The climax of the season has (unfortunately) arrived. The F1 2012 season finale in Brazil. The championship had been whittled down to two drivers, but who would take the title?
Interlagos was the location for the last race of the season. The old-school track is a driver favourite, with its high speeds and challenging infield. Check out my race preview for the track guide.
As F1 waves goodbye to the 2012 season, all eyes move to 2013 with new drivers, team switches and rules that have been changed ever so slightly.
The climax to the season had arrived. 1 race left and 1 chance to take the title for Alonso and Vettel.
It was a busy weekend for all. On Friday the teams had 2013 spec tyres to test and there were plenty of driver changes being announced. Here's my review of all the weekends action, starting with FP1.
FP1
Lewis Hamilton's form continued on from Austin, topping the first practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Brit was fastest in the final FP1 of the year, with a best time of 1m14.131 being his best of 33 efforts. The gap to second was narrow, with championship contender Sebastian Vettel setting a best lap just 0.009 seconds shy of the McLaren drivers best.
All the teams took advantage of the 2013 spec Pirelli tyres being given to them. It was a busy 90 minute session with a mix of slow laps to test parts, attaching sensors and some work for the weekend ahead. This meant that the completed lap totals were down on what we would usually expect.
Mark Webber showed Red Bull were strong in third, with Button and Alonso rounding out the top five. Massa was second in the second Ferrari, hoping for a strong showing at his home race. Fellow Brazilian Bruno Senna had to sit out of the session as Valtteri Bottas took his space.
Giedo Van Der Garde was the only other replacement driver, taking Heikki Kovalainen's place for the 90 minute session. Grosjean and Di Resta impressed in seventh and eighth, with Maldonado and Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.
Kimi Raikkonen ended the morning in 16th place. He completed just 16 laps and was 1.5 seconds off the leading pace after being stuck in the garage with an engine problem. HRT also suffered from limited running, both drivers not emerging from the garage until the session had 35 minutes remaining. It was a largely error free session, with the only on track drama coming from a spinning Felipe Massa.
FP2
Like Vettel in Austin, Lewis Hamilton dominated the Friday sessions in Brazil.
The McLaren driver set a best time of 1m14.026 on the medium Pirelli tyres to go top, three tenths faster than Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber proved Red Bull are strong at the Interlagos circuit in third, with Massa and Alonso over half a second further back.
Jenson Button had been near the top of the time sheets but fell back to eighth towards the end, behind the two Mercedes machines. Kimi Raikkonen got some welcome running in after his problems in first practice and ended the day in 12th, 1.3 seconds off the leading pace.Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five for Ferrari, the Brazilian out pacing his team mate on home turf.
There were a few yellow flags during the session, with Charles Pic creating the longest one. His Marussia ground to a halt at turn eight with a reported Alternator failure with over half of the session remaining. The Caterham bound racer finished the 90 minute session in 23rd, four seconds slower than Hamilton.
Grosjean continued his impressive pace in ninth, while both Force India's were in the top 12. Meanwhile Senna just missed out on a top 12 time, while Perez and Kobayashi struggled for Sauber. The Japanese driver needed to impress to catch the eye of rival teams, because his seat at Sauber was being taken for 2013.
Vitaly Petrov ended the day in a positive mood after yet again setting a faster lap time in comparison to his team mate Heikki Kovalainen.
A number of drivers ran off track and used the now ample run off, but after the experimentation of the first session the focus swiftly changed to qualifying and the race.
FP3
McLaren made it three out of three, topping the final practice session of the F1 2012 season. However, unlike Friday it was Button who set the fastest lap time.
The Brit set the pace early on. Teams split their schedules, testing the hard compound tyre early on before making the switch to the medium Pirelli's at the end. Button's best time of 1m13.192 displaced the Mercedes due a the top, Schumacher and Rosberg eventually slipping to 12th and 15th respectively.
Sebastian Vettel was just 0.057 seconds behind Button. The Red Bull Driver showed the RB8's pace and was involved in an unusual battle on his installation lap. Vettel was overtaken by championship rival Alonso and the Spaniard repeatedly slowed down, sending some kind of message. Mark Webber finished the morning in third, ahead of Hamilton and Grosjean.
The Frenchman's team mate did not complete a flying lap after pulling off the track with an engine failure. There was a large puff of smoke from the Renault engine on the run to turn 4 and the Finn was out, yet more bad luck for him.
Force India looked strong too. Di Resta and Hulkenberg ended FP3 in sixth and seventh. In contrast the Sauber drivers continued to struggled and ended the day 13th and 14th respectively.
Bruno Senna had a scary moment at Juncao. The Williams driver went off on to the grass and spun back on to the track, narrowly avoiding Michael Schumacher. New under-crackers for the retiree perhaps?
