The limping tale of Kimi Raikkonen

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

What are the first things you think when the name Kimi Raikkonen is mentioned? Perhaps it is humorous, successful and cool. Others would think lazy, dim-witted and rude. The Iceman does have his many legions of fans worldwide. For their sake, they might not want to carry on reading…

Whilst I have taken a backseat from Formula One reporting in 2014, I have seen the results and watched clips and highlight packages of all races, as well as the live events in Canada and recently at Silverstone last weekend. It was around this time seven days ago that Raikkonen was being discharged from the medical centre at the Northamptonshire circuit, with bruised ankles and knees after a frightening crash on the opening lap of the event that saw his chassis destroyed in a 47G impact (remains below)

The remains of Raikkonen's Ferrari after his 47G impact at Silverstone last weekend

As Kimi limped away from the remains of his Ferrari machinery, I wonder what he was thinking. Perhaps he needed a stiff drink and you couldn’t blame him if that was the case. His season has been a tale of woe and regular underperforming in a Prancing Horse car that is quite possibly, the worst they have designed back at Maranello in over two decades.

So in the crazy world of the ‘former’ Flying Finn, does he have much more of a future at the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing?

Stats check

When Raikkonen returned to Ferrari for the 2014 season, there was excitement in the paddock. Paired up alongside one of his seasoned rivals in Fernando Alonso, many experts were predicting fireworks between the pair and a close battle throughout the campaign.

Whilst Alonso was expected to have the slight edge as he has been with Ferrari for the past four years, many members of the crew will have worked with Raikkonen from his first spell with the team which saw him claim his one and only world championship back in 2007.

What started as perhaps a settling in period has turned into a crisis of confidence. Raikkonen is trailing Alonso 7-2 in qualifying, has not started higher than fifth this season, not outraced Alonso at any event in 2014 and has picked up a sobering tally of 19 points, compared to Alonso’s 87. This is in the same car too.

Look at the results; Fernando achieved a brilliant podium in China, finished fourth in Australia, Malaysia and Monaco and fought through from mid-grid to sixth last weekend at Silverstone.

On the other hand, Kimi’s best result is seventh place in the season opener in Australia and he matched that in Spain. A podium was possible in Monaco before he picked up a puncture behind the Safety Car and then pulled off a ridiculous overtaking attempt on young rookie Kevin Magnussen that ended with both clumsily failing to get round the 30mph Lowes hairpin.

Bad luck can’t really be laid at Raikkonen’s door, certainly in comparison to reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, whose regular reliability problems have seen him struggle to register results compared to his hotshot new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo.

On conclusion, the verdict on Raikkonen’s season is; ‘Not good enough, could try harder.’

Will he change?

If you’ve followed the career of Kimi Raikkonen, he is a frustrating enigma and an absolute nightmare to get any words out of him. The media will be lucky to get a shrug of the shoulders, and perhaps a murmur of ‘yeah okay,’ or ‘it’s good but it isn’t the win.’

He doesn’t work hard enough. Ferrari knows that and that’s why they binned him in the first place at the end of 2009 for Alonso. If he ever wrote an autobiography, it probably would be the shortest read in history – saying ‘I was born, I drove a car, I won a championship, I retired, the end…it’s a Kimi adventure!’

He will turn up, drive the car, give minimal feedback to the team and then disappear back to his home. His attitude is lazy but that’s the characteristics of the man. He won’t change, that’s just who he is.

For all of that, he can be hilariously funny too. This is the man who uses team radio to get the point across bluntly but in a way which his fans enjoy. The ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’ message in Abu Dhabi 2012 was one of the best responses heard on a team radio. He is a character and motorsport needs people like him to cancel out the hard work of Vettel, the drama of Hamilton and the sheer persistence of Alonso.

What happens now?

With 10 races left in 2014, Ferrari might as well write this season off and throw it into the scrapheap. 1993 was the last year they failed to win a Grand Prix and unless something freakish happens, that stat will be changed when the chequered flag flies in Abu Dhabi in November. The team have not given their well-paid and respected drivers the machinery to deliver the goods.

Whilst Alonso though shouldn’t be criticised, Raikkonen must. He needs to be at least within a few tenths of Fernando and beating him occasionally. That is not happening and it is unlikely to change for the remainder of this campaign.

When Ferrari resigned Kimi last September, it was for fear that they might lose a slightly unsettled Alonso to a rival team. At the time, it was an understandable move but now, it looks perplexing..

With the likes of Jules Bianchi and Nico Hulkenberg continuing to perform, not forgetting Romain Grosjean’s talent which has been masked this year in a poor Lotus and Maranello’s hierarchy should look to the future.

Raikkonen has already indicated he will stop racing after 2015. Maybe Ferrari should look at ending this relationship earlier than his contract because it isn’t working. It has as much life as a dying marriage where the love has gone and you stay together for convenience purposes.

The curious tale of Kimi Raikkonen will continue in 2014 but time is running out for him in Formula One. He is Ferrari’s past, not present and if his performances continue to drop, he could soon find himself to be an ex-Ferrari driver again very soon. 

It is time for him to stand up and be counted!

Categories: 2014, 2015, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Formula One, Grand Prix, Iceman, Kimi Raikkonen, Results, Silverstone

Schumi's toughest battle

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

As fans of the legendary Italian car manufacturer Ferrari gather outside the Grenoble hospital in France to hold a silent vigil, the world of motorsport and particularly Grand Prix racing says a prayer, holds its breath and hopes that the greatest driver of his generation and possibly of all-time pulls through.

Friday, 3 January marked the 45^th birthday of the seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher but he would have known nothing about it. The former Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes GP driver has now been in an induced coma for a week after a skiing accident whilst on a family holiday in the French Alps.

Michael Schumacher faces his toughest battle - this one to survive

This isn’t going to be a piece about why the accident happened, or what might have saved Schumacher’s life, nor will it look into the consequences of skiing in the slopes. This will be looking at Michael Schumacher (pictured) the man, Michael Schumacher the racing driver and now the human being who is fighting for his life in a French hospital as we all hope he makes a complete recovery from the serious brain injuries suffered.

While my recent F1 2013 season review before Christmas was my last regular piece on the sport for this website, I felt this was something I wanted and needed to write about. There is no doubt that Schumacher has his millions of fans around the world and others who put him down as an arrogant, smut and petulant German who would win at all costs, even if that meant bending the rules to do so. However I’m sure we can all unite in saying that he needs to come through this barrier and that he is among the best that have ever driven a Grand Prix car.

The arguments will reign on to who is the greatest. Was it Juan Manuel Fangio at a time where drivers were racing with no safety restrictions and consequently, accidents were often fatal? Was it Ayrton Senna – the iconic Brazilian who showed the first signs of ruthlessness required to become a multiple world champion and died doing what he loved? Is it even Schumacher’s countryman Sebastian Vettel, who is sweeping all before him and could well surpass Michael’s records in the years to come? It is a debate that will rage on for years but Schumacher has to be placed among the best. The stats will back this up too. 91 wins, seven world championships, 68 pole positions, over 1500 points amassed and 308 Grand Prix starts.

As a racing driver, he was extremely competitive and hated losing but also loved a challenge. In 1995, he raced to a second successive title with the unheralded Benetton team, becoming the youngest back-to-back world champion until Vettel arrived. Rather than stick with the Enstone unit, he decided to turn his back on them and accept a new challenge. That was to lead the Prancing Horse of Ferrari back to the top. Ferrari had been in the doldrums for far too long when he arrived for 1996. They hadn’t won a constructors’ title for 13 years, a driver’s title for 17 years and there were tough times such as driveshafts snapping in the pitlane and engines blowing up on the formation lap. Not once did he criticise the team though and he moulded them into a winning breed once again. He deserves great credit for accepting a new challenge and building a team around him.

