem; it was impossible to lose.” – the Italian mechanic continued.

According to Modesto Menabue, it was an absolutely wasted championship, also due to a fast and competitive car that, from the first test in Valencia, amazed the technicians and the Spanish driver himself.

“I remember the first test in Spain: from the data, I saw Alonso lifting his foot on the straights. He comes to the pit, and I ask him if he had problems. He tells me to load fuel because we were too strong; we would have been discovered. We always ran with 60 kilos. We threw away a championship that we should have won.” – Modesto Menabue concluded.