Which F1 driver had the best race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas?
Compare all the drivers’ performances below and vote for who you think was the best driver of the United States Grand Prix weekend.
United States Grand Prix driver-by-driver
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel – Led the way in practice but Hamilton kept Vettel honest in qualifying. He was unable to draw clear of the McLaren in the race but his poor straight-line speed left him vulnerable to catching a lapped car in the twisty section before the main straight. When Hamilton seized his chance Vettel defended as firmly as he could before giving best to the McLaren, and crossed the finishing line still right on his tail.
Mark Webber – Unhappy with the lack of grip offered by circuit and tyres, Webber was well off Vettel’s pace in practice and qualifying. He briefly ran second before Hamilton demoted him to third, and then suffered another of Red Bull’s alternator failures. Remarkably for a driver whose name was once synonymous with this sort of misfortune, this was his first mechanically-included retirement since Singapore 2009.
McLaren
Jenson Button – It was Button’s turn to have the share of McLaren’s technical problems in America. A throttle pedal problem caused his elimination in Q2 and he lined up on the dirty side of the grid in 12th. His recovery drive to fifth included gritty passes on Schumacher and Raikkonen, but he was unable to use maximum KERS in the closing stages as he tried to gain on Massa.
Lewis Hamilton – Picked up where he left off when his car broke down in Abu Dhabi, splitting the Red Bulls to start on the front row of the grid with Vettel. He was predictably passed by Webber from the clean side of the grid at the start, but soon re-passed that Red Bull and went after the other one. His lap times dropped sharply at the end of the first stint but he came on strong in the second. When Karthikeyan presented the opportunity for him to pass Vettel he didn’t waste it, and was alert to Vettel’s firm-but-fair defending.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso – A curious performance from Alonso who looked in good shape during practice then slumped to ninth in qualifying, beaten on merit by Massa for the first time since Korea last year. Grosjean’s gearbox penalty meant he would start eighth but Ferrari opted to sacrifice Massa to move Alonso further forward again and onto the clean side of the grid. That netted him fourth by turn one which became third when Webber retired.
Felipe Massa – Had it not been for Ferrari’s ‘Alonso first’ tactics it’s likely Massa would have had the beating of him here. He was quicker in qualifying and his race pace was better too. Ferrari made a better job of his pit stop than Alonso’s which briefly got him ahead of Raikkonen, and although the Lotus later passed Massa he was eventually able to claim the place back.
Mercedes
Michael Schumacher – Fifth on the grid was a promising starting place for his penultimate Grand Prix. But he struggled with his tyres from the moment the lights went out and dropped like a stone: by lap ten he was 13th. Pitted twice and finished 16th, behind his team mate who had started six rows behind him.
Nico Rosberg – Mercedes seemed to treat the weekend as an extended test session with Rosberg switching back to their pre-Coanda exhaust layout. He was last in Q2 and only moved up to 13th during the race as Mercedes extended their point-less streak to five races. “We have learned some important lessons for next year and that’s what counts at the moment,” he said.
Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen – Both Lotuses started on the dirty side of the grid, Raikkonen inheriting Grosjean’s fourth place thanks to his team mate’s gearbox change penalty. Having lost three places at the start Raikkonen made a steady recovery in the opening stint, passing Schumacher and Hulkenberg. He closed on Alonso but a slow pit stop by his team cost him a chance to get past. He said a fall in ambient temperatures during the second half of the race caused a loss of pace on his hard tyres and after that he fell prey to Massa and Button, ending up sixth.
Romain Grosjean – Out-qualified Raikkonen and although he was demoted by a gearbox change penalty he was back in front by lap two, opportunistically passing his team mate and Schumacher. But he spun while chasing Hulkenberg and dropped to 13th before making an early pit stop. A strong stint on hard tyres allowed him to recover seventh place.
Force India
Paul di Resta – Di Resta was curiously reluctant to share his debriefs over the intra-team radio but it didn’t help him stop Hulkenberg from out-qualifying him for the fifth race in a row. He made it up to fifth before a spin forced him to make an extra pit stop and killed any hope of a points finish.
Nico Hulkenberg – Hulkenberg was ‘relegated’ from seventh and the clean side of the grid to sixth and the dirty side by Massa’s team-inflicted penalty. He held his position at the start before passing Schumacher, but he couldn’t keep the Lotuses behind and was passed by both of them, finishing eighth.
Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi – The combination of the tyre-kind Sauber and the gripless surface proved a challenge Kobayashi could not overcome. “For the entire weekend here I had warm up problems and didn’t get the tyres to work,” he said after finishing 14th. “We have to find out why this was.”
