Vote for your Spanish GP Driver of the Weekend

2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver had the best race weekend in Spain?

Compare all the drivers’ performances below and vote for who you think was the best driver of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.

Driver notes

Sebastian Vettel – Minimised his running in qualifying to save tyres for the race. But a drive-through penalty for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags dropped him back into the pack. Passed Rosberg and the McLarens in his final stint to claim sixth, but it looked like fifth was the best he had on offer.
Mark Webber – His single run in Q2 was not good enough for him to reach Q3, so the pole sitter of the last two Spanish Grands Prix started 11th. Lost a place at the start, then pitted early in an attempt to make up ground. Like his team mate, his progress was slowed by front wing damage, necessitating a replacement. Couldn’t get past Hulkenberg for the final point at the end.

Jenson Button – Didn’t look comfortable in the McLaren at any point during the weekend. Missed Q3 and had a quiet race, finishing behind his team mate who had started last.
Lewis Hamilton – Faced with the sort of frustration that led to some of his worst performances last year, Hamilton responded commendably well. Relegated from first on the grid to last through no fault of his own, he took places when they were on offer and stayed his hand at other times, preserving his tyres. Was the only driver to complete the lap with two stops and even another McLaren pit stop blunder didn’t put him off his stride.

Fernando Alonso – The Ferrari looked a much more competitive proposition in Spain – at least, in Alonso’s hands. Out-qualified the Lotuses and snatched the lead at the start. But slipped behind Maldonado in the pit stops and, despite getting close, couldn’t quite take it back. Shares the lead of the championship with Vettel.
Felipe Massa – Over half a second off his team mate in qualifying, for which he blamed traffic, Massa started 14 places behind the other Ferrari. Disputed his penalty for speeding under yellow flags which dropped him behind Paul di Resta. He finished there, lapped by Alonso.

Michael Schumacher – Scraped into Q3 and moved up two places at the start to hold sixth, pressuring Romain Grosjean. But after Grosjean passed Senna and began to pull away, Schumacher’s eagerness to pass got the better of him and he ran into the back of the Williams. The stewards docked him five places on the grid for the next race.
Nico Rosberg – Couldn’t make the tyres last in his final stint and was passed by Kobayashi and Vettel. Had the race been 67 laps long instead of 66 he would have lost out to Hamilton too.

Kimi Raikkonen – Out-qualified by Grosjean but moved ahead immediately at the start. Said after the race the car had the potential to win but they didn’t get the strategy right. Spent the final stint reeling in Alonso for second place, finishing 0.6 seconds behind.
Romain Grosjean – Not for the first time this year he didn’t make best use of a good grid position. Quickly passed Senna and Rosberg after his first pit stop to take up fourth. Like Raikkonen, made a late final pit stop and was flying at the end, setting fastest lap.

Paul di Resta – There wasn’t much to choose between the Force Indias in qualifying. In the race the team felt they’d underestimated how well the tyres would last and Di Resta fell from 12th to 14th.
Nico Hulkenberg – Like his team mate in the last race, Hulkenberg had to cling on to his points finish, holding off Webber by two-tenths of a second for his second points finish of the year.

Kamui Kobayashi – Thwarted by an hydraulic problem in qualifying which prevented him from setting a time in Q3, Kobayashi held onto his ninth place at the start. A bold pass on Button halfway through the race allowed him to claim fifth, building up enough of a gap to stay safe from the recovering Vettel.
Sergio Perez – Started a career-best fifth but clipped Grosjean at the start and collected a puncture which destroyed his race.

Daniel Ricciardo – No Q3 heroics this weekend – in fact he was out-qualified by his team mate for the first time this year. He and Vergne were closely-matched in the race until the final dozen laps, when Ricciardo began to drop back.
Jean-Eric Vergne – Finished five seconds ahead of his team mate as he lost performance sharply in the final laps. Nonetheless he finished ahead of Ricciardo for the fourth race in a row.

Pastor Maldonado – Only 14th-fastest on Friday but said he was feeling confident. He was second-fastest in final practice and repeated the feat in qualifying before Hamilton’s penalty handed him his first pole position. Lost the lead to Alonso at the start but an aggressively early second stop got him ahead again. After that he withstood considerable pressure to deliver his first win and Williams’ first since 2004.
Bruno Senna – The contrast in fortunes between the Williams drivers was especially stark on Saturday as Senna spun out during Q1. In the race he delayed his first pit stop, moving up to seventh. On lap 12, shortly after being passed by Grosjean, he was rammed out of the race by Schumacher.

Heikki Kovalainen – A mistake in qualifying left him behind his team mate on the grid. But he passed Petrov at the start and finished the race 15 seconds ahead. He was 24 seconds behind the next car which, for the second time this year for Caterham, was Massa’s Ferrari.
Vitaly Petrov – Caterham did not run their new exhaust set-up in Spain, but despite that Petrov was three-tenths off Senna’s time in Q1. He wasn’t happy with his KERS map in the race and steadily dropped back from his team mate.

Pedro de la Rosa – Ran HRT’s new aerodynamic package and briefly stayed in front of Charles Pic at the start. Crossed the line in last place but was pleased to see the chequered flag at the Circuit de Catalunya for the first time since 1999.
Narain Karthikeyan – Retired shortly after his second pit-stop with a technical problem.

Timo Glock – Started behind his team mate for the second time after encountering yellow flags on his second run in Q1. Moved ahead at the start and brought the car home 18th, lapped twice.
Charles Pic – Pic had a spin early on in the race and was struggling with a driveshaft problem when Alonso came up to lap him. The stewards found Pic didn’t move aside quickly enough and handed him a drive-through penalty, but his car’s problem had already become terminal by then.

Qualifying and race results summary

StartedGap to team mateLaps leading team matePittedFinishedGap to team mate
Sebastian Vettel7th-0.093s65/6536thDidn’t finish on same laps
Mark Webber11th+0.093s0/65311thDidn’t finish on same laps
Jenson Button10th+0.479s24/6639th+7.106s
Lewis Hamilton24th-0.479s42/6628th-7.106s
Fernando Alonso2nd-0.582s65/6532ndDidn’t finish on same laps
Felipe Massa16th+0.582s0/65315thDidn’t finish on same laps
Michael Schumacher8th+0.022s1/121
Nico Rosberg6th-0.022s11/1237th
Kimi Raikkonen4th+0.063s64/6633rd-10.915s
Romain Grosjean3rd-0.063s2/6634th+10.915s
Paul di Resta12th-0.052s25/65314th+15.951s
Nico Hulkenberg13th+0.052s40/65310th-15.951s
Kamui Kobayashi9th+0.124s37/3735th
Sergio Perez5th-0.124s0/373
Daniel Ricciardo15th+0.177s16/65313th+4.866s
Jean-Eric Vergne14th-0.177s49/65312th-4.866s
Pastor Maldonado1st-1.601s12/1231st
Bruno Senna17th+1.601s0/120
Heikki Kovalainen19th+0.23s63/65316th-15.151s
Vitaly Petrov18th-0.23s2/65317th+15.151s
Pedro de la Rosa22nd-3.567s18/22419th
Narain Karthikeyan23rd+3.567s4/222
Timo Glock21st+0.45s33/35318th
Charles Pic20th-0.45s2/352

Review the race data

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend?

  • Charles Pic (0%)
  • Timo Glock (0%)
  • Pedro de la Rosa (0%)
  • Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
  • Vitaly Petrov (0%)
  • Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
  • Bruno Senna (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (57%)
  • Jean-Eric Vergne (0%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (0%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (3%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Paul di Resta (0%)
  • Romain Grosjean (0%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (3%)
  • Nico Rosberg (0%)
  • Michael Schumacher (1%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (6%)
  • Jenson Button (0%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (28%)
  • Mark Webber (0%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (1%)

Total Voters: 754

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Rate the Race: Spanish Grand Prix

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2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Image © Red Bull/Getty images, Lotus F1 Team/LAT, Williams/LAT

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Keith Collantine
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202 comments on “Vote for your Spanish GP Driver of the Weekend”

  1. I just saw Charles Pic having 100% of the votes for a moment!

    1. Funny thing voting. Last year in Barcelona Hiedfeld drove from 24th to 8th – as did Lewis this year

      He only got 9%, Lewis has 30%

      Maybe Lewis is getting some sympathy for the team’s mistake.

      1. It’s driver of the weekend though and LH was so quick in qualifying and didn’t deserve to be starting 24th. The cars are also closer this year, so making progress is harder. The tyres don’t like being in traffic and LH didn’t have half the amount of new tyres Nick did. All in all, Lewis was much more impressive.

        1. And his 30 or 31 lap stint on his tyres, I mean, that was impressive by anyone’s standards, and considering his normal destruction of the tyres, a fantastic job, and was still pushing to overtake Rosberg at the end.

        2. Agree, Hamilton certainly did a very nice job in qualifying and a composed, controlled and successfull race to get in front of his team mate in the end.

        3. The Mclaren would have helped though…

      2. Im none-impressed with LH this weekend. All these accolades for his behavior, when really, he is only (finally?) starting to act in the way a driver of his talent and position is supposed to act – cold, results-driven, professional.

        PM, now thats an achievement. He had a bit of luck with LH’s Q3 DQ, but was able to make the most of it, hold off FA, one of the best in the business, keep composure, and bring home the first win in a long time.

        It was a display of driving prowess, teamwork, luck, ceasure of the moment and adding a dash of historical significants as well. Good on him.

