F1 2012 — A Retrospective Part 19: Abu Dhabi
Sebastian Vettel won the last four in a row, but he had his work cut out for him if he was to make it five.
Qualifying
Red Bull turned recent Saturdays into routine affairs over the last few races. But in Abu Dhabi their run of front row lockouts came to a dramatic end.
Lewis Hamilton took pole for the sixth time in the 2012 season. He was three tenths quicker than Mark Webber. However, the Australian qualified ahead of his championship contending teammate for the second time in three races.
Sebastian Vettel finished Q3 in third, one tenth behind Webber. Pastor Maldonado took fourth in the Williams.
The Venezuelan disrupted the front runners in qualifying once again, much to the frustration of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso who were fifth, sixth and seventh.
Nico Rosberg led the way for Mercedes. He was eighth in Q3, while Michael Schumacher could only manage finishing in 14th in Q2.
Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean played second fiddle to their teammates. They rounded out the top 10, finishing in ninth and 10th respectively.
But, the drama didn’t finish with Q3.
“Stop the car, stop the car!” was the message to Vettel during his in-lap after the session’s chequered flag. The German pulled the car over at Turn 19, as asked, but that was only the beginning.
The FIA took a close inspection of the car that went late into the night. Media and drivers remained around the track awaiting a decision. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner eventually emerged from a meeting with the rule makers.
He answered questions saying that the media could expect a statement from the FIA shortly. Footage showed that statement in the hands of Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali and the look on his face told the story. Wide-eyed bewilderment mixed with a tinge of joy.
Vettel was excluded from the qualifying result for not meeting the one litre requirement of fuel needed to abide by the rules. He was allowed to take part in the race on Sunday, but it was going to have to be from the back of the grid.
This, of course, moved everybody up one grid slot, which meant title rival Alonso was now set to start the race in sixth. From nowhere, Ferrari were handed an invaluable lifeline. Vettel’s winning run looked certain to come to an end.
“He’ll attack the race, and I’m sure Sebastian [Vettel] will demonstrate to everybody why he’s a great racing driver. He’s come from the back and produced great races before and I’ve no doubt he can do it again,” said Horner.
“If he manages to get into the points it will be a great achievement. We saw Mark [Webber] in Suzuka come from 20 seconds behind the field to finish in the points, so there’s no reason why Sebastian cannot salvage something.
“When we told him about the penalty he was remarkably calm. He dealt with it and said ‘out of a negative comes a positive’, so now he’ll be maximum attack.
“But it’s a fair decision. The rules dictate a litre of fuel has to be provided without removal of bodywork or manipulating the car. We’ve no doubt the fuel is in the cell according to what Renault have told us.
“They are convinced the rest of the fuel is in the tank but you can’t dismantle the cell to give a sample. We need to get into the fuel cell to understand what happened. It’s a frustrating scenario.
“The car will be worked on tonight, then we should have a better understanding and hopefully a cure for tomorrow. We’re working with Renault. They’re happy with the margins, happy with the amount of fuel that should be in the car.”
By choosing to work on the car overnight, they essentially took it out of Parc fermé, and thus Vettel was now set to start the race from the pit lane.
They were now free to set the car up for purely race trim, whereas the rest of the pack were set-up to get a balance for both Saturday and Sunday sessions.
Pre-Race
The BBC broadcast of this race opened up with the three main presenters driving against each other in the desert.
“Five races ago [Red Bull] were nowhere, they were floundering,” said Eddie Jordan. He built-up the feeling that they nailed the comeback, but it wasn’t complete just yet.
Jordan was also disappointed with Ferrari, who he believed “underperformed,” since taking the lead in the championship.
“They have a lot to be thankful for the fact they’ve got Alonso,” he added.
David Coulthard refused to rule out even Raikkonen from the title picture. He was a long way back, but the former teammate of the Finn gave the reminder that Raikkonen was 17 points behind with two races to go in 2007, back when drivers received only 10 points for victories.
When the broadcast cut back to the presenters in the pit lane, Horner was available for an interview. He discussed the issue from Saturday, but most importantly he revealed that their race simulations showed that it was “going to be tough” to finish higher than ninth or 10th.
This Abu Dhabi track was relatively new to the Formula One calendar, but in its three previous editions it proved to be a very difficult place to overtake. No two men knew more about this than the main title contenders for the 2012 crown.