Sergio Perez – A huge Mexican contingent was present to cheer Perez on, though for the fifth time this year he finished one place outside of the points. He reckoned a top ten finish would have been possible had his brake pedal not gone long: “I had big difficulties before every corner,” he said.
Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo – Ricciardo passed car after car at the start, taking the likes of Kobayashi, Rosberg, Vergne, Maldonado and Schumacher. He said if he had expected the hard tyre to work as well as it did he would have changed to it sooner. Having held fifth for three laps, racing with the likes of Raikkonen and Massa, his pit stop dropped him back to 12th, out of the points.
Jean-Eric Vergne – Made it into Q2 at the expense of his team mate. A lunge up the inside of turn one at the start didn’t pay off – he lost two places on the first lap – and a suspension problem ended his race early on.
Williams
Pastor Maldonado – The Williams pair shared row five but surprisingly Maldonado ended lap one behind his team mate, who had started on the unfavourable side. After losing a lengthy tussle with Button he was also passed by Ricciardo, but a well-timed pit stop pulled him back into contention and a muscular pass on his team mate put him back where he started at the chequered flag.
Bruno Senna – Started tenth and finished there after being passed by his team mate with five laps to go. “Unfortunately we came out of the pits behind Hulkenberg which was frustrating as he was just quick enough exiting turn 11 each lap and we couldn’t overtake him which damaged my tyres allowing Pastor to catch us both,” he said. “I knew Pastor would make a move and I wasn’t going to close the door as we needed the points for the team.”
Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen – Battled with Pic at the start but he eventually overcame both KERS-less Marussias. The stewards examined his pass on Glock but decided the move was fair. “I’ve had issues all weekend with getting heat into the front tyres and it was the same again today for the first few laps,” said Kovalainen.
Vitaly Petrov – Got ahead of both Marussias at the start which was vital as they had decent pace – Glock eventually finished just eight seconds behind him.
HRT
Pedro de la Rosa – It was the usual story for HRT, albeit it with slightly less running than usual in practice. These were euphemistically referred to as “short programs” but the reappearance of Ma Qing Hua in Karthikeyan’s car indicates that the up-for-sale team is seriously strapped for cash. De la Rosa brought the car home, albeit almost a full minute behind the next runner.
Narain Karthikeyan – Having missed first practice and had little running the second, Karthikeyan looked like he mist be at risk of not qualifying. He made it onto the grid, though much to Vettel’s chagrin after a delay behind the HRT on lap 42 cost him the lead. But Karthikeyan’s driving was within the rules.
Marussia
Timo Glock – Marussia were very pleased to have both cars in front of the Caterhams in qualifying, led by Glock. But Petrov was soon past them at the start: “The first lap was a bit all over the place; I lost the car twice,” said Glock. Kovalainen later passed him too and the team’s attempt to re-pass him via the pits was thwarted when Kovalainen came in on the same lap.
Charles Pic – Picked up front wing damage on the first lap and slipped out of contention in the team’s battle with Caterham.
Qualifying and race results summary
| Started | Gap to team mate | Laps leading team mate | Pitted | Finished | Gap to team mate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Vettel | 1st | -0.517s | 16/16 | 1 | 2nd | ||
| Mark Webber | 3rd | +0.517s | 0/16 | 0 | |||
| Jenson Button | 12th | +0.821s | 0/56 | 1 | 5th | +56.432s | |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2nd | -0.821s | 56/56 | 1 | 1st | -56.432s | |
| Fernando Alonso | 7th | +0.363s | 50/56 | 1 | 3rd | -6.784s | |
| Felipe Massa | 11th | -0.363s | 6/56 | 1 | 4th | +6.784s | |
| Michael Schumacher | 5th | -1.399s | 14/55 | 2 | 16th | Not on same lap | |
| Nico Rosberg | 17th | +1.399s | 41/55 | 1 | 13th | Not on same lap | |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 4th | +0.121s | 52/56 | 1 | 6th | -5.888s | |
| Romain Grosjean | 8th | -0.121s | 4/56 | 1 | 7th | +5.888s | |
| Paul di Resta | 13th | +0.599s | 4/55 | 2 | 15th | Not on same lap | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 6th | -0.599s | 51/55 | 1 | 8th | Not on same lap | |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 16th | +0.231s | 0/55 | 1 | 14th | Not on same lap | |
