 |
| Vettel makes it three from three |
In this third and final part of my Season Review, we take at look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2012 season.
Best Race - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
There were so many classic races this season, picking one as the 'best' is no easy task. Do we go for Malaysia (Alonso and Perez surprise us all in the rain), Barcelona (Williams' notching up a surprise win), Valencia (Alonso clinching an emotional win on home turf), Abu Dhabi (Raikkonen's first comeback win), Austin (Hamilton beating Vettel in America) or Brazil (a dramatic finale of epic proportions)?
 |
| Abu Dhabi was a true classic |
For me, and quite surprisingly, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the one that had it all. Mixing together controversy (Vettel's qualifying DSQ), action (his subsequent fightback), carnage (Rosberg and Karthikeyan), disappointment (Hamilton's undeserved exit), the funny (Raikkonen's team radio 'conversations') and the feel good factor (his subsequent race win), Abu Dhabi overturned its previous reputation and put on a real show for 2012. It served up a true classic that had to be seen to be believed.
Starting from the pitlane, Sebastian Vettel had it all to do whilst his rival Fernando Alonso tried to make the most of his rivals misfortune. Amazingly, the German was able to emerge from the on-track chaos that saw so many of his rivals falter to come home a remarkable third place, only losing three points to Alonso. It also saw Kimi Raikkonen seal his first win since 2009, a popular and long overdue win in many people's eyes.
Best Driver - Fernando Alonso
 |
| Alonso narrowly lost out to Vettel in 2012 |
For me however, there is a clear winner for Best Driver of 2012: Fernando Alonso. He may have missed out on the World Championship, but Alonso has driven a legendary season. In a car that was, for the most part, consistently slower than Red Bull and McLaren, Fernando has managed to inch out every drop of performance, time and again dragging the F2012 onto the podium. To only lose out by three points after the string of wins Vettel racked up in the final third of the season is evidence of the Spaniard's inherent ability to always give it the maximum race in race out; how many times this year did Fernando recover from a poor qualifying to finish on the podium? It's this dogged determination gives him the edge on Sebastian and Lewis for Driver of the Year.
In the capable hands of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, the Red Bull Racing RB8 has delievered another Drivers' and Constructors' World Championship, 8 pole positions and 7 race wins, making it the best all round car this season.
Whilst the RB8 has suffered with reliability issues (Valencia, Monza, Austin), it compensated in the second half of the season by being blindingly fast, especially after the team added their version of the double DRS.
Another hard one to pick - out of Pic, Vergne, Grosjean and Ricciardo, which rookie driver had the best season on the whole? If taken on the final points tally, Romain Grosjean is clearly ahead of his fellow rookies; the young Frenchman scored 96 points and finished on the podium in Bahrain and Hungary.
He did however also land himself in a whole swimming pool of hot water for a string of first lap incidents, eventually leading to a race ban in Monza. He has quickly gained a reputation for being, as Mark Webber puts it, a "first lap nutcase". For this reason then, he misses out on Rookie of the Year.
Ricciardo and Vergne have had positive début seasons, the latter boasting the greater points tally between the two, whilst Pic has impressed enough to sign for Caterham next year. On the whole, Vergne has done well to outscore the more experienced Ricciardo and is the one to take out the accolade of Rookie of the Year.
Despite being linked with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, Lewis' future seemed set on staying at McLaren; wins in Hungary and Italy showed the team had the pace to match Lewis' talent. The Singapore Grand Prix however saw Lewis' McLaren suffer a heartbreaking mechanical failure, dropping him out of the lead as well as losing all momentum they had gained over the summer.
A rapid U-turn followed; in the days following the Singapore GP, news of Lewis' impending departure to Mercedes cascaded across the headlines, simultaneously ending a 13 year long partnership driver and team had had and ending Michael Schumacher's lacklustre comeback.
The news was one that shocked many up and down the pitlane; Mercedes have hardly been a force to be reckoned with in their 3 seasons as manufacturers. It did however set up a hugely exciting prospect for 2013; can Hamilton turn the team's fortune's around? It's going to be great finding out.
Again, with so many contenders for Overtake of the Year, it is hard to pick one singular one. In terms of significance however, Fernando Alonso's brave move down in the inside of both Jenson Button and Felipe Massa into Turn 1 in Interlagos is up there as the best of the year.