The title decider took place here in 2010. Alonso spent the majority of the race stuck behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov. This handed Vettel the title, he won the race despite going into that Grand Prix 15 points behind the Spaniard.
Jordan admitted that, in the past, he doubted the German’s overtaking abilities. But, he said that he was wrong and he believed that Vettel could carve his way through the field and get as high as eighth.
There was a fun package between Red Bull’s Adrian Newey and Coulthard. They took two of Newey’s cars to Silverstone for a fun driving session. The first was the 1990 Leyton House March car that Newey first worked on. They also brought the race winning 2009 Red Bull.
It was fun to see the differences between the two different eras of car design. It was most contrasted with the steering wheels. The 1990 car’s steering wheel had just two buttons, one of which was for the radio and the other for engine settings.
“Plenty of space in the cockpit, I don’t know what [the drivers] were all moaning about,” joked Newey. Coulthard proved the drivers were onto something as he looked like he was going to pop out of the car when they traded cockpits.
This was a fun package, but it was just a distraction from the main event.
Alonso described it as a “strange Saturday,” but it worked out in his favour. Ferrari had lacked qualifying pace ever since the end of the European leg, but this was a fortunate reprieve from the Red Bull dominance.
Webber was second, but his race starts had been poor in recent races. Most notably, he lost the lead of the South Korean Grand Prix, despite being on pole position, going into Turn One from Vettel.
Meanwhile, Alonso’s race starts were much better. He was one of the best lap one drivers of the 2012 season, gaining more positions at the start than any of his title rivals.
The Ferrari’s race pace was also much closer to that of Red Bull and McLaren, so this was a great chance to close the gap to, or even overtake, Vettel in the championship.
The Ferrari mechanics used one of their curfew allowances at Abu Dhabi to work on their upgrades to the front wing in the hopes of improving the aerodynamic package of the car. They were doing everything they could to catch up to Red Bull.
Jordan predicted a relatively comfortable evening for Hamilton. The former team owner believed this was going to be a lights to chequered flag win for the Briton, who was looking to end his McLaren tenure on a high note.
Red Bull were mathematically able to win the Constructors Championship at this race, but given Vettel’s penalty and Hamilton’s starting position that was looking unlikely.
In terms of strategy, the BBC’s technical analyst Gary Anderson believed that it was a “very clear one-stop race,” ahead for the drivers.
Only three cars were set to start on the Hard tyres. Schumacher and Bruno Senna, from 13th and 14th, opted for the harder compound. Vettel also chose to start with the Hard tyres.
Everyone else started on the Soft tyres, which Anderson believed was the wrong decision for those who had the free tyre choice.
He said he was “surprised,” and recommended going long on the Hard tyres because the lower fuel loads mixed with the quicker Soft tyres at the end of the race could be much faster than those doing their stint on worn Hard tyres.
Vettel was joined in the pit lane by the HRT of Pedro de la Rosa, whose car failed to get off the line at the formation lap. That was one car out of the way for the German already. Now for the other 22.
Race
Webber had yet another poor start off the line. He was jumped by Maldonado immediately, and even Raikkonen had to avoid hitting into the back of the Red Bull as he easily drove past in the first 50m.
Raikkonen held the inside line going into Turn One and held off Maldonado to take second place. The Finn had a great start and slotted in behind Hamilton on the run into Turn Two.
Coulthard had said before the race that there was “no apparent difference in starting left or right,” going into Turn One, and that came true for Raikkonen’s getaway. Webber was fourth as the cars all folded into position along Turns Three, Four and Five.
At the back of the pack, three cars came together, including the two Force Indias! Paul di Resta managed to break free from the incident by turning into the first corner, but Nico Hulkenberg and Senna collided. That was the end of the German’s race, but Senna and di Resta both continued.
Alonso had a good start, he passed Button into Turn One and took fifth place. Conversely, Rosberg had a poor start and had a damaged front wing.
Alonso’s good start continued into Turn Seven. He lined up a move on Webber, by setting the car up for the long straight in the run up to Turn Eight. The Ferrari driver gained the slipstream and kept right behind the Australian around Turn Nine and 10.
By Turn 11, Alonso dived down the inside of the Red Bull and took fourth, with a small lock up for good measure. Coulthard called it “great strategic driving,” and it didn’t help Vettel’s title bid that his teammate was overtaken so quickly by Alonso.
At the back, Grosjean suffered a front right puncture, di Resta had a right rear puncture and they both pitted at the end of the first lap. Rosberg also came in for a change of front wing.
Hamilton was struggling to get heat into his tyres. On lap two, he went wide at Turn Eight, which allowed Raikkonen to close up right behind the McLaren. Hamilton went defensive on the inside to Turn 11 and held onto the lead of the race.
“Tyres are really cold,” he reported back to the pit wall. The track temperature was a mere 33 degrees Celsius.
“Damage, front wing,” came the message from Vettel! He came into contact with Senna at Turn Eight. Senna was attempting an overtake on a Marussia, when Vettel dove down the inside of both of them.
However, there was no room and Vettel’s front wing came into contact with the rear left tyre of the Williams. “Tardy,” was Coulthard’s assessment of the championship leader’s driving.
Vettel’s right end plate on his front wing was damaged. The pit crew came out in preparation for a pit stop, but the German decided to stay out and keep going. “Up to you, if you want to pit,” was the message back to the driver, who was in 17th place by lap three.
By lap four, Hamilton’s lead opened up to 1.9s. Replays showed the opening lap incidents, of which there were many. Grosjean and Rosberg came into contact, which was what caused their issues. This was the eighth first lap incident of the season for the Frenchman.
By lap five, Vettel was up to 15th place. He was making light work of the backmarker cars and the opening lap incidents got a few of the tricker cars out of the way. The damage to his front wing wasn’t slowing him down either.
On lap seven, Alonso caught up to within DRS range of Maldonado. Meanwhile, completely unnoticed by the broadcasters, Kamui Kobayashi had gotten himself up as far as eighth in the opening laps. He was overtaken by Perez and was now down in ninth, having started in 15th.
Anderson reported on the damage to Vettel’s front wing. He was the former Technical Director of the Jordan F1 team, so he knew a thing or two about the complex front wing design of an F1 car. He said the damage was “nothing too critical,” which allowed the two time World Champion to stay out and keep fighting through the midfield.
On lap eight, the Safety Car (SC) was deployed after a huge accident between Rosberg and the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan!
The Indian’s car had smoke coming out the back of it, indicating a mechanical issue. He lifted to allow Rosberg through at Turn 15, but Rosberg was unaware of the problem and took the corner flat out, as normal, and thus drove right into the back of the HRT, who hadn’t moved off the racing line.
Rosberg’s car shunted itself over Karthikeyan and right into the barriers. That was a big hit, but luckily both drivers were able to walk away from the incident unscathed. However, both of their races were over. Both cars were destroyed.
Most cars opted not to take the free pit stop. This was not within the pit window for those intending to one-stop, which everyone considered to be the optimal strategy for this race.
Despite that, Jean-Eric Vergne did decide to come in for a new set of Hard tyres. Interestingly, Grosjean and di Resta also both pitted having already come in on the opening lap.
This was great timing for Vettel as the SC bunched up the pack and allowed him to get even closer to the point scoring positions.
With regards to the incident, Coulthard likened it to his own crash with Schumacher in the infamous 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. However, Rosberg did not hunt down Karthikeyan in the pit lane to tell him what he really thought of the crash.
On lap 12, Vettel’s good fortune went against him. He crashed into a DRS polystyrene board because he took avoiding action from a slow Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel was very angry over the radio, asking “what is he doing?”
This caused even more damage to the front wing of his Red Bull. Newey was shown studying a spare front wing to get the full picture of the damage to the car. There was no doubt that he understood the impact of every piece of that front wing and knew exactly what kind of effect it being damaged had on the car.
Vettel was told to come in for a replacement on lap 13 and he obliged. That sent him right to the back of the pack once again!
To make matters all the more frustrating, the stop took a lengthy 9.1s. It made no real difference to his track position, but being stationary for that long will always annoy a driver. He was now driving on Soft tyres and sat in 21st place.
The SC was finally due to come in at the end of lap 14. It was a big crash with a lot of debris, so it was out longer than the average stint.
Once racing got going again, the front three all got off the line well and maintained position. But Alonso oversteered around the final corner, which allowed Webber to close up and try to overtake around the outside of Turn One.
