Posted on 23rd November 2012
For the final showdown race in Brazil the two title rivals Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso qualified fourth and eighth. Alonso moving to seventh after a penalty for Williams’s Pastor Maldonado for missing a weight check.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa fifth, whilst the Mclaren of Hamilton secured pole ahead of his team mate Button
If Alonso was to secure the title, he needed to finish in the top three, with Vettel finishing below seventh, with rain forecast, everyone was looking forward to a thrilling race, and so it was to be.
On the start, Hamilton and Button soon pilled away from the pack, swapping the lead position, whilst meanwhile Vettel made a bad start from fourth on the grid and at the fourth turn was first hit from behind by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and then by Bruno Senna's. Williams, the Brazilian retiring, and Vettel dropping to last and with a damaged car looking out of the race, drama already on lap 1
The crash had damaged the rear bodywork of Vettel's car, but the team deemed him able to continue and with some telemetry adjustments, Vettel proceeded to fight his way back up through the field. Alonso finished the first lap in fifth, but seconds later passed Massa and Webber as they went three abreast into Turn One to take third. If the race finished in this order with Alonso third, the Championship would be his.
Vettel continued his recovery and by lap eight was incredibly up to sixth place, while Alonso had slipped to fourth behind Hulkenberg after running wide at Turn One in the tricky conditions.
With intermittent rain and a safety car period, increasing the drama Hamilton took the lead, but Hulkenberg having his drive of the season was able to match the McLaren for pace.
With 20 laps to go, Alonso was fourth behind Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Button, and Vettel was running seventh in a Championship winning position, there was nothing more Alonso could do.
On lap 54 Hamilton was hit by Nico Hulkenberg. Who lost control under braking on the slippery track, ending Hamilton's last race for Mclaren with a retirement rather than the win that he would have surely secured. Hulkenberg securing a drive through penalty with his efforts!
More pit stops were needed for the leaders to fit intermediate tyres as the rain intensified, after which Button led from Massa and Alonso, with Vettel seventh.
Massa let Alonso by into second on lap 62, and two laps later Schumacher, in his last F1 race, moved over to allow his fellow German to secure sixth.
On the penultimate lap, Paul di Resta's Force India crashed on the pit straight, ensuring that the race finished under the safety car, with Vettel securing the 2012 title, becoming only the third driver to win three F1 titles in succession, and the youngest ever, an incredible achievement by the young German and his Red Bull team.
Button said: “I want to congratulate the whole team. This is the perfect way to end the season. We have had ups and downs and to end on a high bodes well for 2013.”
Ferrari finished second in the constructors’ championship, with McLaren third, while Caterham overtook Marussia for the lucrative 10th place when Vitaly Petrov overtook Charles Pic towards the end of the race.
The final order of this thrilling race was Button, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Hulkenberg, Vettel Schumacher,Vergne, Kobayashi and Raikkonen rounding off the top ten
A thrilling end to the championship, and a great taster for 2013.