The near-misses were tough to take but the relief and the pride was always there. When he finally achieved his goal of becoming world champion for Ferrari after victory in a gripping wheel-to-wheel duel with Mika Hakkinen at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix, the majority were delighted. Formula One is not the same without a winning Ferrari outfit. He then proceeded to crush the opposition for the next four seasons. He won the title in 2002 by late July, 2004 by late August – something that with the number of races nowadays is unlikely even for Vettel to achieve. Even when Ferrari didn’t have the best car in 2003, Schumacher put in some meteoritic performances when required to snare the titles away from McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

Of course there were dark moments in his career where he had to win at all costs and I’m sure these are things the great man would regret. His move to take Damon Hill out of the 1994 title decider in Adelaide was a rash moment of desperation; the attempt to eliminate Jacques Villeneuve in Jerez at the 1997 finale was blatant and frankly disgusting – even his own tifosi support were incensed by that rash moment. There was also the worst parking offence of the 2006 season at La Rascasse during the dying moments of qualifying in Monte Carlo when he deliberately stopped his car to prevent other quicker cars stealing his pole position. The dark stains on his character are a real shame as it does taint a great champion.

However, I will remember him more for the epic drives he produced time and again. His drive from 16^th on the grid to win the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix for Benetton; his first win for Ferrari at a wet and soggy Barcelona in 1996 when he didn’t have the best car but won by a mile; the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix on a qualifying style strategy when McLaren had the measure of his chassis; the classic race with Hakkinen in Japan 2000 and the cameo in his comeback in Canada 2011 when he rolled back some of his prime days with clever overtakes in a car that was well below the standard he normally had underneath his disposal. 

As a man, Schumacher has great respect with the general public. He is a loving family man, who cares deeply about the achievements of his kids and his wife. He also spends a lot of time working for charities now his racing days are done and donating money to good causes. He gives a lot back to more unfortunate people who have suffered worst and that means he has my respect. While I admit that when he was winning all the time, it wasn’t great to watch – I appreciated the success and the ‘Dream Team’ at Ferrari more as history was being carved out, something we are witnessing again today with the Red Bull/Vettel combination.

The whole of the motorsport fraternity is thinking of Schumacher and his family at this horrible time. The tributes from former rivals, ex-team-mates and current competitors have been lovely to see. It shows that F1 and the sport in general is a family and we are all deeply affected when something terrible happens. Schumacher would know that from experience; shown when he broke down in floods of tears during a televised press conference after victory at Monza 2000 as he digested the news of a marshal being killed from injuries sustained in a multiple accident earlier in the race. I just hope Michael can pull through and will be able to see the general love, affection and respect that has been fully evident over the past week.

Ferrari fans show their support for their former hero outside hospital

Last Sunday, things didn’t look good whatsoever and I had almost given up hope with the way the reports were coming through of his injuries. Like the fighting desire he showed on the racing track time and again, the signs from Grenoble (Ferrari fans outside pictured) since 29 December have been slightly more positive. The situation is still critical and there is a long way back to recovery or even a stage where we can confidently say Schumacher is out of life danger. We will probably only know the severity more when the induced coma he is currently in is eased slowly by the hard-working and determined doctors over the next week. It would be a terrible irony that after 19 seasons driving around some of the hardest racing circuits at speeds upto 220mph relatively unscathed that this supremely fit human being succumbed to an impact that eyewitnesses have suggested was no more than 10mph.

My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher and the whole of his family. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed, say some prayers and hope that he comes back from the brink and makes a full recovery. This is his toughest battle yet but having seen him at his prime and peak, I know he can beat this, just like he did to all his rivals when he took the chequered flag in first place so often throughout his career.

Categories: Benetton, Charity, Controversy, Ferrari, France, Grenoble, Injury, Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Skiing

The team order storm rumbles on

The Formula One circus has arrived in Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, round three of the 2013 season.

It is civil war at Red Bull between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel

All eyes will be on the Red Bull Racing drivers, world champion Sebastian Vettel and his team-mate Mark Webber following the team orders storm three weeks ago in Malaysia.

The debate has kicked off again, and it seems like the team has lost all control over its drivers.

Webber, who is sporting a dodgy haircut this weekend, said the situation was tense and the relationship between the drivers was strained.

Vettel launched his own attack in a highly charged media conference of his own, stating Webber has never helped him or the team, and although he respected him as a driver, suggested his actions in Sepang were payback for Webber not being there when he needed his help to win the title in Brazil last season.

I’ve kept fairly quiet on the team orders debate, but having mulled over the arguments and the various opinions over the past few weeks, it is time to state how I feel about the situation.

The background

For those who don’t know the full story of what happened at the Malaysian Grand Prix, here is the explanation of events.

Timing a move onto slick tyres better than Vettel had Webber in the lead for the majority of the race.  Despite some frustrations from the German around half-distance, the team issued a coded instruction called ‘Multi-21’ after the final round of pitstops.

We’ve since learned that ‘Multi-21’ is meant to mean car two ahead of car one.  This should suggest Webber was ahead and Vettel was not allowed to attack.

Sebastian took matters into his own hands and disregarded the team order, and raced Mark hard, but clean and took the lead against the accords of his team.

He apologised to the team, and looked miserable on the podium but he has come out fighting since, saying he felt Webber didn’t deserve the victory in Kuala Lumpur.

But should he have listened to his team?

It is about racing

At the end of the day, Formula One is about ‘racing.’  It is what draws in the many followers to the sport.  If racing doesn’t happen, you have to question the morals and ethics of the sport.

I certainly despise team orders.  They have been a part of Grand Prix racing for a long time though.

Some will obey to team instructions.  David Coulthard stuck to a pre-race agreement and allowed Mika Hakkinen to win the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, as Hakkinen had beaten him to the first corner.

In 2002, Ferrari staged the finish of the Austrian Grand Prix, when they brutally asked Rubens Barrichello, who had dominated the whole weekend to gift the race to Michael Schumacher.  Barrichello did it at the last possible moment, but the team were roundly criticised and it led to a rule banning team orders.

And of course, they did it again at Hockenheim in 2010, by asking Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso by for the victory.  This was a race that finally lifted the ‘team order’ ban, but in reality, they had never gone away from the background.

Others have ignored instructions.  Both Carlos Reutemann and Rene Arnoux went back on agreements to win races in the early 1980s, as did Didier Pironi famously in 1982 at Imola – leading to Gilles Villeneuve vowing never to speak to him again.  He didn’t, as he was killed 14 days later in practice at Zolder in Belgium.

Sebastian Vettel should have listened to his team.  There was an instruction in place, and the common sense would have been for him to obey the order and follow Webber home.

However, he is a racing driver, a triple world champion and with his chief rival Fernando Alonso out of the race after a crash on lap two, saw an extra seven points up for grabs which could be vitally important come the latter part of the championship.

You tell him not to do it, and especially for the win and it is a difficult one to swallow.

Formula One is a team sport.  It is the teams that employ the drivers, pay their wages and keep the sponsors happy.  However, the drivers are racers and will want individual honours.

Vettel had a case

Vettel had every right to go for it if he felt he should have.  It was ruthless and risky, but I praise him for going against morals and showing the determination he has in proving what a true racing driver he is.

Nice guys do not win world championships, and we all know Mark Webber is not a serious championship contender.  He had his chance to win the title in 2010, and blew it in the wall in Korea.

The neutral wants to see racing at the highest level.  I do not want to see a race that is decided with 15 laps to go, and then they just race around in circles until the chequered flag.  If they did that all the time, I’d rather watch a round of golf!

Vettel took a pasting from the media afterwards, and on reflection – it wasn’t his smartest move to make, but then again – he isn’t the first and won’t be the last to ignore team orders.

Mark Webber has been painted as a saint who has done nothing wrong.  This is Mark Webber, a driver who has ran into countless team-mates (some weren’t his fault, it has to be said), one who has brake tested drivers in the past (Fernando Alonso in Bahrain in 2004), and one who has ignored team orders himself against Vettel (Silverstone 2011).