Qualifying
As the sun set on the Formula 1 2012 season, there were two things left to do. One was to get a spot on the grid, the other to compete in the race. With the overtaking possibilities of Interlagos being high, qualifying was not everything. However for the two title contenders, it was all to play for.
Q1
All eyes were on the sky. What would the weather do? A brief sprinkling before the first 20 minute qualifying session meant there was a slippery track.
The three "new" teams sent their drivers out early. Heikki Kovalainen ran wide on his outlap, the conditions being very tricky in the early laps. The remaining 18 cars stayed safely in the garage, with a few midfield runners emerging five minutes in to the session.
Glock set the opening time, but Kobayashi soon displaced that. Drivers grew in confidence and the times tumbled, Vergne moving to the front. Nico Hulkenberg emerged from the pits on the intermediate tyres, a gamble on a largely dry track. It was a pure experiment and the German pulled into the pits at the end of his flying lap.
With half the session gone, the front runners emerged to have a go. The hard tyre was the choice of many, teams expected them to warm up faster. Maldonado moved to the forefront at the halfway mark on a 1m17.894. Webber, Button and co were fueled for a number of timed laps and stayed out for the remainder of the session.
The drivers, bar the front runners, moved to the medium Pirelli tyre and the midfield started to pump in the fast laps. The yellow flag came out after Romain Grosjean went to overtake De La Rosa's at the final flat out bend. The HRT moved across and Grosjean lost his front wing.
The track was drying out and by the chequered flag the top time was a 1m15.075, set by Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren driver ended two tenths faster than Bruno Senna, with Button, Hulkenberg and Vettel. Raikkonen just made it through in 15th, but his team mate was not so lucky.
After his crash with De La Rosa and a rushed nose cone change, Romain Grosjean was the big name to go out in Qualifying 1. The Frenchman was joined by Petrov and Kovalainen, the Russian driver out qualifying Heikki yet again. Glock was next, followed by Pic and Karthikeyan. De La Rosa was the final driver in the drop zone.
Q2
It was all to play for in the second qualifying session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The track conditions were still slippery, with the midfield runners emerging early on to get a banker lap in. The Ferrari's chose the hard tyre compound, while the slower runners went for the medium Pirelli's. The first lap time of the session went to Jean-Eric Vergne on a 1m16.348, which was bettered shortly after by 2010 pole man Nico Hulkenberg.
With five minutes of the session gone, Alonso had moved to the front. The two McLaren and Red Bull drivers were yet to set a time. Felipe Massa backed up his team mate provisionally in second, with Hulkenberg, Senna and Rosberg following at the half way mark.
With half the session gone, the leading protagonists emerged to start their qualifying run. Lewis Hamilton went quickest with a 1m13.298 on the medium compound tyre. Sebastian Vettel moved to the front, with a nice tow from Felipe Massa. Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber provisionally went third and fourth, but things were set to change.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Sebastian Vettel who topped the second qualifying session with a 1m13.209. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were second and third, with Webber in fourth and Raikkonen in fifth. Maldondo, Hulkenberg and Rosberg all made it through, with both Ferrari drivers just scraping in too.
Di Resta just missed out on Q3 in 11th, with Senna in 12th. Perez and Kobayashi showed Sauber were not fast enough in 13th and 15th, sandwiching Michael Schumacher. Ricciardo and Vergne were slowest of the 17 runners.
Q3
The final qualifying session of 2012 was a dramatic one. Ferrari just scraped in to the 10 minute session, Vettel and the McLaren's looked strong out front.
It was a quiet start to the session as Nico Rosberg lapped the track. It was a clear lap but the Mercedes driver started weaving half way through, meaning it was not a true representation.
The leading drivers soon emerged, with Hamilton moving to the top with a 1m12.850. It was a impressive first lap, with Alonso going six tenths down. Button and Webber provisionally went second and third, ahead of Massa.
Sebastian Vettel made a mistake on his first lap, losing over a second to Hamilton. The cars returned to the pit lane for a quick change, before the final runs. Hulkenberg also impressed on his opening run, going fourth. The German was three tenths down on Hamilton, displacing Massa, Alonso and Vettel.
Of course that was the provisional order after the first runs. The order was slightly different by the chequered flag. The second runs started, with just 1 lap to prove themselves. Webber was the first to cross the line, moving to provisional pole on a 1m12.581. Alonso went fifth, with Maldonado slotting in to a provisional fourth. Next up came Hamilton, who displaced Webber by a tenth of a second. Vettel could only go third and Jenson Button leaped up to second.
It was a McLaren front row lock out at Interlagos. Hamilton scored pole, from Button and Webber. Championship contender Vettel set the fourth fastest time, with Massa and Maldonado next up. Hulkenberg impressed in seventh, with championship challenger Alonso disappointing in eighth. Raikkonen and Rosberg rounded out the top 10.
