How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

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phil1993
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How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by phil1993 » 20 Nov 2012, 19:22

Saw this on Atlas, so time for a copy.

2012 has been amazing, but has the season changed how you see certain drivers, for better or worse?

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by marcus666 » 22 Nov 2012, 14:33

One name that I can point out right now: Hulkenberg, He deserves a top seat by no doubt! Sergio Perez have done great too, but Hulkenberg deserved the Mclaren seat more than Perez IMO.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by Green Flag » 22 Nov 2012, 18:30

Hulkenberg has gone up in my opinion too, he just seems to get better and better.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by donald29 » 22 Nov 2012, 18:44

I'd agree on Hulkenberg, and related to that my opinion of di Resta has dropped a bit. Especially in the last third of the season. He hasn't really kicked on.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by François » 22 Nov 2012, 19:52

Pérez: his good performances really surprised me, then there was the turnaround after the McLaren deal... I used to think he was consistent but unspectacular, now I think he has great potential but can be very erratic under pressure.

Maldonado: used to think he was an untalented not a very nice person. Now I think he's an not a very nice person with impressive flashes of speed.

Senna: never thought he had much potential. His consistent string of points finishes has proved me wrong.

Grosjean: somehow I hadn't expected to see him qualify so well and fight for podiums. Hadn't expected that many accidents either... I thought he was in for a rather quiet season in the midfield.

Kobayashi: overall, disappointed that he couldn't deliver more consistently even though his car has been decent. Back in 2009 I seriously thought he could be the next big thing.
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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by phil1993 » 22 Nov 2012, 20:20

For me

+ Lewis: He's shown me that he's the driver I thought he would become back in 2007. Absolutely mega. The fact he has just the one title is a shame really, 2012 should be his

+ Hulkenberg: Always rated him. Always defended him, but he's been top this season.

- di Resta: He's just been a bit average really

- Rosberg: Again, he's been too average against Schumacher.

All of the others, my opinion hasn't really changed.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by mikhailv » 22 Nov 2012, 20:34

+ Maldanado: Sometimes erratic but supreme in Barcelona. Has some idiocies, but fondly reminds me of Montoya
+ Hulkenberg: Didnt rate him much in 2010. My mistake.

- Button: Last year I thought 'wow, jense has really kicked it up a notch. he's driving around problems, great pace in races and right up there in qualifying'. This year? 'Welcome to 2009!' Well, more like 2008......

-Perez: As a ferrari academy driver i thought he had potential for 2012, 2011 he was pretty brill. His podium in Malaysia continued that opinion. And then, the rest of 2012 to be frank, he has been really poor. His points tally is 90% reverse strategy/bad qualifying/fluke podium thrice. He's become really error prone, he seems to have lost pace. Really ragged. Ferrari said he was slower than Bianchi by half a second (?) in the simulator. He was not ready for a top team and would be worse than Massa. I laughed at Luca. Now I nod in agreement.

-Di Resta: Didnt think he was as special as the BBC made out last year. This year just confirms more than I thought on how unimpressive Di Resta really is. I forget he is racing. Even worse, I forget he's talking during his interviews.

-Rosberg: Seriously, he won China which was clearly a fluke, and yet in my eyes, Schumacher still stole the limelight! He was doing superb performances and the car was letting him down. But in honesty, where is Rosberg? I forgot him in williams after his fastest lap in Bahrain back in 2006. He came back to memory in Singapore 2009; only to be a bad memory in throwing the victory away on such an imbecillic mistake....

Drivers who have stayed the same;

Alonso: Always said he was the best.

Lewis: Always knew he was probably equal to Fernando. The only driver in an equal car who could beat Fernando and its vice versa

Vettel: Brilliant and a clear advantage car and whisk away at the front. Pressure? Whinge, moan, crash, flip the finger and be a typical german 'not my fault' driver.

