The journey to Yas Marina

The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship, in its 63rd year, has plenty of firsts. For the first time, six former world champions battle for the title that includes 20 races, the maximum ever in a season. The United States Grand Prix has been added to the calendar, and the race runs at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Another major change has been in the design of cars. For safety reasons we now have higher chassis and lower noses, giving birth to the ugly stepped noses. Blown diffusers have been banned — last year’s cars made use of the expelled exhaust gases by channelling them through the diffuser at the rear of the car, increasing the downforce. And drivers can unlap themselves under a safety car.

Team names have also changed because of changes in ownership: Virgin has become Marussia and Team Lotus, Caterham. Kimi Räikkönen, the most interesting character after the charismatic James Hunt, makes a return to Formula One to partner another returnee, Romain Grosjean, with the newly christened Team Lotus (formerly and most recently Lotus Renault). Toro Rosso has dropped seasoned drivers Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari in favour of emerging talents, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, and Charles Pic makes his Formula One debut with Marussia. F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello lost his drive to Bruno Senna, Nico Hülkenberg replaced Adrian Sutil at Force India and Vitaly Petrov replaced Jarno Trulli at Caterham.

As we count down to a very closely fought championship, this is how the ranks stand as of now.

Qantas Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Melbourne

Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix, Sepang International Circuit, Selangor

A one-two for McLaren in the qualifiers was undone by heavy rain just a few laps into the race followed by race suspension for almost an hour. Jenson Button’s race was ruined when he collided with Narain Karthikeyan of HRT and finished 14th, outside of points. A quick and smart strategy of full wets to intermediates saw Sergio Perez finish a couple of seconds behind the ultimate winner Fernando Alonso, giving the privately owned Sauber its first points. Kimi Räikkönen also scored the first points for Lotus when he finished fifth, and during the course of the race had the fastest lap, putting him on number three in the list of drivers with all-time fastest laps.

UBS Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai

Nico Rosberg brought the trophy home to take his first victory and the first for the Ross Brawn-managed Mercedes team. Michael Schumacher would have been on the podium if it weren’t for a botched-up pit stop. The day ended brilliantly for the Mercedes-powered cars as Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton both joined Nico Rosberg on the podium. But it was heartbreak for Kimi Räikkönen as he dropped from second to 12th in a space of less than two laps due to tyre wear.

Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir

Grand Prix racing returned to Bahrain this year after the venue’s absence from the calendar in 2011. Pole-to-race win master, Sebastian Vettel (above) of Red Bull, crossed the checkered flag before Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean, the Lotus duo, for his first victory of the season. After the race, Vettel led Hamilton by four points in the Drivers’ Championship.

Gran Premio De Espana Santander, Circuit de Catalunya, Catalunya

An FIA rule states that a car should have enough fuel to make its way to the pits after completing a lap in qualifying. McLaren miscalculated that and even though Lewis Hamilton took the pole, he was pushed right back on the grid. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado inherited the pole and went on to win, giving Williams its first win since Brazil in 2004. Fernando Alonso finished second, with Kimi Räikkönen a close third. Michael Schumacher was given a five-grid penalty for the next race in Monaco for colliding with Bruno Senna.

Grand Prix Du Canada, Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal

Grand Prix of Europe, Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia

Fernando Alonso set the bar high when he became the first driver to win a second race in the season upto this point. It could have been Kimi Räikkönen if the race had run for a few more laps. Michael Schumacher grabbed the last spot on the podium, his first since making a comeback to the sport. Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean suffered an alternator failure in the Renault-powered cars and failed to be classified as race finishers. Alonso’s win gave him a lead of 20 points over Webber going into the British Grand Prix.

Santander British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone

Grosser Preis Santander Von Deutschland, Hockenheimring, Hockenheim

Wet weather followed the teams to Germany. The German GP returned to Hockenheim in 2012 after last year’s race at Nürburgring. Fernando Alonso took the pole and led from the front, ultimately winning the race from Jenson Button. Sebastian Vettel tried to overtake Button with his four outside the track, a move that invited the stewards’ ire with 20 seconds added to his time, dropping him from second to fifth. After a brilliant win, Alonso’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship stretched to 34 points over the second-placed Mark Webber.

Eni Magyar Nagydij, Hungaroring, Budapest

In F1, they say, catching up is one thing and overtaking is another. Kimi Räikkönen came that close to taking his first win after a two-year absence in F1, finally finishing a second behind the winner, Lewis Hamilton, who started from the pole and was in command for most part of the race. Championship leader Fernando Alonso finished sixth and took those valuable ten points.