* Maldonado was given a 10 place grid drop for receiving his third reprimand of the season. The latest one was caused by the Venezuelan missing the weight check.
The Race
Emotions were running high in Brazil. Michael Schumacher raced in his final race. Kobayashi waved goodbye to Sauber. Lewis Hamilton walked away from McLaren and numerous drivers were looking at uncertain futures.
It was the final hurdle. 2012 has been a brilliant season, the best I have ever seen. Teams were hoping to end it on a high after a dramatic year of racing. This is also my final race review of 2012, I hope you have enjoyed them. Do not fret, I will still have lots of content being posted on the blog over the winter. Interlagos was the home of the F1 2012 season finale, a brilliant circuit to end the year. We have seen many a championship crowning in Brazil, most recently Hamilton and Button in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
McLaren dominated in Qualifying to get a 1-2, with a Red Bull 3-4 and championship contender Alonso in seventh. All eyes were on Vettel and Alonso, who would take the championship victory?
Just before the warm up lap rain began to fall. It was only light, but it created a rather slippery track. For the final time this year, the revs rose. The lights went out and we were racing in Brazil. Off the line it was a decent start for the leading McLaren's but Massa had a brilliant start to take second. Both Red Bull's had poor starts and Vettel spun. It was a dramatic start for the German. On the main straight Webber went to slip stream Massa, who had fell behind Button, and Alonso benefited behind, taking them both.
Woah. What a dramatic start. Senna and Perez were both out on the first lap, with Vettel continuing. As the cars crossed the line to start lap three Nico Hulkenberg passed Mark Webber for fourth. However it was not over for Sebastian Vettel, he was last but the damage looked minimal.
On the replay Vettel had dropped down the field at the start and was hit by Senna. The Red Bull driver turned in on him, with Vettel spinning. Senna then collected Sergio Perez after breaking his suspension. The drama continued on lap five with Alonso running wide at turn one. Mark Webber tried to pass but the Red Bull could not get past and consequently dropped behind Hulkenberg.
The rain began to intensify on lap six, with the midfield bunching up. Massa got past Webber on that lap, with Kobayashi disposing of Di Resta thanks to DRS. There was a train of cars behind Alonso, the Ferrari driver struggling slightly.
Raikkonen pitted and went on to the intermediate tyres. It was contrasting fortunes for his team mate. Romain Grosjean slid off the road in the final sector, a hefty impact with the barriers ending his race. Meanwhile Webber was tagged by Kobayashi, spinning at turn one. Button briefly took the lead from Hamilton but the Mercedes bound racer got back past. However with DRS help the Frome born Brit got past his team mate yet again, showing supreme skill and respect for one another. Conditions were very tricky, but Vettel was on fire. He was up to seventh place by lap nine, with championship contender Alonso running fourth. By lap 10 drivers started to pit for intermediate tyres. Webber took the chance, as did Rosberg.
The leaders started to pit on lap 11, Hamilton pitting first. Vettel and Alonso also pitted, while Button and Hulkenberg survived for another lap. Jenson radioed the team saying it had stopped raining. It was an unusual order as the cars crossed the line to start lap 12. Heikki Kovalainen was running sixth, with Glock and Petrov in seventh and eighth. The midfield pack was concentrated after all the pit stops and shake ups.
For a moment the intermediate tyres looked to be the best choice, but the rain moved on and the track started to come to the dry tyre runners again. By lap 16 Alonso was up to fourth and Vettel had advanced to sixth.
Up front Button was under huge pressure from Nico Hulkenberg. The Sauber bound racer was looking fast and made a move at turn one on lap 17. It did not work out, but he was certainly looking quick. The rain had ceded by lap 18 and the two leaders started to pull away from the intermediate runners. Nico Hulkenberg took the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 19, for the first time in his career. It was an easy move for the German, as subsequently Hamilton and Alonso moved on to the dry tyres.
Sebastian Vettel reacted on the following lap, moving on to the hard tyre. Red Bull put him on the same tyre as Hamilton, but Ferrari put Alonso on the medium Pirelli rubber. Double world champion Sebastian emerged from the pit lane just behind Fernando Alonso, but reports suggested that he had damage to the exhaust area of the car.
More disappointment for Mercedes, Nico Rosberg suffered a right rear puncture and crawled around the Interlagos circuit to the pits. Just as Jenson Button set fastest lap, the safety car emerged from the pit lane thanks to debris on the track. The McLaren and Force India drivers pitted with a dominant advantage over the rest.
The safety car period neutralised the race, with Hulkenberg and Button's lead being slashed. Hamilton was third at the restart, with Alonso and Vettel rounding out the top five. The restart came on lap 29 as the drizzle started to fall again.
