1 RED BULL-RENAULT 460 points (7 wins)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger)
281 (5 wins)
6 Mark Webber (Aus)
179 (2 wins)
Sebastian Vettel became the youngest-ever Formula One triple world champion last week after securing sixth place in the season finale in Sao Paulo. That was good enough to finish three points clear of Ferrari challenger Fernando Alonso. But, while the 2011 championship was a cakewalk and won with four races to spare, 2012 was a lot tougher.
At the start,
RED BULL had to see off the challenge from McLaren who were ultimately their own worst enemies, before Alonso took a commanding lead just past the half-way stage. Once the season moved to Asia, however, Red Bull and Vettel were imperious as four successive victories in Singapore, Japan, Korea and India overhauled Alonso's lead, and gave the 25-year-old German a lot of room for error in the last three races. Vettel used nearly all of it up and was also somewhat fortunate in Brazil with an overtaking move on Jean-Eric Vergne which was thought to have taken place under yellow flags. Subsequent footage showed the manoeuvre occurring while green flags were being waved, sparing Vettel of a retrospective 20-second penalty which would have seen the title go to Alonso. On Friday, Ferrari officially dropped any thoughts of appealing.
Meanwhile, Vettel was also victorious in the controversial Bahrain Grand Prix early in the season, and now his complete record is 26 wins from 101 Grand Prix. Those sort of stats have helped him become only the third man to win three consecutive titles after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. As mentioned, he has also taken the youngest triple world champion crown from the late Ayrton Senna.
Mark Webber's season briefly flickered into life as victories in Monaco and at Silverstone, along with his unflinching consistency, put the Australian in the top two heading into the summer break. On the resumption, Webber finished in sixth at Spa in Belgium to keep himself in the hunt for a first Championship - but then just two points from the next three races, two of which Vettel won, left the Aussie unable to sustain his challenge.
Webber did score late-season podiums in Korea and India but a pair of retirements in Abu Dhabi and the United States left him behind the two McLarens in the final standings. Nevertheless, the well-liked Webber - who turns 37 next August - will be back in 2013, having signed a one-year extension to his contract.
2 FERRARI 400 points (3 wins)
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa)
278 (3 wins)
7 Felipe Massa (Brz)
122
So near and yet so far once again for
FERRARI and Fernando Alonso who saw another title bid fade on the final day. But even for Alonso to get that far was some achievement considering it was widely accepted that he had an inferior car to his Red Bull rival and even the McLarens. Alonso truly wrung the best out of the F2012 with victories in Malaysia, Valencia and Germany part of no fewer than 13 podium finishes from this season's 20 races, three more than Vettel. Indeed, as F1 headed into its summer recess, Alonso held a 40-point lead over Mark Webber and the Spaniard was 42 points clear of Vettel. However, a failure either to lead even a single lap after the summer break and a duo of retirements at Spa in Belgium and Suzuka in Japan was ultimately what cost Alonso.
Meanwhile, Felipe Massa had another underwhelming campaign, scoring in only four of the first 10 races. The Brazilian was better in the second half of the season, scoring in each of the last 10 Grand Prix with a second place at Suzuka in Japan and another podium in his home race in Sao Paulo in the season finale. That latter part of the campaign seems to have saved Massa's seat for 2013 as Ferrari favour continuity in the hope of producing a more competitive car next year. If nothing else, Massa has proved at times to be a valuable asset for main man Alonso.
3 MCLAREN-MERCEDES 378 points (7 wins)
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)
190 (4 wins)
5 Jenson Button (Gbr)
188 (3 wins)
Just as there was disappointment at Ferrari with the continued Red Bull dominance, so there was also at
McLAREN. Indeed, Lewis Hamilton was so disheartened by this campaign that he has decided to leave and race for Mercedes GP in 2013 having spent more than half his lifetime with McLaren. In fairness, it is not difficult to see why he has felt the need to make a clean break.
Since his 2008 world championship victory, Hamilton has finished no better than fourth placed in the final standings. That he could do no better again this season was quite remarkable considering he had more pole positions than any other driver and four race victories in Canada, Hungary, Italy and the USA - one more than Alonso who took his title bid to the very last race. However, against his race wins, Hamilton also retired on five occasions - and that was more down to the unreliability of his car than the sort of erratic driving which we saw from him in 2011. Certainly, Hamilton's first few drives with a Mercedes GP team that went backwards in 2012 will provide an interesting early talking point next season. The Stevenage-born driver wants to hope his new team can provide him with a competitive car if he is not to see McLaren sailing off into the distance.
