A recap of the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix – Formula 1 Special
The 2012 F1 season was the first season to feature twenty races in history of F1. The twentieth race was set to be the Brazilian Grand Prix that took place over the Interlagos Circuit. The circuit is famous for many memorable races and is one of the circuits
having a long history with F1 that has kept its thrill despite being improved with time.
The 2012 Brazilian GP was race that the fans keenly waited as it was going to decide the F1 champion. Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took the championship fight right until the end of the season. Vettel entered the last
F1 weekend with 13-point lead over Alonso.
The McLarens and Red Bulls dominated the practice sessions with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton securing the first place in the first two practice sessions and teammate Jenson Button set the fastest lap in the last practice session. Vettel and teammate Mark Webber
were also not much behind them.
As Brazil is famous for its spontaneous weather conditions, the Qualifying round took place under wet weather conditions. This was Hamilton’s last race with his team as he moves to Mercedes AMG next year and he made it memorable by securing the pole position.
On the other hand, Michael Schumacher was racing for the last time as he was to retire at the end of the season although could not achieve a better position and qualified for the 14th position. Vettel and Alonso were also seen struggling as they settled for
the 4th and 8th place respectively.
Ferrari were hoping for wet weather conditions on the race day as they were of the opinion that it is going to help them fight for the championship. The weather remained unpredictable on the Sunday as rain fell during few laps. Vettel started the race on
a bad note falling to the seventh position on the grid while his Ferrari rival was driving at fifth. The odds required Alonso to finish on the podium given Vettel finished the race low on the grid. Vettel’s race was hindered even more as Williams F1’s Bruno
Senna collided with his car putting him in the wrong direction of the track and also right at the back of the grid. The Red Bull driver kept facing bad luck as his radio communication with the team was lost that resulted in an ill timed pit stop. However,
he was able to prove his much criticised driving abilities by coming on the sixth position on the grid which he maintained right until the race finished.
Meanwhile, at the front of the rid, Hamilton and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg were fighting for the lead. Hamilton was leading the race when the Force India driver crashed into him from behind which caused Hamilton’s retirement from the race and earned
himself a drive-through penalty. That gave Button the lead of the race.
On the hand, Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa who was driving in his hometown helped him throughout the race in order to put at the front of the grid but the Spanish driver could only finish the race in second place. Massa himself finished in third position
which later saw him becoming very emotional. Button was able to maintain his lead to win the last race of the season for McLaren.
The season ended with Vettel becoming the youngest triple champion having defeated Alonso by three points. Lotus F1’s Kimi Raikkonen secured the third position in the drivers’ championship. The Brazilian GP lived up to its tradition of excitement and the
2012 F1 season has been labelled as one of the best seasons so far.
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