        1. How can you not think lewis hamilton drove an amazing race? He went from last to 8th in a field where the cars are closer than ever! even more impressive that he finished in front of his teamate who started 14 places ahead in the same car!

          Congrats to maldonado, he drove a very mature and controlled race and it is wonderful to see a williams win again. He deserves to be driver of the weekend but no true race fan could argue that lewis was not very impressive this weekend.

    2. Jayfreese (@)
      14th May 2012, 21:03

      Can we get Worst Driver of the Weekend? Voted Hamilton, shared feelings with Maldonado and Alonso, all of them biiterly beat their teammates on and off track this weekend!

      1. Pic should win for worst driver for getting in the way of Alonso. I agree about the great driving by Hamilton, Alonso, and Maldonado.

  2. Never thought I would, but Pastor Maldonado without a doubt. Genuinely expected him to choke. Big brownie points to him.

    1. Exactly! Hamilton was a close second but the pressure Maldonado dealt with put him #1 for me.

  3. Pastor Maldonado.
    Looked lively all weekend. Amazing qualifying lap, worked his strategy well and kept behind one of the best drivers on the grid.
    What more could you ask for?

    1. I briefly thought of Hamilton, for his moving from 24th to a decent finish. However, he wouldn’t have been there to begin with if the team hadn’t messed his fuel load. Besides, Pastor did a great job and truly deserved the vote – so he got it.

      1. Well it’s DRIVER of the weekend, not TEAM and dismissing him because the race he had was as a result of something out of his control is not what this vote is about ….. he still did what he did, but hey each to their own logic!:)

        1. jimscreechy (@)
          14th May 2012, 21:17

          My thoughts Exactly Gill. Yes Pastor drove a good race but I wouldn’t call it great, or for that matter anything we don’t regularly see at least a dozen times in any seasond. He only really had to deal with Alonso, and it wasn’t like he made any fantastic overtaking manouvers or anything like that, in fact he lost a place and it was only recovered by the pit stop via good team strategy and not through any tenacious decisions from him. I will give him credit for not folding under pressure, and still for doing a good job in the car, but that alone cannot really justify (for me) driver of the weekend. That has to go to hamilton not just for his race but for his performance conduct and unfailing support for his team in the face of adversity. A spectacularly mature response from him all round.

          1. “He only really had to deal with Alonso” – that would be Alonso the double world champ and one of the best drivers of the last decade. Yep, easy peasey.

          2. For me, Pastor’s win was more spectacular than Rosberg’s by far and deserved DOTW more than Rosberg did.

          3. jimscreechy (@)
            15th May 2012, 8:47

            yes and Alonso in a clearly inferior Ferrari let me add.

          4. Rosberg had no one chasing him, especially it was not Button who qualified 5th and finished 20+ seconds behind…..

          5. with the “superior Mclaren”

          6. I agree with those saying PM’s was greater than NR’s.
            Dont forget, he drives a Williams, only in 2011 did they return from the from the catagory of the “embarrassingly bad”.

            NR is driving the progeny of the mighty BrawnGP, with the full weight of Mercedes, Ross Brawn, and Michael Shumacher behind it. Indeed, with all that firepower, their current dirth of success can only be looked upon negatively.

    2. My words exactly.

      1. Pastor’s race not great…..anyone who gets into a battle with Alonso for the lead and comes out on top drove a GREAT race.

        Come on admit it – we all expected him to choke at the start, fade during the race or to **** it all up by spinning or going in the gravel – but instead he drove a faultless race, kept cool after a cock-up in the pits then faced down Alonso. Serious drive.

        1. did he even lock a brake? if he did i didnt see it.
          amazing drive.

  4. Hands up everyone who can pick who the winner’s going to be this week.

    1. My hand is certainly up! Can’t choose between Hamilton or Maldonado. Chose Maldonado in the end because it was his first win, preserved the tyres and held back Alonso in the race, and was pretty quick most of the weekend. All that in his 2nd year of F1 racing. He kept a very mature head. Hamilton was also extremely competitive, particularly in qualifying (hence his pole position.) Even if he had enoughh fuel, he would have edged Maldonado for pole anyway. Certainly, Hamilton’s display reminds us all just what he can do in an F1 car, pulling off some excellent, and critical overtakes. A shame about the penalty, but his performance should give him confidence going into Monaco, one of his favourite tracks. But will McLaren be ready?……

  5. Does anyone know how the Red Bull front wings were damaged, you can clearly see the damage in the picture but what caused it?

    1. @jimbobian

      In “auto motor sport” they quoted Christian Horner saying that debris – possibly from the Schumacher/Senna incident caused Vettel’s wing to get damaged. However, they still had no explanation why there was a loss of downforce (which they could measure from the pits) on Webber’s car.

      1. Yes something seriously tricky going on in there….Webber let it slip when he said that something broke and a part that was meant to move stopped working. Something that was meant to move in the nose? Shifting mass?

        1. Hmm, fishy, fishy…

  6. With no doubt Pastor

  7. It’s hard not to chose Pastor Maldonado as the DOTW.

    He looked “rusty” ever since his debut, so it was surprising to see him offer such a strong performance. I thought he would crack under pressure from Alonso, but he didn’t. It also helped him that Williams know a thing or two about winning: had he raced for Sauber, I’m not sure he’d have won…

    1. I also thought he would crack, but in the end he did a really nice job of keeping Alonso behind. My second choice would have been said Alonso, because he really got almost the maximum out of that Ferrari again.

      As discussed shortly yesterday, I very much agree with you on Williams showing they know about winning and not faltering in the excitement.

      1. and not faltering in the excitement.

        …some may count blowing up their own pit garage during the celebrations as faltering in the excitement! But I agree, Williams weren’t settling for second place in this race – they were solely out there to win it.

    2. I think he’s been much better in general this year

  8. Sviatoslav Andrushko (@)
    14th May 2012, 16:19

    Voted for Maldonado, because he and Williams team made much better job than Ferrari. I believe reds were at some points of race much faster and they could have won the race. But strategy was on Williams side. Great for them.

  9. Brilliant qualifying, a penalty not of any fault of your own, and a great race through the field from last to 8th (with a team not doing much to help you) and finishing ahead of your world champion team mate. Or a great unexpected first win in style ahead of two world champions ? Difficult one here.

    I guess Maldonado will get our vote, just because, well, I have just watched a race where Maldonado beats Alonso in a straight fight. And I swear, I’m sober.

    1. Couldn’t agree more. +1

  10. For me it’s pretty tight between Maldonado and Hamilton. Yes Maldonado won the race and fought fantastic against Alonso. But Hamilton set an even faster Lap than Maldonado in Quali (which hadn’t any affect thanks to his team) and beat his teammate in an equal car, while starting 14 places behind him. People only see Maldonado because noone would have expected such a performance from him.
    Therefore I will also go for Maldonado, but it is not as obvious as the actual result might show.

    1. I don’t think it should be Maldonado. It was pretty tight between him and Hamilton, but then I realised that his performance was about the same as Vettel’s was last season – nothing really spectacular, but still won the race. No amazing overtakes, no amazing strategic decision, no fight through the pack… nothing. And look at how many times Vettel won DOTW last year – nowhere near as much as he won. Hamilton had all of these things. Now it may be more “expected” for Vet/Ham to do well, but IMO that doesn’t matter. It’s “Driver of the Weekend”, not “Driver who outperformed what he normally does.”

      1. I expected a McLaren to do well. Hamilton surely didn’t underperform like his teammate, but I don’t think his drive was any special either.

        1. His drive was extremely special. His pole position was blistering and it never looked like anyone had an answer to his pace. He was 24th through no fault of his own, had to fight his way through the field whilst also conserving all his tyres (31 laps on Pirelli’s tyres is no easy feat) and he did so calmly and brilliantly. The pass on both Torro Rossos was sublime and definitely one of the best this year. He had a disadvantage with his DRS (hitting top revs halfway down the straight) and showed once again he doesn’t need it to pull his passes on a track famously hard to overtake on. His teammate started 10th and was able to go at a quicker pace due to a 3 stop strategy, but he still had no answer to Lewis (who started 14 places back) and finished 8s behind him.
          There is no debate on Lewis’ drive being one of many spectacular drives on sunday.

        2. especially considering Lewis has the fastest car on the grid.

          1. There is no fastest car on the grid, have you been paying attention to the season so far?

          2. fastest car on the grid because he had no weight in the fuel tank. that’s why he was sent to the back of the classroom. so he wasn’t the fastest according to the rules

          3. One extra lap’s worth of fuel on board doesn’t increase a laptime by 6 tenths.

          4. On a grid that is possibly the closest it has ever been!

        3. I think making his 2 stops strategy works is eye popping. He was (is) the McLaren driver known for not taking care of his tyres and for being too aggressive.

        4. @Jimmy :Were you watching the same race as me? Hamilton’s race nothing special? He made 2 stops, looked after his tyres better than anyone else and went from 24th to 8th doing some superb overtakes, eventually finishing ahead of his team mate?? Also it’s driver of the WEEKEND ….Unbelievable lol …. sorry but you have no idea what you’re talking about!
          @infy : Lewis has the fastest car on the grid?? Quick call Mclaren and tell them ‘cos I’m not sure they have this information :) working your way up from the back in this season isn’t really just about speed now is it? It’s about team strategy and tyre management, haven’t you been watching?

          1. Actually I agree with infy (to a certain degree). Let me clarify – I think to say it’s “the fastest car on the grid” is probably too general a statement, but it does seem to be the best car overall IMO.

            Having said that, Maldonado for me as driver of the weekend. But credit to Hamilton as well.

            It’s been a great start to the season, but I really feel if McLaren sort out the blunders – and LH and the team remain grounded/upbeat despite the mishaps – they/LH will win the WDC in commanding fashion.

          2. Yes, I agree with “infy” and “1 of the 3”. Mclaren have had the fastest car on average this year, and only Hamilton is getting the most out of it, with 3 poles. Button was poor in Sepang and Barcelona, Hamilton wasn’t great in Melbourne, and the team have made errors.

          3. Lets face it, if Lewis hadn’t been penalised he would have run away with it. Pastor is a terrible paid driver who fluked it. One on one with Lewis he had no chance.

          4. @ MU C – Pastor hasn’t proven himself as the best, but it’s pretty ignorant to say he’s terrible.

    2. Maldonado easily for me. Hamilton second and also good drives from Alonso, Kobayashi, Vettel and Raikkonen.

      Maldonado was just sensational all weekend. Yes Hamilton came through the field but Maldonado won the race when his team-mate couldn’t even Qualify in the top 16. He also took the fight to and beat Alonso, something Perez didn’t manage.

      A world class drive. Really thought he’d crack under the pressure from Alonso.

      1. but hamilton got pole by half a second when his teammate couldn’t even get into Q3. And I think we can all agree that the Button (WDC 09) is better than Bruno Senna who missed a practice session.

        1. @ 1 0f 3 : I appreciate what you’re saying but when someone is trying to move up through traffic, getting stuck behind people and trying to manage their tyres in a 2 stop strategy, even the fastest car (which I really don’t believe the Mclaren is – Jenson was in one too) would struggle so therefore my point is, in this situation speed isn’t everything and credit should be given to the driver :)

          1. @ mu c : I agree that Lewis would probably have won, had he not been penalised but harsh to say what you said about Maldonado: 1. Keeping completely calm when you have a 2x world champion crawling all over your rear and in a car that wasn’t considered very competetive isn’t a fluke, proving that 2. He isn’t a terrible driver who bought his seat!

  11. I think starting from the back of the grid and finish 8th beating your team-mate who qualified 10th (after penalty) is something special. And then go on a set of tyres for 30 laps and only going into the pits twice.
    Not to take away from Pastor’s win, but Hamilton is definitely a worthy runner up, if not driver of the day

    1. Indeed! .-) then that double pass on Toro Rosso drivers was mesmerizing! Last year was an awful season for him but this one, he’s really doing his best to race like the champion he’s. Showed some maturity in his driving and self-discipline behaviour till saturday! Well done! .-)

    2. The less stops for Mclaren the best result the team gets !

    3. Yes but having the fastest car doesn’t hurt ey?

      1. Well that’s arguable, the Williams was no.2 in quali despite Pastor making a few mistakes in his fast lap, Jenson qualified far from his team mate.
        I think that with the racing as close as it is (thankfully), it’s a little more down to the driver – just look at Fernando

        1. Yes, the racing is very close this season, but there is this thing with the tyres. The performance changes so much so easy. I don’t believe that Pastor is so much faster that Bruno (IMO is faster that him, but only a fraction) nor Button is so much slower that Lewis. The same with Mark and Sebastein. I would say the same for Felipe and Fernado. What is going on with these Pirelli this year? Who is fighting for the championship this season? Will Kobayashi be the first Japanese driver to win a gp?

          1. Those last three questions sum up the greatness of these Pirelli tyres: uncertainty. It’s a race for the teams to maximise performance out of the tyres, and unlike what others say, I don’t think it makes “fake racing”, I think it rewards the one who is able to make the best of their set up, attack quickly and successfully) and at the same time balancing tyre wear – it makes it much more difficult for the driver which is part of the spectacle – especially the endings. And what I really like is that it gives opportunities to he midfield teams to be up there, there seems to be no “dominant” force in F1 for now – and I think the majority of F1 fans love it!

  12. Voted Lewis Hamilton…Coming through adversity, fighting your own team, the car and even those Pirelli tyres (31 laps on them) the only one of 24 drivers on a 2-stopper…then putting up a smile and thank the team for everything…just WOW! I LIKE THE NEW HAMILTON version! 2012 is really an interesting season!
    Williams and MALDONADO did well yesterday, very well and congrats because Alonso is a tough guy, but they are not a serious contender to the WDC this year.

  13. Expected Maldanado to choke the start and be passed by quite a few cars, anyone who chooses a different driver must be an idiot, Maldanado drove the perfect race for the perfect win

    1. Excuse me but everyone is entitled to their opinion and it’s a VOTE, Maldonado did well to win but other drivers had more to contend with and also it was driver of the weekend, not just the race, so kindly keep your insults to yourself!!!!

      1. Vote….opinion? In the true spirit of Venezuela and Hugo Chavez, we have chosen Comrade Pastor for his great and mighty victory….the people have spoken and any counter-revolutionary opinion will not be welcomed.

        :o)

        (Is there a symbol for irony?)

  14. Maldonado, Alonso, Hamilton and Kobayashi I’d say all deserve it. Hamilton and Kobayashi performed well in qualifying only for problems which were not their fault to hinder them. They bounced back however by showing their excellent racecraft during the race with great skill and bravery whilst passing their rivals.

    Maldonado and Alonso were both very solid at the front for much of the weekend. Alonso showed his great ability, just as he does every race, and deserved to win as much as Maldonado. Maldonado drove really well and it was amazing to see him keep his head in the closing stages.

    I’ll vote for Maldonado because what we saw from Hamilton, Kobayashi and Alonso, is what we have come to expect from them. With Maldonado, we knew he had good pace, but I’m sure many believed he would crack under the pressure at some point during the race. He never did and never showed signs of doing so, this is why I voted for Maldonado.

    Jenson Button was no doubt in my mind the worst driver of the weekend. It’s weekends like this which stop people from rating him alongside the likes of Alonso and Hamilton. Button can seemingly only perform when the car is completely fine, the slightest difficulty with the car, and he struggling like hell.

    1. I voted for Lewis because of how he’d been all weekend but I completely agree with you about Pastor Maldonado, we’ve seen other drivers not used to being up front, crack under pressure such as Rosberg (not talking about his win as he was way out in front). Maldonado had Alonso on his tail for practically the whole race and not one single lock up, superb.

    2. I would put in a vote for Schumi as worst driver of the weekend. Ok, he did get into Q3, but then he lost patience behind Senna and speared him. Feel rather like a rookie (and by now he is not even a rookie if we would count only his comeback), than a former 7times champion.

  15. I voted Lewis in the end, but it was difficult. Had the same problems as his teammate in practice, but he managed to overcome them and show how fast the Mclaren truly was albeit slightly flattered (probably by about 0.100s) by being lighter on fuel. Nevertheless, he still demolished everyone in qualifying and has been the most consistent driver (in terms of performance, the results don’t tell the whole story.) this season.
    The race… wow. 24th to 8th on a track notoriously difficult to pass on and while he was having to run about 2s off the pace to conserve his tyres. He completely destroyed JB this weekend (finishing 8s ahead) and has firmly put to bed the belief that he is hard on his tyres. It really would be a beautiful moment in the season if he were to finally get his first win of the season at his favourite track.
    It really was a tough one though with Pastor and Sebastian both putting in sublime performances this weekend, but I genuinely believe LH was better over the entire three days.

    1. I forgot to mention Kobayashi. Another driver who was further down the grid than he should have been through no fault of his own. He drove beautifully to make it up to fifth with his trademark ‘SURPRISE IT’S ME’ overtakes.

      1. That’s what yer supposed to call them then! ;D

  16. There’s only one winner, Maldonado, but Hamilton and Alonso were both very good. Hamilton probably had winning pace had he not been sent to the back, and his drive through the field was mature (in the sense that you suspect he would have crashed out in the same position last year) and he made the two-stop strategy work. Alonso was again so much better than Massa. That he’s euqal top after 5 races in that car tells you everything.

    But Pastor defied expectations and drove a smart and fast race to victory. He was deserving of the criticism last year, and he’s equally deserving of the praise this year. A worthy DOTW.

  17. If I knew nobody would vote for Kobayashi, he would’ve gotten my vote.

  18. Definitely a close call between Lewis, Pastor, and Alonso.

    1) Maldonado: all around superb drive from pole position. Dominated his teammate the entire weekend, and held off the pressure from Alonso. Was fast when he needed to be, and conserved his tires brilliantly in the final stint.

    2) Hamilton: another lost weekend for Lewis, but he performed valiantly and kept his head up (and kept his cool) during the race. Like Maldonado and Alonso, pretty much dominated his teammate in qualifying and during the race. Was especially impressive during his last stint as he made some great overtakes but still made his tires last for 31 laps. Easily could have won if McLaren would get their act together this season.

    3) Alonso: again, as usual, completely dominated his teammate and wrung 100% out of the F2012. Great start, but questionable pit strategy probably cost him the lead to Maldonado. Chased Pastor bravely during the final stint, but seemed to abuse his tires in vain trying to pass the Williams. All around great drive.

    For me, however, when looking at driver of the weekend, it’s a story of what could have been. Lewis’ pole position was brilliant (would have been ahead regardless of missed liters of fuel), and his race was calculating and aggressive. Again, it’s an incredible close call, but I feel that Lewis really was the best driver this weekend, considering his circumstances.

  19. In any other circumstances it would easily be Maldonado, but I honestly still can’t get over the brilliance of Hamilton’s performance all weekend. He destroyed everyone in quali, even without the weight advantage of less than half a 10th. A lot has already been said about his superb drive from last to 8th in the race, and one comment summed it up for me yesterday when they said “Hamilton was taking the mick out of Button”.

    We also have to take into account the difficulties and adversities faced by Lewis this weekend. I can’t even imagine the devistation he must have felt on saturday night. But he dealt with it all with extreme maturity and grace, sticking by his team whilst everyone else was turning against them. Oh, and lets not forget that overtake on the Torro Rossos. Best of the year so far??

  20. I have to vote for Michael Scumacher. No-one else showed such total self-belief. No one else would have had the temerity to make such creative and imaginative excuses.
    “I made a mistake and hit him up the backside”. Would have been so much better Michael. It’s called humility. If you find it difficult go and ask Jenson.

    1. Lol ….you have to love him though!

  21. I thought Pastor Maldonado was great and deserved the win as it stands, but as for driver of the weekend it has to go to Lewis Hamilton, great attitude, great qualifying, great racing and if he hadn’t been given the penalty, would probably have won ….. here’s to Monaco!

    1. Just wanted to mention the great drives by Alonso, Vettel, Raikkonen and Kobayashi too.

  22. Maldonando was very throughout the weekend, grabbing his first top three quali, but for DOW I pick Lewis Hamilton. He was fantastic on and off the track. After that lap he branded as his “best ever” and a harsh penalty for an error by his team he did not blamed anybody and took it as a team mistake, “win as a team, lose as team” philosophy is something to be praised in every sport.

    On Sunday Hamilton was the only two-stopper showing the world he nurse hit tyres well enough to find grip to fight for position until the last lap.

    1. [FIXED]

      Maldonando was very good throughout the weekend, grabbing his first top three quali, but for DOW I pick Lewis Hamilton. He was fantastic on and off the track. After that lap he branded as his “best ever” and a harsh penalty for an error by his team he did not blamed anybody and took it as a team mistake, “win as a team, lose as team” philosophy is something to be praised in every sport.

      On Sunday Hamilton was the only two-stopper showing the world he can nurse his tyres well enough to find grip to fight for position until the last lap.

  23. Lewis Hamilton. Didn’t get off to a great start in FP1, so he worked on what was wrong. Got it right for FP3 and qualy and the race, only to be thwarted by a mistake by the team. So he’s put on an almost impossible task of making a 2-stopper work and he does, despite another pit-stop gremlin and remembering that this is the track where last year people were having to make 4 stops while he is labelled as someone unduly harsh on his tyres.

    Maldonado had an amazing weekend. But, luckily for him, he didn’t have to overcome the obstacles Hamilton’s team put in front of him. In fact, Maldonado’s team strangely enough seemed to do all in their power to help their driver win. And he repaid them in kind by doing so.

    Honourable mentions to Alonso for his customary demolishment of Massa, Raikkonen for driving the nuts off his Lotus and Lotus for giving their drivers the car to do well (although then seemingly, with less than 100% information available to me, making it hard work to do well). Also to Kobayashi for an outstanding race and finally, to…

    ..Rosberg for keeping up the hopes of the other 1-man team. Sauber are now within 2 points of Mercedes in the constructor’s championship with Sauber’s drivers 3 points apart from eachother. Guess how many points Rosberg’s team-mate has scored so far this year.

  24. Maldonado will win this poll, but I voted for Hamilton. He was completely without peer on saturday, and in spite of starting from the back through no fault of his own, he put his head down and put in a great race. He made the hard tires work better – for longer – than any other driver, had some great overtakes, kept his nose clean, and altogether brought home more points than he should have been able to.

    Pastor’s win is a glorious result, no doubt about it, and I completely understand why people will vote for him. But when it comes to the best driver of the whole grand prix weekend, it has to be Hamilton this time around.

  25. Equally Maldonado and Hamilton.

    Lewis Hamilton couldn’t have been asked to do any more- took an excellent pole by half a second, but DQ for a team error. Still, he put that behind him, and stormed through the field to beat Jenson Button easily, with good passes along the way, like on the STRs. He didn’t even lose his cool after the pit error in the race. He’s got himself into the right frame of mind since the start of this season.

    Pastor Maldonado, after so much criticism over being a pay driver, and having a poor 2011 season littered with incidents, answered his critics in the ultimate way. He withstood the pressure throughout the race from Fernando Alonso and held on for a fantastic maiden win.

    1. Yeah, I agree, it was almost impossible for me to choose between the two of them, although I ended up going with Hamilton in the end. He was fantastic in both qualifying and the race, and he didn’t allow himself to be distracted by any number of things that would have put many drivers off their game, at the very least. And if someone had said to you before that race, “Pick the one driver who will stop only twice,” how many people would have chosen him?

      It was a tough call, though!

  26. Without a doubt Maldonado.
    Hamilton was once again great, a deserved pole position and a good recovery from 24th. But, let’s remember he has a McLaren.
    Alonso was superb but he still couldn’t beat Maldonado.
    Raikkonen was yet again very good, his laps at the end of the race were amazing stuff.
    Grosjean is a little “crazy” when it comes to overtaking. He should be more patient and careful, after all his car is much stronger than others’.

  27. Easily Pastor Maldonado, didn’t make a single mistake all weekend. Brilliant qualifying, aggressive in the race when he needed to be, calm and composed when he needed his tires to last, while fending off two attacks from Alonso in the final stint. There were more good drives, but only one great one.

    I was quite surprised to see the amount of votes cast for Hamilton. He was a star in qualifying but merely good in the race. Nice overtakes, but nothing amazing. Reading through the comments though, many people were impressed by his composure in spite of the misery, which is a fair point I hadn’t considered, but I don’t let that weigh very heavily. He’s been driving solidly so far this season, if McLaren can get their act together, he’s still my favorite for the WDC.

    I thought predicting 6 different race winners for 2012 might have been optimistic. Now I think we’ll get to that come Monaco. It would be very cool to see Hamilton up there, and I’m not a supporter of any particular driver.

  28. I think there is no doubt in this, its clearly Pastor Maldonado.
    I think what people forget to see is that it was just not brilliant driving by Pastor but also brilliant strategy by Williams to get him for 2nd pit stop early, having confidence in the car and driver to get the job done. Despite having not won for 8 years they were braver than Ferrari to take the risk. Normally you think Ferrari would be more experienced with all the wins in last decade to take such strategic gamble. In the you can just say Williams team had not forgotten to win they were just waiting for things to fall in right place.

    1. * In the ‘end’ you

    2. @nin13
      Yeah Williams played that game perfectly.
      Not like when Sauber figured that they got a shot at Alonso for P1 and then threw it down the drain.

  29. I love this quote from the Autosport weekend report (requires subscription or one-off payment) about Maoldonado:

    Gillan was coy about the exact upgrades the team had incorporated, but had seen the funny side on Saturday night when asked if he knew why the team was quick.

    “It’s a good question,” he smiled. And a valid line of inquiry given what we’ve seen thus far in 2012. The FW34 has always had decent race pace this year, but in Barcelona it could qualify as well.

    “We came here believing we had a better car, but I don’t know about a front-row car,” he admitted. “Barcelona can be a fickle circuit and it’s very changeable. You see the track temperature changing quite a bit and it’s about handling those conditions. Pastor also did a great job in qualifying. He’d got out of the car after P3 and told us not to touch it.”

  30. Kudos to Pastor for that performance, but I think Lewis Hamilton was outstanding. As Keith says, he faced all sorts of problem on race day, and yet, *still* finished in the points. Brilliant stuff!

  31. Its tight between Maldonado and Hamilton, very tight! If you voted for anyone else then you were properly not watching the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix or something. Anyway I just (JUST!) went for Hamilton. Mainly because the Williams is a quick car and Maldonado did some without doubt nice driving to finish 1st but thats were he started and no overtakes were required from him throughout the race. Yes he did a great job of conserving his tires but someone else did better, of course im talking about Hamilton. 31 laps on Pirelli tires while gaining 16 (almost 17) places and beating his team mate despite starting 14 places behind and another pitstop blunder, albeit a small one. Finally chuck in a pole lap that was over half second quicker than anyone else which he would then have to get mentally over losing and starting at the other end of the grid.

    Driver of the weekend, Hamilton!

  32. It was Lewis for me this weekend. Simply because of his total attitude over the whole weekend. When I saw the painful interview that Martin Whitmarsh gave, telling the whole world how Lewis told him how he supported him and the team, even though they cast him the win and lost him points at the last GP. Yes, after the enormous cock up they made, Lewis was still man enough to show that he truly is a TEAM player. I am not going to get into the Whitmarsh favouring Button nonsense.

  33. Had to go for Hamilton in the end, despite everything he didn’t complain (openly) just got on and made a 2 stop work where no one else did whilst also beating his team mate (and current title contender) whilst starting 14 places behind him.

    A very important race for Hamilton this season and if his new attitude can contiune for the other races and his car contiunes to be very competetive he can take the title

  34. Hamilton was outstanding on that 2 stop he managed to pass 19 cars apart from pastor, alonso and the 2 lotus, thats why he got my vote.

  35. 1. Maldonado
    2. Hamilton
    3. Alonso

    Honorable mention: Kobayashi!

  36. Tough choice but i had to give it to Hamilton. Despite the odds, he proved to everyone what a great driver he is… making two stop strategy work and finishing circa 7 secs ahead of his team mate even though he started 14 places behind him.. That is an incredible achievement. Pastor also did a great job fight off Alonso’s threat so great drive from him

  37. Hamilton was brilliant. He was composed, yet aggressive and on the limit all the time. But let’s not forget that the Mclaren is indeed the fastest car.