He is not whiter than white.  Webber is a good racing driver, traditionally has a fair reputation and on his day, is unstoppable but he’s made poor errors of judgement in the past.  Far too many people forget his character.

Lewis Hamilton has ignored team orders before, so has Jenson Button.  They have all done it.  I can’t help feel that Vettel got so much stick because of his nationality.  Who cares if he is German?  I’m not bothered.  Those who’ve branded him as Schumacher Mark II look ridiculous.  Of course, he has made mistakes before, but who hasn’t in life.

And I have to ask this question too?  If you were in the same situation as Vettel, what would you do? 

What happens now?

Red Bull has insisted there will be no more team orders this season, which is a strong statement to make.  I’m not convinced by this at all.

This is Sebastian Vettel’s team, and where does it leave the situation at Red Bull now, both in the short and long term.

For now, there will be no change.  Mark Webber will see the season out, and the competition between them on the track will now be even fiercer than what it has been before.

Vettel was never going to be sanctioned heavily.  He apologised for his actions to the team afterwards, and he went back to the factory to apologise and explain last week in Milton Keynes.  He is the golden boy of the team, and they seriously weren’t going to ban him for one race for what he did.

If teams started doing that to drivers – you could probably turn Formula One into a reality show contest for Channel Five, and auction seats off on eBay.

Webber will be gone at the end of 2013, probably into retirement you’d imagine.  It is Vettel’s team, he owns it and whoever come into the den in 2014 will have to get used to that pretty quickly.

What it does mean is this Formula One season already has an explosive matter to remember as it progresses throughout the summer.

Hopefully, we can get on with the action of ‘racing’ and not ‘staging’ in China this weekend.

However, I will leave you with one lasting quote from the fantastic Senna movie.

The late Ayrton Senna famously said to Sir Jackie Stewart in 1990 during a tense stand-off between the pair; "And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."

If you question Sebastian Vettel’s will to win and determination to win, then perhaps you need to ask yourself whether Formula One is a sport you really should be watching.

Categories: Brazil, China, David Coulthard, Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Formula One, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mark Webber, Media, Multi-21, Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel, Sport, Team Orders

2012 - A year in review - Formula One - A Golden Year for Sebastian

By Victoria Chaplow and Simon Wright

The chase started in Australia and finished in Brazil.  It went on for eight months and 20 races across all corners of the globe.  24 of the world’s finest competitors battled it out to be number one, but only one could claim the prize of being world champion when the chequered flag fell in Sao Paulo.

Formula One 2012 was one of the most sensational championships in the sport’s colourful and controversial history.  With eight different winners during the season and six prime championship contenders, there were plenty of twists and turns throughout, which kept the destiny of the 2012 championship guessing right up until the conclusion in Interlagos.

Former University of Northampton students Victoria Chaplow and Simon Wright have followed the season very closely, and from Silverstone to Suzuka, Monza to Monte Carlo and Abu Dhabi to Austin – they now tell the story of how the battle for the title was won and lost.

Victoria will tell the story of the season from Monaco to Britain and Korea to Brazil, but it is Simon who gets the ball rolling with pre-season and the first five unpredictable events.

Pre-season

Red Bull dominated in 2011, retaining both championships with comparative ease.  Sebastian Vettel had joined the list of back-to-back champions, and started as overwhelming favourite to retain his crown.

It would be difficult to repeat his success of 15 pole positions and 11 wins but it was difficult to see anything else but a different title winner.  Vettel was once again partnered by the gritty Aussie Mark Webber.

McLaren were hoping to end their trophy drought stretching back to 2008.  Jenson Button was chasing a second championship and hoping to build on his second place finish in the 2011 Drivers Championship.

Lewis Hamilton was back together with Nicole Scherzinger over the winter, and looked refreshed and raring to go after a testing 2011 where he seemed more determined to hit Felipe Massa than win races.

The team that set the pace in winter testing were Lotus.  After two years away rallying, Kimi Raikkonen returned to Formula One with the team formerly known as Renault.  He was to be partnered by defending GP2 champion Romain Grosjean. 

Raikkonen’s return meant that for the first time in F1 history, there were to be six world champions on the grid.  Michael Schumacher was hoping that 2012 would be far more successful at Mercedes GP alongside Nico Rosberg.  Fernando Alonso was already hoping for miracles.  Ferrari looked miles off the pace in testing and expectations were low heading to Melbourne.

Other changes saw the Senna name back at Williams as Bruno replaced countryman Rubens Barrichello.  Nico Hulkenberg was back full-time after a year on the sidelines.  The young German took over from Adrian Sutil at Force India who had received a suspended jail sentence for his part in a nightclub altercation the previous April.

Jarno Trulli was dumped by Caterham after the first pre-season test for Russian Vitaly Petrov and French rookies Jean-Eric Vergne and Charles Pic would make their debuts at Toro Rosso and Marussia respectively.

So the build-up was over and the talking could stop.  It was time for the racing to begin and what a first quarter of the season it proved to be.

Round 1 Australia

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: JENSON BUTTON

TOP 10: 1^st: JENSON BUTTON, 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel, 3^rd: Lewis Hamilton, 4^th Mark Webber, 5^th: Fernando Alonso, 6^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 7^th Kimi Raikkonen, 8^th: Sergio Perez, 9^th: Daniel Ricciardo, 10^th: Paul di Resta

Qualifying: McLaren turned up at the season opener in Albert Park with the fastest package and they led the way in qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton taking pole position ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.  Romain Grosjean qualified a brilliant third but Kimi Raikkonen crashed out in Q1 after a timing error.  Neither Ferrari made it into Q3, with Fernando Alonso spinning off into the gravel on his way to 12^th while for the second year running, neither HRT failed to qualify.

Race: It was Button who took the honours in the season opener, winning in Melbourne for the third time in four seasons.  He beat Hamilton off the startline and controlled the race from there.  Only a badly timed Safety Car to clear away Vitaly Petrov’s Caterham cost Hamilton second place.  He finished a frustrated third behind Sebastian Vettel.

Mark Webber recorded his best ever finish at his home event with fourth, underlining that despite some weak pace on a single lap from Red Bull, race distance runs were still a strength.  Alonso fought through to fifth after a majestic first lap, but team-mate Felipe Massa had a nightmare day – driving like a pig on roller-skates and ending up retiring after a clash with countryman Bruno Senna.

Senna’s team-mate Pastor Maldonado crashed out dramatically on the final lap, throwing away eight championship points in the process.  There were no points for qualifying hero Grosjean, as he collided with Maldonado on lap two and ended with broken suspension.  Raikkonen came through to seventh but there were no points for Mercedes, with Michael Schumacher suffering a gearbox failure on lap 10 and Nico Rosberg crawling home 12^th after a late run-in with Sergio Perez.

It was advantage McLaren but Red Bull had shown strong form on raceday and a thrilling championship battle looked to be in prospect.

Round 2 Malaysia

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: KIMI RAIKKONEN

TOP 10: 1^st: FERNANDO ALONSO, 2^nd: Sergio Perez, 3^rd: Lewis Hamilton, 4^th: Mark Webber, 5^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 6^th: Bruno Senna, 7^th: Paul di Resta, 8^th: Jean-Eric Vergne, 9^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 10^th: Michael Schumacher

Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton made it two pole positions from two in Sepang, setting a fast first lap in Q3 which wasn’t matched by anyone.  Button made it an all-McLaren lockout of the front row again with Michael Schumacher completing the top three for his best qualifying since his comeback.  Vettel took a different tyre choice after complaining of a poor balance on Saturday.  He would qualify sixth but was promoted to fifth when Raikkonen went back five places for a gearbox change.

Race: The weather threw the Malaysian Grand Prix on its head and gave us an unexpected result as Fernando Alonso took a surprising and remarkable win for Ferrari.  Alonso started eighth and benefited from smart strategy and maximising the most of the conditions.  The McLaren’s led early on but overheated their tyres when the heavens opened, which even caused the race to be suspended for almost an hour after eight laps.