Jenson Button is staying with McLaren, of course - so would like to see the team retain their searing pace but add more reliability. Sadly, this was not a classic season from Button, following on from his runners-up spot in the championship in 2011. After victory in the opening race in Melbourne, Button was only able to score two more podium finishes - second places in China and Germany - before the summer break. When the season resumed, the Frome flyer also made an impressive re-start with victory at Spa in Belgium - but again he could not build on it. Retirements in Italy and Korea undermined any progress while the second place in Singapore was one of only six visits to the podium all season long.
A final day flourish in Brazil improved his ranking and drew him to within two points of Hamilton who retired in Sao Paulo. It was hardly a fair reflection of their respective seasons though Button will relish being the number one driver next season with the less experienced, albeit impressive, Sergio Perez joining the team.
4 LOTUS-RENAULT 303 points (1 win)
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)
207 (1 win)
8 Romain Grosjean (Fra)
96
23 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel)
0
Kimi Raikkonen did
LOTUS proud, Romain Grosjean slightly less so, as the famous team name made its return to Formula One. 2007 world champion Raikkonen even scored a victory in Abu Dhabi, as well as second places in Bahrain, Valencia and Hungary, and further podium appearances in Spain, Germany and Belgium to finish, remarkably, ahead of both McLarens in the Drivers' championship. The Finn's third-place finish in the standings could also be attributed to his brilliant consistency - Raikkonen finished every single race this season, and he was out of the points just once, in China.
If only Lotus could have said the same about Raikkonen's crash-happy team-mate, Frenchman Grosjean. This was the 26-year-old's first full season in F1 and it showed as he got himself in first lap tangles on no fewer than seven occasions. There were flickers of Grosjean's talent as he joined Raikkonen on the podium in Bahrain and Hungary, and even gained a second place in Canada.
However, Grosjean will perhaps be most remembered for becoming the first driver to be banned for a race in F1 since Michael Schumacher in 1994, after he caused a pile-up in Spa which took out Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez as well as himself. Jerome d'Ambrosio made a one-off appearance - and it speaks volumes that, while Raikkonen has already been retained by Lotus for 2013, Grosjean has not.
5 MERCEDES GP 142 points (1 win)
9 Nico Rosberg (Ger)
93 (1 win)
13 Michael Schumacher (Ger)
49
MERCEDES GP fell more than 150 points short of the top four teams as Michael Schumacher bowed out of F1 for certain this time. However, the outfit could at least celebrate their first victory since their re-entry as a works team in 2010 when Nico Rosberg triumphed early on in China. Rosberg then scored points in nine of the next 11 races - including a second-place in Monaco - but the 27-year-old failed to finish in the top 10 of any of the last six Grand Prix, dropping him down to ninth in the Drivers' standings.
Seven-time champion Schumacher never reached such heady heights in this campaign and his three years at Mercedes will not be remembered as a glorious comeback. He did at least make it back onto the podium this year, at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, and generally avoided courting controversy with his driving style. Moreover, at least his eighth and final points finish of the season came rather appropriately in his last race in Brazil.
Now, though, Mercedes - having been surrounded somewhat by the Schumacher circus - can concentrate on the future with two bright talents in 2013: Rosberg and the notable signing of 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton from McLaren. Both will need a better car than what Mercedes produced over the past 12 months to compete properly, however.
6 SAUBER-FERRARI 126 points
10 Sergio Perez (Mex)
66
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)
60
As expected,
SAUBER finished solidly midtable but the predictable end result did not mean there was plenty along the way to enjoy for the Swiss outfit. Indeed, such has been the success of Sergio Perez that the Mexican has been picked up by McLaren as Lewis Hamilton's replacement for 2013. Perez, the 22-year-old, had a fine second season in F1. It included second places in Malaysia and Italy, and a third place in Canada - and, it must be said, only a spate of retirements in the last few races prevented Perez from finishing higher in the final standings.
In the end, Japan's Kamui Kobayashi only just finished one place and six points behind Perez in the championship but the Japanese driver could only provide one podium - third in his home Grand Prix - compared to Perez's hat-trick. Another midtable finish has now left Kobayashi looking for drive in 2013 as Peter Sauber completely overhauls his team's line-up. Instead, in comes another young Mexican, Esteban Gutierrez alongside German Nico Hulkenberg, who joins from Force India.
7 FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES 109 points
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)
63
14 Paul di Resta (Gbr)
46
FORCE INDIA still disappoint in Formula One as the team continues its long wait for a maiden victory. In a year in which six of the 12 teams on the grid triumphed, it could have been expected that Force India would have challenged more than they did but neither Nico Hulkenberg nor Paul di Resta were even able to make it onto the podium. Consequently, Force India finished seventh in the Constructors' championship, one place lower than in 2011.