    Maldonado was just supreme. Alonso was relentless for the 10 laps after the third stop but Pastor did not make a single mistake. He had it all under control all the time. Pastor for me, no doubt

  38. It’s the weekend. So Hamilton. Fastest in qualifying, best tyre preserver during the race. Also magnanimous with his team’s blunders, commendable in his desire to congratulate Williams after the race. Maldonado second – as he probably should have been if McLaren hadn’t blundered and FIA not succumbed to another bout of Hamilton bashing. (And here I’m factoring in their decision to nothing about Perez forcing Hamilton off track and losing position for a manouvre they have punished someone – oh look, Hamilton – in the past.)

  39. Hamilton did a great job in qualifying and race, and would have most likely won in not the penalty, but even then if Maldonado had got only podium my vote would ho to him. He did a tremendous job, I didn’t ever expect him getting higher than 5th in normal conditions this year.

  40. When it came down to it, Maldonado lost his pole position and had to rely on the team getting him back in front, as I don’t believe he would have had the racecraft to pass Alonso on track. Admittedly he didn’t make any mistakes all race, but pressure was taken off him in the final stint due to the nature of Alonso eating up his tyres – and probably being told to focus on retaining 2nd place instead of going all out for the win when it became apparent Raikonnen could be a serious threat. For the first time in a long long time, I genuinely believe Hamilton drove the best of anyone all weekend. A superb qualifying lap, which would have still been pole for sure even without the fuel blunder by the team. Very very tricky to make up places on a two stop strategy with the tyres this year, and a very mature drive from a man who (like many others) gets easily frustrated, particularly at having to hold back on the Pirellis.

    Definitely not Schumacher though. I saw this… I had a chuckle before I realised just how dark it was. https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p480x480/525877_10151706301515510_654145509_24497999_1508522230_n.jpg

    1. @frosty – Poor drive from Schumacher, even poorer attempt at a “joke” from the “person” who did that caption.

  41. That duel at the front could have been fought out by Alonso and Vettel, and I don’t think it would have looked much different.
    Maldonardo drove like a much more experienced driver. Both in qualifying and in the race.
    He was just magnificent.

  42. I really dislike Maldonado, but you can’t deny that he was the best driver this weekend. I wish I could give it to Alonso or Raikkonen, but I believe their strategies let them down.

  43. why did torro rosso not get a penilty one of there cars had both compounds on at the same time at one point in the race

    1. No he didn’t. The markings had just been rubbed off in a fight with if I remember correctly, Grosjaen in which Grosjaen lost the other end-plate of his front wing.

  44. I had to vote for Maldonado. Even when he was promoted to pole I thought he and Williams would fade in the race and the victory would be between Alonso, Raikkonen and Vettel, but he didn’t put a wheel wrong all race.

    I think Hamilton was a close runner up, he put in a great lap in qualifying and it was only the team’s mistake which put him at the back of the grid, I feared he would let this get to him and we would see a scrappy race we had got used to seeing last year. But he put in a great performance and was the only driver to manage a two stop strategy and finished in front of his teammate despite starting at the back.

  45. This week saw some good driving from different drivers.
    Vettel did good to finish 6th despite having a drive through penalty and front wing change.
    Kobayashi did his usual ala Kobayashi overtakes
    Raikkonen, although an “untroubled” race, showed speed and determination.
    Alonso does not delude. He keeps delivering good drives in a car which has yet to be fully competitive.
    Maldonado… well, a surprise strong performance in quali and race. Handled very well the pressure from Alonso,
    and managed at the same degree the lost of position in the start, hunting down Alonso not letting him extend the gap, and with the good strategy, he made it. He transformed his maiden pole position in race win.
    But to me has to be Hamilton. I don’t do it very often, but this time I would have given him two votes if there was an option for that. He posted the best time in quali, got relegated back to the grid for no fault of his own, maintained a cool head (rare for him), did the overtake of the race (two cars in one turn), managed very well his tyres, finished ahead of his team mate, what else? Oh yes, still haven’t heard a word complaining about his team, which has cost him pretty much this time around.

  46. Maldonado won the race but he certainly wasn’t ‘Driver of the Weekend‘.

  47. It’s fairly safe to assume that Maldonado will win this poll, and deservedly so. But my DOTW was Kamui. He was feisty and entertaining in the race, put in some good overtakes and really did outstanding overall in my book. If not for his Q3 problem he could have started and finished higher

  48. Maldonado for me… It’s difficult to keep Alonso behind!! Unless you’re Petrov…

  49. Pastor Maldonado. I never thought he was for real–I was wrong.

  50. Button, no doubt.

  51. I voted Maldonado of course

  52. i gonna say MS, tq for the crash..we need more crash

  53. heres a rhyme i made up about the race!

    Pasta we need to go faster!
    Alonsos catchung us behind
    Don’t worry thank pits stops it’ fine!
    Lets have pasta!
    Pastor: you eat me?
    NO NO! FOOD!
    Pastor: confused. AHHH! LETS JUST SMILE ANYWAY!

  54. I’d love to know what percent of those who voted for Hamilton class themselves as Hamilton fans.

    Let’s face it, Maldonado was far and above the driver of the weekend. In his lowly Williams, he was 2nd fastest in p3, grabbed pole and won the race.

    The fact that over 100 people have voted Hamilton above Maldonado is really worrying.

    1. ‘Let’s face it, Maldanado was far and above driver of the weekend’. Inherited pole (was off it by 0.5s), lost position at the start, got it back through pit stops, didn’t have to make any overtakes and didn’t look like he would have been able to pass Alonso had his team not done it for him. He was very good, yes, but not perfect and to say he deserves it far and above anyone else is just your opinion.
      Lowly Williams? You can’t go above 100% of your car’s capabilities, but very few drivers can achieve 100% on a regular basis. He put it 2nd behind Lewis, so it’s not a lowly car. It is in fact a very fast car and has shown as such in all the races.
      The fact that over 100 people have voted for LH is not worrying at all. It was because he was faultless all weekend. Grabbed pole, demolishing his teammate in the process. Had it removed through no fault of his own and clawed his way back from 24th to 8th in the race. He 2 stopped and managed 31 laps on tyres that shouldn’t have been able to do that, and was still faster than a few 3 stoppers in virtually equal cars. Including his teammate. His overtakes were sublime and he maximised what was possible from that position, which makes me wonder what he could have done from pole. Don’t forget that making progress through the field this year is very hard, the cars are a lot closer. That he is in a faster car doesn’t mean much, because it’s not that much faster than the mid-field teams. The tyres also make it hard to overtake because they struggle in dirty air.
      All in all, Hamilton was perfect this weekend and to think he doesn’t deserve a vote for driver of the weekend is extremely short-sighted. I wonder how many people who have no appreciation for his drive are Hamilton haters…

      1. @goodyear92

        I wonder how many people who have no appreciation for his drive are Hamilton haters…

        I’m not too sure what you’re alluding to there mate, but I’m no “hater”. And it’s not that I don’t appreciate his drive, yep he had a great weekend from a driving perspective. But for me Maldonado (pinch yourself and remind yourself it was PASTOR MALDONADO!!!!! that won a race, i never thought I’d see a day) was sublime. See my post below..

        1. What I was alluding to was that anyone who can’t understand how good he was, not just from a driving perspective, but everything that weekend. Kept a good attitude after being thrown to the back of the grid and produced one of the best drives (of anyone) this season.
          Maldanado made some small errors (it came down to that in deciding between them), but Lewis made none. He was 10/10 this weekend and I don’t understand how anyone could be confused why people would vote for him. I’m a massive Lewis fan, but this is only the second vote I’ve given for him in DOTW.

          1. What I was alluding to was that anyone who can’t understand how good he was, not just from a driving perspective, but everything that weekend, must have a dislike towards him. – Edited.

    2. Adrian (@adrian_debian)
      14th May 2012, 21:44

      I think Lewis proved a lot this weekend as well, did well his job in practice and qualy, got over the fact that he was relegated to the back of the grid from pole position on no fault of his own. Did great in his race, with 2 tyre changes (being accused in the past that he can’t manage tyres) and finished 8th, above people like Button, Webber or Massa.

      All in all i hope next weekend Kimi wins so we have 6 races with 6 different winners from 6 different teams :D

    3. why is the choice of Hamilton as the DOTW worrying? people have different opinions and you have yours. Pastor didn’t grab pole for staters. it was handed to him because Hamilton was slapped with a penalty. You can’t tell me Hamilton’s job of moving up the field from 24th to 8th on a 2 stop strategy is an ordinary achievement. Pastor did not win the race with a slow car

      1. @dt
        I think it’s worrying in terms of the standard of F1 debate. But that’s just my opinion.

        And for what it’s worth, I don’t think Hamilton’s race was ordinary. I’ve never suggested so. He drove a great race, and had a great weekend (purely from a driving perspective).

        But Pastor Maldonado drove a spectacular race and a spectacular weekend. He was stunning. To be just so level headed after everything we’ve seen from him so far in F1 (last year at Spa & Monaco, Australia this year), it really was amazing. Let’s not forget, this is a driver who scored 1 point last year. And he just won a race.

        And Hamilton drove better?