| Sergio Perez | 15th | -0.231s | 55/55 | 1 | 11th | Not on same lap | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 18th | +0.68s | 9/14 | 1 | 12th | ||
| Jean-Eric Vergne | 14th | -0.68s | 5/14 | 0 | |||
| Pastor Maldonado | 9th | -0.593s | 6/56 | 1 | 9th | -0.608s | |
| Bruno Senna | 10th | +0.593s | 50/56 | 1 | 10th | +0.608s | |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 22nd | +0.357s | 0/55 | 1 | 18th | +7.651s | |
| Vitaly Petrov | 21st | -0.357s | 55/55 | 1 | 17th | -7.651s | |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 23rd | -0.729s | 53/54 | 1 | 21st | -11.879s | |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 24th | +0.729s | 1/54 | 1 | 22nd | +11.879s | |
| Timo Glock | 19th | -0.608s | 49/54 | 1 | 19th | Not on same lap | |
| Charles Pic | 20th | +0.608s | 5/54 | 1 | 20th | Not on same lap |
Review the race data
- 2012 United States Grand Prix fastest laps
- 2012 United States Grand Prix lap charts
- 2012 United States GP tyre strategies and pit stops
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 United States 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 (0%)
- Jean-Eric Vergne (0%)
- Daniel Ricciardo (1%)
- Sergio Perez (0%)
- Kamui Kobayashi (0%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
- Paul di Resta (0%)
- Romain Grosjean (0%)
- Kimi Raikkonen (0%)
- Nico Rosberg (0%)
- Michael Schumacher (1%)
- Felipe Massa (20%)
- Fernando Alonso (4%)
- Jenson Button (3%)
- Lewis Hamilton (63%)
- Mark Webber (0%)
- Sebastian Vettel (6%)
Total Voters: 704
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2012 United States Grand Prix
Image © COTA/LAT, COTA/LAT, Lotus F1 Team/LAT, Red Bull/Getty images, Caterham/LAT
himmatsj (@himmatsj)
19th November 2012, 16:28
HAM. No one else. He came within a whisker of Pole in an inferior car to Vettel in qualifying trim at least. Drove a superb race and took his chance when it came.
zippyone (@zippyone)
19th November 2012, 18:38
+1
Aldoid
19th November 2012, 18:49
I agree… Hamilton, no doubt. He was always within a shout during the practice sessions (sometimes he didn’t manage to string the lap together, but his sector times were proof that he was right up there with Vettel) and when it mattered (qualifying & race) he extracted the maximum out of his McLaren. He managed to split the Red Bulls in qualifying & overtake them both in the race, & for anyone who keeps tabs on the live timing like I do, it was amazing to watch him consistently take at least 2 tenths out of the Red Bull in the first sector on every lap (Sometimes almost half a second! He always lost a little in the middle: both McLarens were bouncing off the rev limiter down the straights as well). Vettel moaned about being held up by Karthikeyan, but Hamilton also got held up by a Marussia while Vettel sailed by unhindered… Hammy didn’t moan about it on the radio either. Massa would get the nod for second: I’m so happy that he’s returned to form! All he needs to do now is carry it over into next season & make it hard for Ferrari to keep shafting him in favor of Alonso. I’m not criticizing Ferrari for their decisions this season though: one driver has a legitimate shot @ the WDC, the other does not. It’s a no brainer, really.
Steven (@steevkay)
19th November 2012, 22:13
That’s what did it for me. With the practice times, I thought Vettel would absolutely crush the rest of the field, but I was happily mistaken. Not to take anything away from Vettel, I really just wanted the championship to come down to the last race.
Hamilton kept pushing and pushing, finally seeing a bit of luck. My guess is that if the whole race at the front was run in clear air, Vettel would’ve held hamilton at bay with the ~1s gap, but Hamilton finally saw a bit of luck with the backmarker HRT getting in the way (whether or not they belong in the championship is a different topic).
The way I see it, they both drove flawless races, but luck went with Hamilton this time.
Commendatore (@commendatore)
19th November 2012, 16:29
Vettel!? Mmm, NO!
My vote goes to HAMILTON!!! He thoroughly deserves it.
JCost (@jcost)
20th November 2012, 8:51
Fairly, HAM was the best but I’m going political for this one and vote goes to MASSA.
Commendatore (@commendatore)
20th November 2012, 15:46
@jcost
Well, Hamilton isn’t at all my favourite driver, infact I dislike his attitude and character a lot. But, when he shines on the track, one must acknowledge his talent and effort. Massa was close second…
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
19th November 2012, 16:33
I vote Massa. He was clearly the faster one of the Ferraris both in the qualifying and in the race. The Brazilian had pretty much a flawless qualifying and race and finished convincingly P4 after starting from P11 due to a penalty.