Alonso held on, but the Australian kept the pressure going as they got to the main straight on the exit of Turn Seven. Alonso was able to hold on to fourth through the rest of the lap.
Vettel was up to 19th by Turn Eight. Up next for him was the Lotus of Grosjean.
On lap 16, Vettel and Grosjean both overtook a Marussia at Turn Eight. Vettel tried to go down the inside of Grosjean at the same time, but the Frenchman fought back and held the inside line into Turn Nine.
Vettel picked up the slipstream into Turn Ten and overtook the Lotus by the time they broke for Turn 11. But there was uncertainty over the move. Vettel moved onto the turquoise section of the track, over the white line, with all four wheels.
He was told to give the place back before the stewards could intervene with further action. That cost him a podium in Germany so Red Bull weren’t in any mood to take any chances on this occasion.
By lap 17, Vettel was able to complete the move in the same way as before, but doing so legally this time. He was now up to 17th.
Out front, Hamilton led Raikkonen by 2.7s. This was as close as the Finn had come to the race leader since Hungary, before the Summer break. Vettel was up to 16th by lap 18.
There were only nine tenths separating Alonso and Maldonado in the fight for third. Alonso held off Webber at the restart and composed himself to catch up to the Williams. Every position mattered this late in the season.
By lap 20, Vettel moved up to 15th. He was slicing his way through the field once again.
Vergne very obviously let Vettel through at Turn Seven to bring him up to 14th. Vergne was in the sister team Toro Rosso, so was in no mood to hold up the big brother team.
But, out front, Hamilton had an issue! His car was slowing down and stuck in neutral. “Lost all power,” said the Briton. His race was over! Raikkonen now led. It was Singapore all over again for McLaren!
On the very next lap, Alonso moved ahead of Maldonado at Turn 11 and all of a sudden the Ferrari driver was up to second place! The gap to the race leader was 6s.
On lap 22, Webber tried to follow suit past Maldonado. The Venezuelan was locking up around the corners. This allowed Button to get within DRS range of the Red Bull.
Alonso was doing everything to catch up to Raikkonen. The gap between them was down to 5.7s by lap 23. “Leave me alone, I know what to do,” said the Lotus driver to his race engineer, who was threatening him with constant updates on the gap to the Spaniard.
Right behind, the fight for fourth continued. Webber went around the outside at Turn 11, but the room wasn’t there and they touched! Webber was sent into a spin while the Williams kept going!
“He put himself in the most vulnerable position a racing driver could ever be!” exclaimed an unimpressed Anderson. “Webber did that all himself,” he added.
By the time he got going again, he was down in seventh place.
On lap 24, Vettel moved into the points places. He was in 10th. Meanwhile, Button showed the German’s teammate how to overtake Maldonado. He went down the inside at Turn 11 which put him up to fourth place.
Right behind that battle, Perez passed Massa in much the same manner. Turn 11 was proving a fruitful overtaking spot on a track where that had proven very difficult in the past.
The stewards were obviously investigating the incident between Maldonado and Webber. By lap 25, Vettel was up to ninth. With 30 laps still to go, he was already higher than Red Bull’s simulators said he could get to.
“We need to stay out,” Massa was told. The pit window for the first round of stops was coming up soon, but Massa was potentially going to be needed as a shield for Vettel, who was quickly approaching the Brazilian.
Kobayashi was the first of the top 10 to come in at the end of that lap, which moved Vettel up to eighth place.
Meanwhile, Webber was pressuring Massa just ahead. The Australian had a look around the outside at Turn Eight, but Massa held on. Webber picked up the slipstream with DRS and went around the outside at Turn 11 and they touched!
Webber ran wide at Turn 12 and as he rejoined the track it caused Massa to spin! Massa was able to continue and he pitted at the end of that lap for a set of Hard tyres.
This moved Vettel up to seventh place. Schumacher also pitted that lap. Raikkonen’s lead out front was now 7.2s.
On lap 28, the stewards announced there was to be no further action on Webber, Maldonado or Massa for the incidents around Turn 11.
Alonso was next to stop at the end of that lap.
On lap 29, Perez overtook Maldonado at Turn 10 to move into third place in the Sauber. He started the race in 11th, but the race pace of the Mexican was looking very good so far.
