Race Report: Brazil (Round 20)

Lap Record: 1:11:473

Lap Length: 4.309km
Race Length: 71 Laps

Total Distance: 305.909km

Tyre Allocation: Medium & Hard

Start Grid (before penalties) - http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2012/883/7154/

Button Cruises to Brazil Victory as Vettel Wins Championship.


Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel finishes the final race of the season in brazil in 6th but still manages to clinch the victory beating Fernando Alonso by 3 points. Jenson Button was the one who was victorious at a very eventful Interlagos.

Red Bull Are Making A Habit Of These T-Shirts Each Year!

Championship contender Alonso battled valiantly to the finish line to secure second place in the mixed condition race. For a large proportion of the race Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg superbly led until an incident with Lewis Hamilton ended his final race for McLaren early.


Despite a first lap incident leaving Vettel facing the wrong way and a botched pit stop he was sstill able to recover enough to ensure that even Alonso’s second place finish was not going to take the title from the German.


Vettel’s race started with a bit of a cautious start and first corner dropping him down to seventh. As the pack made its way around the first sector Bruno Senna made contact with Vettel, spinning him around and also colliding with Sergio Perez. This incident left Senna out of his home Grand Prix. The incident didn't discourage Vettel who managed to go from 22nd to 7th by lap 8.


Further up the road Alonso took two places from Mark Webber and Felipe Massa while approaching the Senna S.

A Mixed Emotion Podium Being An Understatement,
One Which Had Potential For Many Different Drivers

The McLarens of Hamilton and Button were still leading at this pace but Button was catching Hamilton, as the rain steadily got heavier. The worsening rain forced everybody but Button and Hulkenberg to the pits for a tyre change. Because of this bold choice by Force India this enabled Hulkenberg to pass Button on lap 19.


With Nico Rosberg picking up a puncture from the debris-ridden track this forced a safety car for the marshals’ to clear up the strewn carbon fiber. At the restart the grid looked like, Hulkenberg, Button, Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Kobayashi and Webber

Hamilton overtook Button after the restart but they couldn't catch Hulkenberg until his mistake on lap 49.


Hulkenberg didn't let Hamilton get away and the two collided on lap 54. Hulkenberg was able to continue in 2nd but incurred a drive through penalty for causing the crash.

The rain returning was a factor of the incident as the track became more slippy off line. Because of this the grid started to pit for intermediate tyres. During this lot of pit stops the Red Bull mechanics we caught by surprised and did not have the tyres ready for Vettel resulting in an 11+ second stop. Again this did not deter him and was able to get back up to sixth which was high enough for the championship.

Hamilton's Special 'Thankyou McLaren' Brazilian Helmet

Because of Paul Di Resta the race ended with some what of an anti climax with the safety car being deployed with one lap to go. Button claimed the win and despite Alonso second Vettel’s sixth place finish gave him championship number 3.


In his final race of his F1 career Michael Schumacher claimed seventh, even after a late coming together with Sauber’s Kobayashi. Vitaly Petrov beat Charles Pic ensuring Caterham secured 10th place in the constructors which is an important jump for next season worth millions of pounds.


Over all this season has been one of the greats with some fantastic racing at tracks we would never expect. 

Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on a third consecutive Constructors and Drivers Championship. Maybe next year Alonso?

Andy, F1 Hub

Results
1. Button [McLaren-Mercedes] 1:45:22.656
2. Alonso [Ferrari] +2.7 secs
3. Massa [Ferrari] +3.6 secs
4. Webber [Red Bull-Renault] +4.9 secs
5. Hulkenberg [Force India-Mercedes] +5.7secs
6. Vettel [Red Bull-Renault] +9.4secs
7. Schumacher [Mercedes] +11.9secs
8. Vergne [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] +28.6secs
9. Kobayashi [Sauber-Ferrari] +31.2secs
10. Raikkonen [Lotus-Renault] +1 Lap
11. Petrov [Caterham-Renault] +1 Lap
12. Pic [Marussia-Cosworth] +1 Lap
13. Ricciardo [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] +1 Lap
14. Kovalainen [Caterham-Renault] +1 Lap
15. Rosberg [Mercedes] +1 Lap
16. Glock [Marussia-Cosworth] +1 Lap
17. de la Rosa [HRT-Cosworth] +2 Laps
18. Karthikeyan [HRT-Cosworth] +2 Laps