Hamilton finished third again after some slow pitstops, but Button was out of the points following a clumsy early tangle with Narain Karthikeyan.  Vettel also had a collision with the Indian, giving the German a puncture in the dying stages and leaving the defending world champion out of luck in 11^th.

Sergio Perez starred in a very wet Malaysian Grand Prix

The star of the race was Sergio Perez, who made some great calls on pitstops and showed genuine pace from his Sauber.  Only a late mistake in the last six laps cost the Mexican a chance of even overhauling Alonso for the victory. 

Schumacher could only recover to 10^th after a first lap collision with Grosjean, who later spun off on dry tyres.  Raikkonen set fastest lap on his way to fifth while Bruno Senna recorded his best ever finish for Williams and Jean-Eric Vergne got his first points of his career, coming home eighth for Toro Rosso.

Round 3 China

POLE POSITION: NICO ROSBERG                                FASTEST LAP: KAMUI KOBAYASHI

TOP 10: 1^st: NICO ROSBERG, 2^nd: Jenson Button, 3^rd: Lewis Hamilton, 4^th: Mark Webber, 5^th: Sebastian Vettel, 6^th: Romain Grosjean, 7^th: Bruno Senna, 8^th: Pastor Maldonado, 9^th: Fernando Alonso, 10^th: Kamui Kobayashi

Qualifying: McLaren’s monopoly of qualifying on pole position was ended by Nico Rosberg in Shanghai.  He ended six tenths faster than anyone else.  A gearbox change meant a five-place grid demotion for Hamilton from second to seventh, promoting Michael Schumacher onto the front row.  Kamui Kobayashi was an outstanding third ahead of Raikkonen.  Sebastian Vettel failed to make the pole position shootout for the first time since Brazil 2009, ending a very poor 11^th.

Nico Rosberg joined the elite of Formula One winners in China

Race: Nico Rosberg produced a commanding display to win his first Formula One Grand Prix and the first triumph for Mercedes as a works team since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.  He led the majority of the event and won by nearly half a minute from the two McLaren’s.

Hopes of a Mercedes 1-2 went on lap 14, when Schumacher pulled off after an unsafe pit release left him with a loose wheel.  This allowed Jenson Button into second place and but for a sloppy final pitstop, he might have given Rosberg some headaches in the closing exchanges.

Sebastian Vettel dropped to 15^th on lap one after a shocking start, but he went on a different tyre strategy and it nearly paid off, getting the champion as high as second.  However he ran out of grip in the final stages, losing out to Button, Hamilton and Webber in the last six laps.

There was a double point’s finish for Williams, with Bruno Senna surviving contact with Felipe Massa on the first lap to finish seventh, just ahead of Pastor Maldonado.  Ferrari received a reality check in a thrilling race full of passing with Alonso down in ninth at the chequered flag and Massa in 13^th. 

Lotus’s stupid tyre strategy left Kimi Raikkonen high and dry, as he wilted from second to tenth in just over a lap and a half.  He eventually trailed home 14^th.  Shanghai 2012 though belonged to Nico Rosberg who finally joined the elite after six and a half years of fruitless success.

Round 4 Bahrain

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: SEBASTIAN VETTEL, 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen, 3^rd: Romain Grosjean, 4^th: Mark Webber, 5^th: Nico Rosberg, 6^th: Paul di Resta, 7^th: Fernando Alonso, 8^th: Lewis Hamilton, 9^th: Felipe Massa, 10^th: Michael Schumacher

Qualifying: The Bahrain Grand Prix build-up was dominated by the landscape of the venue and whether F1 should be there, thanks to the persistent human rights issues and rebellion against the Bahrain royal family.  On the track, Vettel charged to his first pole position of the season ahead of Hamilton and Webber.  There was a superb sixth for Daniel Ricciardo, but a casual Mercedes left Schumacher in the pits and out in Q1, as he was ousted by Heikki Kovalainen in a Caterham.

Race: For the first time since 2003, there were four different winners in the first four races.  Vettel took his first victory of 2012 but he had to work hard for it against a faster Lotus package.

Despite not making Q3, Kimi Raikkonen surged through from 11^th to second and had it not been for a cautious approach to overtaking Vettel, he might have even won.  Romain Grosjean made a great start to run second early on, and he made sure Lotus achieved a fabulous double podium result.

McLaren had a mere of an afternoon.  Hamilton could only manage eighth after some more questionable pitstops and Button retired with a late engine problem following a puncture from running over debris.

Paul di Resta made a two-stop strategy work to equal his best ever finish for Force India, holding off Alonso and Hamilton in the final laps to record sixth.  Hamilton and Alonso were also involved in two risky incidents with Nico Rosberg.  Rosberg’s aggressive defensive driving left Alonso furious who turned sarcastic on Twitter on Sunday evening against the German but Nico kept fifth after an investigation.

Felipe Massa scored his first points of 2012 but Daniel Ricciardo had a miserable first lap after qualifying sixth.  An early collision with Heikki Kovalainen ended his hopes of adding to his Melbourne points.

Round 5 Spain

POLE POSITION: PASTOR MALDONADO                  FASTEST LAP: ROMAIN GROSJEAN

TOP 10: 1^st: PASTOR MALDONADO, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso, 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen, 4^th: Romain Grosjean, 5^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 6^th: Sebastian Vettel, 7^th: Nico Rosberg, 8^th: Lewis Hamilton, 9^th: Jenson Button, 10^th: Nico Hulkenberg

Qualifying: The main story in Barcelona qualifying came after the session.  Lewis Hamilton had cruised to pole position by half a second but he was told to stop on the slowing down lap by his team. A human error from a McLaren mechanic meant he didn’t have enough fuel to return to the pits.  The team couldn’t provide the one litre required for a fuel sample and the Brit was excluded from qualifying, being forced to the back.  Pastor Maldonado was gifted a shock pole ahead of a resurgent Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez.

Race: In one of the giant-killing stories of the sporting year, Pastor Maldonado returned Williams to the winners circle after eight long years.  The Venezuelan drove phenomenally well after conceding his pole advantage to Alonso at the start.  He reclaimed the lead after the second round of pitstops and held off the local hero and a fast closing Kimi Raikkonen to take a popular victory.

The garage fire at Williams after Barcelona showed F1's communal spirit

Sadly celebrations turned to horror after a KERS explosion saw the Williams garage go up in a raging inferno.  Every single team pulled together in an effort to put the blaze out and luckily, there were no serious injuries, although some mechanics were treated for smoke inhalation.

It wasn’t a perfect day for Williams.  Bruno Senna was shunted off the track by Michael Schumacher, who picked up a five-place grid penalty after the race for Monaco.  Sergio Perez couldn’t capitalise on his best ever qualifying position, after a tap from Grosjean on lap one in turn three saw him suffer a puncture.  The Mexican later retired.

Grosjean survived this clash to set fastest lap and finish fourth.  Sebastian Vettel recovered from a drive-through penalty for ignoring yellow flags to finish sixth and maintain a narrow championship lead.  Hamilton fought through to eighth from the back but front wing aero problems left Mark Webber, who battled the flu all weekend out of the points in a lapped 11^th.

After five races, Vettel and Alonso had joint leadership of the drivers’ championship, with Hamilton, Rosberg and Raikkonen waiting to pounce.  Red Bull already had taken a grip of the constructors’ championship.

Over to my fellow F1 fan Victoria Chaplow who will guide you through what happened from Monaco to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Round 6 Monaco

POLE POSITION: MARK WEBBER                        FASTEST LAP: SERGIO PEREZ

TOP 10: 1^st: MARK WEBBER, 2^nd: Nico Rosberg, 3^rd: Fernando Alonso, 4^th: Sebastian Vettel, 5^thLewis Hamilton, 6^th: Felipe Massa, 7^th: Paul di Resta, 8^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 9^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 10^th: Bruno Senna

Qualifying: One of the sport’s famous races on the calendar, with its backstage luxury and glamour saw Michael Schumacher roll back the years and set fastest time.  However, he would start back in sixth after picking up a grid penalty for causing the collision in Barcelona with Bruno Senna.  This promoted Mark Webber onto pole position, with Nico Rosberg joining him on the front row.  Felipe Massa made the top 10 for the first team this season, but Sergio Perez started at the back after a steering problem caused him to crash in Q1.  Jenson Button failed to make Q3 again.

Race: Mark Webber set a new record on raceday, as he became the sixth different winner in 2012 from six races.  The Aussie held off Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso and team-mate Sebastian Vettel to win his second Monaco Grand Prix in three years.

Less than six seconds into the race, Romain Grosjean squeezed Michael Schumacher into the wall.  Contact was made, breaking the Lotus rear suspension and sending him spinning infront of the pack.  Kamui Kobayashi was taken out in the melee while a separate incident at Ste Devote eliminated Pedro de la Rosa and Pastor Maldonado.

Strategy played a vital role in the race, as Lewis Hamilton lost third in the pitstops to Alonso and Vettel, who started on different tyres and nearly won, despite starting ninth on the grid.  Less than three seconds covered the top four at the end.

Hamilton faded to fifth, with Massa sixth and the two Force India’s finishing an excellent seventh and eighth.  Schumacher dropped out with engine problems with 14 laps to go; while Jenson Button spent his race stuck behind Heikki Kovalainen’s Caterham and eventually spun into retirement after a dreadful afternoon. 

Round 7 Canada

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: LEWIS HAMILTON, 2^nd: Romain Grosjean, 3^rd: Sergio Perez, 4^th: Sebastian Vettel, 5^th: Fernando Alonso, 6^th: Nico Rosberg, 7^th: Mark Webber, 8^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 9^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 10^th: Felipe Massa

Qualifying: A brief break from Europe saw the teams head to the picturesque setting of Montreal.  Sebastian Vettel dominated qualifying to take his 32^nd career pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.  Jenson Button only just scraped into Q3 in 10^th, while Pastor Maldonado blew his chances of making the top 10 after hitting the infamous Wall of Champions and spinning wildly in the closing stages of Q2.  The top 16 drivers were covered by just one second in FP3, which underlined how close the pack was getting in F1 2012.  

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger celebrate his Canadian win

Race: On a sweltering afternoon, Lewis Hamilton became the seventh different winner to win a race this season.  It was his first win since Abu Dhabi the previous November.  This was another battle about strategy on a tyre hungry surface.  Alonso and Vettel tried their luck on one stop, whilst Hamilton opted for two tyre stops.

His McLaren was superior in the closing stages and he regained the lead from Alonso with six laps to go.  Vettel abandoned his tyre gamble, sacrificing a podium while Alonso slipped to fifth on tyres that ‘hit the cliff.’

Romain Grosjean drove a mature race from seventh on the grid, and he came through to record his best ever finish, ending second in his Lotus on a weekend where Kimi Raikkonen qualified a poor 12^th and ended a tame eighth. 

Sergio Perez started on the hard tyre from 15^th on the grid and ran a very long first stint, before switching to super softs and the Mexican took the final podium place.  Alonso held off Nico Rosberg and Webber but Jenson Button had another horrible day, struggling around to 16^th and a lap down.

Round 8 Europe - Valencia

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: NICO ROSBERG

TOP 10: 1^st: FERNANDO ALONSO, 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen, 3^rd: Michael Schumacher, 4^th: Mark Webber, 5^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 6^th: Nico Rosberg, 7^th: Paul di Resta, 8^th: Jenson Button, 9^th: Sergio Perez, 10^th: Bruno Senna

Qualifying: The European Grand Prix hadn’t offered many thrills since it moved to Valencia in 2008 but qualifying threw up some surprises.  Not at the front, where Sebastian Vettel took pole again, this time by over half a second from Lewis Hamilton, Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean.  There were some big casualties further back though.  Both Ferrari’s and Michael Schumacher were eliminated in Q2, while KERS and brake issues left Mark Webber with no running on the soft tyre and the Monaco winner languished all the way down in 19^th place on the grid.

Race: One of the races of the decade saw Fernando Alonso become the first repeat winner of 2012.  The emotional Spaniard took a memorable victory on a day when none of the top four on the grid scored points.

Sebastian Vettel was driving away into the distance until the Safety Car was deployed on lap 28, when contact between Heikki Kovalainen and Jean-Eric Vergne saw debris left all over the circuit.  On the restart, Vettel slowed to a halt with an alternator failure. 

Alonso took the lead, having stormed through from 11^th on the grid but Romain Grosjean looked very dangerous.  However, he also was a victim of a Renault alternator failure which left him crawling to a halt on lap 40.  Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished six seconds behind Alonso in second.

Lewis Hamilton suffered a lack of grip from his tyres towards the end and came under pressure from Pastor Maldonado.  A nightmare pitstop behind the Safety Car put him down the order and with two laps to go, Maldonado t-boned him off the track and into the barriers while scrapping for third.  The Venezuelan lost his front wing and picked up a time penalty afterwards for the rash manoeuvre. 

This meant Michael Schumacher took his first and only podium finish on his comeback, holding off Mark Webber in a race-long scrap.  Nico Hulkenberg recorded a career-best result of fifth while Jenson Button’s title hopes all but ended with another dreary run to eighth, behind fellow Brit Paul di Resta.

Round 9 Britain

POLE POSITION: FERNANDO ALONSO              FASTEST LAP: KIMI RAIKKONEN

TOP 10: 1^st: MARK WEBBER, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso, 3^rd: Sebastian Vettel, 4^th: Felipe Massa, 5^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 6^th: Romain Grosjean, 7^th: Michael Schumacher, 8^th: Lewis Hamilton, 9^th: Bruno Senna, 10^th: Jenson Button

Heavy rain brought travel and parking chaos to Silverstone

Qualifying: Treacherous conditions greeted the teams at Silverstone, with many fans with tickets being told not to turn up on Saturday after the car parks got waterlogged in Northamptonshire.  Qualifying itself was suspended for over an hour by a typical British summer deluge.  When it resumed, Alonso snatched pole position from Mark Webber.  Schumacher qualified a respectable third, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.  The two McLaren drivers could only manage eighth for Hamilton and 18^th for Button.

Race: A dry race allowed the fans to enjoy a gripping event, even if it lacked the action of Valencia.  The battle for the race win was between Alonso and Webber and it was the Aussie who eventually prevailed.  He passed Alonso for the lead with just four laps to go to take his second win of 2012.

Despite being passed by Massa in the opening stages, Vettel used the first round of pitstops to clear both Massa and Schumacher to finish on the bottom step of the podium.  Massa was an excellent fourth in the sister Ferrari while Schumacher dropped to seventh, as his race pace wasn’t as strong as single lap form.

Romain Grosjean battled back to sixth, despite an unscheduled early pitstop, but it was a day to forget for the British drivers.  Contact with Grosjean on the first lap sent Paul di Resta spinning into retirement with a puncture while Hamilton and Button laboured to eighth and 10^th, on a day when the McLaren was a midfield car.

Sauber also had a difficult day.  A clash with Maldonado took Sergio Perez out and then, he publically complained to the press about Maldonado’s driving standards.  Kobayashi received a £25,000 fine after coming into his pits too fast, knocking over several of his crew.

At the halfway point, Alonso was leading the standings from the Red Bull drivers, with Webber leading the chase.  Red Bull still led the constructors’ championship but McLaren had slipped to fourth, behind Ferrari and Lotus after two poor races.

It is back to Simon Wright now, who will guide you through the final European races of 2012, and the start of the Asian leg.

Round 10 Germany

POLE POSITION: FERNANDO ALONSO            FASTEST LAP: MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

TOP 10: 1^st: FERNANDO ALONSO, 2^nd: Jenson Button, 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen, 4^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 5^th: Sebastian Vettel, 6^th: Sergio Perez, 7^th: Michael Schumacher, 8^th: Mark Webber, 9^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 10^th: Nico Rosberg

Qualifying: Fernando Alonso and Ferrari continued their mid-season revival in qualifying at the German Grand Prix, as he took his second successive pole position in another wet/dry session.  Sebastian Vettel joined him on the front row with team-mate Mark Webber in third.  However, Webber suffered a gearbox failure on Friday and earnt a five-place grid penalty, meaning he would only start eighth.  Michael Schumacher was promoted to third on the grid, ahead of fellow German Nico Hulkenberg, while Romain Grosjean failed to make Q3 for the first time in 2012.

Race: Alonso controlled proceedings on race day at Hockenheim, to take back-to-back victories on the circuit.  This one was slightly less controversial than the one he collected in 2010.  Alonso didn’t have the fastest car, but he stayed at the front and had enough speed to hold off a ragged Vettel and a revived Jenson Button for McLaren.

Button claimed second place at the final round of pitstops but Vettel got back past with two laps to go, illegally as it turned out.  The world champion went off the circuit to pass the Brit and was given a time penalty afterwards, dropping him to fifth in the final classification.

Kimi Raikkonen was the main beneficiary, as he collected the final podium position and it was a great day for Sauber too, with Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez charging through to fourth and sixth from the middle of the field.

Mark Webber finished a frustrated eighth and Lewis Hamilton’s poor mid-season form continued.  He picked up debris early on from Felipe Massa’s damaged Ferrari and collected a puncture, wrecking his afternoon.  He later retired while at the back of the field with a handling imbalance.

Round 11 Hungary

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: LEWIS HAMILTON, 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen, 3^rd: Romain Grosjean, 4^th: Sebastian Vettel, 5^th: Fernando Alonso, 6^th: Jenson Button, 7^th: Bruno Senna, 8^th: Mark Webber, 9^th: Felipe Massa, 10^th: Nico Rosberg

Qualifying: The final event before the summer break and Lewis Hamilton responded to his run of just four points in three races in the best possible fashion.  He claimed pole position on Saturday from Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, with Sebastian Vettel having to settle for third.  Jenson Button backed up Hamilton by taking the other place on the second row of the grid.  Fernando Alonso dragged his machinery around to the top six, while Bruno Senna made the top 10 for the first time in 2012.  Mark Webber and neither Mercedes car made it into the final part of qualifying.

Race: On the opening weekend of the Olympic Games, this race passed by without any real excitement.  In a tedious Grand Prix, Hamilton held off a charging Kimi Raikkonen to take his second win of the season.

The only notable action of the race in this Budapest bore was a fight between the Lotus cars on the pitlane exit after the final stops.  Raikkonen squeezed out Grosjean with some aggressive driving that had been lacking on his comeback up to that point.

A three-stop strategy didn’t work for Jenson Button and he finished a disappointing sixth, behind Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.  Mark Webber was heading for seventh but a faulty shock absorber left him failing to hold off Bruno Senna, who took a brilliant seventh place for Williams.

His team-mate Pastor Maldonado received another drive-through penalty for causing a collision with Paul di Resta, while Michael Schumacher stalled on the grid, picked up a drive-through for pitlane speeding and was lapped twice before quitting while at the back of the field in the last 15 laps.

Round 12 Belgium

POLE POSITION: JENSON BUTTON                    FASTEST LAP: BRUNO SENNA

TOP 10: 1^st: JENSON BUTTON, 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel, 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen, 4^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 5^th: Felipe Massa, 6^th: Mark Webber, 7^th: Michael Schumacher, 8^th: Jean-Eric Vergne, 9^th: Daniel Ricciardo, 10^th: Paul di Resta

Qualifying: After a five-week summer break, F1 regrouped at the daunting Spa circuit in Belgium as the final furlong in the championship got underway. Fernando Alonso held a useful 40 point advantage over Webber, with Raikkonen, Vettel and Hamilton waiting to pounce.  In qualifying, Jenson Button destroyed the field, taking pole position by nearly 0.4 secs from Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber.  Vettel failed to make the top 10 and a grid penalty for Webber meant the leading Red Bull started 10^th.  Alonso began fifth but few could predict the drama on raceday at the start.

Race: On race morning, Hamilton made a huge blunder and staggeringly posted confidential race telemetry data to his hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.  It was a huge mistake and left the paddock stunned.

Seconds into the start of the race, we saw more stupid behaviour which could have had far more disastrous consequences.  Pastor Maldonado blatantly jumped the start, and then Romain Grosjean moved across the track and pushed Hamilton into the wall.  Hamilton ploughed into the back of the Lotus, starting a terrifying chain reaction. 

Romain Grosjean's destruction driving at the start in Spa got him a ban

Grosjean catapulted over the top of Sergio Perez, and then Alonso, missing the Spaniard’s helmet by millimetres as his Lotus went across Alonso’s Ferrari cockpit.  Alonso and Hamilton were both launched airborne, clipping Kobayashi in the mayhem.  Four drivers were out and Grosjean’s nutty actions were severely punished.  He was fined and banned for one race, the first driver to be banned for an accident-related offence since Mika Hakkinen at the 1994 German Grand Prix.

Maldonado was also involved in the La Source mayhem, when Perez spun him around.  A later connection with Timo Glock ended his afternoon and earnt him another grid penalty for Monza.  Kimi Raikkonen produced his contender for move of the season, when he blitzed past Michael Schumacher at the bottom of Eau Rouge.

Away from the chaos and Button cruised to victory, with Vettel coming through to second, ahead of Raikkonen.  Nico Hulkenberg recorded his best ever finish in fourth and Toro Rosso got both cars into the points for the first time this season.

Round 13 Italy

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: NICO ROSBERG

TOP 10: 1^st: LEWIS HAMILTON, 2^nd: Sergio Perez, 3^rd: Fernando Alonso, 4^th: Felipe Massa, 5^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 6^th: Michael Schumacher, 7^th: Nico Rosberg, 8^th: Paul di Resta, 9^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 10^th: Bruno Senna

Qualifying: Lotus replaced Grosjean with Jerome D’Ambrosio for the Italian Grand Prix.  Hamilton put aside his Twitter woes and the death of his aunt by scooping another pole position.  An anti-roll bar failure in Q3 for Alonso left him back in 10^th, but Felipe Massa produced his best qualifying session of the season to start from third.  Schumacher got the most out of his Mercedes to line-up fourth, promoted when Paul di Resta took a grid demotion for a gearbox change.  His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg didn’t set a time in qualifying thanks to a transmission problem.

Race: The final European race of the season pushed Hamilton right back into the championship reckoning.  He dominated from pole position to take his first victory at the Italian Grand Prix. 

The star of the race though was Sergio Perez.  From 12^th on the grid, the Mexican made a one-stop strategy work superbly and he finished an incredible second for Sauber.  Jenson Button would have finished second, but a fuel pressure problem saw his car grind to a halt on lap 32.

For the first time since Korea 2010, there were no points for Red Bull.  Vettel collected a drive-through penalty after he pushed title rival Alonso off the track at Curva Grande.  He still looked set for fifth place, until an alternator failure saw him park the car with six laps to go.  Webber was heading for seventh but he spun at Ascari with three laps to go, and the massive flat-spots on his tyres meant he cruised back to the pits, also to retire for the first time in 2012.  Alonso did brilliantly to come home in third from 10^th on the grid, giving him a handy 39 point lead over Vettel.

Hamilton had moved into second place in the championship, with consistent Raikkonen staying in the top three after recording a fifth place finish.  Bruno Senna nabbed a point for Williams, by overtaking Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso on the last lap.

Round 14 Singapore

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: NICO HULKENBERG

TOP 10: 1^st: SEBASTIAN VETTEL, 2^nd: Jenson Button, 3^rd: Fernando Alonso, 4^th: Paul di Resta, 5^th: Nico Rosberg, 6^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 7^th: Romain Grosjean, 8^th: Felipe Massa, 9^th: Daniel Ricciardo, 10^th: Sergio Perez

Qualifying: The start of the Asian leg began in Singapore, with the announcement of a new five-year deal for the race.  Sebastian Vettel had set the pace in practice, but it was Lewis Hamilton who nailed the perfect lap together in qualifying to take McLaren’s fourth successive pole position.  Saturday specialist Pastor Maldonado produced a faultless lap to join Hamilton on the front row, with Vettel qualifying in third.  Paul di Resta lined up sixth, his best qualifying performance of the season, behind Button and Alonso.  Grosjean returned after his ban to line up eighth for Lotus.

Sebastian Vettel's title surge firmly began with victory in Singapore

Race: In a race that went to two hours, Sebastian Vettel returned to the top step of the podium, following some great speed and a huge slice of luck.  Hamilton had the race in the bag, until a gearbox failure forced him to pull off the circuit into retirement.  Days later, he dropped a bigger bombshell.  He was off to Mercedes GP for 2013. 

There were two Safety Car periods in the night spectacular.  The first one happened after Narain Karthikeyan crashed his HRT, the second when Schumacher locked up and smashed into Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso.  A 10-place grid penalty for Suzuka followed for the German and his race engineer sounded startled, saying over the radio feed; ‘What happened there, what happened there!’

Button finished second while Alonso kept a useful 29 point title lead, by coming home in third place.  Paul di Resta was a magnificent fourth for Force India but that was to be his last high, as his form suffered in the final stages of the season.

Nico Rosberg was fifth for Mercedes, his final points of a troubled season and Felipe Massa came back from a lap one puncture to eighth.  A hydraulic failure robbed Maldonado of a podium finish and 12^th place for Timo Glock took Marussia past Caterham and into 10^th in the constructors’ championship.

Round 15 Japan

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: SEBASTIAN VETTEL, 2^nd: Felipe Massa, 3^rd: Kamui Kobayashi, 4^th: Jenson Button, 5^th: Lewis Hamilton, 6^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 7^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 8^th: Pastor Maldonado, 9^th: Mark Webber, 10^th: Daniel Ricciardo

Qualifying: The paddock was still dealing with the news that had been announced by Mercedes a week earlier.  After 14 years with McLaren, Hamilton was leaving for pastures new, with Schumacher confirming his second retirement from the sport on the eve of this weekend.  McLaren decided to sign up Sergio Perez as Hamilton’s replacement for 2013.  In qualifying, Red Bull locked out the front row, with Vettel on pole position from Mark Webber.  Local hero Kamui Kobayashi began a brilliant third, while Hamilton struggled to ninth, caught out by a late yellow flag for Raikkonen’s spun Lotus.

Race: The destiny of the championship took another significant twist in Japan.  Sebastian Vettel won back-to-back races and cut the deficit on Alonso to just four points.

A feisty Fernando was hit by Raikkonen on the approach to turn one and a damaged wheel rim sent him into the gravel and he wasn’t to re-emerge.  Webber’s race chances took a big blow when Grosjean whacked him in turn two.  The Aussie recovered to ninth but conceded his championship hopes had ended and called Grosjean a ‘first lap nutcase.’  A separate incident between Nico Rosberg and Bruno Senna ended the German’s 100 per cent race finishing record in 2012.

A podium in Japan wasn't enough to keep Kamui Kobayashi in F1

Felipe Massa ended a podium drought, stretching almost two years with an exceptional run to second and Kamui Kobayashi resisted Jenson Button to take the first podium finish of his career.

McLaren salvaged fourth and fifth from a difficult weekend, while their new signing for 2013, Perez spun off trying to pass Hamilton on lap 19.  Eighth place for Pastor Maldonado was his first points since his win in Barcelona back in May.

I now hand you back over to Victoria Chaplow, who will be your writer for the championship finale and the battle between Alonso and Vettel in the golden sky towards the 2012 championship.

Round 16 Korea

POLE POSITION: MARK WEBBER                        FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: SEBASTIAN VETTEL, 2^nd: Mark Webber, 3^rd: Fernando Alonso, 4^th: Felipe Massa, 5^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 6^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 7^th: Romain Grosjean, 8^th: Jean-Eric Vergne, 9^th: Daniel Ricciardo, 10^th: Lewis Hamilton

Qualifying:  Sebastian Vettel came to Korea looking for back-to-back pole positions, but it was his Aussie team-mate Mark Webber who took top honours on Saturday.  Vettel produced an untidy final lap but still made it another Red Bull lockout of the front row.  Despite constant tyre locking, Lewis Hamilton dragged his McLaren around to third place on the grid, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.  Jenson Button was caught out by a late yellow flag in Q2 and failed to make the top 10, starting in 11^th.

Race: The Sebastian Vettel surge continued on raceday, as he made it three wins in a row and left Yeongam six points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the championship battle.

He took the lead from Webber off the start and led proceedings from there, although his team radio had to warn him of severe tyre degradation on his right-front wheel. 

Webber made it a Red Bull 1-2 for the first time since Brazil 2011.  Alonso finished a close third, with Massa in a strong fourth.  The Brazilian was faster on raceday than the Spaniard, but stayed behind him for the sake of the championship.

Nico Hulkenberg pulled off one of the overtaking manoeuvres of the season, producing a double pass on Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton on his way to sixth.  Hamilton had the wrong tyre strategy, an anti-roll bar failure and some carpet from the track run-off on his sidepod as he limped home to 10^th.

Jenson Button made it a miserable afternoon for the Brits; after he was taken out on lap one by Kamui Kobayashi, an incident that also eliminated the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.  Button called Kobayashi ‘an idiot’ on his team radio as he crawled to a halt, with McLaren’s championship potential totally wiped out in Korea.

Round 17 India

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: JENSON BUTTON

TOP 10: 1^st: SEBASTIAN VETTEL, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso, 3^rd: Mark Webber, 4^th: Lewis Hamilton, 5^th: Jenson Button, 6^th: Felipe Massa, 7^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 8^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 9^th: Romain Grosjean, 10^th: Bruno Senna

Qualifying:  For the third successive race, both Red Bull cars made it onto the front row, dominating qualifying. The two McLaren’s lined up on the second row, with Hamilton in third place and Button in fourth.  Alonso appeared to have the potential to get onto the second row, but entering turn four on his final qualifying lap, he locked a wheel, ran wide and failed to improve on his best time.

Race: Sebastian Vettel took his fourth win in a row at the Buddah track, completing a ‘Grand Slam’ of races victories in Asia.  In the process, he equalled Ayrton Senna’s record of leading every lap of a race for three consecutive events, which Senna set in 1989 with McLaren.   It was his second straight win in New Delhi and it increased his championship advantage to 13 points. 

Alonso continued to battle hard, despite not having the machinery to do the job.  He showed great skill on the opening lap in a hard-fought wheel-to-wheel battle with the McLaren’s, eventually coming out on top.

The Spaniard chased down Mark Webber, who began to suffer with KERS issues from around lap 20.  He was able to hold off Alonso until 12 laps to go, when he was overpowered in the DRS zone. Alonso finished a crucial second, with Webber just holding off Hamilton.  Button set fastest lap on the last circuit on his way to fifth in a Grand Prix that lacked excitement and entertainment.  

Round 18 Abu Dhabi

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: KIMI RAIKKONEN, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso, 3^rd: Sebastian Vettel, 4^th: Jenson Button, 5^th: Pastor Maldonado, 6^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 7^th: Felipe Massa, 8^th: Bruno Senna, 9^th: Paul di Resta, 10^th: Daniel Ricciardo 

Qualifying: There was plenty of drama in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.  Lewis Hamilton took pole position ahead of Mark Webber, with championship leader Sebastian Vettel setting the third fastest time.  However, he was told to stop the car on his way back to the pits, with Renault detecting a serious issue.  Mechanical or not, Vettel’s car did not have enough fuel for the required FIA sample and like Hamilton in Barcelona, was excluded from qualifying.  This meant the double world champion would have to start from the pitlane on raceday.  Alonso was promoted into the top six, but looked to be struggling with a badly handling Ferrari.  Pastor Maldonado was an excellent third for Williams, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and a lacklustre Jenson Button.

Raikkonen returned to the top step of the podium in Abu Dhabi

Race: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw the return of a real character to the sport.  Kimi Raikkonen recorded his first victory since his comeback at the start of the season.  It was the first victory for a Lotus car since Ayrton Senna in the 1987 United States Grand Prix in Detroit.  Raikkonen did it his way, telling his race engineer Simon Rennie to ‘leave me alone, I know what I’m doing,’ when he was pulling away at the front of the field.

Lewis Hamilton had the race in the bag, until he crawled to a halt with a fuel pump failure on lap 19.  Fellow front row starter Mark Webber had a messy afternoon, spinning in contact with Pastor Maldonado and using some strong tactics on Felipe Massa in his charge back through the field.

Ultimately, a scrappy incident involving Paul di Resta, Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean ended Webber’s day, as well as Grosjean’s.  Perez’s crazy move on the Force India started the accident and for turning in on Grosjean, he was fortunate to collect just a stop-go penalty.

Alonso finished a fabulous second but the drive of the day was produced by Sebastian Vettel.  He damaged his wing after touching Bruno Senna early on, and then ran through the DRS polystyrene block when he misjudged Daniel Ricciardo’s braking behind an early Safety Car. 

Yet he recovered brilliantly on fresh tyres and pulled off a stunning pass on Jenson Button with four laps to go to take the final podium spot.  Button was fourth, ahead of a KERS hobbled Maldonado and the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi.   

Round 19 USA

POLE POSITION: SEBASTIAN VETTEL                FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: LEWIS HAMILTON, 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel, 3^rd: Fernando Alonso, 4^th: Felipe Massa, 5^th: Jenson Button, 6^th: Kimi Raikkonen, 7^th: Romain Grosjean, 8^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 9^th: Pastor Maldonado, 10^th: Bruno Senna

Qualifying:  Formula One returned to the United States for the first time in five years and after qualifying, it looked like Sebastian Vettel would become champion.  He clocked the fastest times in all three qualifying sessions at the Circuit of the Americas to take his sixth pole position of 2012.  Lewis Hamilton spilt the Red Bull drivers, with Webber lucky to hold onto his third spot after missing a weight check in Q2.  Michael Schumacher rolled back the years to qualify sixth in an uncompetitive Mercedes but Fernando Alonso was an abject and distant ninth.   

Race: The championship went to the wire and that was thanks to a sensational drive from Lewis Hamilton.  The Brit hunted down Vettel and passed him for the lead on lap 42, when the German got briefly delayed behind the slow backmarker Narain Karthikeyan. 

Vettel’s second place ensured the constructors championship for Red Bull, but it wasn’t a perfect day for the team.  Webber had another KERS failure and an alternator problem saw him withdraw after only 18 laps.

Having deliberately broken the seal on Felipe Massa’s gearbox on Saturday night, Fernando Alonso was able to start on the clean side of the grid, and he moved from seventh to fourth on the opening lap.  Despite a slow pitstop, he still finished third, with Massa backing him up in fourth.  Jenson Button did well from 12^th on the grid to come back to fifth, edging out the two Lotus drivers after a race-long scrap.

Ultimately, it was a fitting and successful return to the States.  Texas had delivered a great weekend and we had the championship showdown everyone had been hoping for.  Vettel was 13 points clear going to Brazil but Alonso was not giving up hope. 

Round 20 Brazil

POLE POSITION: LEWIS HAMILTON                    FASTEST LAP: SEBASTIAN VETTEL

TOP 10: 1^st: JENSON BUTTON, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso, 3^rd: Felipe Massa, 4^th: Mark Webber, 5^th: Nico Hulkenberg, 6^th: Sebastian Vettel, 7^th: Michael Schumacher, 8^th: Jean-Eric Vergne, 9^th: Kamui Kobayashi, 10^th: Kimi Raikkonen

Qualifying: The final chapter of the 2012 Formula One season and once again after qualifying, it was advantage Red Bull and Vettel.  He started fourth, but three places ahead of title rival Alonso.  Lewis Hamilton took his seventh pole position of the season in his final race for McLaren, with Jenson Button making it an all British front row.  Mark Webber was third, followed by Vettel and Felipe Massa.  Romain Grosjean was the shock Q1 casualty, after another driving misjudgement saw him with no front wing after contact with Pedro de la Rosa.

Sebastian Vettel does it again and makes history in Brazil

Race: Sixth place on a dramatic afternoon was enough for Sebastian Vettel to become the 2012 FIA Formula One World Champion, as he took the crown from Fernando Alonso by just three points.

Things didn’t look good for Vettel early on, when he was smashed into by Bruno Senna on the first lap, spinning the champion around.  He picked up damage but it wasn’t terminal for his race chances.  Senna and Sergio Perez retired in the incident. 

Alonso rose into third place on lap two, before a minor error allowed Nico Hulkenberg past.  The Force India driver was in inspired form and in tricky conditions, he took the lead from Jenson Button on lap 19, both staying out on dry tyres when everyone else pitted for intermediates.

Unfortunately, Hulkenberg blotted his copybook later in the race.  Trying to reclaim the lead from Lewis Hamilton after a Safety Car period, he lost control into turn one and spun into Hamilton, taking the Brit out.  Hulkenberg received a drive-through penalty but still finished fifth.

A brief tyre mix-up as the rain intensified dropped Vettel out of the points but he fought back, and was allowed into sixth place by Michael Schumacher in his final ever race with eight laps left.  The race finished behind the Safety Car after Paul di Resta crashed heavily on the pit straight.

Button took the final win of 2012, from Alonso, Massa and Webber but it was Vettel’s championship.  He made history by becoming the youngest triple world champion and only the third driver ever to achieve three successive titles.

FINAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: 1^st: Sebastian Vettel 281, 2^nd: Fernando Alonso 278, 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen 207, 4^th: Lewis Hamilton 190, 5^th: Jenson Button 188, 6^th: Mark Webber 179, 7^th: Felipe Massa 122, 8^th: Romain Grosjean 96, 9^th: Nico Rosberg 93, 10^th: Sergio Perez 66, 11^th: Nico Hulkenberg 63, 12^th: Kamui Kobayashi 60, 13^th: Michael Schumacher 49, 14^th: Paul di Resta 46, 15^th: Pastor Maldonado 45, 16^th: Bruno Senna 31, 17^th: Jean-Eric Vergne 16, 18^th: Daniel Ricciardo 10

FINAL CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: 1^st: Red Bull Racing 460, 2^nd: Ferrari 400, 3^rd: McLaren 378, 4^th: Lotus 303, 5^th: Mercedes GP 142, 6^th; Sauber 126, 7^th: Force India 109, 8^th: Williams 76, 9^th: Scuderia Toro Rosso 26

So the end of a thrilling world championship battle between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, with the championship once again being settled in the German’s favour.

2012 delivered on its potential with six world champions, seven different winners in the first seven races and six teams tasting the champagne.

Next season promises much, with the sight of Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, Sergio Perez at McLaren and Nico Hulkenberg moving to Sauber.  Michael Schumacher has retired and HRT have gone bust, but there is still plenty of talent on the grid. 

We welcome another British driver on the grid in Max Chilton with Marussia, and see debuts on the grid  for Esteban Gutierrez and Valteri Bottas. 

Formula One 2012 has been vintage to witness; let’s hope 2013 does the same.  From Simon Wright and Victoria Chaplow, it is thank you for reading and we wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Follow Simon on Twitter @Siwri88 and Victoria on Twitter @PecanPie1

Categories: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel