Bettor Exclusive: A review of the 2012 F1 season – Formula 1 Special – Part 2
Best comeback of the season
Kimi Raikkonen returned to F1 with Lotus F1 after remaining away for two seasons. Many people had criticised him for having lost his motivation for F1 racing. However, Raikkonen proved everyone wrong with his performance on the track rather than his words.
He gave the most consistent performance in 2012 than any other driver on the F1 grid. He completed all the twenty races of the season hence facing no retirement throughout the season. He also scored championship points in all the races mostly keeping his finishes
in the top six. His only race that he did not a score point in was the Chinese GP.
Best car of the season
The best car of the season was Red Bull’s RB8 designed by their chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. Even though the car looked to be struggling in the beginning but became the quickest car on the grid by the end of the season providing Vettel with some
four straight epic wins in the second half. All of Red Bull’s titles have been won with cars designed by Newey who is known as a genius engineer among the F1 community.
Rookie of the season
Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne made his F1 debut in 2012 and scored 16 championship points by the end of the season through four races securing consistently the eighth position in all of them. He will be continuing his second F1 season with Toro Rosso in
2013.
Disappointments of the season
1. McLaren’s reliability stricken car
McLaren began the season by winning the Australian GP through Jenson Button. However, as the season progressed, the British team’s performance kept going up and down. Button and teammate Lewis Hamilton showed good pace on several occasions but the car kept
failing with its continuous reliability issues. Hamilton was seen having the most frustrating season as he suffered many retirements due to the unreliable car throughout the season. Several times he had to retire while he was leading the races. The car did
show improvement by the end of the season but it was too late to contend for the constructors’ or the drivers’ championship. McLaren lost its second place in the constructors’ championship to Ferrari.
2. Mercedes AMG’s poor performance
Mercedes continued into its third season with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. The team won its first Grand Prix in China through Rosberg while Schumacher also secured his first podium position in a long time in Valencia but this surge in performance
could not continue in the rest of the season which was a great disappointment for the fans of Mercedes and Schumacher. The worst was to come with the team failing to score any point in the last races of the season. After Schumacher’s retirement, Mercedes will
be continuing with Rosberg and Hamilton in the 2013 F1 season.
Highlights of the season
1. Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes
When Hamilton announced his transfer to Mercedes in September, he shocked the F1 world with his decision. There were rumours about Hamilton having some unsettlement with the team which were denied both by McLaren and the driver himself. Hamilton has insisted
that he is moving in search for a new challenge. He made his F1 debut with McLaren and is leaving the team after six seasons.
2. Michael Schumacher’s retirement
Schumacher announced to retire at the end of the season which will be his second and final retirement from F1. He has denied any comeback to F1 this time while he has signed a contract to become a test driver for Karting. He has spent 22 years in F1.
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