[E90SLAM]

Congratulations to Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel!!!
Incredible achievement for three consecutive championships.

Driver of the year - Fernando Alonso, Just because he had been over-achieving what the car was capable of. With a less competitive car, just three points shy of Vettel.

Team of the year - Red Bull Racing, enough said.

Disappointing team of the year - Mercedes AMG, one of the bigger team with POS car.

Disappointing driver of the year - The cucumber, Narain Karthikeyan

Most reliable car of the year - Ferrari F2012, no retirements all season.

Most reliable driver of the year - Kimi Raikkonen, he completed ALL laps this season. And picked up one win!

Best rookie of the year - Roman Grosjean, he needs to polish up his car control and stop crashing into other people. But he shows great pace and a few podiums.

Best radio of the year - Kimi Raikkonen "Just leave me alone, I know what's coming" "Yes yes yes, I'm warming up all four tyres. You don't have to remind me every 10 seconds".

Surprise of the year - Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado; A few podiums from Sergio, despite under-perform in the last several races. Pastor win in Spain was epic, but he can better control his anger, he could be great in the future.

Best race of the year - FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO PETROBRAS DO BRASIL 2012

Most boring race of the year - None...all races had been great. If I had to pick, perhaps German and British GP, just comparatively less drama.

Hottest Team of the year - AT&T Williams F1, they even set their garage on fire!!! Great to see them pick up a win!!!

WTH are you doing here team - HRT, do I need to explain more?

Good bye Schumi!!!
Hamilton to Mercedes AMG, Sergio to McLaren, Alonso is ever more desperate, and the Infiniti Red Bulls are carrying the momentum.
I cannot wait till March in Melbourne!!!

What an epic season we've got!!!

[EINSER M]

Thanx E90slam for the incredible coverage all season long. this is where i got for my f1 porn fix and comments and arguing. as a RBR fan and VET devotee i had no choice but shed tears when that safety car came on lap 70 and he was declared 3rd time world champ. AMAZING season coming down to the very last race, this is one to keep for the ages.

[phrozen06]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

Team of the year - Red Bull Racing, enough said.

Disappointing team of the year - Mercedes AMG, one of the bigger team with POS car.



What an epic season we've got!!!

Hamilton is going to be a basket case when he realizes that the mercedes team has a useless car. I predict by mid season he will want out of his contract.

[E90SLAM]

Team 2012 summary:

Red Bull Racing
Great performance decline in the beginning of the season, more or less due to the lack of Exhaust Blown Diffusor. Great drive from Vettel and Webber throughout the season.
The RB8 was no longer a bullet proof car like the RB7 as multiple alternator failures and water leaks, that cost them a win in Valencia and several championship points.
The designers and engineers in Milton Keyes are the unsung hero of this championship. Along with chief designer Adrian Newey, they made the RB8 very competitive as McLaren. Also dominant win in India, Korea, and Japan. They simply won the Constructor Championship with great drivers in the beginning of the season, and development race later in the year.

Scuderia Ferrari
All year long we had been talking about how FUGLY F2012 was. Not just ugly, it was more than a second slower than the front running McLarens and Red Bulls.
As an ugly duckling, Fernando Alonso literally drove the nut out from the car. The magician kept pulling something out of nowhere, and kept himself in the championship hunt until the very last race, the very last several laps.
There will be a lot of work to be done in Maranello, the engineering and design validation was their fundamental problem this season. Wind Tunnel simulation were all wrong. Also development was slow and ineffective. For the past three years, Alonso made Ferrari looked better than they were.
Second half of the season, great to see Felipe back on form and be competitive again!!! I don't think he will challenge Alonso and become championship hunting in 2013, but he can haul great points for the Scuderia for their Constructors Championship.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
The MP4-27 was quick in first race and duly won the season opener. Then for no apparent reason, they just trip their own foot with multiple pitstop blunders. Perhaps cost Hamilton a win in Malaysia and China. Then later in the season, various car failures cost them even more precious championship points. They fixed one problem, another failure popped up. Unlucky? Maybe.
It was a great opportunity wasted this season. McLaren could simply be in both championship hunting "if" Hamilton did win the races he dominated and lead comfortably.
Next year with Sergio Perez will be a big unknown, I wouldn't bet on them on Constructors Championship, but maybe Drivers if Button will have a competitive car in his liking.

