The Red Bull vs. Ferrari dominance eras

Red Bull is only the second outfit in F1 history, after Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher years, to have completed a hat-trick championship doubles with the same driver. 

This is how the dominant eras compare so far, with Red Bull closing on Ferrari's five-year pole stats just three years into its reign but looking unlikely to match the Scuderia's win tally even if its steamroller run continues.


Ferrari 2000-04

Races: 85
Drivers' titles: 5
Constructors' titles: 5
Wins: 57 (67%)
Poles: 51 (60%)
Fastest laps: 42
Podiums: 117

Red Bull 2010-12

Races: 58
Drivers' titles: 3
Constructors' titles: 3
Wins: 28 (48%)
Poles: 41 (71%)
Fastest laps: 23
Podiums: 61

2012 Season Review: Top 5 Drivers

1. Sebastian Vettel

Against all odds, Sebastian Vettel managed to dodge the traps of fate in Brazil. After crashing at the start and  suffering from a poor pitstop and a radio failure, the German fought back relentlessly and proved critics and fans alike that he can drive superbly under pressure. People may argue that most of his strong results this year were down to the car's dominant speed. In Brazil, Vettel has shown that the perfect car is nothing without the perfect driver. It was the car that was severely damaged and it was Vettel who got on top of that problem and stormed from the back of the pack to secure his third consecutive title. Which he damn well deserved. 

Best drive: Brazilian Grand Prix (suffering from an exhaust damage, a wrong pitstop call and a radio failure, and still managed to finish 6th to secure title) 
Best moment: securing third consecutive world title
Strong points: qualifying speed, racecraft, motivation
Weak points: sometimes incosistent and short tempered

2. Fernando Alonso

The F2012 was never a winning car. But Fernando Alonso's season is another fine example that the machine is nothing without the man. Consistent performance, regular points finishes, three superb victories, but somehow always slower and never that close to his main rival. Truth be told, if Ferrari had another driver in that seat, they probably wouldn't have race wins this year. Probably Alonso's strongest season to date. 

Best drive: European Grand Prix (qualified 11th, stormed to brilliant victory)
Best moment: emotional win in front of home crowd in Valencia
Strong points: racecraft, consistency, speed and determination
Weak points: short temper and lousy car

3. Lewis Hamilton

A mixture of bad luck and poor reliability overshadowed Lewis Hamilton's otherwise strongest season. Mature driving, raw qualifying speed and fantastic racecraft. Had McLaren sorted out the reliability problems from the start, Lewis would've made the top spot in the drivers' championship. A brilliant comeback from last year's issues as he shrugged off the rustiness and criticism. 

Best drive: United States Grand Prix (only man to challenge Vettel, hunted him down and snatched victory towards the end)
Best moment: overtaking Vettel to secure win in Texas
Strong points: raw speed and qualifying
Weak points: prown to make mistakes often

4. Kimi Raikkonen

Despite all the early criticism, Raikkonen's comeback was superb. One victory, six podiums, stellar driving, solid racecraft and consistent performance saw him initiate a sneaky approach towards snatching the championship. Rusty qualifying performance and Lotus' average development mid-season hindered the Finn from doing better. Ultimately secured 3rd spot in drivers' championship.

Best drive: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (dominated the race after Hamilton's retirement, and fended off Alonso to get comeback victory in the end)
Best moment: a brilliant wheel-to-wheel overtake on Schumacher in the final round in Brazil
Strong points: clean overtaking skills, racecraft, consistency
Weak points: qualifying speed and lack of aggressiveness

5. Sergio Perez

Sauber's Mexican driver has shown some flashes of brilliance this season with podium finishes in Malaysia, Canada and Italy. However, his inconsistent performance gave a hint that he's probably not ready for a top team just yet. Nevertheless, strongest season to date for Perez and best rookie driver.

Best drive: Malaysian Grand Prix (mastered tricky conditions to hunt down Alonso for win, but ultimately had to settle for 2nd)
Best moment: passing Alonso in Italy after failing to do so in Malaysia
Strong points: speed and adaptation to tricky conditions
Weak points: inconsistency 

Raikkonen set to return to McLaren in 2013

With rumors about Hamilton's move to Mercedes strengthening, Raikkonen has been linked with a return to McLaren. The Finn's management team has been spotted in the last three race weekends and it's likely they've been in contact with McLaren. 