Did Not Finish
di Resta [Force India-Mercedes] Lap 70
Hamilton [McLaren Mercedes] Lap 54
Grosjean [Lotus-Renault] Lap 5
Maldonado [Williams-Renault] Lap 1
Senna [Williams-Renault] Lap 1
Perez [Sauber-Ferrari] Lap 1

Race Report: United States (Round 19)

Lap Record: N/A

Lap Length: 5.515km

Race Length: 56 Laps

Total Distance: 191.939km

Tyre Allocation:  Medium & Hard

Start Grid (before penalties) - http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2012/882/7184/

A thrilling inaugural grand prix at the Circuit Of The Americas has confirmed Red Bull officially as Constructor’s Champions for the third year running and kept the Driver’s title going till the season finale in Sao Paulo, Brazil, many thanks to a storming drive by Lewis Hamilton in what may possibly be his last win for McLaren.

Hamilton Finally Isn't Tainted By Reliability & Fairly Beat Vettel On Track In The Process

After the discussions of what the implications would be for those starting on the left dusty side of the grid, of course it gave them a disadvantage, but for many it wasn’t as significant as first thought, on average losing a position each. Webber overtook into the ominous first corner/wall before once again getting the bad luck out of the two Red Bull’s, retiring from the race on lap 16 due to another alternator failure, which Red Bull will be thankful didn’t occur for Vettel instead.

Hamilton looked on the pace from the outgo, quickly re-passing Webber, before taunting Vettel for the majority of the race, as they both pulled away from the entire field leaving Alonso for dead. After qualifying ninth, Fernando started in seventh after Grosjean’s and more importantly his teammate’s controversial last minute gearbox penalty, which now can be credited as both an un-sporting but on the other hand inspired decision. Instead of arriving in the first corner probably in ninth, he arrived in fourth, finishing third for his twelve podium in the nineteen races this season.

The First Corner Which Could Have Fitted The Whole Field In, Braking Points Were Hard To Find

It was probably a slightly dull race for Alonso in the end, but it was far less than dull for the majority of the field. Overtaking was aplenty at the new circuit, despite some talk as a result of the first sector being twisty making it difficult. Lots of ‘dummies’ were being sent, and thanks to the wide design of the circuit, particularly into key braking corners allowed multiple cars to enter, in many different racing lines. Button was the winner of the day despite a first lap disaster, falling from twelve to sixteenth being stuck behind the tentative Senna into the first corner, as cars wiggled round the S’s for grip. Button eventually finished a well-deserved fifth.

Similarly, Massa finished well in fourth, whilst Grosjean had a mixed race despite a spin at the tricky turn nineteen whilst chasing Hulkenberg, just finishing behind Abu Dhabi winning teammate Raikkonen in sixth and seventh, with the two Williams finishing out the points.

Further down the results, Mercedes end of season slumped as they fell down the order, getting beating by a Toro Rosso easily, with Schumacher falling from sixth to sixteenth after out performing the car in qualifying.

Marussia thought they had completely outperformed Caterham now, which they proved in qualifying, but Petrov and Kovalainen had the small consolation of out-racing them, as they look to drop from tenth to eleven and last, with HRT expected to not be on the grid in 2013.

Off the track, celebrities were in their masses, and Bernie has also confirmed he is aiming for three, yes three; races in the States by 2015. New Jersey is now expected in join in 2014, but options are open for the third proposed race.

