Op-Ed: Abu Dhabi’s most telling moment for 2010

A consistent theme of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend was that it was the “first race of 2010.” Mark Webber, we were told — at least those watching the race on American TV — was aiming to show he will have championship form next season.

His Red Bull teammate, Sebastian Vettel, also was intent on making a statement.

So, too, Jenson Button, although perhaps as much to emphasize 2009 was his year as to set the stage for his title defense season.

The teams all were focused on what this race meant heading into 2010, as well. Red Bull wanted to lay claim to being the fastest car. Brawn GP [like its winning driver] tried to show it has kept pace with others’ development. BMW — apparently now with the grid’s best engine, according to Peter Windsor — wanted a strong performance in its final race.

Ferrari, having given up on 2009 months ago, tried to wrench third place in the constructors race (and an extra $5 million, we heard on the American broadcast) from McLaren. Both teams failed to score points, ending an up-and-down season for both — although for very different reasons. McLaren, as a result, claimed the third-place position.

Kamui Kobayashi, with his points-scoring finish and pass of a just-pitted Button, likely secured a spot with Toyota. (That is, if Toyota is back on the grid. I still think the failure to win a top driver might given the Toyota board second thoughts about dropping more money on the Formula 1 program.)

But the race’s most telling moment, the one that most dramatically and clearly sets up the race for both drivers’ and constructors’ championships next year, did not happen on the track.

The moment was in the garage, after Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren had been backed in and his race scuttled because of a right rear brake issue.

Hamilton, soon to be the “former world champion” when Button’s title is official, climbed calmly out of the car, stood for a few moments, removed his helmet. A minute, perhaps, later, cameras caught him speaking with team boss Martin Whitmarsh, who clearly was telling Hamilton what had gone wrong, why they had called him in and apologizing.

And then, the moment: Hamilton reached his right hand out and patted Whitmarsh’s left forearm, consoling his team boss and assuring him it was all OK.

There was no frustration that the mechanical failure had cost Hamilton the opportunity to be the victor of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. No flash of anger about the result.

Just calm, and a camaraderie and show of teamwork — the cliche “we’re all in the this together.”

Now, almost certainly part of Hamilton’s calm resulted from his season being over, the drivers championship decided and the battle for third in the constructors’ race out of his hands. He might have been thinking about that English meal he told Peter Windsor he was planning to eat.

But more than any of that, what this moment showed was a maturing Lewis Hamilton who learned precisely from this season what he had to learn. Hamilton experienced a horrible car and a major personal mistake (“Lie-gate”), but — perhaps in keeping with what seems to be a pretty “lucky” F1 career — he also experienced the turn-around of the team, the car and his results.

And I think from that Hamilton has learned to trust not only himself but his team.

Few of us doubt that Hamilton had the self-confidence needed to succeed in F1 (as he has already succeeded). But during the first races of the year, a big question was how Hamilton would handle driving a car that was absolute rubbish. Implicit in that question was how he would handle the team that gave him that car and was responsible for improving it.

We’ve had our answer as Hamilton’s finishes improved, topped by wins at Hungary and Singapore. He finished fifth in the drivers championship, behind only the four drivers who had the season’s best cars.

In 2009, Hamilton and the team performed and improved. The difference between the opening races, and from Great Britain most of all, to the end of the season is entirely the responsibility of Hamilton, Whitmarsh, the engineers and the rest of the team.

They have shown their quality. [I'm sure Heikki Kovalainen played his role, too. The change in drivers at McLaren will be something to watch -- if it comes.]

So, with his season over early in the race at Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was able to pat Whitmarsh’s arm, comfortable with the knowledge that the McLaren team can give him a race-winning car even from the worst of circumstances. He had to be confident that the team, under Whitmarsh, can reclaim the top step of the podiums — and do it in 2010.

And that should be a nagging worry for Red Bull, Brawn, Ferrari and every other team looking ahead to 2010.