Lotus F1 Team
From the ashes of Championship winning, they finally got a consistent competitive car. The E20 were constantly lurking behind the Red Bulls and McLarens and in the mix with the Ferraris. A few strategy problems in the beginning might cost them several points. Later in the season we saw more consistent performance from Kimi Raikkonen, and even picked up a win in Abu Dhabi.
Roman Grosjean got the pace but his wheel to wheel racing etiquette needs to be polished. Several brain fart moment from him made him famous of first lap terminator.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1
Controversial Double DRS in the beginning of the season. Nico Rosberg's first win in China, was quite promising.
Then all went downhill from the team.
the rest three quarter of the season, they were extremely disappointing and scrapping points with lower tier teams like Toro Rosso.
With the scale of the team structure, financial backing, no excuses for such performance. They cannot just scrap the rest of the season every time once they are not competitive anymore.
Sad to see Michael Schumacher to retire again. But he said it was a three year plan. This time he retire in his career low, but perhaps its not that bad. Recent years we saw a more relaxed Schumi and more friendlier.

Sauber F1 Team
One of the best small mid-field team this season. Several podiums from Sergio Perez, and a podium in Japan for Kamui Kobayashi. They performed much better than most people expected. Personally, I think they should grab more points than Mercedes.

Sahara Force India F1 Team
So close for Nico Hulkenberg to win his and the team's first race in Brazil.
This is the team should have aim higher. But constantly we hear them saying P4 was a great result. They are just not competitive enough. I can see them hanging around mid-field next season.

Williams F1 Team
Switching to Renault proved to be a right more for Williams.
Chasing podium in Melbourne and a win in Spain proved they have a decent car in the beginning. However, just cannot catch up with the development.
Also Pastor just pushed a bit too much several times cost him valuable points, as well as many unnecessary red mist cost him grid positions several times.
Bruno Senna was consistently taking points, but disappointingly he just couldn't make the car set up the way he wish. As proven by Pastor, it can be competitive.

Scuderia Toro Rosso
STR just hiding under the radar all season. Nothing dramatic and dropping back to the last of the mid-fielders. Rumors had Red Bull trying to sell the team? Since RBR is no longer involved in STR's design and development.
Seemed like the future of the team will be a nurture ground for future Red Bull Racing.

Caterham F1 Team
Exact same situation as last year, fighting for P10 on Constructors Championship. They moved to a new facility during summer break, and hope they can have something that will constantly challenge the midfield like STR and Force India.
Wish they can keep Heikki Kovalainen next season.

Marussia F1 Team
They have yet to be competitive at the moment, and I do not expect them to be surprise next season.

HRT F1 Team
Not just back-markers, they even fell off the pace from both Caterham and Marussia. They are the least prepared team in the beginning of the season, and in the end they even unable to participate in Friday Practice. Now the team is up for sale. We might not see the cucumber driving next season.

[Nang Vann]

Great season indeed, can't wait for Melbourne next year, I'll be there with front row seats!

[johanness]

Have to give props to Vitaly Petrov. His last pass essentially gave Caterham $10 million for last spot in Constructors. Well done.

[Itgb]

Much more exciting season than last year and a great final race. Congrats to Red Bull and Vettel.

[007MCoupe]

I missed the entire last 2/3 of the season. I can't wait to get my computer and internet at home so i can go download and watch them all! That's what's in store for MY offseason! haha

[Koop]

Originally Posted by EINSER M

Thanx E90slam for the incredible coverage all season long. this is where i got for my f1 porn fix and comments and arguing. as a RBR fan and VET devotee i had no choice but shed tears when that safety car came on lap 70 and he was declared 3rd time world champ. AMAZING season coming down to the very last race, this is one to keep for the ages.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Fantastic.

[ptack]

Great season. On top of all the tight races I think we can say the season also ushered in a hugely successful return to the US. Things should just keep getting better.

Just wish Schumi was with McClaren instead of Mercedes.

One last thought - the real champion this season is Adrian Newey. Without him Red Bull isn't dominating anything.

[E90SLAM]

What do you guys think should be car of the year?
I think each car has its own weakness this season.

RB8 got unreliable alternators.
F2012 is slow.
MP4-27 got various weird mechanical problems.
E20 inconsistent performance.
W03 is slipping back each race.
FW34 lack of development.
C31 surprise us sometimes.

[johanness]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

What do you guys think should be car of the year?
I think each car has its own weakness this season.

RB8 got unreliable alternators.
F2012 is slow.
MP4-27 got various weird mechanical problems.
E20 inconsistent performance.
W03 is slipping back each race.
FW34 lack of development.
C31 surprise us sometimes.

F2012 wins for pure reliability. Had it had a few issues here/there like the other teams, Alonso wouldn't have been anywhere near challenging for WDC

[BMWWW]

Rookie of the year goes to Grosea-imma-crash-here?

Nope. This wasn't even his first stint in F1.. with all the shunts into other cars, his sponsorship dollars all went straight to repairing the cars vs help them develop.

He's in a league of his own during lower-tier racing, but I don't think he's got the capacity for F1. Didn't in his first try at F1, and this season was nothing short of disastrous.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by BMWWW

Rookie of the year goes to Grosea-imma-crash-here?

Nope. This wasn't even his first stint in F1.. with all the shunts into other cars, his sponsorship dollars all went straight to repairing the cars vs help them develop.