I could’ve voted Hamilton also, but you’ve got to choose one. And no, this is not a sympathetic vote. Yet one has to wonder, if Alonso always takes the maximum out of his car, then what the heck was Massa doing ;)
Kodongo (@kodongo)
19th November 2012, 17:03
Massa. And I am a great fan of Hamilton. It takes some kind of performance to best Alonso on a Saturday and a Sunday. Massa’s resilience has to buoy his team and confirm that his decision to stay another season was the right one. To outqualify Fernando and outdrive him – qualitatively speaking – in the race after being demoted through no fault of his own, MEGA. I sincerely hope he can challenge Alonso or at least keep him honest next year. He could be pivotal at Interlagos if he can help Alonso interrupt the Red Bulls.
Mike (@mike)
20th November 2012, 1:31
I agree, Massa really has found some form and this is an exciting prospect if it can continue next year.
infy (@infy)
19th November 2012, 17:36
I voted for HAM. Massa only did what was expected of him, nothing more. In the past he has been terrible. On Sunday he was just not terrible.
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 18:13
@infy
And what has that got to do with the vote? It says Driver of the Weekend.
Jake (@jleigh)
19th November 2012, 19:39
@fixy I think what he’s suggesting is that Massa’s performance appears deceptively good as it is compared against his previous terribleness
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 20:06
It may be, @jleigh, but then why did Massa “do was expected of him”? He should have been expected to drive badly if that’s what he’s done in the last three years.
And no, I don’t think he has, I expected a good race from him as always but not so good. He was always faster than Alonso and recovered from 11th to 4th.
infy (@infy)
20th November 2012, 14:22
Thats correct @jake
@fixy I meant what the team expects from him as a driver. The only place Massa was quicker than Alonso was in Qualifying. In the race Alonso had a faster average speed (look it up).
Another thing to look at was how Alonso was purposfully not pushing, as shown by the spike on lap 45. This showed us that he had a lot of time up his sleeve, ready to use if he needed it.
Fixy (@)
20th November 2012, 14:50
@infy if you talk about things that didn’t happen just because you like to imagine them, I say Massa also had a lot of time up his sleeve. As he was not pushed by Button as much as we thought, he didn’t have to use it.
Massa’s average speed was lower – oh really? Massa was stuck in the traffic and had to recover from 11th to 4th, how could you expect from him to be faster? He lost ages behind Schumacher.
William Katz (@hwkii)
19th November 2012, 18:20
As I posted previously, Alonso is so good he takes the maximum out of his own car AND Massa’s.
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 18:22
And there are people still saying Massa doesn’t deserve to be in F1!
He was great, but what more could Hamilton do? Massa, although it could not have been his fault, lost time in Q3, when he was slower than Q2, and a badly-timed lap had him take the flag before other drivers who improved afterwards.
zicasso (@zicasso)
19th November 2012, 19:38
Same here… I am a Hamilton fan and am very happy with the win but Massa got my vote. He is the driver of the weekend for me. Call Ferrari’s decision what you like he still managed to keep his cool and do an amazing race. This isn’t just ‘take one for team’ situation this is destroying a guys mojo, in my view. It’s almost as if he has to fight against Ferrari to beat his team mate. I noticed the sight delay on his pit stop to come out behind Alonso.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th November 2012, 10:29
@zicasso
That Ferrari will hobble Massa to help Alonso is surely not up for debate after this weekend. But there’s no indication they delayed his pit stop – which was almost three seconds faster than Alonso’s – and at any rate he was far more useful to Alonso at this point getting out in front of Raikkonen and acting as a buffer between him and the other Ferrari.
zicasso (@zicasso)
20th November 2012, 12:02
I could be wrong here @Keithcollantine but it wasn’t as fast as it normally is. And if to compare it against Alonso’s pit stop, Alonso’s was slower due to problems with one of his rear wheels, no. Anyway, it all worked well for Alonso, Ferrari and Massa(the solitary fighter).
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th November 2012, 12:23
@Zicasso It was 0.7s slower than the fastest pit stop of the race which is entirely typical of Ferrari’s recent pit stops.
BasCB (@bascb)
20th November 2012, 7:40
I also thought that apart from Hamilton, Massa was the other one to have a great weekend. Button did a nice race, but failed in qualifying. Vettel was the best on Friday to Saturday, but got beaten by Hamilton. Alonso did the job in the race but failed in qualifying as well (and while it might be about the car, Massa outqualifying him shows there was enough speed in it.)
Schumacher did an amazing job to maximize what the Mercedes DDRS gives them in qualifying but couldn’t do anything but drop back in the race.
I voted for Hamilton, as this might be the last such a weekend in the next year or so. But Massa really showed that when he is on it he can still be a top driver.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
20th November 2012, 15:04
Nice summary, had to be Hamilton to me … he someway gave us a race to watch, without him Vettel would have been a solitary front runner as everyone loves.
