F1 in 2012 delivered one of the most entertaining seasons ever in Formula One history with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso leading the charge.
The 2012 F1 season was highly competitive. It was a season that saw 8 different race winners, including two first-time winners, four new faces on the podium and a title fight that went down to the last race. It was a tough battle for the title contenders all season long.
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel were the main title contenders, but both Jenson Button and Sir Lewis Hamilton momentarily led the Championship standings. Button and Hamilton won a few races, and appeared on the podium from time to time as did Kimi Räikkönen who had 1 race win and a couple of podium finishes.
The first half of the season
Vettel started the 2012 season with a 2nd place finish at the Australian Grand Prix. He finished outside the points in Malaysia after colliding with a back marker. Hamilton got pole in both races and finished on the podium, unlike Vettel. Jenson Button won the Australian Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso taking victory in Malaysia.
The third race was at the Chinese Grand Prix where Nico Rosberg, Mercedes driver, got his maiden pole position and race win. Vettel once again missed out on a podium finish.
By that point, the McLaren had proven to be the fastest car, especially over a single lap. Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel proved fast for Ferrari and Red Bull respectively. However, it was clear that their cars needed upgrades if they were to remain in the battle for the titles.
Come Bahrain, at the fourth race of the season, Red Bull made changes to their floor. The results were almost instant and hope-inducing. Vettel claimed his first pole of the season and went on to round off the weekend with a hat trick – pole position, race win and fastest lap.
The fifth race of the season was the Spanish Grand Prix, and Red Bull seemed to struggle as Ferrari gained some traction with their new upgrades. Neither Ferrari nor Red Bull won that weekend though, as Pastor Maldonado shockingly claimed pole position and the race win in his Williams for the first time ever.
Controversial updates
The floor upgrades on the Red Bull caused an uproar inside the paddock. The Austrian team faced the ultimatum of having to either change the offending parts and start both cars from the pit lane, or leave the parts on the car, allowing both drivers to start the race from the positions they qualified in, but risking a post-race disqualification.
The team chose to leave the parts on the car, with Mark Webber claiming pole and later winning the race. Vettel suffered a failure during qualifying. With the importance of track position at Monaco, Vettel’s race was that much harder. Fortunately for him, he managed to finish the race in P4.
Red Bull’s difficult first half of the season seemed to be getting worse when their floor which had previously been granted legal by the FIA had to be changed ahead of the Canadian GP.
Regardless, Vettel managed to comfortably claim pole by three-tenths of a second. At the race, however, both Alonso and Vettel took the gamble of a one-stop strategy. The strategy backfired, and Hamilton overtook both cars easily and eventually won the race. Vettel was eventually pitted, but Alonso stayed out, allowing Vettel to pass Alonso and finish P4.
The European Grand Prix was the turnaround for Alonso’s chances in the title fight. Vettel suffered what was the first of multiple Renault alternator failures for Red Bull.
This was no good news for Vettel whose aim was to defend his 2011 title. Fernando Alonso found himself ahead of Vettel in the Championship in the span of 10 races. This was all the way from Monaco to Japan. By that point, Vettel had only managed 6 podium finishes with only 3 of those as race wins.
The second half
The second half of the season was better for Red Bull, with fewer reliability issues. In the last 10 races, Vettel was on the podium 7 times, with 4 fastest laps, 3 pole positions and 4 race wins.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, Vettel is properly brought back to the title fight. Romain Grosjean triggered a pile-up at the first corner and Alonso was forced to retire as a result. Vettel was unaffected and able to charge forward into 2nd place.
Just when it looked like Vettel was well and truly back in the fight, Red Bull suffered yet another Renault alternator failure. To add to the drama, during Q3 Alonso’s car had a broken anti rear-roll bar. This left him to start tenth on a weekend he should have won the race. The Spaniard finished the race in P4 instead.
Lewis Hamilton was a real threat at Singapore, but Adrian Newey’s latest innovation sparked hope for Vettel. A ‘Double DRS‘ device and a new front wing brought the RB8 back to being a front-runner at Marina Bay. Hamilton was still the man to beat until his gearbox broke. Vettel said thank you and went on to claim just his second win of the year. Alonso finished the race in P3, the title fight was still very much on.
If anything, the last four races of the season were Vettel’s way of showing that he never left the title fight. At the Indian Grand Prix, he had topped all three practice sessions, took pole position and led every lap of the race to win. Due to fuel irregularities at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the German was forced to start from the pit lane. He had a good recovery drive and finished in P3 with the fastest lap. Alonso was P4. The two title contenders shared the podium at the US Grand Prix with Vettel finishing P2 behind Lewis, and Alonso P3.
Down to the wire at Interlagos
All hope looked lost when a poor start by Vettel and a collision with Bruno Senna halfway through the first lap damaged the back of his car. He dropped to the back of the field as a result. All the while, Alonso moved back into a prospective title-winning position from seventh on the grid. However, rain and safety cars allowed Vettel to climb his way into the top 10, and eventually finish P6. Alonso’s P2 was not enough for the Spaniard to claim the title. Vettel became the ninth, and youngest, three-time World Champion in Formula One history.