Lewis Hamilton’s demeanour and that of his team after victory in the Italian Grand Prix bore all the hallmarks of a divorce that has already been agreed. Minimal celebrations on the pit wall and beneath the podium, a team photo for appearances’ sake with an implacable looking Hamilton and Ron Dennis declining to join in.

After Hamilton's departure, McLaren will have to fill a big hole in their driver line-up. The only logical replacement would be a driver that comes close to Hamilton's performance. While Raikkonen seems to be a fitting target, he has a contract with Lotus for next year. Supposedly the contract is valid only if the team could give him a car capable of finishing in the top 8 in the world championship. That requirement has pretty much been fulfilled and pundits believe that the Finn is now locked into their 2013 contract now. 

However, contracts can be easily terminated as we've seen after Kimi's sudden departure from Ferrari in 2009. The Robertsons (Raikkonen's management team) have been spotted in Budapest, Spa and Monza and are supposedly conducting negotiations with several teams regarding Raikkonen's future. And with Hamilton now almost surely set to leave McLaren, the team's plan B could easily feature the 2007 World Champion. 

Raikkonen is no stranger to McLaren. He enjoyed very successful years there and built a healthy relationship with the Woking team. Team principal, Martin Whitmarsh has been praising the Finn for his comeback performance and his words are proof enough that they might be interested in hiring him back. 

2012 Mid-Season Standings: A Championship of Five

The once unpredictable 2012 season has now been narrowed down to five drivers in contention for the world title. Alonso leads the pack, but the improving Red Bulls, McLarens and Lotuses could spoil the Spaniard's party. We'll take a driver-by-driver look. 

1. Fernando Alonso

Points: 164
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 10/11

(+) Aggressive and consistent performance 
(+) Ability to push car beyond its limits
(+) Has the most wins from all drivers this season
(-) Car's inconsistent pace sometimes erases hope for high place finishes

The season so far: Even if Alonso's championship campaign tanks over the next nine races, and there are no signs that it will, his first half of the season deserves its own little place in F1 history. Given a car that was completely unbalanced, lacking traction and slow on the straights at the start of the season, the Spaniard kept his head down and continued to drive at his best regardless. Even after his victory at a sodden Sepang there were few that thought the Ferrari was capable of winning in 'normal' circumstances, yet he is the only driver to have secured three race wins from the first eleven races.

Looking ahead: His position 40 points clear at the top of the championship is entirely deserved, but there have been signs that Ferrari is still a little off the pace of its rivals. Even after Alonso's victory in Germany, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he was "concerned" by the strength of Ferrari's opponents. Alonso may be clear on points but he is going to have to work just as hard and continue to avoid DNFs if he is going to hold off the chasing pack all the way through to the final race in Brazil.

2. Mark Webber

Points: 124
Previous titles: 0
Odds: 12/1

(+) Bounced back in style after troublesome 2011 campaign
(+) When in form, able to deliver skillful and intelligent driving
(-) Inconsistent performance

The season so far: After some pretty average performances, it's something of a surprise to find Webber in second place in the championship. But when he has been on form he has made the most of it and when he hasn't he has, more often than not, taken 12 points for finishing fourth. There really is no knowing what kind of performance Webber will put in before each race, but on his favoured tracks he has shown strong pace and his performances are certainly closer to his 2010 form than the Webber of 2011.

Looking ahead: His performances so far this year bear a remarkable similarity to his 2010 season where he could have won the title had it not been for an accident in Korea. If he can continue to follow the 2010 pattern he stands a chance of closing the gap to Alonso and passing him, but he needs to put the disappointment of just eight points from the last two races behind him. The Red Bull is clearly one of the quicker cars, but Webber needs to make sure he stays on top of the way the developments alter the car's behaviour, because on a couple of occasions he has failed to match team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

3. Sebastian Vettel

Points: 122
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 3/1

(+) Solid qualifying performance often useful
(+) Managed to grab a respectable amount of points with only one win so far
(-) No longer able to replicate 2011-style dominance

The season so far: One win from the first 11 races was not what Vettel or the rest of the paddock was expecting after pre-season testing. In 2011 he was consistently able to qualify on pole and run away with the races, but he has only been able to employ that tactic twice in 2012. The first occasion was in Bahrain, but even then he was hauled in by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, and the second was in Valencia, although his race came to a premature end when his alternator packed in. It will also be interesting to see how important his dropped points for passing Jenson Button off the track in Germany prove to be.