I’m not sure it’s all Button fault if he finished where he did. Poor qualifying because of failure, we know the end of the session was the best and he failed to run his 2 last laps (which should have been the one they counted on at McLaren in all logic). Then during the race, starting on hard is a guaranted loss of places at the start with this slippery track and hard to warm tyre, after this all went right for him. (Still behind Ham – Vettel for the best Week end and Massa is well ahead as well).
For Alonso, can’t understand who voted for him this week end, he was well below par. Nothing like him, poor quali, great team and teamate to save his week end. If it wasn’t for the team Massa would have been a long way ahead. Only great moment of Alonso this Week end : his start, it saved the WDC or at least kept it alive for another week
bosyber (@bosyber)
21st November 2012, 13:42
@bascb, @jearnrien, I guite agree with both of you, though I think I’d add Hulkenberg as having had a very good weekend.
Button’s drive wasn’t bad, but compared to the speed of his teammate, it is hard to be impressed with it here – he did have the Q2 problem though, and KERS failure at the end of the race
scribbler (@scribbler)
20th November 2012, 8:22
I think this just proves that Ferrari’s upgrades on Fernando’s car are a step backwards. No way massa would beat Fernando using same kit.
RedBullRacer (@redbullracer)
20th November 2012, 9:34
@hotbottoms
Too true. All people seem to talk about lately is how amazingly Alonso is dragging his dog of a car onto the podium against all odds. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s been fantastic this year and for the first half of the season Massa was fairly dreadful, but recently Felipe has upped his game and this weekend he had the better of Alonso the entire time. Even with the grid penalty he ended up just one place behind his teammate (whom he’d never have been allowed to overtake, so it’s the best he could possibly have hoped for).
If the F2012 really is the horrendous wretch people claim it is, then what Massa achieved at COTA was nothing short of incredible.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th November 2012, 13:18
@hotbottoms
I don’t imagine there’s anything to it, but it’s curious that Alonso had a fairly sub-par weekend in America. When the race was held at Indianapolis, it was the one track where he usually did not do as well as his team mate, which is unusual for a driver of his calibre.
Of course something like that is usually down to the track and not the environment, and after one race I’m obviously not going to assume COTA is a bogey track for Alonso. But it did remind me of his Indianapolis anomaly. He can’t have been too disappointed when that track went.
Girts (@girts)
20th November 2012, 13:51
@hotbottoms @KeithCollantine I don’t think it had anything to do with the track, it’s just that Massa has considerably upped his game after the summer break, while Alonso’s performances have become a little less impressive. The combination of both meant that Massa outperformed Alonso in Korea and at Austin.
Some drivers are without a doubt greater than other but their greatness is always more or less inconsistent. Sometimes Webber can get more out of the car than Vettel, Petrov is the quickest Caterham driver on some weekends and it’s just normal that Alonso is sometimes slower than Massa. It’s actually annoying to watch fans of any driver trying to find excuses for every small dip in their idol’s performance, instead of admitting that the other guy simply was better this time.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
20th November 2012, 15:10
@girts Nicely said, have to say Massa has been pretty impressive on this second half of the season and at least twice Alonso got on the podium thanks to the team rather than his superiority over his team mate. It has been some races Massa was totally a match to Alonso, thus no reason to talk about tracks or car spec, just have to admit they could be almost equal (at least on track) at some times (even if that correspond at a high for Massa vs a down for Alonso)
Dion (@infinitygc)
19th November 2012, 16:33
Romain Grosjean, Oh my god…
Great recovery from everything (Penalty, dirty side of the grid, spin, apparently a water leak during the final laps) and that pass he made on Raikkonen and (I believe) Schumacher was really amazing! He also made his Primes last for 46 laps, while still being able to fight his teammate! I think that he was really impressive this weekend! Also props to Vettel, Hamilton and Massa!
infernojim (@infernojim)
19th November 2012, 17:48
Sorry, but he spun through a stupid driver error. How can you possibly give the guy DOTW for that. He was quick all weekend and I agree he had a strong race / qualifying, but that rookie spin undoes all of that good stuff. Came 7th, when with his pace he should’ve finished 4th, or possibly even 3rd. Cost himself and the team at least 6 point through his careless error.
Kimi was slower than him this weekend, but still beat him in the race.
Dion (@infinitygc)
19th November 2012, 18:54
You got a point there. However, I really hope he is going to be quick in Brazil and stay at Lotus for 2013
Tango (@tango)
20th November 2012, 10:05
While I wouldn’t vote for Grosjean, I have been (again) mightily impressed by him this week end. The pass was great (on par with Raikonnen’s pass on the outside later on) and his pace almighty. But why oh why did he spin carelessly ?
Phil Carr (@atseridluap)
19th November 2012, 16:33
H.A.M gets my vote!