        1. @cduk_mugello you say it’s worrying in terms of the standard of debate. I don’t understand this, people having differing opinions is what can spark debates, with people giving thought out arguments for each side of the debate. What YOU are doing is worrying in terms of the debate. You are giving you’re opinion as if it is fact, and dismissing everyone else’s opinion as incorrect, biased and irrelevant.

          1. @ Jake : Well said!

          2. @jleigh

            You are giving you’re opinion as if it is fact, and dismissing everyone else’s opinion as incorrect, biased and irrelevant.

            I have not once told everyone that they are biased and irrelevant. And to an extent I haven’t told everyone they are wrong.
            As I’ve explained in other posts, my opinion is that Maldonado was the better driver.

            I didn’t think I needed to specifically state when something I write is my opinion and not fact.

      2. Pastor did grab pole. Hamilton was excluded from qualifying because he, and the team didn’t have enough fuel in their car as it states in the rules that everyone else on the starting grid managed to follow. Sure it was overly harsh to be excluded from all qualifying but that’s the rules (or the way they were interpreted). I really liked Hamiltons drive and honestly wouldn’t mind him starting lower down the field more often if we can see some great driving as he showed in Spain, not 24th though. My vote went for Maldonado though. Nice drive, consistent, win and saved his injured cousin from the fire in the Williams garage.

    4. @cduk_mugello : Really worrying? Yes …. yes …I see what you mean ……. My God …… it’s the end of the world as we know it …… people having differing opinions on who they think deserves ‘Best Driver of the Weekend’ in a VOTE!
      Seriously, who are you to question whether we voted for Hamilton as fans or not? I am a Lewis fan and if I’d truly believed Maldonado to be the best driver over the weekend, I WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR HIM, get over yourself!

      1. @welshwitch

        Gill, it wasn’t aimed at you. I didn’t single you out. I didn’t say Gill Parry how dare you vote for Lewis Hamilton. But for some reason you want to play the man rather than the ball.

        And yep in comparison to the Sahel drought etc it isn’t really that worrying. But this isn’t really the arena to discuss other topics. I just think it’s worrying in showing the level of debate on this website.

        What’s astounding is that you explain to me that people have differing opinions.. then chastise me for having a different opinion to you.

        Seriously, who are you to question whether we voted for Hamilton as fans or not?

        Well.. I’m just another f1 fan. I didn’t question whether you voted for Hamilton as a fan. All I said was I wondered how many people that voted for Hamilton consider themselves Hamilton fans.

        1. @cduk_mugello :Errrmmm …….. sorry at what point did I chastise you for having differing opinions? -assuming that the differing opinion in question is indeed the relevant one …. who people choose to vote for and their right to do so without being criticised for it or questioned as to whether they are trully Hamilton fans! I’m assuming you voted for Maldanado although you didn’t actually say, where in my reply did I criticise you for voting for him or question why? Answer: I didn’t…. As for the ‘All I said was I wondered how many people that voted for Hamilton consider themselves fans’ what difference does it make and why would you be worried because of this?

          I really didn’t take it personally, I was merely explaining the reason why I voted for Hamilton and not Maldonado as I can’t really speak for anyone else and what the hell does ‘Play the man not the ball’ mean?

          Read your first post again. you said ‘Let’s face it, Maldonado was far and above the driver of the weekend’ …. in your opinion, which you’re entitled to …. in MY opinion Hamilton was …is that OK with you, I wouldn’t want it to worry you too much?

          1. @ cduk_mugello : Ahhhh a football phrase!
            “Play the ball not the man”

            We can be bold enough to make a stand and do battle for our views and beliefs. But we must strive to be mature enough not to resort to unnecessary personal attacks upon people with opposing views.
            The “ball” is our personal view and the “man” is someone with the opposing view.
            May I just point out that I haven’t made a personal attack on you, so for future reference, maybe you should find out exactly what a phrase means before using it.

          2. @welshwitch

            who people choose to vote for and their right to do so without being criticised for it or questioned as to whether they are trully Hamilton fans

            I didn’t questing whether they were true Hamilton fans per se, I just wondered what percentage of people voting for Hamilton consider themselves as fan of his. Anyhow, just wondering where the ‘right’ you talk of exists from? Where is it enshrined?

            maybe you should find out exactly what a phrase means before using it

            I know only too well what it means.. that’s why I used it. You personalise a discussion as soon as you start to say things like “Seriously, who are you to question..” & “get over yourself!”

            The ‘ball’ in this case would be the discussion of Maldonado v Hamilton. Apart from citing your democratic right to vote in any way you want, you didn’t really give much reason why Hamilton should be DOTW. Instead, you focused your attack on discrediting me; ‘the man’.

    5. If I had to class myself as a fan of a single driver, it would be either Kimi Raikkonen or Kamui Kobayashi. I still voted Hamilton though, because over the whole weekend he clearly did the best job possible.

      Maldonado got the best result possible, but the two are not necessarily the same. I loved his driving this weekend, he did an awesome job in the race and qualifying both. Both drivers played the cards they were given. Maldonado got the result, but Hamilton had to work so much harder in the race that it is in my opinion hard to argue that he wasn’t the driver of the weekend.

      Clearly a lot of people think differently and that’s fine. I don’t have any misgivings about Maldonado winning the vote, as I say he played the cards he was given as best as he could and that meant he ended up with the win. But discounting the Hamilton votes as fanboys’ is a bit short-sighted.

      1. @Ral : Again, well said, everyone has a right to vote for whomever they feel deserves it without being insulted or having it questioned, even if someone e.g. votes for Karthikayen for the reason that he goes out there every race for no reward.

    6. There were 57 votes as Hamilton as DOTW during Monaco last year on day 1

      1. Exactly!

        1. @karthikayan : Not sure I would have lol, love him though I do for being so passionate about racing :)

    7. @cduk_mugello
      I am no Hamilton fan, but he’s got my full support for the Spanish weekend for reasons I have explained in my post. He was the best in the field to me, and deserved my vote.

  55. i got tweeted by direct message by @SimonLazenbySky and his driver of the day was Maldonado but obviously reckons Lewis had a great drive (@Oggie509 is my twitter if you were wondering) i’m inclined to agree

    1. @cduk_mugello : Let’s just say you believe you have the right to question other voter’s reasons for not choosing the same candidate as you.

      I don’t believe you do, it’s called respect!

      End of!

  56. I’ve voted for Hamilton, though I think Maldonado had at least an equally good weekend and he’ll win the vote.

    Firstly Hamilton was the best in qualifying by a mile, even if he’d had another litre of fuel in his car he’d have still got pole. He then had a very strong race for someone who gets stick for not being as good on his tyres as his team mate. He only stopped twice, once less then anybody else, yet still come the end of race was close to Vettel and Rosberg, both of whom were driving fast cars and started much further up the grid than he did. He could have thrown his toys out of the pram after qualy but didn’t and did an excellent job of damage limitation.

    Maldonado did have possibly his best weekend yet in F1, however he isn’t driving last years Williams, and we’ve seen in the races so far that the current Williams can be close to the front of the field on merit, so for me whilst I was impressed by his performance, bearing in mind where the likes of Red Bull and Mclaren were a Williams at or near the front wasn’t entirely unexpected.

  57. I voted for Hamilton. Yes Maldonado was great all weekend, but Lewis would have probably walked the race, he just looked so hooked up this weekend! Hamilton because he performed the best all weekend. I imagine both will be in contention this weekend, Pastor is something of a Monaco specialist!

    1. unfortunately we have to wait 2 weeks before monaco this year :(

  58. To not vote for Maldonado after he took a brilliant win would just feel wrong for me.
    Honourable mentions go to Hamilton for keeping reasonably calm over what was obviously a difficult weekend for him, and Alonso for putting in a great performance for his home crowd.
    I’d give credit to Raikkonen and Grosjean, but I feel they should have won the race so therefore they underperformed in my eyes..

  59. Point of correction. Button was fastest in Prac Two with a 1.23,399 and was 4th fastest in Prac One. while Hamilton was 8th Prac One and 4th Prac two. On top of that, Button went faster in Quali than he did in free practice. So why every website on the planet is reporting that Button did not look right or comfortable all weekend is beyond me.

  60. Lewis getting 30% is a joke! Nobody ever gets such recognition for doing similar or better job, Even the live broadcasts didnt go nuts about it being the biggest surprise.

    Pastor wins it all day. On the ball from Satarday morning then was the star of the race.

    1. He was very slow behind slower cars(he drives McLaren, come on) and comparing to Vettel and their both circumstances his race was not much different.

      No one could touch top4s race performance in Spain at any point.

      But hey, Hamilton is in the race for WC so he is followed closely so his achievements as his mistakes always taken out of proportion.

      What I like about Hamilton this season, he can look back and say: I did my best.

    2. Oh God another one …… 30% of the votes were for Hamilton so what, you had your vote we had ours …………. Live with it!

      1. This is a ‘BEST DRIVER OF THE WEEKEND poll not ‘BEST SUPRISE DRIVER OF THE WEEKEND’

        1. And how was he best exactly? With him taking ages to pass a much slower cars in a McLaren, four cars in front of him dropping out which he would have no chance to pass regarding his lack of pace through out whole GP. Geee

          Just another GP where McLaren seems to lack race pace, they doing great during quali though.

          1. @ Kimi4WC : I wasn’t saying he was, I was just pointing out that it’s Best Driver of the Weekend not, Best Suprise Driver, so Hamilton is entitled to be included even if, in some people’s opinions he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. But just for the record in my opinion he was the best driver over the weekend and I’ve already given my reasons.

