Tuesday 29 May 2012

F1 2012: Super six make history

AUSTRALIAN Mark Webber became the latest man to stand at the top of the podium - in Monaco, no less - making it six different winners from six races for the first time in Formula 1 history.

That remarkable statistic is evidence of surely the most open F1 season ever with 25 points - one race win - covering the top six drivers.

Surprisingly, it is Fernando Alonso who leads the way in a Ferrari that was written off by the critics before the start of the campaign.

But, despite an impressive win in the Malaysian Grand Prix, the feeling still persists that the Spaniard is outperforming his team - even if this does seem to be the year in which anything can happen.

Still maybe the most likely result is a third successive championship for second-placed Sebastian Vettel, although the 24-year-old German only has a sole victory amid the controversy in Bahrain so far this term.

Of course, an interesting subtext to the championship chases of Alonso and Vettel is that both drivers have Ayrton Senna's youngest triple world champion record in their sights.

Time is running out for Alonso who only has this year in which to achieve the feat but Vettel can be more relaxed about it as he has the benefit of another six chances even after 2012 is over.

And so what of the two main British drivers in the more fancied McLaren? Well, in truth, it has hardly been an ideal start considering the expectations in the run-up to the season.

Doubtless the topsy-turvy nature of this extraordinary campaign has made it difficult to assess the performance of McLaren or, indeed, of any team properly.

Nevertheless, it is clear that once again McLaren has been its own worst enemy at times.

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton can feel that he has had some hard luck so far. In Malaysia and Bahrain, he had problems in the pits, while in China and Spain, he suffered grid demotions.

Unsurprisingly, these issues have restricted Hamilton's chances and so it is a trio of third places in the first three races which is just about holding his season together.

But, following on from a tough 2011, Hamilton is showing signs of impatience, sparking fresh speculation that he may move on from McLaren at the end of the year.

In contrast to Hamilton, team-mate Jenson Button does have a race victory - in the season-opener in Australia - as well as a second-placed finish in China.

Other than that, though, the cupboard has been just about bare with just two points gained from the other four Grand Prix putting the man from Frome down in seventh in the standings.

Button, who is 31 points behind championship leader Alonso, is far from out of this season's championship race but he will need to turn his form around soon to avoid actually being cut adrift.

That is easier said than done in an increasingly competitive field of drivers.

After all, Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado have both already scored maiden victories in China and Spain respectively.

What is even better is that both drivers fully deserved their wins having qualified on pole. In other words, these were clearly not instances of victory being attributable to the rain or some other factor of fortune.

For Rosberg, victory ended a long wait, coming as it did at the 111th attempt. Meanwhile, for Maldonado, much credit must go to the Williams team as a whole and their excellent recovery so far from last season's worst year ever.

These unexpected triumphs can all be expected to continue with maybe an even wider spectrum of winning drivers. Certainly, Kimi Raikkonen has threatened victory for Lotus - while his team-mate Romain Grosjean, and Sauber driver Sergio Perez, have had their moments and already finished in the top three.

But the depth of F1 2012 goes much deeper than just the podium competitors and, in all, 18 of the 24 drivers to appear so far have scored some points.

Only Caterham, Marussia and HRT look like truly lost causes - and, while we should perhaps exclude the inexperienced Toro Rossos as well, that still leaves potentially eight teams and 16 drivers with a genuine chance of victory before the season ends.

The unpredictability of F1 2012 truly is incredible - and long may it continue...

CALENDAR
DateTV
Pole positionFastest lapWinner
18 MarchSkyAustralian Grand PrixHamiltonButtonButton
25 MarchSkyMalaysian Grand PrixHamiltonRaikkonenAlonso
15 AprilBBCChinese Grand PrixRosbergKobayashiRosberg
22 AprilSkyBahrain Grand PrixVettelVettelVettel
13 MayBBCSpanish Grand PrixMaldonadoGrosjeanMaldonado
27 MayBBCMonaco Grand PrixWebberPerezWebber
10 JuneSkyCanadian Grand Prix


24 JuneBBCEuropean Grand Prix


8 JulyBBCBritish Grand Prix


22 JulySkyGerman Grand Prix


29 JulySkyHungarian Grand Prix


2 SeptemberBBCBelgian Grand Prix


9 SeptemberSkyItalian Grand Prix


23 SeptemberBBCSingapore Grand Prix


7 OctoberSkyJapanese Grand Prix


14 OctoberBBCKorean Grand Prix


28 OctoberSkyIndian Grand Prix


4 NovemberBBCAbu Dhabi Grand Prix


18 NovemberSkyUnited States Grand Prix


25 NovemberBBCBrazilian Grand Prix



STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
PDriverTeamPoints
01Fernando Alonso (Spa)Ferrari76 (1 win)
02Sebastian Vettel (Ger)Red Bull-Renault73 (1 win)
03Mark Webber (Aus)Red Bull-Renault73 (1 win)
04Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)McLaren-Mercedes63
05Nico Rosberg (Ger)Mercedes GP59 (1 win)
06Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)Lotus-Renault51
07Jenson Button (Gbr)McLaren-Mercedes45 (1 win)
08Romain Grosjean (Swi)Lotus-Renault35
09Pastor Maldonado (Ven)Williams-Renault29 (1 win)
10Sergio Perez (Mex)Sauber22
11Paul di Resta (Gbr)Force India-Mercedes21
12Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)Sauber19
13Bruno Senna (Brz)Williams-Renault15
14Felipe Massa (Brz)Ferrari10
15Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)Force India-Mercedes7
16Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)Toro Rosso-Ferrari4
17Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)Toro Rosso-Ferrari2
18Michael Schumacher (Ger)Mercedes GP2
19Heikki Kovalainen (Fin)Caterham-Renault0
20Timo Glock (Ger)Marussia-Cosworth0
21Narain Karthikeyan (Ind)HRT-Cosworth0
22Charles Pic (Fra)Marussia-Cosworth0
23Vitaly Petrov (Rus)Caterham-Renault0
24Pedro de la Rosa (Spa)HRT-Cosworth0

Constructors' Championship
PTeamPoints
01Red Bull-Renault146 (2 wins)
02McLaren-Mercedes108 (1 win)
03Ferrari86 (1 win)
04Lotus-Renault86
05Mercedes GP61 (1 win)
06Williams-Renault44 (1 win)
07Sauber41
08Force India-Mercedes28
09Toro Rosso-Ferrari6
10Caterham-Renault0
11Marussia-Cosworth0
12HRT-Cosworth0

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