Looking ahead: Red Bull found a significant improvement at the European Grand Prix thanks to a new exhaust layout at the rear of the car. Several other innovations have been knocked back by the FIA, but the general trend has been towards a car that is improving race on race and is especially effective in Vettel's hands. It will be no surprise if he returns from the summer break and closes in on Alonso and it's worth remembering that he was 24 points off the lead with five races remaining in 2010 and still won the championship.


4. Lewis Hamilton

Points: 117
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 5/1

(+) Excellent qualifying pace
(+) Improved race craft since 2011
(-) Inconsistent car
(-) Faulty strategies and pit stops from team

The season so far: It's never simple with Lewis Hamilton. At the start of the year it looked like McLaren had the quickest car but Hamilton couldn't match his team-mate Jenson Button. Yet Hamilton remained calm and picked up consistent results with three podiums in the first three races ... then things started to go wrong. A slip up in the pits cost him in Bahrain and then his car was underfuelled ahead of qualifying in Spain and he was sent to the back of the grid after comfortably securing pole position. He eventually won in Canada but at the very next race he lost a possible podium when Pastor Maldonado punted him off the track. Even a conservative estimation of the points lost in incidents that were out of his control amounts to a massive 54 (an extra 8 in Bahrain, an extra 21 in Spain, 12 in Europe, 12 in Germany), which would put him clear at the top of the standings. It could well be another case of what might have been for Hamilton.

Looking ahead: His victory in Hungary will keep him in the fight and the improved performance of the McLaren should be enough to give him the motivation to continue to fight at the front. But as the first half of the season has proved, Hamilton has a distinct ability to attract trouble and just one more DNF could spell the end of his championship challenge. He now needs to rediscover his consistent early-season form and then pounce on any victories that present themselves.


5. Kimi Raikkonen

Points: 116
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 11/1

(+) Excellent race pace and race craft 
(+) Consistent performance with points finishes at almost every race
(-) Rusty over a single lap
(-) Lacked aggressiveness in the first few races

The season so far: Raikkonen has exceeded most people's expectations since his comeback at the start of the year, even if his first win with Lotus remains elusive. The signs are that it's not far away after five podiums in the first 11 races and arguably one of the best performances of any driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Raikkonen has shown that he can still produce spates of unadulterated speed when it's needed, although he has not yet found his form in qualifying. Nevertheless, no one can knock his motivation and his results this year rather put Michael Schumacher's comeback efforts in the shade.

Looking ahead: The news that Lotus's double DRS has made good progress in its first two outings should mean the car will have an extra boost in time for qualifying at Spa Francorchamps. Raikkonen has won on four of his last five visits to Spa so will be in contention for victory when the cars return to the track in September, and if he can pull it off he'll be right in the middle of the chasing pack behind Fernando Alonso. Lotus has shown impressive pace this year and multiple victories are a real possibility in the second half of the season. Raikkonen's title challenge must be taken seriously.

GB Analysis: Webber in the hunt for world title

The sun finally shone on Silverstone on Sunday, as Mark Webber made all the right moves. The Australian hunted down and passed polesitter Fernando Alonso in the closing laps, narrowing the gap between them at the top of the driver standings to just 13 points, as the season nears its halfway point. 

Red Bull

Mark Webber, P1
Sebastian Vettel, P3
Webber drove a great race, starting on the option Pirelli, then running two sets of primes. On the second set he was able to haul in Alonso before passing him easily with five laps left. Vettel damaged a front-wing endplate slightly early on in his fight with Massa, but a great strategic call of an early first pit stop put him ahead of Schumacher and Massa and set him on the road to a solid podium finish. Their performance confirmed the step forward they made in Valencia, even if relative to their rivals that step wasn’t as big as some had feared.


Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P2
Felipe Massa, P4
Alonso drove superbly on the prime tyres initially and looked a certain winner, but the Ferrari lacked pace on the options in its final stint and eventually he could not contain Webber. Nevertheless, it was another great race for Ferrari as he kept his championship lead, and Massa took a strong fourth after a great opening battle with Schumacher and Vettel.


Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen, P5
Romain Grosjean, P6
Yet again Lotus were fastest at the end of a race, but Raikkonen couldn’t quite catch Massa for fourth. Grosjean hit Di Resta on the opening lap, but fought back superbly to take sixth. As a result, Lotus move to third overall ahead of McLaren.


Mercedes
Michael Schumacher, P7
Nico Rosberg, P15
Schumacher made a great start and was a tough proposition for Massa, but after Vettel jumped them both in the first pit stop he gradually faded before managing to repass Hamilton for seventh towards the end. Rosberg was a lower points contender until his second stop, when problems with the left front wheel delayed him and dropped him to 15th.


Williams
Bruno Senna, P9
Pastor Maldonado, P16
Senna was the points scorer today, after Maldonado blotted his copybook again by colliding with Perez. He was later reprimanded and fined 10,000 euros.


McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P8
Jenson Button, P10
McLaren had a horrible time. Both drivers said their cars felt fine but they lacked grip. Hamilton led briefly after Alonso’s stop and a 21-lap opening stint on the prime tyre, but later dropped away when his final set of primes did not perform to the same level. Button said both Sauber and Williams were faster. They fell from second to fourth overall in the constructors’ stakes.


Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, P11
Sergio Perez, Retired lap 12, collision with Maldonado
Perez was flying and a contender for decent points, but was taken out by Maldonado on the 12th lap when they collided and both spun. Kobayashi was also very quick, faster than the McLarens, but a late braking pit stop knocked three team members off their feet and the delay cost him a points finish. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but he was fined 25,000 euros.


Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, P12
Paul di Resta, Retired lap 3, accident damage
Di Resta’s race was over at the start when he got hit by Grosjean and suffered a punctured right rear tyre. That caused a spin and a lot of autocrossing which damaged the floor too much for him to complete more than one lap after a resultant pit stop. Hulkenberg seemed set for ninth under pressure from Senna and Button, but slid off trying to repass the Brazilian for the position and ended up 12th.


Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo, P13
Jean-Eric Vergne, P14
Both drivers raced the wheels of their cars, with Ricciardo just coming out on top after a race-long duel. Encouragingly for the team, the Australian was eighth in the fastest lap rankings and the Frenchman tenth.


Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen, P17
Vitaly Petrov, Did not start, engine
Caterham’s race got off to a frustrating start as Petrov’s Renault engine ate itself on the grid formation lap and the Russian was thus unable to start. Kovalainen said things went reasonably well as he drove his CT01 as hard as he could, but the team believe there is more to come from their latest updates.


Marussia
Timo Glock, P18
Charles Pic, P19
A tough race ended a tough week for the Banbury team, after Maria De Villota’s accident. The positives were a healthy two-car finish and boss John Booth’s conviction that they are gradually pulling away from HRT and closing on Caterham.


HRT
Pedro de la Rosa, P20
Narain Karthikeyan, P21
No real problems for either driver as their races went pretty much to plan, though Karthikeyan said his rear tyres wore out faster than expected.

Mark Webber beats Alonso to Silverstone victory

Red Bull's Mark Webber trimmed Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 championship lead to 13 points by hunting down and passing the Ferrari in a dramatic conclusion to a totally dry British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Sebastian Vettel completed the podium and almost managed to make it a Red Bull one-two as he gained on Alonso's tyre-troubled car at the end.

Alonso pulled out a five-second lead over Webber in the first stint and maintained it for the majority of the race. But while most of the field used soft tyres early then switched to hards, Alonso waited until his final stint to try the softs, and could not keep up his previous pace.

Webber caught up rapidly and was on the Ferrari's tail with seven laps to go, trying several moves before deploying his DRS on the run towards Brooklands on lap 48 out of 52. Alonso defended the inside as Webber swept around the outside, and after attempting to retaliate at Luffield, the Spaniard had to let Webber go and concentrate on staying clear of Vettel.

