Best driver: Fernando Alonso- in terms of his persona, I see him as a sort of villain, yet he continues to do amazing things in the Ferrari with his solid consistency and stellar speed.
Worst Driver: Bruno Senna- Senna’s a nice chap and I initially supported him, being an Ayrton fan and all, but he’s been very disappointing in a race-winning, front-row-starting car. His failure to break into Q3 highlights his mediocrity, and now he’s just a seat-warmer for Valtteri Bottas. At least Karthikeyan can outqualify a Marussia.
Best Team: Red Bull- While lacking their 2011 dominance, the Milton Keynes squad has two incredible drivers, both delivering wins and podiums throughout the year. While Ferrari have made progress it’s ultimately Red Bull’s line-up and their ability to still win (compared to McLaren) which makes them the best team.
Worst team: STR- an inexperienced line-up with a car which fights the backmarkers and not the midfielders have earned the former Minardi team the unwanted distinction of worst team.
Most improved driver: Mark Webber- after being bested by Vettel last year, he’s been on par with his acclaimed teammate and has had some impressive drives.
Least improved driver: Karthikeyan, still a cucumber.
Most improved team: Williams, as they have gone from backmarkers to race winners. Although I wish the lineup was Barrichello-Bottas.
Least improved team: Marussia: still point-less and still fighting the HRTs.
Best performance: Maldonado’s win. He was surprisingly mature and it was definitely a mighty drive, defending from the home favourite. Too bad he threw it all away at Monaco.
Best season moment: Alonso’s emotional Valencia victory lap.
Best Rookie: Grosjean by far. And if you don’t consider Grosjean a rookie, then Vergne by default.
Best Race: Valencia
Worst Race: Monaco
Best Overtake: Grosjean on Hamilton in Valencia
Biggest disappointment of the year: Jenson “Benjamin” Button (for going backwards), Kobayashi (embarassing pit crew disaster, very accident-prone in Valencia).
Flop of the year: Senna and the dunce who awarded him with the Lorenzo Bandini Award.
Season rating: 8.5/10- memorable races and plenty of unpredictability.
Championship rating: 7/10- not really thinking about the championship now. It’s a good fight but a shame McLaren is slipping and Hamilton can’t participate.
Constructor’s champion: Red Bull
Driver’s Champion: I’m a Vettel fan but it would be great for the sport if Webber won. But one can never discount Alonso for the championship…