The First Podium With Cowboy Hats That's For Sure

The first grand prix at the new venue certainly confirmed everyone’s expectations and has made us look forward to future races there. Can you imagine if Vettel had the failure rather than Webber? Alonso would now be eight points ahead instead of thirteen behind. Wow. Nevertheless, showers are predicted for Interlagos, Vettel is still the favourite for so many reasons, but Alonso is hanging in there and probably praying for falling rain.

Nick, F1 Hub

Results

1. Hamilton [McLaren Mercedes] 1:35:55:269

2. Vettel [Red Bull-Renault] +0.6 seconds

3. Alonso [Ferrari] + 39.2 seconds

4. Massa [Ferrari] +46.0 seconds

5. Button [McLaren Mercedes] + 56.4 seconds

6. Raikkonen [Lotus-Renault] +64.4 seconds

7. Grosjean [Lotus-Renault] +70.3 seconds

8. Hulkenberg [Force India-Mercedes] +73.7 seconds

9. Maldonado [Williams-Renault] +74.5 seconds

10. Senna [Williams-Renault] +75.1 seconds

11. Perez [Sauber-Ferrari] +84.3 seconds

12. Ricciardo [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] +84.8 seconds

13. Rosberg [Mercedes] +85.5 seconds

14. Kobayashi [Sauber-Ferrari] +1 lap

15. di Resta [Force India-Mercedes] +1 lap

16. Schumacher [Mercedes] +1 lap

17. Petrov [Caterham-Renault] +1 lap

18. Kovalainen [Caterham-Renault] +1 lap

19. Glock [Marussia-Cosworth] +1 lap

20. Pic [Marussia-Cosworth] +1 lap

21. de la Rosa [HRT-Cosworth] +1 lap

22. Karthikeyan [HRT-Cosworth] +1 lap

Did Not Finish

Webber [Red Bull-Renault] Lap 16

Vergne [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] Lap 14

Race Report: Abu Dhabi (Round 18)

Lap Record: 1.40.279 S Vettel (2009)

Lap Length: 5.55km

Race Length: 55 Laps

Total Distance: 305.4km

Tyre Allocation: Soft & Hard

Start Grid - http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2012/881/7178/

So belated race report of the Abu Dhabi GP that took place on the 4^th November 2012.

Kimi Raikkonen claimed his first victory of his F1 comeback by capitalising on another mechanical failure for Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren leading to him taking the chequered flag ahead of championship contenders Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Back On Top For The First Time Since 2009

Finally we have been provided with an Abu Dhabi race where the action on track matches the spectacle that is the location of this race. It was a race filled with accidents. Vettel’s ability to start from the pitlane and finish third showed the class of driving that he is able to produce when needed. This was one of the most convincing evidence that he really is a racing driver, however it was not a smooth running afternoon for him after coming together with Bruno Senna on the opening lap and then crashing into a polystyrene DRS board later in the race. 

Hamilton Walks Away From Yet Another Almost Certain Victory

Alonso also showed his class around the Yas Marina Circuit after passing Red Bulls Mark Webber on the first lap. I for one feel that no one deserves this year’s title more than him after the performances he has displayed this season.

Following less than interesting races in Japan, Korea and India F1 surprisingly breathed life back into the Yas Marina Circuit that has failed to provide interesting racing since it first made it onto the calendar in 2009.

An incident involving Nico Rosberg and Narain Karthikeyan on lap 9 resulted in the races first appearance of the safety car, which bunched the grid back up.

Spectacular Crash As Rosberg Has No Chance In Avoided The HRT's  Failure

Perez who will replace Hamilton at McLaren in 2013 was given a stop-go penalty after cutting across the path of Romain Grosjean, who then swerved into the path of Mark Webber which resulted in the retirement of both Grosjean and Webber.

The race ended in Abu Dhabi under the stars of the United Arab Emirites with the top ten looking like.

1 Kimi Raikkonen    

2 Fernando Alonso    

3 Sebastian Vettel

4 Jenson Button

5 Pastor Maldonado

6 Kamui Kobayashi

7 Felipe Massa

8 Bruno Senna

9 Paul Di Resta    

10 Daniel Ricciardo

Andy, F1 Hub