Vitaly Petrov – the most important driver of the F1 Season
Sometimes winning isn’t about skill. Sometimes it’s not about grit, resolve, determination or even being a team player. Winning can be all about those teeny tiny factors that when added up, create the circumstances of luck – the phenomenon known in physics
as causality.
That’s what many are saying about this season’s Formula One Championship which ended in Abu Dhabi on Sunday November 14 with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel winning the Drivers’ title.
While there’s no disputing that Vettel’s a fantastic racer whose car has been the envy of the F1 track, when looking at the cold hard facts, it becomes clear that the youngest driver to win the championship did so for reasons that had little to do with his
driving acumen.
And the single greatest factor that contributed to Vettel’s victory is none other than Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, who ranked 13th in this year’s overall standings.
At the onset of the race on the Yas Marina circuit, no one would have suspected that Petrov would play any type of role in influencing the outcome of the 2010 F1 season. As a matter of fact, all eyes were focused on Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Indeed, he
was the frontrunner for the championship and only needed to come in fourth place to secure the crown. Given his impressive comeback in Korea, where he emerged from a 47-point deficit to secure the lead, this was clearly his race to lose.
But at the onset of the race, Alonso was not focused on either Vettel or Petrov. Rather, his biggest threat was from Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who was only behind by a measly eight points. Ferrari had their eye on Webber. Step-by-step, they were determined
to counter whatever move he made. They would block Webber at every turn, prevent him from getting the edge, and by doing so, Alonso would invariably come out on top.
Therefore, when the Ferrari team saw that Webber was making an early pit-stop, they decided to counter the move by calling Alonso in, making an early switch to prime tyres.
This was a logistically sound and strategic move. The rationale of countering every action with a reaction has the weight of Newtonian physics behind it. However, in the context of the F1, no one from Ferrari (or anyone else for that matter) could have
anticipated the consequences.
Emerging from his pitstop, Alonso came up behind Petrov’s Renault and the laws of causality went into effect. Ultimately, Alonso found himself stuck behind Petrov for almost the entire remainder of the race. Although the Ferrari driver did his best to
get around the Russian, it was to no avail.
"I had a long battle with Fernando”, Petrov confirmed. “But [my] car had a good top speed today so I was able to control the situation. I am proud of my team and the good job we did."
By the end of the race, Ferrari’s strategy worked, albeit not in the way it was initially conceived. Alonso
did end up beating Webber in the rankings, coming in seventh to Webber’s eighth, while the road was paved for Vettel’s ultimate victory.
Needless to say, Alonso was unhappy about the proceedings and was seen making obscene gestures at Petrov after the race was over. The Russian driver has subsequently confirmed he was well aware of the championship situation. Considering he was not in the
running for the title, many wondered why he simply didn’t move over to let Alonso battle it out with Vettel. However, Petrov stated he was unprepared to budge.
"I just did my job," he said. "I came here to fight, and race every other driver, and I think I showed today that I can fight.”
Clearly, this outcome was not anticipated by any of the drivers, or their teams, or any of the fans of Formula One. It is precisely for the fact that the Grand Prix is contingent on so many unpredictable variables that the sport is so fascinating to watch.
Combining a driver’s skill, with the prowess of cutting-edge automotive technology, with the millions of factors that facilitate that phenomenon known as luck, F1 racing has it all.
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