Needing to fight his way through the pack, Alonso was in fine form in Brazil, scything his way past numerous cars off the line. A few laps later, he was on the tail of Button and his team-mate, the move promoting him up the field and gaining more vital points on the struggling Vettel. The move may have not won him the title; Vettel's fightback to sixth ensured that, but it was ballsy given the track conditions and the gravity of the situation, once again proving Alonso's high calibre.
Best Team - Red Bull Racing
Wrapping up their third double in as many years, could best team go to anyone other than Red Bull Racing? Not starting out with the top car as they had done in 2011, Red Bull had to out develop and out think their rivals en route to their third Constructors' title. The team also managed to rack up the most wins this year (7 - 5 for Vettel, 2 for Webber).
 |
| Mark Webber wins in Silverstone |
With technical mastermind at the helm, Red Bull Racing have proved themselves to be a lot more than just a marketing ploy over the past three years; they are now the clear benchmark, ahead of established manufacturers like Ferrari and McLaren. Several alternator and KERS issues have shown that whilst not being bullet-proof, Red Bull have developed a fantastic ability to bounce back under pressure; at times this year, Vettel's challenge looked to be hanging by a thread (see Monza) only for the tables to be quickly turned (see Singapore through to India)
Whilst their technical innovations are met with suspicion by their rivals and more often push the boundaries of the regulations, Red Bull are just proving to us all that they strive to squeeze out every drop of performance and edge the competition.
Best Car - Red Bull Racing RB8
 |
| Red Bull gives you wings |
Whilst the RB8 has suffered with reliability issues (Valencia, Monza, Austin), it compensated in the second half of the season by being blindingly fast, especially after the team added their version of the double DRS.
Best Rookie - Jean-Eric Vergne
 |
| Jean-Eric Vergne is my Rookie of the Year |
Ricciardo and Vergne have had positive début seasons, the latter boasting the greater points tally between the two, whilst Pic has impressed enough to sign for Caterham next year. On the whole, Vergne has done well to outscore the more experienced Ricciardo and is the one to take out the accolade of Rookie of the Year.
Worst Race - Bahrain Grand Prix
 |
| Bahrain didn't excite yet again |
With all of the political drama surrounding this year's Bahrain Grand Prix, it is a wonder the race even went ahead to start of with. Protesters petrol bombs and ghostly grandstands are not something this fan wants associated with the sport he loves; it really does baffle this blogger than Formula 1 continues to defend it's cause in the troubled Arab state.
It didn't help in the end that the race turned out to be something of a dead kipper as well. Vettel lead from the outset, was only challenged by Kimi Raikkonen briefly and subsequently cruised home for his first win of the year.
Biggest Surprise - Hamilton's shock move to Mercedes
One of the biggest talking points all season long was without a doubt, the ongoing speculation surrounding Lewis Hamilton's future. Dragging on throughout the entire summer, the constant debate about whether Lewis was going to stay or go from McLaren see-sawed back and forth.
Despite being linked with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, Lewis' future seemed set on staying at McLaren; wins in Hungary and Italy showed the team had the pace to match Lewis' talent. The Singapore Grand Prix however saw Lewis' McLaren suffer a heartbreaking mechanical failure, dropping him out of the lead as well as losing all momentum they had gained over the summer.
A rapid U-turn followed; in the days following the Singapore GP, news of Lewis' impending departure to Mercedes cascaded across the headlines, simultaneously ending a 13 year long partnership driver and team had had and ending Michael Schumacher's lacklustre comeback.
The news was one that shocked many up and down the pitlane; Mercedes have hardly been a force to be reckoned with in their 3 seasons as manufacturers. It did however set up a hugely exciting prospect for 2013; can Hamilton turn the team's fortune's around? It's going to be great finding out.
Best Overtake - Fernando Alonso on Jenson Button and Felipe Massa in Brazil
Needing to fight his way through the pack, Alonso was in fine form in Brazil, scything his way past numerous cars off the line. A few laps later, he was on the tail of Button and his team-mate, the move promoting him up the field and gaining more vital points on the struggling Vettel. The move may have not won him the title; Vettel's fightback to sixth ensured that, but it was ballsy given the track conditions and the gravity of the situation, once again proving Alonso's high calibre.
Thanks for reading the third and final part of my Formula One 2012 Season Review; you can view Part One here and Part Two here. Let me know in comments section below what you think of the calls made here; who do reckon was the best driver, team and so on? Thanks for reading.
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment