A Season in Review - Part 1

2012, the year the world is supposedly going to end and if it does at least we've witnessed one of the greatest seasons ever in Formula 1. From 6 different winners in 6 races, to the Red Bull not being the all conquering superbeast it was in 2011, to the midfield cars running the big guns closer and closer. 2012 truly was a monumental season. In this season in review I want to look at each driver and team in order rating their season.

Red Bull Racing
What can be said about RBR that hasn't already been said? The genius of Adrian Newey was evident once again even if it took a little while for them to really get the hang of the new regulations. Were there illegal components on the car? Was the bendy front wing within the regulations? But at the end of the day it mattered little as RBR took home both the drivers and constructors championships for a third year running. However, it wasn't all great. The mysterious alternator which failed on 3 separate occasions and Mark Webber's on going battle with his KERS system left a lot to be desired. The pack was closer than it was in 2011 and I'm sure this worried RBR. Having said that the stats don't lie and RBR once again produced one of the best cars of the season. 9/10

Sebastian Vettel
The man who dominated the title chase in 2011 finally had to do some racing. Now I am not a big Vettel fan, I don't like his attitude or the fact that he paraded himself as great when he was driving a car that was so far ahead of the game. This season however he genuinely had to prove himself. Stunning drives in Abu Dhabi and Brazil when he came from the back of the pack to pick up valuable points. At the midway point of the season few would have laid money on Vettel claiming his third championship. For me this championship win was right up there with his 2010 one. If he continues to develop (as Horner suggested) then could he potentially beat the great MSC's title haul? 9/10

Mark Webber
Webber has gone backwards this season, 6th in the championship frankly wasn't good enough when his team mate ended up as Champion. The alternator failed twice for Mark and his KERS had obviously been installed badly. The constant argument in my mind is whether Mark's Red Bull is the same car as Sebs... I'm not sure it is. For him to be so far off the pace on numerous occasions really does make you think. Having said that he did obtain a good win earlier in the season and he often played a good foil to Vettel. The question for me going forward is will Mark be happy being Vettel's Massa? 6.5/10

Mark Webber just is not as good as Vettel. Thats the only eason he is so far behind. Bit of a journeyman who lucked into a very good team, and has been kept on as a number 2 driver.

Mark Webber is always going backwards. He is a joke in F1 and his career playing second fiddle to Vettel has become embarrasing. The reason Vettel is a three time world champion is because of Webber's inability and constant failure to challenge Vettel. F1 is the loser while Webber remains in that seat. Alonso or Hamilton would never of allowed this domination to have happened.

Vettel does not deserve a 9 out of 10. Up until Singapore he had only achieved one win in Bahrain and was struggling to match Alonso's consistancy. Then the miraculous Red Bull upgrade came from Newey which blew the field apart and he strolled to four straight wins. Nothing special in that achievement in another dominant car. Agree his drives in Abu Dhabi & Brazil were good but the amounts of luck involved in those races was quite frankly ridiculous.

For vettels 1st championship he trailed Webber heading into Abu Dhabi no?

There were four drivers who impressed me this season, I would have added Perez to that list but he only managed three or four great drives followed by incredibly poor ones and after he signed with McLaren his season just turned very bad with poor mistakes and penalties.

1. Alonso (Easily driver of the season with three wins in an inferior car and should of won the title)
2. Hamilton (Sensational performances from Hamilton and dominated the last couple of months. Held back by the team throughout the year and they ultimately cost him the title
3. Vettel (I have been critical of Vettel but he did drive well this season and managed to shut his doubters up in regards to his racing ability in the pack. Still reliant on a Newey upgrade from Singapore onwards but when he was given it he didnt disappoint.
4. Raikkonen (Quite frankly superb after a few years out of the sport. Natural speed and race guile never left him and deservedly won a race this season. Finishing third in the WDC says everything about his achievements this season.

John wrote:Mark Webber is always going backwards. He is a joke in F1 and his career playing second fiddle to Vettel has become embarrasing. The reason Vettel is a three time world champion is because of Webber's inability and constant failure to challenge Vettel. F1 is the loser while Webber remains in that seat. Alonso or Hamilton would never of allowed this domination to have happened.

Seriously?

Have you been watching the last few seasons with a blindfold? Red Bull have kept Webber on precisely because of his willingness to play second fiddle to Vettel, just as Massa does at Ferrari. These are teams that operate No.1 and No.2 driver policies and know what would happen if they had 2 drivers who both wanted to be top dog. How often have you heard Christian Horner refer to him as "a team player"?

Webber is a decent enough driver. I'll have to trawl the stats later but he's equalled and even bettered Vettel on occasion. Not often enought to challenge for the title obviously, but enough to prove he's a better-than-average driver. He just happens to be paired with one of the best 3 drivers in the world.

Also, as other have said, I have a sneaking suspicion Mark wasn't always given the same upgrades as Vettel (at least not at the same time). He's also suffered with electrical/mechanical problems more often than Vettel.

John wrote:
Vettel does not deserve a 9 out of 10. Up until Singapore he had only achieved one win in Bahrain and was struggling to match Alonso's consistancy. Then the miraculous Red Bull upgrade came from Newey which blew the field apart and he strolled to four straight wins. Nothing special in that achievement in another dominant car. Agree his drives in Abu Dhabi & Brazil were good but the amounts of luck involved in those races was quite frankly ridiculous.

Again, I'd argue the Red Bull has been that much better from Singapore onwards. McLaren were never that far off the pace and were actually stronger on tracks where straight line speed mattered more than cornering ability. I would agree though that 9/10 is a bit generous though.

McLaren and Ferrari will be up tonight (maybe Lotus/Merc as well)

Personally don't think Webber is driving the same car as Vettel all of the time. More baffling however is why he always seems to suffer from worse reliability.

Part 2 (McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus) will be up at lunch tomorrow

SteveG wrote:Personally don't think Webber is driving the same car as Vettel all of the time. More baffling however is why he always seems to suffer from worse reliability.

Except for having 1/3 alternator problems.

Vettel was awesome. Makes me proud to be European. Keep flying the flag Seb

Yeah makes me proud to be part of planet earth



Just teasing.


keep the reviews coming.

Still think its a bit harsh on Webber. His role is clearly defined as the #2 driver, he isn't going to get a lead drive at a contender at this point, so why not stay #2 at RB, where you can pick up some wins along the way.