Webber: Nearlyman. He used to say he was pretty equal to Vettel before EBD came in back in 2010. 2011 he was off Vettel and I remember him saying its because the sensations feel wrong; it doesnt feel like a car should do what it does with EBD in a corner. Beginning of 2012 showed that; he was performing better than Vettel until Newey got some of his exhaust tricks and voilla, webbers back to being rough and ragged trying to make up the difference.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by Eric_Cartman » 23 Nov 2012, 19:03

mikhailv wrote: Vettel: Brilliant and a clear advantage car and whisk away at the front. Pressure? Whinge, moan, crash, flip the finger and be a typical german 'not my fault' driver.
It's always just the car which is brilliant. I know that Alonso would win the championship with 500 points in that Red Bull. :p

To the question:

+ Hulkenberg: Great drives in the second half of 2012. He deserves to be in a top team. I hope that Sauber can build a car as good as this year. Then I'm sure he'll do some special things.
+ Hamilton: Clear improvement to 2011. He made no mistakes and was always fast. It was just the reliability of the car and some silly mistakes from the team that denied him to fight for the championship
+ Massa: I'm referring to the second half of the season. I think that's the Massa from 2006 - 2009 until his crash. He can match Alonso with increased regularity. I hope he can keep that pace in 2013.

Some appropriate words Vettel said about Massa in October: “With all due respect to Fernando, I think Felipe can be as fast or sometimes even faster than him. But then I don’t always understand why the difference between them is so great."
“In the past Felipe has competed with very good drivers like Michael and Kimi and has always been fast, so I don’t understand. But I’m not a Ferrari driver and so I don’t know how things are there."
“It’s just a shame that people forget things so quickly. In 2008 he (Massa) was seen as one of the best and now he’s not."



- Button: Biggest disappointment imo. He beat Hamilton last year and this year his drives were mostly nothing more than average. It will be hard for Mclaren next year if they can't build a extraordinarily good car
- Kobayashi: was seen as a rising star in formula 1. But in 2012 he was often slower than his teammate and appart from his drive in Suzuka he was very inconspicuous.
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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by Coopz » 23 Nov 2012, 23:46

I feel like a proud father coming in here. :D

Always knew The Hulk has had it since when I started following him in GP2 and A1, what a personality he has as well. But yeah, I wouldn't say I have changed my opinion, I would say my beliefs and optimism about him has been fulfilled. :D - 2010 went okay and I feared we wouldn't have a chance to see him shine, but thankfully in the second half of this season we've been able to do this. Hopefully Sauber can build a car similar to what they had at the start of this season in terms of where they were. Hulkenberg will need time to adapt at Sauber though.

Pic has been really good this season in my opinion. I think hes got ignored by a lot of people.

Di Resta - I like Di Resta, I do. He'll probably end up like Webber or Button, somewhere a long them lines. I don't know where the comparisons with Hulkenberg even came from though. Hulkenberg needed time to adapt into racing again at the start of the season and I expected him to make mistakes and be slower. Since then, Hulkenberg has obviously slapped him silly. I probably thought a little too much of Di Resta but if I was Force India, I'd get Sutil back and replace him. He isn't nothing special.
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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by KevC » 25 Nov 2012, 21:30

I think Hulkenberg and Perez went up in my estimations. Hulk really has become a mature racer. He doesn't mind getting in a scrap and he seems to have a good racing mind. Perez was very good until he got the nod from McLaren but they'll bring him back in to line.

Grosjean also started well but faded after his ban. He needs to get his head together in the off season.

Pic has been impressive. Good drivers who shine in poor cars usually have a good future. He's been more than enough of a match for Glock. I think he'll do well at Caterham.

At the other end of the scale, Di Resta has been disappointing. He really isn't living up to his hype. He's a plodder on the track and doesn't have much personality off it either.

Nico Rosberg hasn't really crushed Schumacher in the way he should. I think Hamilton will have him for breakfast.

Ricciardo also hasn't been as good as I thought he would be.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by reppo » 12 Dec 2012, 03:24

Had to take a beer or ...erm two to figure out how did I really expect then them to perform in this season. After sleeping a week or so I did put some data into a spreadsheet to see how did they do in the light of pure numbers. So... got some information from http://www.formula1.com and made a few tables. In the first table there are positions in the race and grid and some information about incidents of each race:

Code: Select all

Pos Driver                Team                     PTS  RET          Avg a) AU    MA    CH    BA    SP    MO    CA    EU    GB    GE    HU    BE    IT    SI    JA    KO    IN    AD    US    BR
1   Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull Racing-Renault  281   1   race    4.42   2     11    5     1     6     4     4     AL    3     5     4     2   22/AL+  1     1     1     1     3     2     6
                                                             grid b) 5.05   6     5     11    1     7     9     1     1     4     2     3     10    5     3     1     2     1     24    1     4
                                                             change  0.84   4     -6    6     0     1     5     -3    RET   1     -3    -1    8     -17   2     0     1     0     21    -1    -2
                                                                                                                                                                                               
