The trouble with championships is that someone has to win them.
I suspect there will be many who say Sebastian Vettel did not deserve it as much as Alonso did, I don't completely disagree but that's racing.
I think many will always see 2012 as a win thanks to a much superior car, like people said about Schumacher's last few titles. Again, true but that's the nature of F1 and also what made Alonso's season so extraordinary. Were it not for Grosjean, Ferrari would have been celebrating tonight for as good as Red Bull was as a team, Ferrari had no breakdowns, no major strategy mistakes this year. But that's racing, it's not sentimental.
Many said Alonso was in a position to fight because of luck, maybe, but when then it takes much luck to be hit as Vettel was today and be able to drive away, to stop for the wrong tires and get a safety car to remedy the mistake a lap or two later (albeit in a somewhat chaotic way). Luck is part of racing.
But the point is that you still need to be able to take advantage of the chances and Sebastian did that in spades and much like Fernando, he let no difficulty get in his way, it was 100% all the time. No whining like Hamilton did today, no Emo stuff like Massa is prone to from time to time. In the end he certainly earned it, congratulation on a spectacular career so far, three in a row by age 25 is just extraordinary, Vettel is truly Schumacher 2.0
Another fantastic season for Formula 1, No wonder Bernie was beaming after the race. We always talk about the good old days, but let me tell you, racing in the past was never like this, this is the golden age.
More about the race itself when the Executive Summary is ready, in the meantime I'd love to hear your opinions.
no he's not, he is damon hill 2.0. jumping in the fastest car, qualifying first almost every race & winning doesn't make you schumacher 2.0; jumping in an uncompetitive car, developing it and building a whole team makes you schumacher 2.0 - vettel is far far away from it at this point
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I'm more over seeing Vettel and Red Bull constantly winning everything or the other front runners not trying hard enough. McLaren truly failed their drivers this season. The pit woes, the reliability issues, the lack of compromise when negotiating Hamilton's contract. It's been the "season that could've been" for them and I hope they use it to motivate their strategy for 2013. I still can't help but think they've signed the wrong man and Hulkenberg should be the one in the car next season. Ron Dennis is too concerned with running a military encampment instead of a racing team and that approach hasn't been working for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI was gutted to see Alonso lose the WDC. I don't think Vettel deserved it and you're absolutely right, we have Grosjean to thank for the outcome of that story line. However, Alonso handled it with class. He thanked the team, claimed it was his best season yet and kept it short on the podium. It's too bad he's now lost out on more WDCs than he's won. I think next season is shaping up to be another 1-on-1 between him and Vettel.
Overall it was an absolutely compelling season and the best one in quite a while. Hopefully 2013 delivers the same!
Shumacher was fast but a complete a***. That said, he had to fight to win, and to work hard to build a huge "structure" around him that allowed him to be dominant.
ReplyDeleteVettel is far from being Shumi 2.0 as that would be a new, better and improved version. He's been a very fast spoiled brat with the best car and a huge structure pushing him forward. And a bit of luck, which is part of racing.
My biggest problem with Vettel is that all this is not allowing/making him growing up. Thus he'll never be as good as Shumi as a driver even if he breaks all his records. And certainly not better.
As a "character" however, well just look at today. Saying in an interview in German that he should go to Senna's grave and tell him what his nephew did (which IMO was not to blame at all)? Classy... Has the potential easily beat Shumi there.
Completely agree about Senna, Vettel drive that corner as if he were in the lead, not like mid pack where he was. If true that comment puts him square in the dickhead column
DeleteHad to rely on 2dn hand translation as I do not speak german. Maybe you can get it properly translated and clear this one up on your summary.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GAezVM-zzdQ
beeing a german native speaker, let me help out here:
Deletefrom 1:25
interviewer: "..and then comes the nephew of Aryton Senna, and here in brazil crashes in the back of your car, what did you think at that moment?"
vettel: (smiles) "well let's see. the grave of Ayrton Senna is here in Sau Paulo, at the gaveyard in Murumbi. one has to go there and tell him what is nephew did today. which did not help us ..."