Even though drivers don’t openly admit how boring some race tracks are, Spa is everyone’s favourite without a doubt. A track that tests a driver’s true ability. Some of the great F1 drivers who have won here many times are Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Kimi Räikkönen. Jenson Button led the race from pole, probably not caring what was happening behind him. At the La Source hairpin on the first lap, Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton bumped tyres, which resulted in Grosjean hitting the back of Sergio Perez’s Sauber, becoming airborne and crashing into Fernando Alonso, luckily missing his head. As the race began to settle down, Jenson Button took a brilliant win, followed by Sebastian Vettel who started 11th on the grid, and a well-deserved third for Kimi Räikkönen, who rates Spa as his favourite track and has won here four times in the past. Romain Grosjean was handed a one-race ban for causing the accident and a €50,000 (Dh239,936) fine.

Gran Premio Santander D’Italia, Autodromo di Monza, Monza

Ferrari’s second home (based up north in Maranello), and a tifosi (Ferrari diehards) sanctuary is probably the only track in the world where you can hear the spectators. On a Grand Prix weekend it doesn’t rain Ferrari fans, it pours them. A sea of red (flags, shirts, baseball caps) fill the grand stands. If you can make just one trip to a Grand Prix, let this be the one. The best-looking cars in F1 this year, the McLarens took the front row, with Lewis Hamilton on pole followed by Jenson Button. Alonso qualified tenth, but ended up on the podium. Sauber made a smart move of starting Sergio Perez on hard compound tyres, allowing him to stop and hound Hamilton for the rest of the race. With a win in Italy, Hamilton jumped to second in the drivers’ standing behind Alonso. Jérôme d’Ambrosio replaced Grosjean at Lotus GP, who was serving a one-race ban, qualifying 16th and finishing 13th.

Singtel Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore

Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka

After their first lap accident, Mark Webber defined Romain Grosjean as a “first-lap nutcase”. The other Lotus player was also involved in an incident when Kimi Räikkönen wouldn’t lift off after being pushed into the grass by Fernando Alonso, who picked up a puncture while coming into contact with Räikkönen’s Lotus. This contact resulted in Alonso crashing out. Jenson Button, who was demoted five places for an unscheduled gear box change, started behind Räikkönen. With all the chaos behind him, Sebastian Vettel led from the front and won, taking the full 25 points and inching four points closer to Alonso in the Drivers’ Championship. When the top three drivers arrived on the podium, all you could hear was Kamui, Kamui, Kamui. It was the first podium spot for Kamui Kobayashi, who finished third. Räikkönen placed third in the drivers’ standing after the race. It’s unlikely that he can win the drivers’ title without a single Grand Prix win. But it’s Formula One and strange things do happen.

Korean Grand Prix, Korea International Circuit, Yeongam

The glum look on Sebastian Vettel’s face after qualifying showed how much he wants to win the championship this year. Qualifying second wasn’t good enough. He had to be on pole. On race day, it didn’t matter. Mark Webber’s extra wheel spin gave Vettel the opportunity to lead into the first corner. And from there, there was no looking back all the way to the chequered flag. It was a good day for Red Bull and its sister team Toro Rosso, with a one-two for Red Bull and with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne finishing eighth and Daniel Ricciardo crossing the flag ninth, ahead of the lone surviving McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. The two Saubers were involved in accidents that ruined the race day for Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.

Sebastian Vettel took pole from his teammate Mark Webber with his main title contenders, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, in fifth and in seventh positions respectively. The Buddh International Circuit is the second-fastest circuit in the world and with a pole and fastest car Sebastian Vettel led into turn one followed by Mark Webber and the two McLarens. Fernando Alonso attacked the McLarens, overtaking them briefly, before losing it to Jenson Button, and then used the straight-line Ferrari speed to get past Jenson Button in the DRS zone on lap 4. Michael Schumacher made an unscheduled early pit stop after a puncture when he and Jean-Eric Vergne collided. With little tyre wear and even the softs playing along nicely, most teams opted for a one-stopper.

With a few cars changing positions behind him, Sebastian Vettel led from the front and won, extending his lead and dominance in the second half of the season over Fernando Alonso by 13 points. Mark Webber finished third behind Fernando Alonso, followed by Lewis Hamilton. The drivers’ championship is now a two-horse race.

Our favourite moment of the race: Lewis Hamilton drove into the pits and stopped. Steering wheel came off, a new one went on. Fresh rubber. Five wheels changed. Time: the blink of an eye
 

Who will be crowned the champion?
On many occasions, whoever won at Albert Park in Australia has gone on to win the Drivers’ Championship. This year, though, it looks like it will be another exception. Two double world champions, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, stand a real chance — and two one-time champions, Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton, stand an outside mathematical chance as 75 points are still available and misfortune can strike anyone. With three races to go, the battle is clearly between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. It’s like 2010 all over again.In a few weeks, the final result to the highly competed season in Formula One history will be revealed.

— If you would like to officiate at a Grand Prix or other motor sport events in the UAE, email marshals@atcuae.ae or visit www.atcuae.ae