Button and Maldonado both pitted at the end of that lap. This meant Vettel was now up to fourth place. In fact, he was now ahead of Alonso, who was in fifth.
On lap 30, Webber was told not to fight Vettel if the moment arose that the German could overtake his teammate. Webber was third, with Perez now second, but he was brought in for his first stop before Vettel could attempt a move. Perez also came in at the end of that lap.
By lap 31, Button had closed the gap to Alonso down to within half a second. Out front, Raikkonen came in for his first stop. He retained the race lead out of the pit lane, but now Vettel was right behind him.
The gap between the front two was now 1.3s.
However, Ben Edwards and Coulthard were both unsure as to whether Vettel could last the rest of the race on the set of tyres he was on. Anderson spoke to Paul Hembery of Pirelli who said that Vettel was “really on the limit,” for his Soft tyres.
Button was chasing Alonso and was in the DRS range of the Ferrari, but he was unable to get close enough to make a move.
On lap 35, Vettel was encouraged that his pace was good and that he should keep pushing. This was, perhaps, an indicator that he was going to stop again.
Vettel was not trying to race Raikkonen, who was opening the gap to the German, but was pushing to stay ahead of Alonso. The two championship rivals were matching pace at this stage.
Further behind, four cars were battling it out for fifth place. Grosjean, who was in a similar boat to Vettel in terms of strategy, was holding up di Resta, Perez and Webber. The Scot had also already stopped so they were all fighting for position.
According to Edwards, if Vettel was to pit again it would bring him out around this pack of cars.
By lap 37, the gap between Vettel and Alonso was 5s, with Button only half a second further back. There were 13s between Button and the four cars fighting for fifth. However, Alonso was beginning to gain at around four tenths a lap.
Vettel pitted at the end of that lap, it was the safer option and it proved worthwhile as the Red Bull driver emerged from the unique Abu Dhabi pit lane ahead of Grosjean and in fourth place. That was a crucial move in terms of the championship.
By lap 38, Grosjean was beginning to show signs of wear on his tyres. He was locking up and looked to be struggling for grip.
This allowed di Resta and Perez to close right up on the Frenchman.
The Force India driver was ahead of Grosjean by Turn 10 and Perez attempted to go around the outside of both of them at Turn 11. He got ahead of Grosjean and was side by side with di Resta.
Di Resta ended up on the grass at Turn 12 and Perez ran wide into Turn 13. There wasn’t room for both cars to go around that corner and they both missed it!
Perez rejoined the track before Turn 14 but he was clipped by Grosjean and spun around! As Grosjean moved to avoid the Sauber, he ploughed straight into the back of Webber, who was trying to avoid both of them! Webber and Grosjean were out of this race! Perez was able to continue, but his car had damage.
The SC was inevitably deployed for a second time this race. This was the first Grand Prix of the 2012 season to require a second Safety Car period.
“Clumsy stuff,” was how Coulthard described the accident. He blamed Perez for turning in on Grosjean at Turn 14. The stewards were, of course, investigating the incident.
This also allowed Vettel to close right up to the podium places. This was working out perfectly for the German, but he had to put in the work to even get close enough for this chance.
McLaren warned Button of Vettel’s pace, as well as the fact that the German had much younger tyres than he did. However, he was also encouraged that Alonso struggled to get to grips with his tyres on the last restart.
Raikkonen was reminded over the radio to keep warming up his tyres, which he did not respond kindly to. “Yes, yes, yes, yes. I’m doing it all the time. You don’t have to remind me every second,” he responded.
Schumacher was forced to pit under the SC after suffering a right rear puncture. He was in seventh, but this sent him right to the back of the pack.
After the chaos of the fight for fifth, the top 10 now read: Raikkonen, Alonso, Button, Vettel, Maldonado, Kobayashi, Massa, Senna, Vergne and di Resta.
The SC came in at the end of lap 42. Raikkonen bolted as immediately as he could, which Alonso was not expecting. The Finn led by 2.2s by the end of the lap.
Button was under pressure from Vettel. The McLaren driver went defensive at Turn 11, but Vettel was too far back to make any kind of move for third.
On lap 45, DRS was enabled once again. The gap from second to fourth place was within 1s. Raikkonen was continuing to open the gap to Alonso, he went four tenths quicker on the previous lap.