2   Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                  278   2   race    3.28   5     1     9     7     2     3     5     1     2     1     5     AC    3     3     AC    3     2     2     3     2
                                                             grid    6.1    12    8     9     9     2     5     3     11    1     1     6     5     10    5     6     4     5     6     7     7
                                                             change  2.89   7     7     0     2     0     2     -2    10    -1    0     1     RET   7     2     RET   1     3     4     4     5
                                                                                                                                                                                               
3   Kimi Räikkönen        Lotus-Renault            207   -   race    5.45   7     5     14    2     3     9     8     2     5     3     2     3     5     6     6     5     7     1     6     10
                                                             grid    7.45   17    10    4     11    4     8     12    5     6     10    5     3     7     12    7     5     7     4     4     8
                                                             change  2      10    5     -10   9     1     -1    4     3     1     7     3     0     2     6     1     0     0     3     -2    -2
                                                                                                                                                                                               
4   Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes         190   5   race    5.33   3     3     3     8     8     5     1   19/AC+  8     PD    1     AC    1     GE    5     10    4     FP    1     AC
                                                             grid    4.3    1     1     7     2     24    3     2     2     8     7     1     7     1     1     9     3     3     1     2     1
                                                             change  -0.73  -2    -2    4     -6    16    -2    1    -17    0     RET   0     RET   0     RET   4     -7    -1    RET   1     RET
                                                                                                                                                                                               
5   Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes         188   2   race    6.89   1     14    2    18/EX  9   16/AD+  16    8     10    2     6     1     FS    2     4     AC    5     4     5     1
                                                             grid    6.45   2     2     5     4     10    12    10    9     16    6     4     1     2     4     8     11    4     5     12    2
                                                             change  -0.44  1     -12   3     -14   1     -4    -6    1     6     4     -2    0     RET   2     4     RET   -1    1     7     1
                                                                                                                                                                                               
6   Mark Webber           Red Bull Racing-Renault  179   2   race    6.17   4     4     4     4     11    1     7     4     1     8     8     6   20/SP+  11    9     2     3     AC    AL    4
                                                             grid    5.85   5     4     6     3     11    1     4     19    2     8     11    12    11    7     2     1     2     2     3     3
                                                             change  0.06   1     0     2     -1    0     0     -3    15    1     0     3     6     -9    -4    -7    -1    -1    RET   RET   -1
                                                                                                                                                                                               
7   Felipe Massa          Ferrari                  122   1   race    8      AD    15    13    9     15    6     10    16    4     12    9     5     4     8     2     4     6     7     4     3
                                                             grid    9.85   16    12    12    14    16    7     6     13    5     13    7     14    3     13    10    6     6     8     11    5
                                                             change  1.53   RET   -3    -1    5     1     1     -4    -3    1     1     -2    9     -1    5     8     2     0     1     7     2
                                                                                                                                                                                               
8   Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault            96    7   race    7.58   AC    SP    6     3     4     AC    2     AL    6     18    3     AC#   c)    7   19/RE+  7     9     AC    7     AC
                                                             grid    7.74   3     6     10    7     3     4     7     4     9     19    2     8     -     8     4     7     11    9     8     18
                                                             change  0.31   RET   RET   4     4     -1    RET   5     RET   3     1     -1    RET   -     1     -15   0     2     RET   1     RET
                                                                                                                                                                                               
9   Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                 93    3   race    8.76   12    13    1     5     7     2     6     6     15    10    10    11    7     5     AC    AC    11    AC    13    15
                                                             grid    9.4    7     7     1     5     6     2     5     6     11    21    13    23    6     10    13    9     10    7     17    9
                                                             change  0.59   -5    -6    0     0     -1    0     -1    0     -4    11    3     12    -1    5     RET   RET   -1    RET   4    -6
                                                                                                                                                                                               
10  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari           66    6   race    8.86   8     2     11    11    TR    11    3     9     AC    6     14    AC    2     10    SP    11    PD    15    11    AC
                                                             grid    12.2   22    9     8     8     5     23    15    15    15    17    14    4     12    14    5     12    8     11    15    12
                                                             change  5.07   14    7     -3    -3    RET   12    12    6     RET   11    0     RET   10    4     RET   1     RET   -4    4     RET
                                                                                                                                                                                               
11  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes     63    2   race    9.78   AD    9     15    12    10    8     12    5     12    9     11    4   21/BR+  14    7     6     8     AC    8     5
                                                             grid    11.45  9     16    16    13    13    10    13    8     14    4     10    11    24    11    15    8     12    10    6     6
                                                             change  1.89   RET   7     1     1     3     2     1     3     2     -5    -1    7     3    -3     8     2     4     RET   -2    1
                                                                                                                                                                                               
12  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari           60    4   race    9.81   6     BR    10    13    5     AD    9     AD    11    4   18/HY+  13    9     13    3     AD    14    6     14    9
                                                             grid    11.6   13    17    3     12    9     11    11    7     17    12    15    2     8     17    3     13    17    15    16    14
                                                             change  1.69   7     RET   -7    -1    4     RET   2     RET    6    8     -3    -11   -1    4     0     RET   3     9     2     5
                                                                                                                                                                                               
13  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                 49    7   race    10     GE    10    WH    10    AC#   FP    RW    3     7     7     TE    7     6     AC#   11    13  22/GE+  11    16    7
                                                             grid    9.65   4     3     2     22    8     6     9     12    3     3     17    13    4     9     23    10    14    13    5     13
                                                             change  0.62   RET   -7    RET   12    RET   RET   RET   9    -4     -4    RET   6     -2    RET   12    -3    -8    2     -11   6
                                                                                                                                                                                               
14  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes     46    1   race    10.42  10    7     12    6     14    7     11    7     RE    11    12    10    8     4     12    12    12    9     15    19
                                                             grid    11.45  15    14    15    10    12    14    8     10    10    9     12    9     9     6     11    14    16    12    13    10
                                                             change  1.11   5     7     3     4     -2    7     -3    3     RET   -2    0     -1    1     2     -1    2     4     3     -2    -9
                                                                                                                                                                                               
15  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault         45    5   race    11.53  13  19/EN+  8     PU    1     AC    13    12#   16    15    13    AC#   11    HY    8     14    16    5     9     AC
                                                             grid    10.85  8     11    13    21    1     24    22    3     7     5     8     6     22    2     12    15    9     3     9     16
                                                             change  -1.67  -5    -8    5     RET   0     RET   9     -9    -9    -10   -5    RET   11    RET   4     1     -7    -2    0     RET
                                                                                                                                                                                               
16  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault         31    2   race    12.11 16/AD+ 6     7     22    AD    10    17    10    9     17    7     12    10  18/EN+  14    15    10    8     10    AC
                                                             grid    14.25  14    13    14    15    17    13    16    14    13    14    9     17    13    22    16    17    13    14    10    11
                                                             change  2.17   -2    7     7     -7    RET   3     -1    4     4     -3    2     5     3     4     2     2     3     6     0     RET
                                                                                                                                                                                               
17  Jean-Eric Vergne      STR-Ferrari              16    4   race    12.25  11    8     16    14    12    12    15    AD    14    14    16    8     SP    AC    13    8     15    12    SU    8
                                                             grid    16.95  11    18    24    17    14    16    19    18    23    15    16    15    16    16    19    16    18    17    14    17
                                                             change  4.94   0     10    8     3     2     4     4     RET   9     1     0     7     RET   RET   6     8     3     5     RET   9
                                                                                                                                                                                               
18  Daniel Ricciardo      STR-Ferrari              10    1   race    12.05  9     12    17    15    13    SD    14    11    13    13    15    9     12    9     10    9     13    10    12    13
                                                             grid    14.7   10    15    17    6     15    15    14    17    12    11    18    16    14    15    14    21    15    16    18    15
                                                             change  2.63   1     3     0     -9    2     RET   0     6     -1    -2    3     7     2     6     4     12    2     6     6     2
                                                                                                                                                                                               
19  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault         0     2   race    16.24  ST    16    18    16    17    EL    19    13  DNS d)  16    19    14    15    19    17    16    17    16    17    11
                                                             grid    18.95  19    19    19    18    18    18    18    20    18    18    20    19    18    18    22    18    19    20    21    19
                                                             change  2.82   RET   3     1     2     1     RET   -1    7     -     2     1     5     3     -1    5     2     2     4     4     8
                                                                                                                                                                                               
20  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth        0     1   race    17.17  14    17    19    19    18    14    BR  DNS e)  18    22    21    15    17    12    16    18    20    14    19    16
                                                             grid    20.37  20    20    20    23    21    19    21    -     20    22    22    20    19    20    18    20    21    21    19    21
                                                             change  3.17   6     3     1     4     3     5     RET   -     2     0     1     5     2     8     2     2     1     7     0     5
                                                                                                                                                                                               
21  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth        0     5   race    17.8  15/OP+ 20    20    EN    DR    EL    20    15    19    20    20    16    16    16    EN    19    19    EN    20    12
                                                             grid    21.35  21    21    21    19    20    21    23    23    24    20    21    22    20    21    21    24    24    19    20    22
                                                             change  4      6     1     1     RET   RET   RET   3     8     5     0     1     6     4     5     RET   5     5     RET   0     10
                                                                                                                                                                                               
22  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault         0     1   race    16.47  SU    18    23    17    16    13    18    14    17    19    17    17    14    15    15    17    18    13    18    14
                                                             grid    18.45  18    24    18    16    19    17    17    16    19    16    19    18    17    19    17    19    20    18    22    20
                                                             change  2      RET   6    -5     -1    3     4     -1    2     2     -3    2     1     3     4     2     2     2     5     4     6
                                                                                                                                                                                               
23  Jerome D'Ambrosio f)  Lotus-Renault            0     -   race    13     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     13    -     -     -     -     -     -     -
                                                             grid    15     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     15    -     -     -     -     -     -     -
                                                             change  2      -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     2     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
                                                                                                                                                                                               
24  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth             0     7   race    20.17 DNQ g) 22    22    21    WN    15    BR    18    21    23    ST    AC    19    AC    RE    20    21    AC    22    18
                                                             grid    23.11  -     23    23    24    23    22    24    22    22    24    24    24    21    23    24    23    23    23    24    23
                                                             change  2.67   -     1     1     3     RET   7     RET   4     1     1     RET   RET    2    RET    RET  3     2     RET   2     5
                                                                                                                                                                                               
25  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth             0     4   race    19.13 DNQ g) 21    21    20    19    AD    BR    17    20    21    22    18    18    17    18    TH    BR    17    21    17
                                                             grid    21.84  -     22    22    20    22    20    20    21    21    23    23    21    23    24    20    22    22    22    23    24
                                                             change  2.93   -     1     1     0    3      RET   RET   4     1     2     1     3     5     7     2     RET   RET   5     2     7
Notes:
a) Average of completed races and qualifications                                                                                                    
b) True grid positions including possible penalties                                                                                                    
c) Did not race due to a penalty                                                                                                    
d) Engine failure before start - 19 GP starts only                                                                                                    
e) Did not take part due to a stomach bug - 19 GP starts only                                                                                                    
f) Only one race in Italy replacing Grosjean bacause of a penalty                                                                                                    
g) both HRT drivers failed to qualify to the race because of 107% rule - 19 GP starts only                                                                                                    
#  Penalized for causing an accident or collision                                                                                                    
+  Did not finish but completed at least 90% of the race                                                                                                    

Abbreviations:                                    
AC  Accident               DR  Driveshaft             GE  Gearbox                RE  Retired                TH  Throttle
AD  Accident damage        EL  Electrical             HY  Hydraulics             SD  Steering damage        TR  Transmission
AL  Alternator             EN  Engine                 OP  Oil pressure           SP  Spin                   WH  Wheel
BR  Brakes                 EX  Exhaust/differential   PU  Puncture               ST  Steering               WN  Wheel nut
DNS Did not start          FP  Fuel pressure          PD  Puncture damage        SU  Suspension        
DNQ Did not qualify        FS  Fuel system            RW  Rear wing              TE  Technical                                                                        

Source: www.formula1.com
In the second table there is comparison of each driver how well did they perform in 2012 relative to their age and total amount of races in their F1 careers.