It was a welcome break for fans, commentators and drivers alike after a dramatic and thrilling first 30 laps. Vettel made a poor restart from fifth and had Webber and Kobayashi alongside him. The Aussie went straight on at turn 1, but Kamui streaked past. Hamilton did not need DRS to pass his team mate on the run to turn four. Kamui Kobayashi took advantage of a mistake by Alonso and replicated Hamilton's move on his team mate.
By lap 41 the race had calmed down slightly. Hulkenberg still led out front, but Hamilton had closed the gap. Button had dropped Alonso, the latter running three positions ahead of Vettel in fourth. Conditions were still tricky, Webber sliding around Juncao on lap 43.
There was a lead change on lap 48 after Nico Hulkenberg caught the white line and had a slide. Rosberg pitted on lap 52, changing to the intermediate tyres. The rain had been falling but it was not very heavy. Vettel pitted on the following lap and moved on to the medium compound tyre. However cars continued to struggle on a track saturated with the constant drizzle. Kimi Raikkonen seemingly got lost. He went off track at Juncao and went down the escape road to get back on track, but he could not. He did rejoin the track but someone needed to give him a map.
The race took a dramatic turn on lap 55. While passing back markers Nico Hulkenberg dived up the inside of Lewis Hamilton. The two collided and Lewis was out with suspension failure. A disappointing end to his final race for McLaren. Hulkenberg continued after the contact but it was Fernando Alonso who benefited most. However it was almost over after a big slide, thanks to more rain.
The intermediate tyres looked to be the best bet, the rain started to fall again on lap 57. Nico Hulkenberg was given a drive through penalty for the collision with Hamilton. Leader Button pitted for intermediate tyres, with Massa some way back in second. Alonso held third place provisionally, with Vettel back in seventh by lap 60. The rain continued to hover over the track as Fernando Alonso took an easy move past Felipe Massa. However Vettel got a place back himself, Schumacher seemingly easing off to gift Sebastian his sixth place.
Kamui Kobayashi had a spin at turn 4 and dropped down the order. He collided with Schumacher, that sent the Sauber around. Paul Di Resta crashed heavily on the main straight, meaning the race ended behind the safety car. However eyes swiftly moved to the front, Button leading comfortably and Vettel just doing enough.
Fernando Alonso took the runner up spot on the podium and the runner up spot in the championship. He raced valiantly and went from seventh to second in the race. He was consistently fast but it was not enough for the championship. Massa took a well deserved podium in front of his home crowd.
Mark Webber finished fourth after a number of incidents. It was a topsy turvey race for the Aussie but he got the car home. Nico Hulkenberg led his first ever Formula 1 race, but the collision with Hamilton and a drive through penalty dropped him down the order. It was a good race overall from the German. Sebastian Vettel took his third world championship after a stunning recovery to sixth place. He finished the first lap in last place and raced brilliantly, overtaking and racing at a consistent pace, despite damage. It was a brilliant championship win for him and a very emotional one.
Michael Schumacher got some well earned points on his final F1 outing. Jean-Eric Vergne benefited from Kobayashi's late spin to finish in eighth, with the Japanese driver finishing his final outing for Sauber in ninth. Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the points for Lotus in 10th after the bizarre mid race incident.
Vitaly Petrov took a fantastic 11th place after a dramatic race full of incidents. It meant Caterham clinched the coveted 10th place in the constructors standings. Painfully, Pic finished 12th for Marussia. After taking 10th off Caterham in Singapore, the financial gains were lost. Ricciardo was 13th, ahead of Kovalainen and Rosberg. The Mercedes driver suffered a puncture and some bold strategic decisions that inevitably meant he finished outside the points. Glock, De La Rosa and Karthikeyan rounded out the finishers.
Paul Di Resta was still classified in 19th but crashed out in the final few laps. Hamilton broke his suspension after contact with Hulkenberg, whilst Grosjean and Maldonado found the barriers early on. Senna and Perez retired on the first lap after contact at turn 4.
It was a thrilling and emotional end to the season. Both Alonso and Vettel deserved the title but Sebastian just did enough to take the crown. He became the youngest triple world champion, and it was a strong drive in tricky conditions for Button.
What a season. What a season. I'm pretty sad to see the season end, it has been fantastic and I have thoroughly enjoyed covering it for the blog and numerous websites. As F1 always does, I look ahead. Bring on 2013.
The blog will still have plenty of content being posted throughout the winter. I will have my season review, where I will go through the driver and teams performances. I will also have my performance grid and numerous other exciting features. Thank you for reading this article, visiting my blog and going on this up and down journey that has been the F1 2012 season with me.
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| (c) Force India F1 Team |
As F1 waves goodbye to the 2012 season, all eyes move to 2013 with new drivers, team switches and rules that have been changed ever so slightly.
The climax to the season had arrived. 1 race left and 1 chance to take the title for Alonso and Vettel.
