DRIVER OF THE YEAR
With 11 wins, a record 15 poles (which
took him past Nigel Mansell’s 1992 mark) and barely a wheel out of
place, it has to be Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
McLaren’s Jenson Button and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso both drove brilliantly
to make the most of what they had but neither would quibble with Vettel’s
nomination. The German was unstoppable, crushing a team-mate in Mark Webber
who had pushed him all the way the previous year.
Question marks remain over Vettel’s overtaking capabilities, mostly because he
hasn’t had to do too much of it, but they are receding. His pass around the
outside of Alonso at Monza, when he was forced onto the grass, was
particularly striking.
2011 HERO
If Vettel was the outstanding driver of 2011 he owed more than a bit to Adrian
Newey, Red Bull’s chief technical officer. Newey designed another gem for
him in the RB7, which was not only the quickest car on the track at nearly
every race but exceptionally reliable too. But there were other heroes.
Button’s mastery of the 2011 regulations and equipment was more impressive
even than his
2009 world championship-winning year and allowed him to become the first
of Hamilton’s F1 team-mates to beat him over the course of a season.
Special mentions must also go to Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery –
who made rubber a hot talking point all year – and a couple of retirees,
long-term F1 doctor Professor Sid Watkins and the one and only Sir Stirling
Moss, four times a runner-up in the drivers’ championship, who retired from
all forms of racing at the age of 81.
2011 VILLAIN
Hamilton was undoubtedly the pantomime villain of 2011 – his scrapes with the
authorities and fellow drivers making headlines all year – but he also had
moments of sheer brilliance. His low points were sad rather than villainous,
revealing a lost and unhappy soul. With luck he will regroup over the winter
and come back firing on all cylinders.
ROW OF THE YEAR
There is no doubt which controversy exercised British fans the most: the
announcement during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend back in July that the
BBC had done a deal with Sky to share Formula One coverage from next season
sent Twitter into meltdown and fans beating a path to Westminster.
By the end of the season, with Martin
Brundle leading a mass BBC exodus to the pay-TV channel, the disgruntled
masses appeared to have been bludgeoned into submission. Some claim they
will boycott Murdoch, others predict eyeballs will fall in the new era as
the casual viewers picked up by the BBC lose interest, while still others
say they are looking forward to seeing what Sky can do with a load of money
and a dedicated channel in HD. We will see.
MEMORY I WILL CHERISH
The long rain delay in Canada meant the race finished at about 10pm UK time,
which was well past first edition filing deadlines for newspapers. With
Button storming the field through from last to take the lead at about 9.59pm
it required some late, late re-writing and scrambling. But what a story.
I’ll also remember Hamilton’s
emotional win in Abu Dhabi, which he dedicated to his mum on her
birthday, with fondness. After weeks of moping, he really looked happy.
Diwali in Delhi a few days before the inaugural Indian GP was also a
highlight.
MEMORY I WANT TO FORGET
My ‘love hotel’ in Mokpo, South Korea. Either that or the white-knuckle taxi
ride from my hotel to Shanghai’s international airport. Not funny.
QUOTE OR TWEET OF THE YEAR
“Found out last night, no idea how it will work yet. I’m out of contract, will
calmly work through options. Not impressed.” Martin Brundle’s
tweet from Budapest revealing he had been kept in the dark about the BBC-Sky
deal only added to the fans’ feeling of betrayal and general impression that
the whole thing was a stitch-up.
Lewis Hamilton also supplied us with a few goodies, from “I felt
as if I fell off a steep cliff this year” to his “Maybe it’s because I’m
black” outburst
at the stewards in Monaco.
2011 IN TEN WORDS
Long. Exhausting. Political. Air miles. Disappointing title race. Decent
racing.
FORMULA ONE’S NEW YEAR RESOLUTION SHOULD BE
To poison Adrian Newey’s New Year’s champagne. Mind you, his blueprint is
already on the 2011 car so it may be too late to prevent another cakewalk.
Maybe Vettel’s leftover Christmas pudding would be a better target. It would
also be nice to put the interminable Resource Restriction row behind us and
make the right decision on Bahrain.