The world champion had run fifth in the opening stint before a slightly early first stop helped him jump to third, where he would finish, unable to catch Alonso in the end.

Felipe Massa spent the opening laps trying ever-more creative attempts to overtake Michael Schumacher's Mercedes for third, finally managing at Stowe on lap 11. The Ferrari lost out to Vettel in the following pit sequence, then resisted the fast-closing Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen to take fourth.

Lotus got two cars in the top six despite Romain Grosjean breaking his front wing in a brush with Paul di Resta on the first lap. The resulting puncture and associated damage ended the Force India's race, while Grosjean charged back from last to sixth.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only finish eighth and 10th in the McLarens. Hamilton spent a while in the lead and enjoyed a spirited dice with Alonso as he ran a very long first stint on hards, but then did just a handful of laps on softs before switching back to harder Pirellis. The Briton's pace then faded and he lost seventh place to Schumacher late on.

Although Button jumped to 12th at the start, his progress was less dramatic thereafter. In the closing laps he was in the thick of an epic dice for ninth with Bruno Senna and Nico Hulkenberg, won by the Williams. Hulkenberg (Force India) ran wide at Copse in the heat of battle and dropped out of the points.

The other major incident of the race involved Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez. Running seventh and ninth in the first stint, they pitted together on lap 11 but then collided at Brooklands on their out-laps. The furious Perez sustained terminal damage to his Sauber, while Maldonado dragged his Williams back to the pits for repairs and finished 16th.

Completing a bad day for Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi hit several mechanics at his final stop. Initial reports suggested there were no serious injuries and the Japanese driver continued to 11th ahead of Hulkenberg.

Nico Rosberg had a less dramatic bad pitstop during what was already a low-key midfield race, which ended with his Mercedes 15th.

Is Vettel ready to dominate the rest of this season?

Looking back at Red Bull's pace in Valencia, Vettel's performance might trigger the beginning of the end regarding 2012's wide-open season. Are Red Bull now ready to dominate?

Having comfortably taken pole position for the European Grand Prix, Vettel was dominant in the race as he opened up a 20-second lead before a safety car period. His alternator failed soon afterwards, however, and he was forced to retire as Fernando Alonso took victory.

When asked by if he thought the pace advantage could be maintained at Silverstone Vettel replied: "Well we hope so.

"I think Silverstone is a very different track in terms of speed range - Valencia is fairly low speed. Weather wise is going to be very different I think! I would be surprised if we have 30 degrees and sunshine in Silverstone, but why not? Maybe the English summer is treating us differently this year!

"I think it will be interesting, as I said it's a very different track all in all. It's important for us to ideally confirm the results or confirm the feeling we had in Valencia - but not the result!"

Christian Horner believes Fernando Alonso is Red Bull's "obvious" rival in the fight for the title, but is expecting challenges for race wins from several teams.

Alonso currently leads the drivers' championship but Sebastian Vettel could have been on top had an alternator problem not forced him to retire from the lead of the European Grand Prix. Red Bull had the fastest car in Valencia two weeks ago, but Alonso, in a car that is still off the pace in qualifying, took victory.

Asked if there was a single driver he saw as Red Bull's biggest threat this year, Horner told ESPNF1: "The driver, obviously, is Alonso. But there are so many drivers that are in contention and teams as well. I think Formula One has never been so open as it has been [this year], going in to grand prix weekends where there could be eight potential winners."

Red Bull brought a major upgrade to the rear of its car at the last race in Valencia to enhance the performance of its diffuser. Horner is wary that Silverstone will provide a different challenge at this weekend's British Grand Prix, but said another strong performance would bode well for the car's chances at all venues this year.

"In Valencia the car worked very well, but that was in high temperatures and with a different type of layout. Hopefully it will follow through in to the next grand prix at Silverstone - it's a completely different layout of circuit with fast sweeping corners, probably cooler temperatures and knowing the British summer maybe a bit of rain. Hopefully the car can be competitive and if we can be competitive at Valencia and Silverstone then the rest of the season looks promising."