  61. Hamilton – 24th to a good position, and kept his head! I’m enjoying Hamilton’s level-headedness this year :)
    Plus, I believe it was that pass where he ducked and weaved between the two Toro Rosso’s… (I believe it was them). That has to be one of the best pass’s I’ve seen all season – very ballsy stuff! :P

  62. Maldonado without a doubt was by far the best driver of the weekend. Seriously impressive stuff from chap with so little experience in F1.

    Man Maldonado is driving a Williams. PM showed something incredible in fending of Alonso of all drivers all race whilst being in an inferior car.

    Hamilton doing what is expected for probably the best car this year.If Hamilton had managed what he achieved in a Williams it would have been far different. I am just starting to warm again to Lewis after his weird freak circus last year but some of his fans are not making it any easier. Seriously these people vote for Lewis each and every race, regardless of how well he performed.

    Worst driver Naraain Kartikayan (can’t even be bothered with the spelling for this guy). He is just a menace and ruins whole races and sessions for so many other drivers and fans. He just has no idea who is near him, ever. As people here have commented he should be the expert at being lapped and having cars pass him cause he has the most experience at it.

    1. @bearforce1 I’m a Hamilton fan. I haven’t voted for him since Germany last year (not even when he won in Abu Dhabi). I voted for him this weekend though, for the reasons a lot (many I know not to be Hamilton fans) have pointed out.

      I think a lot is being made of the fact that Maldonado was driving a Williams. Yes, he was, a 2012 Williams, not a 2011 Williams. Let’s take qualifying, Hamilton and Alonso both said they got 100% out of their cars. I believe them, and I think it’s a fair assumption they are quicker than Maldonado. As it’s impossible to get more than 100% out of a car, even if Maldonado did get 100% out of his Williams, we would have to conclude the Williams was at least the fastest car on the grid.

      So Maldonado did a great job bringing home at worst the second fastest car on the grid home in 1st, whilst the one car that might have been faster started dead last. Don’t get me wrong, it was a brilliant drive, but I suspect a lot of the votes are based on the view that “wow, I wouldn’t expect that”. For me personally, I don’t take into account previous reputations when voting for driver of the weekend.

      Hamilton on the other hand did something no-one else could, and no-one expected to be possible. He also pulled off some incredible passing moves and did all this under what must have been very difficult circumstances. So yes I voted for Hamilton, and yes I’m a Hamilton fan, but the two are not linked, and just because I support a certain driver doesn’t make me (or any other Hamilton fans) exactly the same.

      1. *edit end of 2nd para* at least the 2nd fastest car

      2. @Jake, thanks for the reply.

        It is nice to know that others think about the actual weekend and how the drivers performed.

        I don’t agree with you that Lewis did something “no-one else could”. Many drivers have started at the back and won races or achieved third or so many many times. I think Lewis performed well but from history a driver in the best car starting at the back will make their way to eighth easily and to fifth, third or so and sometimes win.

        I am sure some stat gurus on here will be able to quickly remind us where someone started at the back of the grid and performed better than eigth.

        1. Not to mention at no point he was charging in front or giving any hints that he was on fire. As he said him self he did a great job and did best damage limitation he could.

          He is a qualifying monster though!

        2. @bearforce1 I was actually referring to the two stop strategy. Also, with the field being as close as it is this year, and Lewis having no new tyres, and the current tyres going off dramatically in dirty air, we can’t really compare it to the past instances such as Heidfeld last year, who did the same, but with heaps of brand new tyres and a far less competitive field to come back through.

  63. Pastor is going to romp this one in…

  64. Hahaha, is this true?

    Raikkonen congratulated all mothers with Mothers Day while he was asked to do his press conference in Finnish after the race?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tCWrIrufWE&feature=relmfu

    Epic.

  65. Lewis Hamilton is my driver of the Weekend. Through out the weekend he showed his usual top class pace and overtaking. Also displayed great maturity after getting penalty and looked after his tires so well. He shined in all departments both off track and on track like qualifying pace, race pace, overtaking and looking after tires. Old Lewis is BACK.

    1. Absolutely, 100%, Killed his critics (well the ones with intelligent thought processes anyway, lol) with his attitude and spirit and he definitely added suprise to the tyre management issue, there may well be other drivers who have gone from 24th to 8th or above, but have they done it on a 2 stop strategy in a car and with a driver, that from past history don’t like the tyres and taken them 31 laps while other drivers tyres are falling off the edge after a lot less?

  66. Kobayashi

  67. People are saying that Maldonado shouldn’t get it simply because he pulled a Vettel.

    You certainly weren’t saying that when Rosberg won, did you? Double standards, much?

    100% Pastor. I don’t even see what was so impressive about Hamilton’s race. All he did was show that Button had no pace all weekend, but otherwise even Massa kept him on his toes before the penalty.

    1. won, were you*

      1. I agree with you on the Maldonado/Vettel issue, Maldonado was fighting all the way, so nothing like Vettel or even Rosberg, a well deserved win but also no reason to critcise other voter’s reasons for giving it to Hamilton, he was superb all weekend and would have still been on pole position had the car not been under fuelled, there a lot of people on this site who aren’t Hamilton fans but have voted for him anyway, which after last season speaks volumes and as for the Massa comment, he isn’t capable of keeping anyone on his toes at the moment, sorry mate!

    2. Hamilton lost a lot of time behind Massa firstly because both had DRS making it useless, and then because of the HRT on the straight meaning Lewis couldn’t use his DRS.

  68. Impossible not to give it to Maldonado on his maiden victory.

    A near faultless drive, including substantial pressure from Alonso towards the end. Both were conserving tyres and aware of Räikkönen closing rapidly. This is a difficult balancing act to hold together, particularly with the vastly more experienced double WDC Alonso closing in on younger tyres.

    Alonso himself put in a superb performance, as did Räikkönen.
    The other candidate has to be Hamilton, whose job was extremely difficult in almost every way imaginable. 24th to 8th at Barcelona is no mean feat, even in a quick car. And even with DRS this is one of the most difficult circuits for overtaking – especially when conserving tyres two do just 2 stops!

  69. Notch one down for Maldonado

  70. It’s an easy choice this weakened. Simply has to be Narain in the HRT. I mean what a performance. So sublime Keith could only write two sentences about it.

    On a serious note, vote goes to Pastor. Had such excellent pace, kept Alonso at bay in a Williams and topped it off by helping people out of the Williams garage during the fire.

  71. Extremely hard to choose between the two. Maldonado’s drive was superb. Very measured, very controlled, pushed hard when he needed to and held station when he didn’t. He soaked up the pressure from the most relentless driver on the grid, and put in a performance which must be considered pretty well flawless. He may have gained pole position thanks to Hamilton’s penalty, but the fact he was on the front row to start with was no fluke, having also set fast times in the other qualifying sessions. He showed that even if you don’t have the fastest car on the grid, you can still achieve a win, despite this supposedly being an era where the driver isn’t supposed to be able to make a difference.

    Hamilton’s qualifying was nothing short of brilliant. Given his form in recent years, he could perhaps have been forgiven for letting his head drop after being disqualified, but instead he knuckled down and delivered a great performance scything through the pack. There was none of the half hearted, clumsy wheel banging which seemed to define his performances last year. Vintage Hamilton, showing controlled aggression, made all the more impressive by also managing to preserve the allegedly mega-fragile Pirelli tyres better than anyone else.

    Both drivers managed to put in brilliant performances through the whole weekend, despite starting from opposite ends of the grid. However, my vote goes to Maldonado, on the basis that Hamilton used a superior car to overtake inferior cars, while Maldonado used an inferior car to beat the superior cars.

  72. A well deserved win for Pastor, but I voted for Hamilton as arguably his charge form 24th to 8th was more exciting to watch and its good to see that he can remain calm and composed, looking after the tyres and getting the best from the car in a tough situation that was no fault of his own.

  73. How can it be anyone other than Maldonado, it beats me. Got pole while his teammate qualified 17th. When Alonso does that, he’s praised beyond the skies as outperforming the car, when Pastor gets over 1.5s advantage on his teammate in the same session, that’s not even mentioned, he just has a fast car, right? Lost the start but drove superbly, didn’t let Alonso to get away Vettel-style and eventually passed him in the pits and kept the lead despite poorer pit-stops with respect to Ferrari. When people say Alonso couldn’t catch Maldonado because when you follow a car your tyres degrade faster, they forget that Pastor was able to catch Alonso following him and didn’t destroy his tyres.

    Hamilton, on the other hand, did a good quali lap but it is irrelevant since the car was illegal. He still has the best car and had a good recovery drive, but it was not something special that we haven’t seen before. Heidfeld managed the same thing last year (not having the fastest car) and didn’t get much praise. Schumacher went from 22 to 10 in Bahrain, where he didn’t have even top 3 car and there were much fewer retirements than in Spain. Yet I don’t recall anyone regarding MSC’s drive as the best. Hamilton was passed by Vettel in the closing stages of the race and didn’t show any defensive driving to write home about. Didn’t even manage to pass Rosberg who was by that time a sitting duck, as Vettel and Kobi has proven. So, Hamilton’s drive was not even close to what Pastor did over the weekend to get his maiden pole and win.

    1. Correct me if I am wrong, that diference you of 1,6 seconds you point out comes between a car that was out of the race after just 12 laps, of course with far less fuel and other factors you increase your best lap later in the race.

      Anyway you have a point, Maldonado showed a terrific performance.