DaveW (@dmw)
19th November 2012, 18:14
Ha ha. If you put something silly like that on your helmet you better kick some serious tail. And he did it. So, yeah, H.A.M. for the win.
People laughed and jeered about this but remember, Hamilton has got a free hand in marketing with Mercedes. This may be the first step in his hip-hop themed F1 merchandising juggernaught. Look out for “H.A.M’-themed mouse-pads and car window stickers on the Home Shopping Network. Look out Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Hari (@hari)
19th November 2012, 16:37
Hamilton of course!
Nixon (@nixon)
19th November 2012, 16:42
Massa. because f1 is a team sport and he played one for the team. if Alonso does win the championship he really has to thank massa for all the support.
Hamilton deserves alot of credit, is he the first driver to ever beat vettel when vettel starts on pole. Alonso did but that was because of vettel’s DNF.
matt90 (@matt90)
20th November 2012, 0:48
Ever, or just this season? The latter is technically true, but Hamilton actually already managed it in Canada.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
19th November 2012, 16:44
Felipe Massa.
Second time I chose him. Why? Well, for once he started 11th and made steady progress to 4th, and was faster than Alonso for a large partof the race, and also qualifying. But most importantly, he hitted back from what surely was a big psicological blow with the gearbox penalty (he was clearly unhappy, even if he understood… “it’s hard to find a driver like me”).
His best race of the season, definetly. Special mention to Hamilton (gladly I predicted him as winner) and Vettel, of course, his qualifying lap was perfect (who said he wasn’t precise?).
George (@george)
19th November 2012, 18:03
I’m actually with you for once with this one @fer-no65 . This is, in my opinion, the first time Massa has out-driven Alonso while they’ve been teammates, great performance under difficult circumstances.
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
19th November 2012, 16:45
Tough call for me. Lots of drivers had a good weekend. massa deserves a mention for a weekend where he was genuinely quicker than alonso, but of course Ferrari’s focus has to be on the driver fighting for the championship at the moment. Hopefully it foreshadows a much stronger year for Massa in 2013, and perhaps be part of the title fight.
I don’t think I could really go with anyone other than Vettel though. From the moment tyre touched tarmac, he was leagues faster than anyone else. First time anyone has been fastest in every practice/qualifying session, which is especially impressive in the difficult conditions they were faced with. Ultimately he wasn’t able to defend the relentless attack from Hamilton, but I wonder if any other driver has managed to absorb so many laps of constant pressure without making a single mistake. Very impressive performance from Vettel, even though I’m sure he won’t be seeing it that way himself.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
19th November 2012, 17:15
+1 Hamilton was also great, but looking at the lap times I think it is likely Vettel would have another Grand Chelem under his belt were it not for Karthikeyan (not that I want to crucify the man though, backmarkers are part of the sport).
MNM101 (@mnm101)
19th November 2012, 17:32
Completely agree with both of you, it was awesome to see the two best drivers do a whole race of qualifying laps, and kudos to both of them for not cracking under pressure whilst leading. Voted for Seb, because he was dominant the entire weekend and should have won IMO, but as u said, backmarkers come and go and their part of the race
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 18:27
Once Hamilton got ahead of Vettel the German couldn’t keep up with him and was more often than not over a second behind.
Hamilton kept in touch with Vettel for many consecutive laps despite his aero suffering from the Red Bull’s presence and obviously to the fact the RB8 is better suited to the twisty parts of the circuit. If Vettel was as fast as you say, how come he didn’t build a larger advantage?
Guilherme (@guilherme)
19th November 2012, 19:08
@fixy This may be pure speculation on my part, but it may be that the McLaren was better suited to the harder tyres. It doesn’t matter that Red Bull had more downforce if it wasn’t working it’s tyres as well as the McLaren. Vettel had the upper hand on the mediums, but once they swticed to softs, Hamilton became marginally, but visibly better. Both drivers are very gifted and very fast, let’s not kid ourselves into believing that somehow Hamilton can transend he limits of his car while Vettel was not going as fast as the car could handle. There was so little between the two that it only took a backmarker to make such a difference (Vettel lost a full second behind Karthikeyan if I’m not mistaken, feel free to correct me otherwise). You said Vettel didn’t open a bigger gap to Hamilton, but it’s not as if Lewis disappeared on Vettel, they were always betten 1.2 and 1.8 seconds, always trading tenths every sector.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
19th November 2012, 19:12
Ops, I obviously meant “switched to hards“
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 20:09
@guilherme if you say both cars had the same potential (and I don’t agree – Hamilton was perfect but wasn’t on pole) then Hamilton still drove better than Vettel as not only did he beat him, but did so after starting from behind.