Code: Select all

Pos Driver               Team        Age GPs Total 2012                          2012 Race positions
                                             PTS   PTS  P1   P2   P3   P4   P5   P6   P7   P8   P9   P10 >P10 RET  ACC  MEC  PEN
1   Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull    25  101 1054  281  5    3    2    3    2    2    -    -    -    -    2    1    -    2    -
2   Fernando Alonso      Ferrari     31  198 1364  278  3    5    5    -    3    -    1    -    1    -    -    2    2    -    -
3   Kimi Räikkönen       Lotus       33  178 786   207  1    3    3    -    4    3    2    1    1    1    1    -    -    -    -
4   Lewis Hamilton       McLaren     27  110 913   190  4    -    3    1    2    -    -    3    -    1    1    5    3    3    -
5   Jenson Button        McLaren     32  230 999   188  3    3    -    2    2    1    -    1    1    1    4    2    2    2    -
6   Mark Webber          Red Bull    36  198 848.5 179  2    1    1    6    -    1    1    2    1    -    3    2    2    1    -
7   Felipe Massa         Ferrari     31  173 704   122  -    1    1    4    1    2    1    1    2    1    5    1    1    -    -
8   Romain Grosjean      Lotus       26  26  96    96   -    1    2    1    -    2    3    -    1    -    2    7    6    2    1
9   Nico Rosberg         Mercedes    27  128 399.5 93   1    1    -    -    2    2    2    -    -    2    7    3    3    -    -
10  Sergio Perez         Sauber      22  38  80    66   -    2    1    -    -    1    -    1    1    1    7    6    4    2    -
11  Nico Hulkenberg      Force India 25  39  85    63   -    -    -    1    2    1    1    3    2    1    7    2    2    1    -
12  Kamui Kobayashi      Sauber      26  60  125   60   -    -    1    1    1    2    -    -    3    1    7    4    3    2    -
13  Michael Schumacher   Mercedes    43  308 1566  49   -    -    1    -    -    1    4    -    -    2    5    7    2    6    2
14  Paul di Resta        Force India 26  39  73    46   -    -    -    1    -    1    3    1    1    2    10   1    -    1    -
15  Pastor Maldonado     Williams    27  39  46    45   1    -    -    -    1    -    -    2    1    -    10   5    3    2    2
16  Bruno Senna          Williams    29  46  33    31   -    -    -    -    -    1    2    1    1    5    8    2    3    1    -
17  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso  22  20  16    16   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    4    -    -    12   4    3    1    -
18  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso  23  31  10    10   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    4    2    13   1    -    1    -
19  Vitaly Petrov        Caterham    28  58  64    0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    17   2    -    3    -
20  Timo Glock           Marussia    30  94  51    0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    18   1    -    1    -
21  Charles Pic          Marussia    22  20  0     0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    15   5    -    6    -
22  Heikki Kovalainen    Caterham    31  110 105   0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    19   1    -    1    -
23  Jerome D'Ambrosio    Lotus       26  34  0     0    note: raced only Italian GP                        1   -    -    -    -
24  Narain Karthikeyan   HRT         35  48  5     0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    12   7    3    4    -
25  Pedro de la Rosa     HRT         41  107 35    0    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    15   4    1    3    -

RET   retirements (does not include accidents or mechanical problems when 90% of the race was completed)
ACC   accident, accident damages or spins caused by anybody or anything
MEC   mechanical problems
PEN   penalties

Note:	Total points of the career are not directly comparable since points system has changed three times after 1991

Source: www.formula1.com
In graphs their progress during the season looks like this:

Image

- Vettel & Alonso & Hamilton
Probably the three best driver in the grid at the moment. Alonso was even better than I expected. He has a remarkable ability to change his driving style to get the max out of the car. Compensates well Ferrari's problems in recent years. Without Belgium and Japan accidents it is questionable if Vettel had been able to reach him. Vettel and Hamilton did not quite race as I expected. Sebastian had a great second half of the season but something is still missing. He is young though, only 25 and has already totally 1054 points in 101 races - makes a nice average. Two problems with alternator made him lose points and after a eventful race in Brazil managed to keep Fernando behind him. Well done. Hamilton's biggest problem might well be McLaren. Even there was only three retirements because of mechanical failure, the team is well capable to screw a race in other ways. He was also unlucky to be involved in three accidents. Six race handicap surely did cost him p3. I would like to see all three of them behind steering wheel of a WRC car. I bet with a short practice Alonso would be fast - though I don't expect them to be so good in a full rally race. It is so different sport.

- Räikkönen
What an excellent season. I would never had believed he would do so well after being away from F1 for two year. There has been great returns to F1 but it has been a different era completely. With current regulations, test bans and simulators I did not believe he would do so well - and neither did mister Lopez. Kimi's problem is that he needs a car which fits perfectly into his driving style. Then he shines. Luckily he is now in a team which is willing to work overtime to fulfill their drivers requests and really listens the feedback from drivers - something Alonso could be missing in Ferrari, who knows. Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton could have been better in Lotus than Räikkönen, but with two years absence from F1 I doubt that.

- Button
Well, not as good as he could have been, but it can well be the same McLaren story than with Hamilton. Improved a little at the second half. Maybe I expected some more.

