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| Nico Hulkenberg in Brazil |
Following on from Part #1 of my 2012 Season Review, I'll be going through and grading each and every team on the grid, assessing who had a season to remember and who had a season to forget. First up, Sauber Ferrari.
Make sure you check back in the next few days for the third and final part of my Season Review.
Sauber Ferrari: B
Drivers' Championship: 10th - Perez, 12th - Kobayashi
Constructors' Championship: 6th
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| Sergio Perez finds himself off to McLaren next season |
When judged as a whole, it can be said that Sauber have had a hugely successful season. Four podiums between Perez (3 - Malaysia, Canada, Italy) and Kobayashi (1 - Japan) have propelled the Swiss outfit ahead of Force India and into 6th overall. At times this season, the C31 seemed to have the measure of many of the top 4 teams; victory was most certainly a possibility in Sepang and the team also had positive results in Germany and Brazil. Sauber also came close to challenging Mercedes GP later on in the season, showing how far the squad has come against some of the sports larger manufacturers.
Sergio Perez came out on top against Kamui, mostly thanks to those storming podium finishes; other than that, the Sauber duo seemed to be fairly evenly matched, Kamui only finishing six points behind Sergio in the end. In fact, since being signed to McLaren for 2013, Sergio's results dipped severely, the Mexican not scoring a single point from Suzuka onwards.
Based on results alone, it seems bemusing that Perez and Kobayashi's careers are heading in opposing trajectories. Sergio, touted as a future champion, is heading to McLaren as Lewis Hamilton's replacement whilst Kamui has found himself evicted by Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez.
Force India Mercedes: C
Drivers' Championship: 11th - Hulkenberg, 14th - Di Resta
Constructors' Championship: 7th
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| Hulkenberg has shown promise this year |
Given the huge noise that Force India were making pre-season, 2012 can be judged as something of a step backward for the Silverstone based outfit. Setting the target as high as fourth, Force India have found themselves slip backwards into the clutches of Sauber and Williams instead of leapfrog Mercedes and Lotus like they had promised.
Starting out slowly, the first half of the year was pretty ho-hum for Nico Hulkenberg, the returning German taking a while to find his feet. From Belgium onwards however, Nico made some pretty big leaps forwards; he finished the points in three consecutive races from Japan to India, as well as challenging Lewis and Jenson for the lead in Brazil.
Di Resta on the other hand showed promise and consistency early on but faded later on in the season, only scoring two points in the final five races. He'll stay on next season but he needs to assume and sustain the first driver role across an entire season if he has a bright future in F1; too often in 2012 was Paul overshadowed by Nico.
Williams Renault: C+
Drivers' Championship: 15th - Maldonado, 16th - Senna
Constructors' Championship: 8th
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| Maldonado has had an up and down year |
Considering that Williams won a race this year and still finished behind Force India and Sauber, many may argue that 2012 has been something of a missed opportunity for the Grove based squad. Too many times this year have Williams looked promising in qualifying only for things to go astray in the race.
The blame for this can, for the most part, be laid at the doors of the teams driver line-up. Maldonado has thrown away a fair few points this year with rash mistakes and blunders; starting from fourth in Spa, Pastor jumped the start, picked up a puncture, was penalised for the jump start, restarted in last, took out Timo Glock, broke his front wing and was penalised a second time. He hasn't helped shake his hot-headed crash kid status with incidents such as these.
Given the potential of the car this season, Maldonado should have walked away with a load more points than he did. The same can be said of his team-mate Bruno Senna who, whilst raking in points at a consistent rate, has failed to set the world alight in his first full-season of Formula One.
For Williams then, 2012 is a step in the right direction. You can only wonder what the team may have been able to achieve had they retained Rubens Barrichello for just one more year.
Toro Rosso: D
Drivers' Championship: 17th - Vergne, 18th - Ricciardo
Constructors' Championship: 9th
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| Vergne on his way to finishing eighth in Brazil |
After wiping the slate clean after 2011, 2012 has been a year of transition for Toro Rosso; both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have had much to learn in the world's top motor racing category.
Thankfully for both of them, their seasons have been relatively positive given their inexperience. There have been few Maldonado-esque errors to speak of and both drivers have scored points consistently; Ricciardo in particular impressed by finishing in the points in five races from seven starting in Spa. Four eighth places for Vergne were also impressive given that Ricciardo never finished higher than ninth all year.
One can't help noticing that Toro Rosso are stuck in some kind middle zone between the new teams and the mid-field. A full 50 points off of Williams, Toro Rosso have only had themselves for company in the Constructors' tally this season; they will no doubt be hoping to close that gap to Williams next season.
Caterham Renault: D-
Drivers' Championship: 19th - Petrov, 22nd - Kovalainen
Constructors' Championship: 10th
Another year, another zero points for Caterham. Still the clear leader out of F1's new teams, Caterham are plugging away at closing the gap to the mid-field with middling results. Petrov and Kovalainen have been a stable enough line-up for the team but neither have succeeded in bringing home the all important first point.
Highlights include Kovalianen's sturdy defence of Jenson Button's in Monaco, Petrov finishing 11th in Brazil and both cars finishing 13th and 14th in Valencia.
Marussia Cosworth: E
Drivers' Championship: 20th - Glock, 21st - Pic
Constructors' Championship: 11th
Marussia have done a great job of taking the fight to Caterham this season, especially in the second half of the year. Glock and Pic have made a decent coupling and the young rookie in particular has impressed by holding his own against the more experienced German. It was a frustrating end to the season for the team however as they had 10th place in the Constructors' snatched from them in the final round.
With Pic off to Caterham next year, it is likely we will see young Briton Max Chilton fill his seat.
HRT F1 Team: F
Drivers' Championship: 24th - Karthikeyan, 25th - de la Rosa
Constructors' Championship: 12th
Unfortunately for HRT, 2012 has been more a story of survival than success. With the team on the brink of financial oblivion, any on-track happenings have taken something of a back-seat. With their highest placings only being 15th (Karthikeyan) and 17th (de la Rosa), HRT are struggling to find a foothold in the sport and with news breaking this week that they have been excluded from next season's entry list, it is unlikely that we will see them around next season.
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