And Hamilton didn’t lose ground in the first stint, and made up in the second. Vettel should have built a larger lead in the first stint if his tyres were better suited to his car.
Karthikeyan was lapped by everyone and although he may have slowed Seb down more than Lewis, Hamilton was within a second of him by then. Once ahead, Vettel kept the pace of the McLaren, after a few laps though, once Lewis had built a slight lead.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
19th November 2012, 20:39
@fixy we will have to agree to disagree then. Yes, Hamilton wasn’t on pole, but qualifying speed does not equal race speed, just ask Alonso. When you say Vettel should have built a larger lead in the first stint you’re basing your claim on the basis that the RB8 was significantly faster, which is just not true – Vettel has already proven dozens of times that if he has the car to open a substantial gap, then he will do so. Yes, I said that possibly the mediums worked better to Vettel, but they weren’t bad for Hamilton either.
About Karthikeyan, I stand by my point. Vettel had Hamilton within a second of him for a lot of laps and Lewis never looked like overtaking him until Narain came into the equation. I’m not critising Hamilton, I just believe that they were as close as they could get in performance yesterday, I could have gone with either on my vote.
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 20:55
@guilherme Vettel did build the lead he is used to, but not on Hamilton. The pair were half a minute ahead of Alonso but Hamilton kept Vettel in sight. We can say that if the performance of the two cars was similar then the two drivers drove similarly well, but as Hamiltn had the upper hand I voted him. That’s my reasoning.
Or if Vettel had the best car, Hamilton still gets my vote. Now, if Hamilton had the better car… but I don’t think so.
bananarama (@bananarama)
19th November 2012, 17:31
There was no DRS back in the day, but as examples I would say .. Schumacher from Alonso and then Alonso against Schumacher in Imola (track is terrible for overtaking though) and Alonso in front of Vettel in Singapore for an entire race the gap was never more than 2s, most of the time around 1 or under. Singapore is also hard to overtake though. Obviously those were different regulations and different tyres and such, so, you can take them or leave them ;)
KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
19th November 2012, 18:02
@mazdachris Maldonado put up with great pressure from Alonso to win in Spain, although I’m not sure for how many laps. It was certainly a long while for Vettel…
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
19th November 2012, 16:57
Felipe Massa; I really expected the Ferrari decision to destroy him mentally, and that he would slip down the field, which was basically the effect Hockenheim 2010 had on him.
But he didn’t. He instead drove a throoughly determined race, and was brilliant.
Other notable mentions go for Hamilton and Vettel, as all 3 of them also outqualified their team-mates by fairly significant margins.
Oople
19th November 2012, 22:12
In fairness, Button was out-qualified to that extent due to his car going to sleep during quali. I believe Hamilton would’ve still outqualified Button if Button got into Q3, but nowhere near the same degree.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
19th November 2012, 22:28
Very true, but still…
It was very impressive by all the mentioned people.
tmekt (@tmekt)
19th November 2012, 16:57
Has to be Massa this weekend. Outperformed his team-mate in quali and would have finished ahead of him in the race most likely. Massa’s race was impressive as well.
tmekt (@tmekt)
19th November 2012, 16:59
Don’t mind the last sentence, no idea why I put it there.
Oople
19th November 2012, 22:13
Haha. Massa did well…
On the other hand, I voted for Massa as he did well, too.
:P
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
20th November 2012, 7:36
I don’t think Ferrari would have allowed it tbh, but I think that he should have; only 10 seconds behind him at the end I believe.
Colm (@colm)
19th November 2012, 17:06
Ive just added all the percents together and i got 101%
JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
19th November 2012, 17:25
Sounds like fun
AldoG
19th November 2012, 18:35
Yeah the GP was that good….
LOL
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th November 2012, 14:51
@colm you bored? it rounds up some of the numbers…
merlo84 (@merlo84)
19th November 2012, 17:11
I voted Hamilton but could easily have gone with Vettel. Both driver’s were in a class of their own this weekend!
Cristian (@cristian)
19th November 2012, 17:59
+1
LJ
20th November 2012, 7:50
I just can’t understand Vettel admirers, he’s good.. I just question his real ability. It’s gonna take Webber retiring or Vettel moving to another team to validate that opinion. My guess is Vettel doesn’t have the balls to drive in the same team as one of his main rivals.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
20th November 2012, 8:58
I just can’t understand people who question Vettel’s ability. He’s a two-time world champion with 100 races under his belt, 26 wins, 36 pole positions and 15 fastest laps. He rarely makes mistakes, he can manage the gap when he’s leading, he can overtake when he’s charging from the back of the grid and he is beating his teammate on a regular basis.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th November 2012, 22:29
So presumably you’re also not impressed with Alonso sharing a team with a driver who’s not only slower than him than Webber is compared to Vettel, but who also gets less equal treatment than Webber does at Red Bull?