It was a busy weekend for all. On Friday the teams had 2013 spec tyres to test and there were plenty of driver changes being announced. Here's my review of all the weekends action, starting with FP1.
FP1
Lewis Hamilton's form continued on from Austin, topping the first practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The Brit was fastest in the final FP1 of the year, with a best time of 1m14.131 being his best of 33 efforts. The gap to second was narrow, with championship contender Sebastian Vettel setting a best lap just 0.009 seconds shy of the McLaren drivers best.
All the teams took advantage of the 2013 spec Pirelli tyres being given to them. It was a busy 90 minute session with a mix of slow laps to test parts, attaching sensors and some work for the weekend ahead. This meant that the completed lap totals were down on what we would usually expect.
Mark Webber showed Red Bull were strong in third, with Button and Alonso rounding out the top five. Massa was second in the second Ferrari, hoping for a strong showing at his home race. Fellow Brazilian Bruno Senna had to sit out of the session as Valtteri Bottas took his space.
Giedo Van Der Garde was the only other replacement driver, taking Heikki Kovalainen's place for the 90 minute session. Grosjean and Di Resta impressed in seventh and eighth, with Maldonado and Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.
Kimi Raikkonen ended the morning in 16th place. He completed just 16 laps and was 1.5 seconds off the leading pace after being stuck in the garage with an engine problem. HRT also suffered from limited running, both drivers not emerging from the garage until the session had 35 minutes remaining. It was a largely error free session, with the only on track drama coming from a spinning Felipe Massa.
FP2
Like Vettel in Austin, Lewis Hamilton dominated the Friday sessions in Brazil.
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| (c) Force India F1 Team |
The McLaren driver set a best time of 1m14.026 on the medium Pirelli tyres to go top, three tenths faster than Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber proved Red Bull are strong at the Interlagos circuit in third, with Massa and Alonso over half a second further back.
Jenson Button had been near the top of the time sheets but fell back to eighth towards the end, behind the two Mercedes machines. Kimi Raikkonen got some welcome running in after his problems in first practice and ended the day in 12th, 1.3 seconds off the leading pace.Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top five for Ferrari, the Brazilian out pacing his team mate on home turf.
There were a few yellow flags during the session, with Charles Pic creating the longest one. His Marussia ground to a halt at turn eight with a reported Alternator failure with over half of the session remaining. The Caterham bound racer finished the 90 minute session in 23rd, four seconds slower than Hamilton.
Grosjean continued his impressive pace in ninth, while both Force India's were in the top 12. Meanwhile Senna just missed out on a top 12 time, while Perez and Kobayashi struggled for Sauber. The Japanese driver needed to impress to catch the eye of rival teams, because his seat at Sauber was being taken for 2013.
Vitaly Petrov ended the day in a positive mood after yet again setting a faster lap time in comparison to his team mate Heikki Kovalainen.
A number of drivers ran off track and used the now ample run off, but after the experimentation of the first session the focus swiftly changed to qualifying and the race.
FP3
McLaren made it three out of three, topping the final practice session of the F1 2012 season. However, unlike Friday it was Button who set the fastest lap time.
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| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
The Brit set the pace early on. Teams split their schedules, testing the hard compound tyre early on before making the switch to the medium Pirelli's at the end. Button's best time of 1m13.192 displaced the Mercedes due a the top, Schumacher and Rosberg eventually slipping to 12th and 15th respectively.
Sebastian Vettel was just 0.057 seconds behind Button. The Red Bull Driver showed the RB8's pace and was involved in an unusual battle on his installation lap. Vettel was overtaken by championship rival Alonso and the Spaniard repeatedly slowed down, sending some kind of message. Mark Webber finished the morning in third, ahead of Hamilton and Grosjean.
The Frenchman's team mate did not complete a flying lap after pulling off the track with an engine failure. There was a large puff of smoke from the Renault engine on the run to turn 4 and the Finn was out, yet more bad luck for him.
Force India looked strong too. Di Resta and Hulkenberg ended FP3 in sixth and seventh. In contrast the Sauber drivers continued to struggled and ended the day 13th and 14th respectively.
Bruno Senna had a scary moment at Juncao. The Williams driver went off on to the grass and spun back on to the track, narrowly avoiding Michael Schumacher. New under-crackers for the retiree perhaps?
Qualifying
As the sun set on the Formula 1 2012 season, there were two things left to do. One was to get a spot on the grid, the other to compete in the race. With the overtaking possibilities of Interlagos being high, qualifying was not everything. However for the two title contenders, it was all to play for.
Q1
All eyes were on the sky. What would the weather do? A brief sprinkling before the first 20 minute qualifying session meant there was a slippery track.