      1. No, the difference I was referring to was the difference between Maldonado and Senna in Q1

  74. Hamilton performed miracles like walking over a car with 1.3 litres of fuel and turned a grid position of 24 to 8 fine, but there is one thing that made me choose Maldanado – gaining 1.3 seconds on the middle sector in his outlap when Fernando just about caught Pic. I know Hamilton qualified half-a-scond ahead, but this was more than exceptional outlap that won him the race.

  75. Stunning drive. I was in nearly tears at the end – and as a driver Pastor is probably my least favorite on the grid.

    1. I mean, talk about a comeback for Williams. What a brilliant thing. Shame about the fire, but ….I feel like picking maldonandnaodnddononadoo for a win/podium in Monaco. He was 7th on merit in that dog of a Williams last year…this year when the car is actually good? Lets see.

  76. Why can’t some people on here just cast their vote giving the reasons why they chose that particular driver, instead of criticising other voters and drivers by dragging up irrelevant happenings from the past. It’s meant to be an overall vote on how well drivers did the weekend just gone, not an analysis on whether another driver did a comparative drive, in another race, in another season, if we had to consider all that information no-one would ever vote!
    @alexNK : I will repeat (before I get accused of causing aggro), Pastor drove a great race however, I don’t think this year’s Ferrari is actually capable of getting away Vettel style and using the same argument in reverse, Alonso (who overtook Maldonado at the start of the race) didn’t allow Maldonado (after a strategic pit stop by Williams put him in front) to do so either.

    As for Hamilton’s pole lap being irrelevant, that’s like a jury being told to ‘disregard that last piece of evidence’, regardless of the penalty awarded, he got pole position and would have done, even if the car had been fuelled correctly. His overtake on the two Toro Rosso’s was sublime and his tyres at the point when Vettel overtook him were how many laps old? Vettel was on fairly fresh tyres what would have been the point of trying to defend? As for Rosberg (who was also overtaken by Vetttel quite quickly), again his tyres were nowhere near as old as Hamilton’s yet given another lap or so Rosberg’s 7th place would have been doubt.
    To conclude : Alonso, started 2nd in what is considered to be a not particularly competitive car, led the way after an overtake, lost it through strategy, 3 pit stops, but managed to hassle to the end and finish 2nd;
    Vettel, started 8th in a fairly competive car this year, 3 pit stops and a drive through penalty, superb overtaking and finished 5th in front of his team mate;
    Hamilton, started 24th after losing pole position in a car is questionably (when compared to last season’s Red Bull) the fastest as each race (not qualifying) this season has produced different results, 2 pit stops, superb overtaking, only driver (in this race) to make his tyres last 31 laps, finished in 8th, ahead of his team mate who started in 10th;
    Maldonado, started on pole-due to Hamilton’s penalty putting him to the back of the grid-in what appears to be a fairly competitive car, lost the lead to Alonso in the first corner, 3 pit stops, one of which got him back out in front of Alonso, no overtaking, kept his cool superbly under pressure from a 2x WC, finished 1st.
    It’s not black and white, it’s personal choice, given the relevant facts :)

    1. First you describe how sublime Hamilton’s double overtake was, then try to defend him for being passed by Vettel. The two statements are contradictory.

      Hamilton was on tyres that were only a couple of laps old when he made the double overtake, and RIC/JEV both pitted a lap or two later. Brand new tyres versus very old tyres.

      Vettel pitted around lap 43 and made the pass on Hamilton around lap 62, making his tyres 20 laps old. I wouldn’t call those “fairly fresh.”

      So you can’t say that Hamilton’s pass was sublime, yet Vettel’s was simply down to a difference in tyre wear.

      1. LMAO ….Yes I can, what a ridiculous thing to say, they were at completely different points in the race, the only time you could call my comment contradictory is if all the cars were on tyres that would last the entire race. Hamilton’s pass was on two cars in a corner and Vettel’s pass was on a straight coming up to a corner where he had the advantage of DRS and Hamilton’s tyres were quite a number of laps older, I also said that Vettel did some great overtaking or was that not worth a mention because it ruined your invalid points?
        And did you completely miss the point of the comment …. PERSONAL CHOICE given the facts without being criticised, you just proved my point perfectly!

    2. If you look at the performance, this year’s Ferrari was the worst in the winter tests. The way the car is now, it is FAR more stable and driveable. Of course, if you choose to only look at Massa, you can claim it’s a dog, but using the same reasoning Williams in Senna’s hands sucks balls. In fact, after all the upgrades, Ferrari is faster than Red Bull, so I do not believe that your claim that F2012 in Spain was ‘not particularly competitive’ and Red Bull being ‘fairly competive car’ is validated by the practice or quali times.

      P.S. I really can’t get people saying ‘even if LH was fuelled correctly he still would have gotten pole’ or ‘the punishment was too harsh’. There is ONLY ONE punishment in the books for running an illegal car – disqualification, and there is no ‘shoulda coulda woulda’ in the results of the weekend.

      1. I didn’t mention the punishment, I merely said he would still have taken poll if the car had been fuelled correctly, a fact more relevant (in terms of how the car was running in practice) to this race than those which you brought up.

        As for the fastest car I don’t believe there is one, not a consistent one anyway and in individual races unless you’re in the fastest car out front it’s really irrelevant!

        1. I am not a big fan of guessing what would have happened, but hypothetically speaking, since we know how narrow the preformance window of the Pirellis is, I could argue that even 1 kilo of the fuel can have a huge influence on their performance. What we know for sure (Whitmarsh admitted that much in an interview) is McLaren knew they’re underfuelled when Lewis started his lap, yet they didn’t called him in. Nuff said.

          As for a fastest car, many experts, including James Allen who is not known for rush statements, firmly believe that McLaren have the best package. Why they didn’t capitalize on that, that’s another matter.

          1. @AlexNk : Yes, you’re quite right you could argue that and you have every right to do so but from my point of view Lewis had 1.5 litres of fuel in the car when it stopped, 2 litres would have got him back to the pits and then he would have had to provide .5 of a litre as a sample so he was light more or less 1 litre of fuel. that isn’t going to affect his performance by 5/10s, which is what he won by. As for Mclaren having the best package, maybe they have but in this season, it doesn’t necessarily mean race wins!

  77. Hamilton. It is a lot harder to follow cars and make your way up the field as we’ve seen with Webber and Button but to do so whilst having a tyre disadvantage to everyone bar the top 4/5 qualifiers and after the disappointment of Saturday. Great performance.

  78. Maldonado may clinch that one (and as I’ve stated, seriously, nobody can argue that was a fine display), but I think I’ll also remember the race for how good the field generally was (excl. Massa and Schumi).

    Hamilton’s double pass on the Toro Rosso was mouth dropping and reminded me of the brilliant triple pass Grosjean did last year in GP2. A bad moment for a Toro Rosso fan (are there any, though?).

    Kobayashi’s very gutsy move on Button might also end up in the top5 overtakes of the year. A shame really for Kobayashi, hadn’t it been for Maldonado and Hamilton, there might be a case for a driver of the week medal.
    With all the well deserved hype surrounding Perez, it’s easy to forget Kobayashi really has some great qualities too. That was a great race for him, and I really hope he gets a first podium / win soon, if only because it’s long overdue “having too small eyes to see the other cars” is rewarded.

    And a Ferrari laping another… Ouch.

  79. Quote of the season from Frank Williams in an autosport article…

    “When asked if Maldonado was only at Williams in the first place because of money, Williams said: “Yeah, he was to some extent. I’m not denying that. But if we thought he’d been a wanker, he wouldn’t have got in the team no matter how much money he had.”

    Old People!

    1. @thomf1s COTD for Sir Frank there I think :D

      Thanks for sharing that, it’s a great quote. There’s no shame in having a pay driver if your team just wants to secure their future through funding. I’d rather that then no team at all.

      1. Yes, a Frank Williams COTD would be brilliant, shame he doesn’t have an F1 Fanatic account!

  80. sid_prasher (@)
    15th May 2012, 19:21

    Maldonado easy choice for me….simply for the remarkable turn around for the team, how clearly he beat his team mate (who can say he didn’t get the best out of the car like Alonso did) and how he didn’t choke.

  81. Lets reverse the situation of Lewis and Pastor – Pastor gets pole in an under fueled car and is sent to the back of the grid, Lewis is promoted to pole and the race pans out as it did on Sunday, Lewis wins and Pastor comes through the field to eighth. Would anyone be considering Pastor as a dotw in those circumstances ?

    No I don’t think so. So why Lewis ?

    1. Bit arrogant assuming people wouldn’t vote for him, not good to judge others by your own standards and actually I WOULD vote for him under those circumstances and just on the race, whereas I voted for Lewis because of his maturity and demeanour throughout the whole weekend, not just the race, this after all a Driver of the Weekend vote!

  82. Little late to the party here but I voted Maldonado.

    He drove an incredibly mature race right from the start. I think he had a reasonable start, but he was up against Alonso so it was always going to be tougher than usual for him. The way he squeezed him showed that he didn’t lack confidence but he left enough room for Alonso to get by, which I’m sure went down well, considering the Ferrari drivers comments about a lack of driver respect at the moment. He stuck to his guns and didn’t make a mistake, he didn’t panic when Alonso was catching him and when he did finish the race he didn’t make a huge deal out of it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with making a big deal of it, it is a big deal, but I just thought his mood at the end of the race was reflective of his on track characteristics.

    Having a winning driver is one thing, but how you win is very telling. I’m sure Williams will be very confident in Maldonado for the future.

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