Most competitive F1 drivers of 2012 and what to expect from them in 2013 – Formula 1 Special
The 2013 F1 season will start from the mid of March so that presently each team and their respective drivers are preparing themselves for the action to begin again.
While the team busies itself in developing the car, the drivers will be focusing on being more competitive and not repeating the mistakes they did in the previous season.
The highlight of this past season was the repetition of the rivalry between Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso but there were many other drivers on the rest of the grid who could not be ignored as they fought for the spotlight
and can certainly be expected to remain competitive in the upcoming season.
Starting from the reigning champion, Vettel is obviously enjoying the glory of his title hat trick but that just makes it even more important for him to continue his winning streak. The past season was certainly the toughest for the young German driver as
he had a slow start to the season due to the change in the exhaust regulations.
It might have been quite frustrating as he finished outside points in Malaysia for the first time since 2010 during the Belgian GP and also a first below top ten qualification since 2009 during Brazilian GP. Vettel’s first pole came to him in Bahrain. Vettel
became strong from the Singapore GP and took lead in the championship from Japan. He completed four consecutive race victories in India which made his lead quite solid over Alonso. Vettel needs to stay in his form in order to deal with the renewed competition
Alonso can be expected to bring in 2013.
On the other hand, we have Alonso, who as compared to his rival has definitely worked harder since Ferrari does not have a faster car like the RB8. The fact that the Spanish driver has been said to be a more deserving champion than Vettel is justified by
his performance. Alonso maintained his lead most of the season despite a weaker car and not only that but kept the competition alive from his side right until the end of the season. The chances of his victory could have been made better if Ferrari had provided
him with a better car. However, it is certain that Alonso will be levelling up his competition next season after coming this close to winning over Vettel and getting disappointed in the end.
One of the major changes this past season has made to the grid of F1 is the retirement of Michael Schumacher. Replacing him in Mercedes AMG is former McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton. There is no doubt about the competitiveness of Hamilton; the only hindrance
in his progress in 2012 was the continued reliability problems of the McLaren car. Hamilton remained quite stoic about winning given his performance in Korea where he fought for a single point despite a problem in his car. Hamilton might have taken a risk
moving to Mercedes who definitely are not in possession of a good car but the driver’s determination is surely going to help.
Next we have Lotus F1’s Kimi Raikkonen who made his return to the sport after missing out on two seasons. His return has been a very good one as he delivered a very consistent point scoring performance throughout the season. The Finnish driver completed
all the races and the only race he did not score a point was in China. Raikkonen’s win in Abu Dhabi was as good as his overall third place in the drivers’ standings. He can be expected to bring up his performance even more next season although he is used to
keeping a low profile.
We can make many predictions about the future but only time will tell what new excitements we will be experiencing in 2013.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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