- Webber
As usual. Secured CWC to Red Bull but otherwise I was not impressed before the season and not after it.

- Massa
Didn't have much expectations. He had a terrible first half but recovered well at the second. Maybe he is effected too much mentally to the pressure of the team. Ferrari has a great racing history, but it is sad that a racing team having a road car manufacturing department has become a car manufacturer with motorsport department, which, according their management, looks to be a test bench for road cars. Well maybe that's what being a Fiat subsidiary makes. The history and era of Todt, Brawn, Byrne and Schumacher makes life tough in the team.

- Grosjean
Andrea de Crasharis of the modern F1 era. Retired 7 times, was in 6 accidents and got a penalty. A team fighting for CWC points cannot afford a driver racing only less than 2/3 of the season. Was a disappointment and makes me think does he really belong to F1. 30 years ago he might not be alive anymore with driving like that. His season was really something I did not expect.

- Rosberg
Got his first win but with 128 race experience he should be doing better. Didn't expect him to win a race - but he did. Second half of the season wasn't as good as the first and maybe Mercedes should be building better cars. Talks too much - but after all he is just half Finn.


Image

- Perez & Vergne & Ricciardo
Not much expectations. Perez was better at first half than at the second. He could be a star of the future. Nothing much to say about Jean-Eric Vergne or Daniel Ricciardo, except Daniel who? He didn't much show up during the season. All three are young and inexperienced in F1. Who knows how good they will be in the future.

- Hulkenberg
Still promising driver and young. Maybe he should be in a better team.

- Kobayashi & di Resta
Didn't expect anything spectacular. Kamui's third place in Japan was a surprise.

- Schumacher
Won Grosjean in penalties 2 - 1. Expected him to do better but he had 6 times mechanical problems with the car. Was there any place in his car that did not break? A good decision to retire.

- Maldonado & Senna
Except for Pastor's surprise victory in Spain quite average season for both. Pastor wins Bruno in size of the money bag.

- The Zero Point Club: Petrov & Glock & Pic & Kovalainen & Karthikeyan & de la Rosa
Shows what racing in inferior team in F1 means. Petrov is probably better that result show and Kovalainen maybe not. The three teams are so far away from rest of the pack that it is hard to say how would they perform in better teams.

- D'Ambrosio
Didn't expect him to race at all but Romain was "polite" enough to arrange Jerome a change to race in Italy. 15th in the grid and 13th in the race is not too bad considering current testing opportunities.

Overall the biggest surprise of the season was Pirelli's narrow working window. Button has complained it and you do not need a barometer to see if sun is shining, just check Lotus lap times. Problem is that cars are not equal when conditions changes. Some work better in lower temp and some in higher. I hope Pirelli fixes this for next season. But regardless of the tyres, the season shows that there is no substitute for experience. Top 5 drivers are former WDCs and their average age is 29.6 (without the youngster Vettel even 30.75) and their amount of races and points are huge. The season was exciting too when the winner was resolved at the last race. Hopefully next season will be too but with better tyres.

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mnmracer
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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by mnmracer » 12 Dec 2012, 08:55

mikhailv wrote:Beginning of 2012 showed that; he was performing better than Vettel until Newey got some of his exhaust tricks and voilla, webbers back to being rough and ragged trying to make up the difference.
Check again and you'll find he performed better in just 3 races ;-)

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by donald29 » 12 Dec 2012, 12:14

Yeah Webber somehow outclassing Vettel in the first half of the season is a myth. There were a few races, Monaco being the most notable, where he was better. But it's not how some like to make out. It was pretty even, a lot closer than 2011 and the second half of 2012, but even after Vettel lost 25 points in Valencia Webber was only 6 ahead and he was always going to fade as he has done every season since 2009.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by phil1993 » 12 Dec 2012, 12:21

Vettel was actually a class act in Monaco because he made the other strategy work - in fact Red Bull should have told Webber to slow the pace a little and they'd have had a 1-2. Vettel's early season problem was actually qualifying. I think his first races were something like 6th, 6th, 11th, Pole, 8th, 9th - that's a pretty poor record.

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Re: How has 2012 changed your opinions on drivers?

Post by donald29 » 12 Dec 2012, 13:11

Yep it was qualifying where Webber was a lot better than Vettel. They'd been struggling a bit, but on that occasion he found the lap time and Vettel didn't. Vettel recovered well in the race though.

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