Button kept hold of third despite mounting pressure from Vettel. The championship leader was running out of laps to make a move, but he still had time.
By lap 47, Raikkonen’s lead was up to 3.2s. It was 181 races since the Lotus name last won an F1 Grand Prix. Aryton Senna won in the 1987 American Grand Prix, which was appropriate as the sport returned to the United States in the next race.
On lap 48, Alonso started to catch up to the Lotus. He reduced the gap back down to 2.9s, but he too was running out of laps if he was to take the lead of the race.
Button was continuing to defend the inside of Turn 11 from Vettel, who was trying every trick in the book to gain an advantage on the 2009 World Champion.
On lap 49, Vettel moved to try to take the inside line at Turn 11, but he backed out of it and tucked in behind the McLaren.
Alonso was .6s quicker than Raikkonen on that lap, he was starting to reel in the race leader. The lead was cut down to only 1.8s by lap 51 of 55. Button was 3s further behind and still defending from Vettel.
On lap 52, Vettel finally made the move stick on Button and he took third place despite having started from the pit lane! He moved around the outside and showed to the young guns from earlier that it could be done.
“Fair, fair racing from these two. They managed to do what the other group earlier in the Grand Prix didn’t. They managed to get two by two through a corner only made for one,” said Coulthard, who was clearly impressed by the move.
By lap 53, the gap out front was down to 1.4s. Alonso was just outside of DRS range and was running out of time. He got within exactly 1s on lap 54 and the gap was 1.1s by the time they reached the DRS detection zone.
“Can you tell me when [Raikkonen] gets to the end, Ben? I’m covering my eyes. The excitement here, you feel so much for [Lotus] as they try and find their first victory of the championship,” said a giddy Coulthard.
The tension of the final few laps was superb, with Alonso pushing Raikkonen all the way to the final lap. So much was riding on it for both the championship and the pride of this Lotus team.
The famous Enstone factory hadn’t won since the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix, ironically with Alonso the one claiming the win for the team.
Raikkonen ended the drought and brought the car home for his first win of the 2012 season. Alonso was resigned to taking second place, and remarkably Vettel secured the final podium place despite having started the race in the pit lane.
The final standings were as follows
Championship Standings Round 18 (Top Five)
Despite winning the race, Raikkonen was now definitively out of the 2012 championship fight. It was a longshot that he could pull off a comeback, but it was impossible to rule him out. He hadn’t won all year up to this point, but he was so consistent that he simply couldn’t be written off.
That left two men standing in line, both with a hand on the trophy. Vettel’s grasp was 10 points firmer, but Alonso was not about to roll over and give it to the defending champion.
“I’m very happy. We were not super-competitive this weekend,” said Alonso after the race.
“We fought good in the first laps, good overtaking then strategy enabled us to fight for the victory. In the last laps Kimi [Raikkonen] was a bit slower so we attack, but second was the best possible result for us today. We keep fighting to the end.”
Naturally, the focus for many after the race was on Vettel. But his championship lead was cut down by three points at this race. He had won four in a row before Abu Dhabi, so this was still a good result for Alonso, who was struggling to keep up with the Red Bull driver.
“I had a messy start. Then behind the safety car I made a little bit of a big mistake with Daniel [Ricciardo] who was stopping behind the safety car on the straight and I was very surprised and I had to go to the right,” said Vettel.
“After that I said I had to go full attack or nothing. The second safety car was helping, then a nice fight with Jenson [Button]. I was really struggling to pass but then I just squeezed my way past in Turn 11.
“A thrilling Grand Prix, very nice, up and down.”
Post-Race
“Thanks guys, great job,” said a characteristically calm Raikkonen over the radio.
Meanwhile, the pit wall of both the Lotus and Red Bull teams are ecstatic with joy. “Unbelievable, mate. Unbelievable,” Vettel was told. “I told you guys, never lift,” responded the championship leader.
BBC managed to get a hold of Lotus team boss Eric Boullier before he went to Parc fermé for the podium celebration.
“Finally, the reward for the team. We deserve this one since [a] long time,” said the Frenchman.
Raikkonen was the eighth different race winner of the 2012 season. The first seven all came in the opening seven races, but the wait for the Finn’s first win was much longer. He had threatened at numerous races, as alluded to by Boullier, but finally everything came together for the team.