The three "new" teams sent their drivers out early. Heikki Kovalainen ran wide on his outlap, the conditions being very tricky in the early laps. The remaining 18 cars stayed safely in the garage, with a few midfield runners emerging five minutes in to the session.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Glock set the opening time, but Kobayashi soon displaced that. Drivers grew in confidence and the times tumbled, Vergne moving to the front. Nico Hulkenberg emerged from the pits on the intermediate tyres, a gamble on a largely dry track. It was a pure experiment and the German pulled into the pits at the end of his flying lap.
With half the session gone, the front runners emerged to have a go. The hard tyre was the choice of many, teams expected them to warm up faster. Maldonado moved to the forefront at the halfway mark on a 1m17.894. Webber, Button and co were fueled for a number of timed laps and stayed out for the remainder of the session.
The drivers, bar the front runners, moved to the medium Pirelli tyre and the midfield started to pump in the fast laps. The yellow flag came out after Romain Grosjean went to overtake De La Rosa's at the final flat out bend. The HRT moved across and Grosjean lost his front wing.
The track was drying out and by the chequered flag the top time was a 1m15.075, set by Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren driver ended two tenths faster than Bruno Senna, with Button, Hulkenberg and Vettel. Raikkonen just made it through in 15th, but his team mate was not so lucky.
After his crash with De La Rosa and a rushed nose cone change, Romain Grosjean was the big name to go out in Qualifying 1. The Frenchman was joined by Petrov and Kovalainen, the Russian driver out qualifying Heikki yet again. Glock was next, followed by Pic and Karthikeyan. De La Rosa was the final driver in the drop zone.
Q2
It was all to play for in the second qualifying session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The track conditions were still slippery, with the midfield runners emerging early on to get a banker lap in. The Ferrari's chose the hard tyre compound, while the slower runners went for the medium Pirelli's. The first lap time of the session went to Jean-Eric Vergne on a 1m16.348, which was bettered shortly after by 2010 pole man Nico Hulkenberg.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
With five minutes of the session gone, Alonso had moved to the front. The two McLaren and Red Bull drivers were yet to set a time. Felipe Massa backed up his team mate provisionally in second, with Hulkenberg, Senna and Rosberg following at the half way mark.
With half the session gone, the leading protagonists emerged to start their qualifying run. Lewis Hamilton went quickest with a 1m13.298 on the medium compound tyre. Sebastian Vettel moved to the front, with a nice tow from Felipe Massa. Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber provisionally went third and fourth, but things were set to change.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Sebastian Vettel who topped the second qualifying session with a 1m13.209. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were second and third, with Webber in fourth and Raikkonen in fifth. Maldondo, Hulkenberg and Rosberg all made it through, with both Ferrari drivers just scraping in too.
Di Resta just missed out on Q3 in 11th, with Senna in 12th. Perez and Kobayashi showed Sauber were not fast enough in 13th and 15th, sandwiching Michael Schumacher. Ricciardo and Vergne were slowest of the 17 runners.
Q3
The final qualifying session of 2012 was a dramatic one. Ferrari just scraped in to the 10 minute session, Vettel and the McLaren's looked strong out front.
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| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
It was a quiet start to the session as Nico Rosberg lapped the track. It was a clear lap but the Mercedes driver started weaving half way through, meaning it was not a true representation.
The leading drivers soon emerged, with Hamilton moving to the top with a 1m12.850. It was a impressive first lap, with Alonso going six tenths down. Button and Webber provisionally went second and third, ahead of Massa.
Sebastian Vettel made a mistake on his first lap, losing over a second to Hamilton. The cars returned to the pit lane for a quick change, before the final runs. Hulkenberg also impressed on his opening run, going fourth. The German was three tenths down on Hamilton, displacing Massa, Alonso and Vettel.
Of course that was the provisional order after the first runs. The order was slightly different by the chequered flag. The second runs started, with just 1 lap to prove themselves. Webber was the first to cross the line, moving to provisional pole on a 1m12.581. Alonso went fifth, with Maldonado slotting in to a provisional fourth. Next up came Hamilton, who displaced Webber by a tenth of a second. Vettel could only go third and Jenson Button leaped up to second.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
It was a McLaren front row lock out at Interlagos. Hamilton scored pole, from Button and Webber. Championship contender Vettel set the fourth fastest time, with Massa and Maldonado next up. Hulkenberg impressed in seventh, with championship challenger Alonso disappointing in eighth. Raikkonen and Rosberg rounded out the top 10.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.458s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.513s + 0.055
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m12.581s + 0.123
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m12.760s + 0.302
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m12.987s + 0.529
6. Pastor *PEN Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m13.174s + 0.716
7. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m13.206s + 0.748
8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.253s + 0.795
9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m13.298s + 0.840
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.489s + 1.031
Q2 cut-off time: 1m14.048s Gap **
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m14.121s + 0.912
12. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m14.219s + 1.010
13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.234s + 1.025
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.334s + 1.125
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.380s + 1.171
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m14.574s + 1.365
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m14.619s + 1.410
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.744s Gap *
18. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m16.967s + 1.892
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.073s + 1.998
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.086s + 2.011
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m17.508s + 2.433
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.104s + 3.029
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.576s + 4.501
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.699s + 4.624
107% time: 1m20.330s
* Maldonado was given a 10 place grid drop for receiving his third reprimand of the season. The latest one was caused by the Venezuelan missing the weight check.
