Lewis Hamilton could, and perhaps should, have won his second world championship in this car. Then again, Jenson Button might have been crowned a two-time consecutive champion within its cockpit, given a fairer wind. Such are the fine margins that diverted the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 from its status as potentially a great grand prix car to merely a good one, thanks in large part to a 2010 Formula 1 season that was both deeply competitive and highly unpredictable.
It all could have been so different. Take a snapshot of that season and we're reminded just how the fates twisted from what might have been. Dip in after the Canadian Grand Prix in June, for example, and McLaren was riding high following back-to-back Hamilton-Button one-twos, the pair looking down on the rest from the top and separated by just three points.