They obviously benefitted from the retirement of Hamilton early in the race. The Briton looked sure to win the race from the position he was in, but nothing was certain in F1 and Raikkonen still managed the race excellently once he inherited the lead.
Interestingly, the podium finished in reverse championship order of the top three in the title picture. In the cooldown room, Vettel and Raikkonen shared a chat in the corner, the two are good friends and both seemed to be in an understandably great mood.
However, there was a determined look on Alonso’s face as he stepped out onto the podium. This was a disappointing race for his championship bid due to Vettel’s fantastic comeback, but there was little else the Spaniard could have done in this race.
There was no champagne on the podium. Instead, they used rose water, a fizzy drink alternative, due to the non-alcoholic custom of the event holding nation.
It was the BBC’s Coulthard on the interviewing duty at the podium. Immediately Raikkonen swore on live television. Vettel, emboldened by the Finn’s use of the word “shit,” decided to drop a “fuck,” into his answer as well.
It was only after Vettel’s use of unparliamentary language that the British pundit stepped in and gave a warning. No one could tell Raikkonen what he could and couldn’t say.
But Vettel got his revenge as he dunked Coulthard over the head with the sticky rose water, which the former Red Bull driver was visibly uncomfortable with, much to Vettel’s enjoyment.
“It reminds me of my inner fan. There was so much going on in terms of strategy, what the drivers were doing. This had everything,” said Coulthard, reflecting on the race during aftermath analysis.
“I think Sebastian [Vettel’s] recovery today was exceptional. He really drove flat out every lap and produced some great racing,” said Horner to the BBC.
Jordan described the German as “like a little shark.”
Driver in Focus
Finally, at long last, Kimi Raikkonen earned his first F1 victory since coming back to the sport at the start of the 2012 season. His last win came in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix in a Ferrari that significantly underperformed expectations after a title bid in 2008.
He was in a classically low-energy mood after the race. They didn’t call him “the Iceman,” for nothing.
“I’m happy but nothing to jump around about. For sure we have a good party today and after a long night we will remember why we feel like that,” said the race winner.
“I hope this can turn around the tables and give us many more wins if not this year then next year.”
Raikkonen had his chances in the likes of Bahrain, Spain and Hungary, but he and the team were unable to convert good race pace into victories. Perhaps if they had then they could’ve still been in the title picture going into the final two races.
But no one at Lotus realistically expected the team to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull for the main prize. After all, they were still fourth in the constructors championship.
Coulthard mentioned on commentary that he believed Raikkonen had been too tentative at times this season and that it had cost him. But he was also the most consistent driver on the grid that year. He was the only person to complete every lap of every Grand Prix of anyone on the grid.
Outside of the title picture, he was deservedly the best of the rest. While the McLaren was the quicker car, the reliability issues both Hamilton and Button faced, even just in this race, cost both of them from being able to compete as long as Raikkonen.
This season, Raikkonen proved he still had it. There were doubts about his drive and determination following his championship win in 2007, but the then 33-year old was pushing this Lotus, formerly Renault, team to heights it hadn’t seen in nearly half a decade.
Race Verdict
This race was action packed from start to finish. The heightened tension from the championship finale nearing ever closer added to the grand theatre of this Grand Prix.
Vettel starting from the back was only half of the entertainment. Up front there was still plenty of exciting on-track action. Alonso’s charge from sixth to second, Webber multiple incidents with Maldonado, Massa and Grosjean, as well as Hamilton’s sudden DNF shaking up the race lead unexpectedly.
It was certainly unlucky for Hamilton, but the eventual winner was one of the most popular men on the grid and it was a fantastic feel good moment to end a race that had everyone gripped from lights to chequered flag.
There was a definite sense of desperation to everyone’s driving. Coulthard mentioned that it felt more like the opening day of school because so many drivers were making mistakes. But the pressure to pick up points to secure places in the championship, as well as drives for next season, showed and it made for a gripping race.
This was easily one of the best of the season and a much needed follow-up to a more mundane Indian Grand Prix last time out. The last few races made it feel like Vettel was going to walk away with the title, but this showed that anything could happen in the final few races. And the chaos was just getting started.
Result: 5/5
Next up: the United States of America