Hulkenberg and di Resta shared the team's best performance of the season with the German finishing fourth in Belgium just a couple of races before Briton di Resta matched that placing in Singapore. Following the floodlit race, di Resta actually held a narrow lead over his team-mate but a poor finish - with just two points from the final six races - allied to a stronger end to the season by Hulkenberg put the latter just inside the top half of the standings. However, while Hulkenberg has joined midtable rivals Sauber, di Resta remains with the Silverstone-based team.
8 WILLIAMS-RENAULT 76 points (1 win)
15 Pastor Maldonado (Ven)
45 (1 win)
16 Bruno Senna (Brz)
31
WILLIAMS recovered from their worst season ever in 2011 in the best style possible by returning to the top of the podium thanks to Pastor Maldonado's victory in the Spanish Grand Prix. Outside of that, though, it was slim pickings with the Venezuelan's win taking account of more than half of his points total, and almost a third of the team's amount.
Indeed, Bruno Senna scored points in twice as many races as Maldonado - but that was still not enough to save his seat at the team for next year with Williams bringing in Finnish rookie Valtteri Bottas, mainly for sponsorship reasons. That's a shame for Senna who will hopefully get a drive elsewhere. For, while he hardly got close to matching his uncle Ayrton's achievements, he was much improved this year and even collected the fastest lap around Spa at the Belgian Grand Prix.
9 TORO ROSSO-FERRARI 26 points
17 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)
16
18 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)
10
TORO ROSSO slipped a place down the ladder in the Constructors' championship, ahead only of the three pointless teams - but this came as little surprise given the team had an overhaul of its drivers before the start of 2012. The Italian outfit favours introducing younger drivers to the sport - and 22-year-old Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne and 23-year-old Australian Daniel Ricciardo seem to have fitted the bill.
The pair did not do too badly either, considering this was the first full season for them both. Ricciardo scored more points finishes - six of them as compared to Vergne's four - but the Frenchman collected six more points, courtesy of finishing eighth on each of his scoring occasions. Toro Rosso chiefs were certainly not too disheartened - the pair improved in the second half of the season and will hopefully make a brighter start to 2013 having both been retained.
10 CATERHAM-RENAULT 0 points
19 Vitaly Petrov (Rus)
0
22 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin)
0
This was a frustrating, scoreless debut season for Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes and his
CATERHAM team as Russian-Finnish pair Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen both failed to get off the mark. As Queens Park Rangers fans know, that was never going to be good enough for the demanding Fernandes, and the Oxfordshire-based outfit will have a completely new line-up next year, including Marussia driver Charles Pic.
Petrov did at least score an 11th-placed finish in the last Grand Prix of the season in Brazil to take Caterham above Marussia in the standings, an important factor in terms of sponsorship. Meanwhile, former McLaren man Kovalainen finished in all 20 races, save for the season-opener in Australia - but a couple of 13th-placed finishes at Monaco and Abu Dhabi was sadly as good as it got for the Finn.
11 MARUSSIA-COSWORTH 0 points
20 Timo Glock (Ger)
0
21 Charles Pic (Fra)
0
MARUSSIA were sadly pipped to 10th place in the Constructors' championship after Vitaly Petrov scored a season-best 11th placed finish in the final race in Brazil for Caterham. Worse still, Marussia - who took over the Virgin Racing team at the start of 2012 - have lost young Frenchman Charles Pic to their rivals for next season. Nevertheless, German Timo Glock has been retained, his 12th-place finish in Singapore making it look at one stage as if Marussia were going to finish outside the bottom two. Although that ultimately did not happen, they can be satisfied that, unlike in their incarnation as Virgin, they have at least finished higher than HRT. However, the expected lack of HRT in 2013 will probably leave Marussia as the backmarkers instead, especially if they fail once again to implement KERS, as they did throughout the whole of 2012.
12 HRT-COSWORTH 0 points
24 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind)
0
25 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa)
0
After threatening to do so for the last couple of years, only for one of their many drivers to pull out a surprise finish,
HRT - formerly Hispania - finally finished bottom of the pile in 2012. HRT failed even to qualify under the 107% rule for the opening race in Australia, and this always looked like it was going to be another long season for the Spanish outfit. So it proved with only 14 finishes between the two drivers
in the top 20 out of 38 entries.