The Race
Emotions were running high in Brazil. Michael Schumacher raced in his final race. Kobayashi waved goodbye to Sauber. Lewis Hamilton walked away from McLaren and numerous drivers were looking at uncertain futures.
It was the final hurdle. 2012 has been a brilliant season, the best I have ever seen. Teams were hoping to end it on a high after a dramatic year of racing. This is also my final race review of 2012, I hope you have enjoyed them. Do not fret, I will still have lots of content being posted on the blog over the winter. Interlagos was the home of the F1 2012 season finale, a brilliant circuit to end the year. We have seen many a championship crowning in Brazil, most recently Hamilton and Button in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
McLaren dominated in Qualifying to get a 1-2, with a Red Bull 3-4 and championship contender Alonso in seventh. All eyes were on Vettel and Alonso, who would take the championship victory?
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Woah. What a dramatic start. Senna and Perez were both out on the first lap, with Vettel continuing. As the cars crossed the line to start lap three Nico Hulkenberg passed Mark Webber for fourth. However it was not over for Sebastian Vettel, he was last but the damage looked minimal.
On the replay Vettel had dropped down the field at the start and was hit by Senna. The Red Bull driver turned in on him, with Vettel spinning. Senna then collected Sergio Perez after breaking his suspension. The drama continued on lap five with Alonso running wide at turn one. Mark Webber tried to pass but the Red Bull could not get past and consequently dropped behind Hulkenberg.
The rain began to intensify on lap six, with the midfield bunching up. Massa got past Webber on that lap, with Kobayashi disposing of Di Resta thanks to DRS. There was a train of cars behind Alonso, the Ferrari driver struggling slightly.
Raikkonen pitted and went on to the intermediate tyres. It was contrasting fortunes for his team mate. Romain Grosjean slid off the road in the final sector, a hefty impact with the barriers ending his race. Meanwhile Webber was tagged by Kobayashi, spinning at turn one. Button briefly took the lead from Hamilton but the Mercedes bound racer got back past. However with DRS help the Frome born Brit got past his team mate yet again, showing supreme skill and respect for one another. Conditions were very tricky, but Vettel was on fire. He was up to seventh place by lap nine, with championship contender Alonso running fourth. By lap 10 drivers started to pit for intermediate tyres. Webber took the chance, as did Rosberg.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The leaders started to pit on lap 11, Hamilton pitting first. Vettel and Alonso also pitted, while Button and Hulkenberg survived for another lap. Jenson radioed the team saying it had stopped raining. It was an unusual order as the cars crossed the line to start lap 12. Heikki Kovalainen was running sixth, with Glock and Petrov in seventh and eighth. The midfield pack was concentrated after all the pit stops and shake ups.
For a moment the intermediate tyres looked to be the best choice, but the rain moved on and the track started to come to the dry tyre runners again. By lap 16 Alonso was up to fourth and Vettel had advanced to sixth.
Up front Button was under huge pressure from Nico Hulkenberg. The Sauber bound racer was looking fast and made a move at turn one on lap 17. It did not work out, but he was certainly looking quick. The rain had ceded by lap 18 and the two leaders started to pull away from the intermediate runners. Nico Hulkenberg took the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 19, for the first time in his career. It was an easy move for the German, as subsequently Hamilton and Alonso moved on to the dry tyres.
Sebastian Vettel reacted on the following lap, moving on to the hard tyre. Red Bull put him on the same tyre as Hamilton, but Ferrari put Alonso on the medium Pirelli rubber. Double world champion Sebastian emerged from the pit lane just behind Fernando Alonso, but reports suggested that he had damage to the exhaust area of the car.
More disappointment for Mercedes, Nico Rosberg suffered a right rear puncture and crawled around the Interlagos circuit to the pits. Just as Jenson Button set fastest lap, the safety car emerged from the pit lane thanks to debris on the track. The McLaren and Force India drivers pitted with a dominant advantage over the rest.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The safety car period neutralised the race, with Hulkenberg and Button's lead being slashed. Hamilton was third at the restart, with Alonso and Vettel rounding out the top five. The restart came on lap 29 as the drizzle started to fall again.
It was a welcome break for fans, commentators and drivers alike after a dramatic and thrilling first 30 laps. Vettel made a poor restart from fifth and had Webber and Kobayashi alongside him. The Aussie went straight on at turn 1, but Kamui streaked past. Hamilton did not need DRS to pass his team mate on the run to turn four. Kamui Kobayashi took advantage of a mistake by Alonso and replicated Hamilton's move on his team mate.
