A good strategy call from the team to bring Nico in under the safety car on the first lap to switch to the harder prime tyres put him in a great position on track and an assured drive from there allowed Nico to make up six places on his starting position.

Mercedes GP Petronas finished the 2010 season in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship with 214 points with Nico finishing seventh place in the Drivers' Championship with 142 points and Michael finishing ninth place with 72 points.

Ross Brawn: "That was a fantastic performance from Nico today and a perfect way to finish the season for us. As a team, we achieved the absolute maximum with the car that we have with a great call on strategy from the guys on the pit wall and a well-executed pit stop. Then it was an excellent and controlled drive from Nico who found the pace exactly when he needed it. Michael unfortunately made a mistake on the first lap and got caught out which is a shame. I'm very excited about next year with the team and drivers that we have and we will have a lot more fun competing where we want to be. Congratulations to Sebastian on his first Drivers' title today, to the Red Bull team for a great job and to Dieter Mateschitz for the vision and commitment that he has shown over the last five years."

Norbert Haug: "Our sincere congratulations to the new World Champion Sebastian Vettel and to Red Bull Racing for a well-deserved victory in both Championships this season. From our race today, the good news is that Michael was not hurt after his spin and Tonio was also ok after crashing into him, which was not Tonio's fault. The resultant safety car and our very smart strategy to bring Nico in for the prime tyres was crucial for the race and for Nico's well-deserved fourth place which came after a brilliant drive during which he posted the third fastest lap of the race. We have finished this long season with a good result with Nico beating two of the World Championship contenders. Thank you to everybody at Mercedes GP Petronas for the relentless work in 2010 when we achieved the best possible results with our technical package in the last third of the season. We are looking forward to the new season and our plan is to improve our new car in order to compete with the top three teams after having finished in fourth place this year."

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: I have to say wow again and so soon after Interlagos. It's a great moment. Sebastian with his superb driving undid the mechanical problems we had and the engine failure. We have had such a great year and have won both titles. We are really proud to be Red Bull Racing's engine partner and proud to help Seb to his title, it ends the 2010 season in a great way. I would like to thank all the guys in the factory at Red Bull, everyone at the Renault factory in Viry-Chatillon and everyone at Mechachrome for this fantastic year we have all shared together.

Luca di Montezemolo: Our morale is low after the conclusion to this season, but that's sport. We had everything in place to win the title with Fernando but today, things did not go our way. All the same, I want to publicly thank the team for being capable of getting to the final round still in the fight for the Drivers' title, staging a fight back which back in July, almost everyone considered an impossible task. We believed in it right to the end and today's result should not cancel out what we have done this season. In all but two of the last fourteen years, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has reached the final race of the season either in the fight for the title or having already won it. Fernando has had an extraordinary season, demonstrating his strength and determination, always being close to the team and making an exceptional contribution. Domenicali has done a great job, keeping the team united at all times, even in the toughest moments. It will take us a little while to get over this disappointment but we have to keep our heads up and be proud of what we have done. Finally, I want to thank our fans, who have always believed in us: when one sees so many Ferrari flags and so many people coming to visit our park here in Abu Dhabi, I am happy that Ferrari is still operating at a high level, especially for them.

Stefano Domenicali: There is a great sadness at this moment, because to come so close to our goal and to see it slip away for just a few points really hurts. We made a wrong decision in terms of strategy for three reasons: we marked a rival with two cars, we were unduly concerned about the wear rate of the soft tyres and we did not take into consideration the difficulty of getting past other cars on the track. Now, there is no point in discussing the whys and wherefores of how we arrived at this choice: win or lose, we do everything together as a team. At this time, I would like to thank our fans who have always demonstrated their great affection. This was probably the worst race of the season, but when you lose by just a handful of points, it's clear that the title was not lost here, or at least not just here. I want to congratulate Fernando, who is an extraordinary driver and an extraordinary person. He demonstrated powers of leadership from both inside and outside the cockpit and we will do all we can to give him and Felipe an even better car next year. I wish to thank the team for the great effort they have always put into their daily work, at the track and at home: few people outside the company would have thought in mid-July that we would have made it to Abu Dhabi leading the world championship. Sure, and I repeat myself, now we are sad, but we have to keep our heads held high. We are Ferrari which means we are condemned to having to win, so a second place is a defeat: but this is also part of sport and we have to accept it. Finally, congratulations to Vettel: he had the quickest car and in the end, he was the best, which the points table proved.