He's in a league of his own during lower-tier racing, but I don't think he's got the capacity for F1. Didn't in his first try at F1, and this season was nothing short of disastrous.

His first appearance as Renault driver in later 2009 can't really count as he just pick up a POS car from Nelson Piquet Jr.

Well, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado are already on their second year in Formula 1, so not exactly a rookie anymore.

Among the rookies, Charles Pic, Roman Grosjean, and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Who you would pick besides crashing Gorsjean?

Unless you opt for no rookies impresses me this season. Otherwise among those three, I'd pick Roman.

[E90SLAM]

Vettel won his three championships in three different countries.
2010 - Abu Dhabi
2011 - Japan Suzuka
2012 - Brazil

[UltimateBMW]

The car of the year is clearly the RB8.

It had alternator issues, but this was the responsibility of Renault to develop and solution. Red Bull, in everything they designed, had no flaw.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

The car of the year is clearly the RB8.

It had alternator issues, but this was the responsibility of Renault to develop and solution. Red Bull, in everything they designed, had no flaw.

RB8 is definitely one of the fastest on the grid.

But I wouldn't isolate the engine supplier as a entire package.

Let's say if the same alternator problem happens to Ferrari or Mercedes, you would also count Ferrari responsible just because they are the engine manufacturer as well?

Technically Renault should also held Magneti-Marelli responsible because they are the manufacturer of the alternators.

In the end, I think we should review the entire car as a complete package, not just the chassis or the best engine.
Since chassis design and engine works closely hand in hand. The design of the engine will impact the balance, mounting and position of the components like gearbox, transmission, and KERS. On the other hand, chassis design and aerodynamic will affect the cooling and performance of the engine as well.

I think its a tough choice, since there are no definite car that stood out. But definitely between the RB8, F2012, and MP4-27.
Keep in mind that both MP4-27 and RB8 had won 7 races each.

[M_Six]

I started watching F1 in '95 (and regret not having seen Senna race). This year was one of the best seasons I've seen, although the trend towards overly heavy penalties for racing incidents is troubling. Still, a damn good season. The seasons that were over with 5 or 6 races left were dull. No such issues this year.

The engineering in F1 is simply amazing and is mainly why I watch. Every move the FIA makes to slow the cars down is worked around by the designers who find a way to get the speed back. Awesome.

I'd also like to express my appreciation to this forum for its consideration of those of us who don't watch races live. There is almost never a spoiler thread title here, so I can still come to ZPost for other forums and not worry about learning the results of the races before I've seen them. I was away for the past two weekends and had to tape both Austin and Brazil. I actually got to see them both over the past two nights without knowing who won. Good stuff.

[Inzane]

Was anyone else annoyed by the switch in podium and post-race interview format this season?

1) They went to that sculped metal portable podium backdrop, which now looks the same at every race. (because, well it is the same)

2) They ditched the traditional post-race interview, where they were seated and asked comprehensive and often ackward or engaging questions, and instead are now asked just a few brief questions by the guest race celebrity-of-the-week. And in response all we seem to get lately is a generic "first I'd just like to thank all the fans...." And some of those guests are just not well suited to the task of interviewing. On one hand you have guys like David Coulthard who handled it expertly at Abu Dhabi, then on the other you have guys like Piquet who really struggled to just ask a question last weekend in Brazil.

3) Is it just me or is it a new thing (this season) for them to telegraph the champaign ritual? There's a guy that literally says "And now.... the chaaampaaaiggnn!!!!' right before they start spraying, and it just seems so cheesy and contrived. Was it always like that and I have just forgotten from previous seasons??

[E90SLAM]

Yah, I don't really like the new podium ceremony. Especially for guests to come and interview the podium drivers. We saw some good ones like DC and Martin Brundle, who are used to do interviews anyways. But we also saw like Piquet or Alesi who weren't that good.

"And now....the chaaaaampaaaaignnn" its been around for years. I dont know was it because of live microphone reception or what not. We can hear the trophy guests clearly in recent years. Thus you will also hear the Champaign announcement.

[Inzane]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

"And now....the chaaaaampaaaaignnn" its been around for years. I dont know was it because of live microphone reception or what not. We can hear the trophy guests clearly in recent years. Thus you will also hear the Champaign announcement.

Huh. Ok then. I just never noticed it before this season (I've only been watching for about 5 seasons) for some reason, and just assumed that previously it was the music cue or something else that signaled the drivers to GO.

It just seems silly and unnecessary to have the audience be explicitly TOLD it's time for champaign. (Reminds me of local football games in recent years where the jumbotron prompts the crowd to start a wave, rather than letting it be spontaneous).

[E90SLAM]

Season ending credit from BBC. They always got awesome End of Season Montage.
And the mosaic art made from hole punches was just WOW!!!