I agree that it was a brilliant drive from Vettel, but I do have to wonder if some of the back markers and even some of the mid field drivers did not put up as much of a fight as they would have in the beginning of the season and got out of the way due to who was driving, the time of the season and the championship implications involved.
I would think a driver or 3 made it easy for Vettel to pass. On the other had Senna was not one of those. What makes Vettel's drive even more spectacular for me was the fact he did much of it with a damaged wing. Maybe Red Bull will build a damaged wing for the next race. :wink:
Radio exchanges btwn Kimi and pit: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtaulxTt0Gc]F1 Abu Dhabi 2012 - Kimi Raikkonen's LEGENDARY Team Radio's [HD] - YouTube[/ame]
Everything else considered, the two radio transmissions from Kimi just added that certain jenesequa to the race. Kind of like Clin't "Make my day", or Arnold's "I'll be bahk!" .... "Yes, yes, yes.. I am working it.... you don't need to remind me every ten seconds!". Priceless!!
Spoiler alert: . .. ... .... ..... He didn't disappoint in comments on the podium either. DC: "Kimi, your first victory since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. Tell us about your emotions at this time." KR: "Not much, really." :lol:
Be fair - he did, at one point, briefly, smile. Which is more than I can remember him doing, except in WRC. One Lotus engineer said on the BBC that not only does he provide excellent feedback on the car, he's also good fun to go to the pub with.....
They should do a poll: Which F1 driver would you like to have a beer with? Sort of like they do with the presidential candidates.
Does anyone think he had a snowball's chance of winning this one if the Hamster hadn't fallen out? In many ways, this was just business as usuall in F1, the leader gets out ahead and drives off into the sunset for the win, meanwhile back in the pack all sort of exciting racing is going on. Three things made this memorable - it was Kimi in front, Alonso was closing on him at the end, and Vettel was carving the thru the field like crazy! And I wonder how this race would have gone had Vettel not started from the pits - not that it matters anymore, but I just wonder...... Or if Mock Webba could EVAR get a good start so he didn't have to play bumper cars with the rest of the field,
Great race with so many stories, Hamster going out, Seb's stellar drive from the back, Alonso proving he's ...well Alonso and my favorite, Lotus and Kimi standing atop the podium!!! The perfect cherry for a fantastic F1 season!! Now what surprises will Texas hold?!!!
McLaren Tooned Ep. 10 -- with Mika Hakkinen! I like this one. :biggrin5: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwERi-kcwlc[/ame]
Audio Raikonnen and Engineer (yellow flag) Audio of Raikkonen and the engineer, it does worth to listen. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrDDn8ZY9wk]Kimi Räikkönen Radio Abu Dhabi GP 2012 - YouTube[/ame]
This is an interesting article comparing the cars and philosophies of Red Bull and Ferrari. Worth a read. BBC Sport - Gary Anderson Column: Vettel gives Red Bull pause for thought