Brazilian
Grand Prix: Chaotic, rain-affected championship decider. Vettel,
holding a 13-point advantage over Alonso going into the race, looked to be
down and out by the fourth turn of the first lap after spinning to the back
of the field but the German recovered to go down in history as F1’s youngest
ever triple champion.
DRIVER OF THE YEAR:
Fernando Alonso – performed heroics to stay in the title hunt despite a
car which was demonstrably inferior to the Red Bull – certainly in
qualifying trim. Great win in the wet in Malaysia early in the year when the
car really was awful. Nearly always beat team mate Felipe Massa, nearly
always finished, nearly always scored points. Gritty.
Sebastian Vettel – like Alonso, did well to limit the damage when the
car was not up to snuff, then hit a purple patch of form just as the Adrian
Newey-designed RB8 came on song. Four wins on the trot from Singapore
onwards (including 205 consecutive laps led) proved decisive. The youngest
triple champion in Formula One history.
Lewis Hamilton – tough on Kimi Raikkonen, who has driven well on his
return to F1 this year, but Hamilton has been strong in 2012 and deserves to
be recognised alongside Vettel and Alonso. Only pitlane errors, car
reliability issues and poor luck prevented him from competing for the world
title in his final season with McLaren.
DISAPPOINTING DRIVER OF THE YEAR:
Felipe Massa – the Brazilian improved, belatedly, but it took him so
long to find his feet this year that it came as a surprise to many when
Ferrari elected to resign him for 2013. Finished miles behind his team mate,
although team orders played a part in that.
Romain Grosjean – undoubtedly quick but too many incidents in 2012,
including that shunt at Spa which accounted for four drivers and nearly took
off Alonso’s head. Branded a “first-lap nutcase” by Red Bull’s Mark Webber.
Narain Karthikeyan – perhaps unfair to pick on the Indian as the HRT is
a truly hopeless car, but all the same it is reasonable to question what
Karthikeyan is doing in Formula One. Patently not one of the best 24 drivers
in the world.
Disappointing driver of the year
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER:
Pastor Maldonado – written off by some as a hothead, the Venezuelan has
shown glimpses of something special in 2012. He is certainly quick. And that
win in Barcelona was hugely impressive.
Sergio Perez – has gone off the boil in recent races but those drives
to the podium in Malaysia, Canada and Italy should not be forgotten. They
convinced McLaren to gamble on the young Mexican.
Michael Schumacher – the stats may not support it (he took roughly half
as many points as team mate Nico Rosberg) but 2012 was Schumacher’s most
competitive season since his return to the sport. Monaco pole was memorable.
Most improved driver of the year
TEAM OF THE YEAR:
Red Bull – difficult to argue with the inclusion of a team who took a
third successive constructors’ crown with one race to spare. Christian
Horner and Adrian Newey deserve immense credit. Starting to look like a
dynasty.
Marussia – one of the most popular teams on the grid. Despite
their lack of funds John Booth’s team found themselves heading to Brazil in
10th place in the constructors’ championship, ahead of Caterham, but they
were denied in the final laps as Pic lost position to Petrov.
Sauber – just shade the likes of Williams, Lotus and Force India.
Produced an excellent, well-balanced car. Sergio Perez produced some
memorable drives while Kamui Kobayashi’s podium in Japan was a real
highlight.
DISAPPOINTING TEAM OF THE YEAR:
Mercedes – another season to put down to experience. Started well
enough, with double DRS speed and Nico Rosberg’s maiden win in China – a
great moment – but tailed off. Must up game when Hamilton arrives in 2013.
Caterham – Tony Fernandes started the season talking up his
team’s chances of bridging the gap to the midfield teams, with regular
points finishes. Still waiting for that first point.
HRT – no money and as things stand, no future. HRT are up for sale.
Three years after making their entry into Formula One, they have still not
brought much to the party.
Disappointing team of the year
QUOTE OF THE YEAR:
Kimi Raikkonen en route to victory in Abu Dhabi
Leave me alone. I know what I’m doing.”
Lewis Hamilton with another Twitter gaffe post-Suzuka
Just noticed @JensonButton unfollowed, that’s a shame. After 3 years as
teammates I thought we respected one another but clearly he doesn’t.”
Martin Brundle pays tribute to ‘Prof’ Sid Watkins, Formula One’s
legendary doctor, who died at the age of 84]
Sid would often prescribe ‘a stiff whisky and aspirin’ unless your leg was
hanging off. His way of saying ‘just put up and get on with it’.”
CONTROVERSY OF THE YEAR:
Lewis Hamilton moving to Mercedes – not a controversy per se –
top drivers do switch teams from time to time. But it certainly shook up the
sport. Weeks of agonising interviews, awkward denials and, finally, the
announcement that Hamilton was off.
Lewis Hamilton tweeting team telemetry – the 2008 world champion
had a weekend to forget in Belgium, deleting plenty of ill-advised tweets,
none more ill-advised than the graphic he posted of his and team mate Jenson Button’s
qualifying telemetry. Hamilton was later punted out of the race before
reaching turn one.
Bahrain Grand Prix – Should Formula One have gone? Did it
exacerbate underlying tensions? Did it legitimise a repressive regime? And
is it sport’s role to ask such questions? Expect the same questions next
year.
FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR
Williams win at Barcelona – many fans genuinely thought they
might never see a Williams car win another race so Pastor Maldonado’s
lights-to-chequered flag victory in Barcelona, the team’s first win since
2004, was one of the undoubted highlights of the season. The fire which
later gutted their garage added another layer of drama.
Kamui Kobayashi podium at Suzuka – who could fail to be moved by
the sight of the popular Japanese taking his maiden podium at his home race?
The fact that Kobayashi’s future in the sport remains uncertain – he has
been jettisoned by Sauber – only makes the memory more poignant.
Former driver Alex Zanardi wins two Paralympic golds – 11 years after
losing both legs in a massive CART accident at the Lausitzring, former F1
driver Zanardi completed a remarkable, inspirational comeback story by
winning the handcycling time trial at London 2012, before two days later
winning the road race. He later helped Italy to a silver medal in the team
relay. A genuine superman.
BEST OVERTAKING MOVE OF THE YEAR:
Raikkonen on Schumacher (Belgian Grand Prix) – the Finn’s brave
pass on the seven-time champion down the hill into Eau Rouge had shades of
Webber on Alonso one year earlier. Schumacher squeezed Raikkonen towards the
grass, but couldn’t hold him off.
Vettel on Button (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) – having started from the
pitlane Vettel worked his way up through the field before finally snatching
third place from Button thanks to a gutsy pass around the outside of Turn
11. “It was very brave of him,” Button conceded. “I didn’t
expect that. If I’d locked up and run wide, we would’ve crashed.”
Hamilton on Robserg (Bahrain Grand Prix) – a controversial
incident which saw Rosberg make an aggressive move to defend the inside line
(he later did the same to Alonso), only for Hamilton to keep his foot in and
pass the German off track. Neither driver was penalise.