/abductee
I would love to know what the perspective is from the other drivers on the grid. I get the vibe many revere Alonso for his attitude and sheer talent while many would condemn Vettel for his attitude - despite his sheer talent. Hamilton thought that Alonso deserved it - I'd be surprised if Webber didn't feel the same way. It's hard to cheer for a guy who the other drivers don't seem to respect personally.
ReplyDeleteVettel won it but it's a shame considering how boring races are when he leads from pole to finish. I came into watching F1 fairly late in the Schumacher era but I can assume that's what drove many from the sport. One entirely dominating personality doesn't make for entertainment though. I suspect that Bernie looks happy in the photo above if only for the absolute drama that was the last race of the season.
Oh yeah, this season was pure Bernie Viagra.
Deletelast TWO races of the season, and there were some other spectacular moments that will probably make 2012 another one of the top action seasons in the modern era.
DeleteAfter years of Schumi pasting the entire field and processional races, including the farce at Indy, this year has really been pretty intense, all things considered.
I got no love for RBR or that freaking finger, but the rest of the action was hotness. Crescent Fresh, you might say.
Guess the (German) interviewer set that one up perfectly. So he could follow up with an excuse for a racing incident. How insecure can a triple world champ be?
DeleteAlonso deserved the title. If the title was awarded on "most deserved," Vettel would not have even qualified for third on that list. Great post written with fascinating reserve, but I don't think there's a reasonable question as to who should be the 2012 World Driving Champion
ReplyDeleteWhat an exiting race! It's been some time (like 10 years...) that I haven't watch a race from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the fuss with DRS on and off during the race? Are they afraid that drivers won't be able to control their car?
As for Vettel he will not always be with Red Bull and/or RB won't always be at the top. We will then see.
Vettel didn't show much grace even in winning the title, after the race he was complaining about 'dirty tricks' from other teams.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lewis, isn't it ok to have a little moan when you are taken out of the lead of a GP?
ReplyDeleteRegardless of who deserved the title and who didn't, we were treated to an absolute belter of a race and a classic season closer. It was about as exciting as motor racing can get. It's unfortunate that vettel called ferrari's gearbox change a dirty trick. Red bull fully exploited the rules when they started from the pit lane and optimised his settings. It's arguable that had a much more profound effect and was a more unfair advantage. McLaren definitely screwed up this year and it would have been unjust for them to have snatched the second place constructors yesterday. They will have their work cut out next year without Hamilton.
ReplyDeleteIf McLaren can carry this speed in to next year then Button could be looking pretty good. I don't think Perez will trouble him much at all. Funny how 6 points is apparently the difference between getting a McLaren drive and probably not being on the grid next year (Perez vs. Kobayashi).
ReplyDeleteSo, finger boy chops across half the field in turn 4 on the first lap and it's anyone (everyone)else's fault...that move alone showed Vettel's immaturity and lack of 'racecraft'. I'm going to have to go back and watch the first dozen+ laps to figure out HOW THE HELL he managed to climb back up the order, but the photos showed a damaged exhaust and broken floor - I'm not a fully-licensed F1 engine tech but but a crunched header like that would/should cause serious flow problems...
ReplyDeleteI'll play the fanboy here and point out once again that Hamilton was robbed of points several times - while Alonso drove heroically Hammy literally broke down in the lead enough times that he'd have challenged, if not walked away with the title this year. Obviously we don't know how things would have ended if not for those incidents but he stayed pretty strong despite being screwed multiple times by his team...and who knows what would have happened at Spa, etc.
Last thought...how in the world did Grosjean retain his seat? Kid was lucky to walk away this weekend, that little off he had was....wow. Amateur hour.
Keep an eye on Mercedes in the of season. They've committed to serious funding and Hammy won't just settle for a midfield car. Ross Brawn is not someone to discount, either; with the right support and directed funding, they'll be looking to rectify the joke that was Schumi's un-re-retirement.
Here's to hoping we see less of that damn finger next year. I dunno how much more I can take.
"Here's to hoping we see less of that damn finger next year. I dunno how much more I can take."
ReplyDeleteThis pretty much sums up this entire list of comments. Completely agree.
I'm waiting for Mark Webber to have a serious meltdown in the Red Bull garages next season. His patience seems to have run out, as have his chances at winning a WDC. Loved his responses to all the reports asking about how he was planning to help Vettel win the WDC yesterday LOL.