You need oxygen. Breathe.... breathe... Sky sports reviews. The phrase "lies, damned lies, and statistics" springs to mind when assessing Schumacher's swansong season. On paper, the headline numbers were depressing: as many retirements as points finishes (eight), his worst championship classification since his 1991 rookie year (when he only competed in six races) and his longest ever sequence without scoring a point (six races). Yet the reality was that, in many ways, 2012 was the most impressive season of his comeback. please log in to view this image Schumacher fastest in Monaco In Valencia he finally made it back onto the podium for the first time since China 2006; in Monaco he set the fastest qualifying time and would have started on pole but for a grid penalty carried over from the previous race; and, finally over the course of the season, he managed to more than match Nico Rosberg's single-lap pace. The latter in particular wasn't bad for a 43-year-old but in general the good fortune that deserted him right at the end of his first career never returned and it was as if lady luck was trying to make crystal clear to him this year that it wasn't returning. A couple of humiliating crashes aside, Schumi deserved far better in 2012 although he was at least able to bring the curtain down for the final time in characteristically never-say-die style in Brazil.
1. Alonso 2. Hamilton 3. Vettel (although the top three I can barely separate) 4. Raikkonen 5. Hulkenberg 6. Perez 7. Massa 8. Webber (Forget how good is season was up to Silverstone) 9. Button 10. Pic
I wouldn't call moving over for Vettel showing a 'never-say-die' style, but yeah, he did probably have more misfortune this season than average.
Ignoring the Vettel move, his racing was consistent from start to finish, pedal to the metal from being a lap down back up to 7th.
1st: Lewis Hamilton 2nd: Fernando Alonso 3rd: Sebastian Vettel 4th: Kimi Räikkönen 5th: Nico Hülkenberg/Pastor Maldonado/Sergio Pérez 8th: Vitaly Petrov/Charles Pic 10th: Jenson Button/Mark Webber Special mention: Felipe Massa
1. (equal) Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso - cannot pick between them they have both had amazing seasons. Only 1 mistake from Alonso and a couple from Vettel shows how world class they both are. Alonso showed real consistency and coolness and Vettel proved that he is as good as Alonso and Hamilton in head to head combat with some outstanding moves. Both had some bad luck: Vettel had two alternator failures and a swipe at from an idiot and Alonso was taken out at Spa and had poor strategy in Canada. 3. Lewis Hamilton - very fast this year but was let down by his team and a few mistakes/misjudgements of his own. Especially since signing for Mercedes he has been phenomenally good. Quite a bit of bad luck on his part (Singapore, Abu Dhabi). 4. Kimi Raikkonen - only guy to finish every single race this year and this itself deserves credit, has been the most consistent driver this year and has lost none of his raw speed and racing instinct which is second to none. Been let down by his team on the strategy front but has been quick to capitalise on others mistakes. 5. Nico Hulkenburg - Very solid season for the Hulk. Some excellent drives such as Valencia and Belgium and he was unlucky to make a small mistake which would have come to nothing had he had space in Brazil. Would of likely won that race in my opinion. 6. Jenson Button - another solid season for Jenson with 3 wins and his first McLaren pole. Sometimes could not beat Lewis on pace but was more consistent and as always made few mistakes. Unlucky retirements in Italy and Korea neither of which were his fault. 7. Sergio Perez - 3 superb podium finishes in Malaysia, Italy and Canada. Was a bit hot and cold as in the later parts of the season he made a few unforced errors but his brilliance in the podium races shines through. Was definetly on track to win in Malaysia but a small mistake let Alonso off the hook. 8. Bruno Senna - really strong year for Bruno he has consistently scored points for Williams and putting aside Barcelona he has been a lot more consistent and reliable than Maldonado. Was taken out by old Schumi in Spain though while in a good position. Really hope he gets a good seat for next year, he deserves it. 9. Vitaly Petrov - probably unexpected to put in a lower team driver but i think Petrov has had an excellent season. He has been faster than Kovalainen quite often which is no mean feat seeing as previous teammates couldn't do this. He was oh so close to getting a points finish in Brazil...imagine if Hulkenburg had DNF'd it would of been 10th place for Petrov. 10. Mark Webber - quite a lacklustre season again from the likeable Aussie. He just doesnt seem to be able to hold onto Vettels pace. Aside from 2 brilliant wins in Britain and Monaco he seemed to really struggle with the new tyres, hes one of the first to complain of tyre wear. Add his bad starts onto this and its not much of a season.
Vettel's doing very well considering http://www.not606.com/showthread.php/180999-Formula-1-2012-End-of-Season-Awards?p=3850661&viewfull=1#post3850661 lol
I didn't say Schumacher was good alll year through, or that he hasn't been bad at times because I know he has been horrendous sometimes. And believe me I'm no Schumacher fan, but I have to say there were races where he showed nicely decent pace.