By lap 41 the race had calmed down slightly. Hulkenberg still led out front, but Hamilton had closed the gap. Button had dropped Alonso, the latter running three positions ahead of Vettel in fourth. Conditions were still tricky, Webber sliding around Juncao on lap 43.
There was a lead change on lap 48 after Nico Hulkenberg caught the white line and had a slide. Rosberg pitted on lap 52, changing to the intermediate tyres. The rain had been falling but it was not very heavy. Vettel pitted on the following lap and moved on to the medium compound tyre. However cars continued to struggle on a track saturated with the constant drizzle. Kimi Raikkonen seemingly got lost. He went off track at Juncao and went down the escape road to get back on track, but he could not. He did rejoin the track but someone needed to give him a map.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The race took a dramatic turn on lap 55. While passing back markers Nico Hulkenberg dived up the inside of Lewis Hamilton. The two collided and Lewis was out with suspension failure. A disappointing end to his final race for McLaren. Hulkenberg continued after the contact but it was Fernando Alonso who benefited most. However it was almost over after a big slide, thanks to more rain.
The intermediate tyres looked to be the best bet, the rain started to fall again on lap 57. Nico Hulkenberg was given a drive through penalty for the collision with Hamilton. Leader Button pitted for intermediate tyres, with Massa some way back in second. Alonso held third place provisionally, with Vettel back in seventh by lap 60. The rain continued to hover over the track as Fernando Alonso took an easy move past Felipe Massa. However Vettel got a place back himself, Schumacher seemingly easing off to gift Sebastian his sixth place.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Jenson Button wins the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Vettel takes the title
Jenson Button took a dominant win at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Brit took over the lead after misfortune for his team mate and won the race by over 20 seconds. He had started second but dropped to third on the first lap. He made his way past Massa and continuously kept with Hulkenberg and Hamilton when they were the leading two. They collided and Button took over from Lewis out front to win a brilliant and dramatic season finale.Fernando Alonso took the runner up spot on the podium and the runner up spot in the championship. He raced valiantly and went from seventh to second in the race. He was consistently fast but it was not enough for the championship. Massa took a well deserved podium in front of his home crowd.
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| (c) BBCF1 |
Mark Webber finished fourth after a number of incidents. It was a topsy turvey race for the Aussie but he got the car home. Nico Hulkenberg led his first ever Formula 1 race, but the collision with Hamilton and a drive through penalty dropped him down the order. It was a good race overall from the German. Sebastian Vettel took his third world championship after a stunning recovery to sixth place. He finished the first lap in last place and raced brilliantly, overtaking and racing at a consistent pace, despite damage. It was a brilliant championship win for him and a very emotional one.
Michael Schumacher got some well earned points on his final F1 outing. Jean-Eric Vergne benefited from Kobayashi's late spin to finish in eighth, with the Japanese driver finishing his final outing for Sauber in ninth. Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the points for Lotus in 10th after the bizarre mid race incident.
Vitaly Petrov took a fantastic 11th place after a dramatic race full of incidents. It meant Caterham clinched the coveted 10th place in the constructors standings. Painfully, Pic finished 12th for Marussia. After taking 10th off Caterham in Singapore, the financial gains were lost. Ricciardo was 13th, ahead of Kovalainen and Rosberg. The Mercedes driver suffered a puncture and some bold strategic decisions that inevitably meant he finished outside the points. Glock, De La Rosa and Karthikeyan rounded out the finishers.
Paul Di Resta was still classified in 19th but crashed out in the final few laps. Hamilton broke his suspension after contact with Hulkenberg, whilst Grosjean and Maldonado found the barriers early on. Senna and Perez retired on the first lap after contact at turn 4.
It was a thrilling and emotional end to the season. Both Alonso and Vettel deserved the title but Sebastian just did enough to take the crown. He became the youngest triple world champion, and it was a strong drive in tricky conditions for Button.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h45:22.656
2. Alonso Ferrari + 2.754
3. Massa Ferrari + 3.615
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.936
5. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 5.708
6. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 9.453
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 11.900
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 28.600
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 31.200
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 + 2 laps
17. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:18.069
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 55
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 6
Maldonado Williams-Renault 2
Senna Williams-Renault 1
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1
What a season. What a season. I'm pretty sad to see the season end, it has been fantastic and I have thoroughly enjoyed covering it for the blog and numerous websites. As F1 always does, I look ahead. Bring on 2013.
The blog will still have plenty of content being posted throughout the winter. I will have my season review, where I will go through the driver and teams performances. I will also have my performance grid and numerous other exciting features. Thank you for reading this article, visiting my blog and going on this up and down journey that has been the F1 2012 season with me.
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