Indian Narain Karthikeyan finished a place ahead of experienced Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa courtesy of a 15th- and last-placed finish at an abrasive race in Monaco. Four 17th-placed finishes was as good as it got for de la Rosa. Looking to the future, it would be remarkable - even by HRT standards - to see the team line up on the grid at Melbourne in March as they have failed to make the FIA entry list, having been unable to find a buyer before the deadline for 2013 fees on Friday.
CALENDAR
| Date | TV |
| Pole position | Fastest lap | Winner |
| 18 March | Sky | Australian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Button | Button |
| 25 March | Sky | Malaysian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Raikkonen | Alonso |
| 15 April | BBC | Chinese Grand Prix | Rosberg | Kobayashi | Rosberg |
| 22 April | Sky | Bahrain Grand Prix | Vettel | Vettel | Vettel |
| 13 May | BBC | Spanish Grand Prix | Maldonado | Grosjean | Maldonado |
| 27 May | BBC | Monaco Grand Prix | Webber | Perez | Webber |
| 10 June | Sky | Canadian Grand Prix | Vettel | Vettel | Hamilton |
| 24 June | BBC | European Grand Prix | Vettel | Rosberg | Alonso |
| 8 July | BBC | British Grand Prix | Alonso | Raikkonen | Webber |
| 22 July | Sky | German Grand Prix | Alonso | Schumacher | Alonso |
| 29 July | Sky | Hungarian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Hamilton |
| 2 September | BBC | Belgian Grand Prix | Button | Senna | Button |
| 9 September | Sky | Italian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Rosberg | Hamilton |
| 23 September | BBC | Singapore Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hülkenberg | Vettel |
| 7 October | Sky | Japanese Grand Prix | Vettel | Vettel | Vettel |
| 14 October | BBC | Korean Grand Prix | Webber | Webber | Vettel |
| 28 October | Sky | Indian Grand Prix | Vettel | Button | Vettel |
| 4 November | BBC | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Raikkonen |
| 18 November | Sky | United States Grand Prix | Vettel | Vettel | Hamilton |
| 25 November | BBC | Brazilian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Button |
FINAL STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
Champion - Sebastian Vettel
| P | Driver | Team | Points |
| 01 | Sebastian Vettel (Ger) | Red Bull-Renault | 281 (5 wins) |
| 02 | Fernando Alonso (Spa) | Ferrari | 278 (3 wins) |
| 03 | Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) | Lotus-Renault | 207 (1 win) |
| 04 | Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) | McLaren-Mercedes | 190 (4 wins) |
| 05 | Jenson Button (Gbr) | McLaren-Mercedes | 188 (3 wins) |
| 06 | Mark Webber (Aus) | Red Bull-Renault | 179 (2 wins) |
| 07 | Felipe Massa (Brz) | Ferrari | 122 |
| 08 | Romain Grosjean (Fra) | Lotus-Renault | 96 |
| 09 | Nico Rosberg (Ger) | Mercedes GP | 93 (1 win) |
| 10 | Sergio Perez (Mex) | Sauber-Ferrari | 66 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) | Force India-Mercedes | 63 |
| 12 | Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) | Sauber-Ferrari | 60 |
| 13 | Michael Schumacher (Ger) | Mercedes GP | 49 |
| 14 | Paul di Resta (Gbr) | Force India-Mercedes | 46 |
| 15 | Pastor Maldonado (Ven) | Williams-Renault | 45 (1 win) |
| 16 | Bruno Senna (Brz) | Williams-Renault | 31 |
| 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 16 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 10 |
| 19 | Vitaly Petrov (Rus) | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
| 20 | Timo Glock (Ger) | Marussia-Cosworth | 0 |
| 21 | Charles Pic (Fra) | Marussia-Cosworth | 0 |
| 22 | Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
| 23 | Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) | Lotus-Renault | 0 |
| 24 | Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) | HRT-Cosworth | 0 |
| 25 | Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) | HRT-Cosworth | 0 |
Constructors' Championship:
Champions - Red Bull-Renault
| P | Team | Points |
| 01 | Red Bull-Renault | 460 (7 wins) |
| 02 | Ferrari | 400 (3 wins) |
| 03 | McLaren-Mercedes | 378 (7 wins) |
| 04 | Lotus-Renault | 303 (1 win) |
| 05 | Mercedes GP | 142 (1 win) |
| 06 | Sauber-Ferrari | 126 |
| 07 | Force India-Mercedes | 109 |
| 08 | Williams-Renault | 76 (1 win) |
| 09 | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 26 |
| 10 | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
| 11 | Marussia-Cosworth | 0 |
| 12 | HRT-Cosworth | 0 |
