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Vettel, too, encountered difficulties throughout the season contact with a backmarker left him to finish outside the points in Malaysia, while alternator failures at the European and Italian Grands Prix cost him valuable points and exclusion from qualifying in Abu Dhabi led him to start from the pit lane. However, costly first-lap retirements in Belgium and Japan allowed his rivals to catch up, and defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel – like Alonso, a two-time title winner – took the lead in the sixteenth race of the season. Alonso maintained his hold on the championship lead for the next seven races, taking his third win in Germany and finishing on the podium in the United Kingdom, Italy and Singapore. It was not until the European Grand Prix in June that a driver, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, won his second race of the year, and with it, emerged as a championship contender.
F1 2012 RED FLAG DRIVERS
The early season was tumultuous, with seven different drivers winning the first seven races of the championship a record for the series. After being cancelled in 2011 due to civil protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar. The 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas.
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The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March and ended in Brazil on 25 November.
F1 2012 RED FLAG SERIES
It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. What Brazil has told us over the years is that drama is never far around the corner, as Hamilton will know from his incredible last-corner title win back in 2008, and Verstappen from his 2018 crash with Esteban Ocon.Īnd after a qualifying where Hamilton unexpectedly dominated Verstappen, the title rivals will start on the front row for Saturday's Sprint - and in the same positions as Silverstone back before the summer break.Kimi Räikkönen finished the season in third place on his return to F1, driving for Lotus F1. The Interlagos circuit is steeped in history and a big favourite with the drivers, particularly Hamilton and Verstappen who have typically gone well - and had big moments in their career - there. Thanks to his first place in Great Britain and second in Italy, Verstappen has collected the most points from the Sprints with five - with only four drivers taking those top three scoring positions so far. So there lies the impact of the new-for-2021 so far. After another strong start to pass Verstappen, and Verstappen and Hamilton's collisions, the Australian would take McLaren's first F1 victory since 2012. Max Verstappen moved alongside Lewis Hamilton after his pit stop and the pair collide at the first chicane, causing both to be beached in the gravel!!Īdmittedly their Monza crash was less to do with the Sprint and more on a very slow pit-stop for Verstappen, but the title rivals still would never have been in those track positions without the Sprint, which shuffled the qualifying order.Īnd McLaren would very likely not have won the race.ĭaniel Ricciardo qualified fifth on the Friday in Monza but rose to third in the Sprint via a flying start, and that grid position became second on the Sunday thanks to Bottas' penalty.