Chris Dyer: We are all very down at the moment. We had the car, the team and the driver with which to win the title but we did not manage it because we made the wrong decision in terms of strategy, and there is no point in making excuses. We concentrated too much on what Mark was doing and we then were left bottled up in traffic and that cost us the title. You could say we looked too closely at what was going on behind us without seeing what was in front of our nose. It's a shame because losing like this hurts, it hurts a lot.

Patrick Head, Director of Engineering: To finish 12th and 16th from seventh and 15th is not something to be pleased about. Our race pace clearly doesn't match our qualifying pace, so that's something we need to improve over the winter for 2011. Ultimately, of the various goals for the weekend, the main one was to finish ahead of Force India and retain sixth in the championship, which we achieved. Thanks to the whole team for doing a good job over a long season and many congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull for tying up the drivers' championship.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: After a difficult day in qualifying yesterday, we're very pleased to finish the race in fifth and sixth positions. Overnight, we had a long think about the strategic options for Robert, who had a free choice of tyres starting from 11th position, and we decided that it was a justifiable risk to start the race on the prime. Ultimately, that paid off well. Although the early Safety Car period gave the options an easier time, it also helped the prime tyre too, and it just got faster and faster as we went further into the race. With Vitaly, we had planned to stop on lap one if there was a Safety Car, to put him on the prime tyre. We did exactly that, and he put in a solid performance to climb from tenth on the grid to sixth at the finish.

Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: This was a very solid performance. Both Robert and Vitaly drove strong races, we got the strategy absolutely right, and to finish fifth and sixth is a very pleasing result: I hope we can carry this momentum through to next season. Thank you to everybody at Renault F1 Team, who have done a great job all year, and the same to our colleagues at both Viry-Chatillon and Mecachrome. And of course, congratulations to our colleagues at Red Bull-Renault who secured their second title today.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: Sixty eight points is something I, and the whole team, can take great personal pride in. When we bought the team we scored zero points the first year, then 13 last year and now more than five times that in 2010. We've really achieved our racing stripes and I hope that next year, with the Indian Grand Prix as a target, that we can go bigger and better. This is just the start for us. Lastly I must extend my congratulations to Red Bull and to Sebastian Vettel on their wins this season, they have had a fantastic year.

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "Job done. When we started out on this project the first target was to be best of the new teams. When you think how late our entry was confirmed that was always going to be a good challenge, but we have done it. We gave Tony, Din and Nasa tenth place and that makes me very proud of the whole team. On a personal level I'd like to thank my partner Silvi. We did this together and I could not have done it without her or the whole team. However, this is just the beginning. Next year what is important is the steps we take forward, but for tonight we will enjoy the achievement. We have earned it."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am completely relieved, completely ecstatic, completely happy and completely vindicated in making the decision to go into F1. What we have achieved today is what dreams are made of. To complete 19 races after having just five months to build a car and finish in tenth in style is something that is truly magical. It shows you that even in the modern age where money and power counts for so much, there is a chance for ambition and dreams to shine. 2010 is a year that we can be proud of. We brought Lotus back into F1 after many had talked about it, but we did it. I can confidently say that everyone associated with the Lotus history can be very proud of what we have done this year. This is the first chapter of a long career ahead and we will create our own future, destiny and history from here. I am thankful to all the incredibly special staff we have in Hingham, Malaysia and here in Abu Dhabi for what they have done this year and my abiding memory of 2010 comes from one of our engineers, who told me he had achieved higher grid positions with other teams, but never with a team that feels as special as this. To all the Lotus fans thank you so much for your support - we could not have done it without you. I am thrilled that Lotus Racing has opened up F1 to everyone out there, and we cannot wait to see you next year."

Dr. Colin Kolles, Team Principal: "We are happy about our ninth double-finish of our first season in Formula 1. We were on a good strategy when we decided to do our pit-stops during the safety car period and could win some positions then. Unfortunately, we lost too much time due to blue flags during the race but both drivers showed a good performance. At the end of a hard first year in Formula 1, we became more and more reliable and constant in our results. I want to thank the whole team who managed the impossible and made us become part of the highest series in motorsport. We are going the right way and we are fired up for the next season in 2011."

Peter Sauber, Team Principal: "First of all congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian who drove an excellent race today and deserved to win the title. Unfortunately, we finished the final race of the season outside the points. Both drivers did a very good job. Nick was able to keep the Williams and the Force India behind him. Kamui was unfortunate to get stuck behind Rubens Barrichello for almost the whole race. This was the end of a very challenging season for us. We had a very bad start. After eight races we had just a single championship point because the car wasn't fast enough and, even more importantly, not reliable, which was very unusual for our team. We finished the season with 44 points. This is certainly not satisfying for us, but it was not possible to make up for the losses from the earlier races. Nevertheless there are also positive aspects to review: Since James Key joined us we have significantly improved on the technical side. Furthermore Kamui has shown a great development during the season, so I am very happy he drives for our team. I want to thank the entire team for their efforts, which goes for the people at the race track as well as for those in Hinwil, and especially for our drivers Kamui, Nick and Pedro."

James Key, Technical Director: "It's a little bit disappointing not to get into the points, because this would have been a nice way to finish the season. It was a fairly hectic race with the early safety car, during which time we decided against coming in, but it looks like the people that came in were able to capitalize. We brought Nick in at what we felt was about the right time for the change from option to prime tyres. He drove an excellent race, but was stuck in traffic for most of the time. We left Kamui out to see whether he could make up time after Rubens Barrichello pitted, because we were held up by him. But by the time Rubens came in we had lost too much time to the people behind, and unfortunately Kamui came out behind him again. So he ended up in traffic as well, which was frustrating for him. This meant we finished outside the points. Thanks to the team and the drivers for the season and for pushing so hard, particularly during the difficult start of the season. Congratulations to Sebastian and Red Bull."

The start of the race was very dramatic, with a safety car intervention required almost immediately after the start when Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India car mounted the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher, who thankfully was not hurt.

The team had opted to run the two VR-01s with different strategies, Timo starting on the medium Prime tyre, and Lucas on the super-soft Option. Lucas elected to pit while the safety car was out, and the team performed brilliantly to get Lucas out ahead of the two HRT cars that he had followed into the pitlane. Timo stayed out and was battling to pass Jarno Trulli, until the Lotus suffered a broken front wing and Timo was set free. Unfortunately a few laps later his gearbox showed signs of failure and on lap 43 he was forced to retire.

Lucas continued to drive a great race, effectively using only one set of tyres, but was unable to close the gap to Heikki Kovalainen and remained in 18th place until the end of the Grand Prix.

John Booth, Team Principal: "The Option tyre was a bit of an unknown quantity today, so we decided to split our strategy and start one car on each type of tyre. Both drivers had strong races and we were in a good battle amongst the new teams. Unfortunately Timo's gearbox overheated, forcing him to retire soon after his pitstop. Lucas finished strongly, despite being on the same tyre for almost the entire race. I would like to congratulate the entire team on an incredible debut season. After a tough start everyone pulled together so well and I am immensely proud of the team we have all built together. It has been an honour to work with such a fantastic bunch of people. I would also like to thank our Partners for their faith and unfailing support. Cosworth provided us with a very reliable and competitive engine and it has been a real pleasure to work with Bridgestone in their final year of Formula One competition. We now look forward to our new partnership with Marussia and a very promising 2011."

Vettel won by using a Bridgestone Potenza super soft - medium tyre strategy. He was joined on the podium by both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton and outgoing champion, Jenson Button, also using the same strategy.

It was a thrilling conclusion to Bridgestone's 14 year tenure in Formula 1. During this time, 11 drivers' and constructors' championships, 175 race wins, 170 fastest laps and 168 pole positions were achieved on the 700,000 Bridgestone Potenza Formula 1 tyres produced.

Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for snatching the drivers' championship in such a strong fashion today. This is our last race, but it comes at the end of a fantastic season where there has been a great championship battle as a fitting finale to all the drama and excitement we have enjoyed over the past 14 seasons. Our brand awareness has grown tremendously in this period and our worldwide sales companies have supported us with numerous activities and events. In addition to thanking all the Bridgestone personnel I would like to thank everyone in Formula 1 for all the friendships and support we have enjoyed over the years. Thank you also to all the Formula 1 and motorsport fans around the world, I hope you have enjoyed our passion for excellence."

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "Today was a race where Bridgestone Potenza tyres allowed a variety of strategies, great tension and immense excitement right up to the chequered flag. It was appropriate that the driver with the most pole positions won the championship. Sebastian Vettel is a driver who often speaks to the Bridgestone engineers to understand how to get the most from our tyres and his ability has been highlighted many times this season, not least today. Both compounds performed well. Jenson showed that the super soft could be durable if managed well and Robert showed the value of the reverse strategy from the frontrunners. Formula 1 has been a worthwhile, valuable and satisfying project for Bridgestone and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved over the past 14 years. Thank you."