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
20th November 2012, 8:58
It’s not an easy choice, because Hamilton, Vettel and Massa were brilliant. Still, I’m voting for Sebastian. At the moment he has just 6% of the votes and I think he deserves more for his performance this weekend.
MW (@)
19th November 2012, 17:16
There were so many great drives, but I don’t think they compared with a battle for the win which spanned almost the entire race length.
Hats off to both Hamilton and Vettel but I have to give my vote to Hamilton.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
19th November 2012, 17:17
Voted Hamilton, because he pulled the absolute maximum out of that McLaren. Honourable mention to Massa, whose performance has gotten much much better in the last few races.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
19th November 2012, 17:18
Has to be Massa. He drove very well all weekend and had the upper hand over Alonso. He deserved a podium a lot more than Alonso, who claimed third place only due to Ferrari’s dirty games. I wouldn’t be surprised if Massa would be used in Brasil to somehow ruin Vettel’s race or at least qualifying.
Thomas (@)
19th November 2012, 17:20
Hamilton – because he found 1 second in his lap between Q2 and Q3 and continued to do so in the race. The fight with Vettel was brilliant – the 2 going 50+ qualifying laps opening up 30+ seconds to the rest of the field.
But kudos to Button being 17 after lap 1 and still making 5th is pretty good too :) – Massa had a good race too.
NJ2k14
19th November 2012, 17:24
Lots of drivers showed crazy skills over the weekend, can i vote for the whole top 10 of the race ? well, anyway if i had to pick one it is obvious HAM got the lead, always pushing the limits of the car toward the perfect lap.
Shane (@shane-pinnell)
19th November 2012, 17:27
Hamilton and Massa drove fantastic races. By the slimmest of margins my vote is for Massa. Mostly because he manned up and got the job done after what must have been a fairly disheartening decision to promote Alonso one position (a decision I agree with by the way).
Hamilton was sublime though!
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
19th November 2012, 17:29
I voted Hamilton: he performed very well in qualifying to go second to Vettel (who was undoubtably very fast over one lap) and in the race he overhauled him (albeit perhaps aided by a better race set-up). Very well deserved win. Credit to Massa also for being so positive about having to concede 5 places on the grid to aid Alonso after out-shining him in qualifying.
JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
19th November 2012, 17:30
I went for Massa. He outqualified the driver who supposedly drives beyond the limit of his car, then he took a sucker punch with the grid penalty to advantage Alonso only to drive through the field and back up to Alonso. He clearly had plenty of more pace than he was allowed to use as well and I think in a straight race could well have beaten Alonso despite the 5 place grid drop. I see that 2 people (so far) have voted for Alonso, suspiciously absent are any comments backing this up – I’d love to hear the justification.
Hamilton and Button also deserve a mention, Button’s poor grid slot wasn’t his own fault for a change this time.
DMajrekar (@dmajrekar)
19th November 2012, 17:52
+1 I was on the fence between Hamilton and Massa, but this swayed me towards Massa
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
19th November 2012, 21:05
@jerseyf1
I think they have forgotten to back up the point, probably because those 2 people have likely voted for Alonso in every race! I don’t think Alonso did anything worthy of DOTW (after all he finished nearly 40s back from the leading pair and probably only because of Webber’s retirement was he on the podium)!
infernojim (@infernojim)
19th November 2012, 17:53
Lots of worthy drives this weekend.
Hamilton and Vettel. Class of their own. Both nailed everything and it was great to see a race won at the front, on the track.
Massa and Button. Both had their misfortunes – Button on Saturday and Massa due to the Ferrari team decision, but drove quickly, consistently and decisively to make their way through the field to 4th and 5th respectively.
Kimi had a quiet race, but still managed to make it shiine with some great wheel to wheel moments with Hulkenburg and Button.
Overall I gave it to Massa for his strength of character to hit back from the controversy with such a strong drive. He’s on a good run at the moment, and starting to look like the old Massa again.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
19th November 2012, 17:56
I went for Hamilton. Red Bull looked effortlessly quick all weekend, and indeed after Friday it looked like we were in for an un-threatened lights-to-flag victory for Sebastian Vettel, but Hamilton managed to extract the speed from his car when it mattered and passed both Red Bull cars on his way to a deserved victory.
But I also seriously considered voting for Massa. Amid all the superlatives for Alonso’s performances, Felipe has been putting in some very decent performances, now and then, to match and this weekend beat his team mate, only to be called back by the most outrageous team order/strategy since…well, all those other controversial team orders involving Ferrari ;-) It would not surprise me in the least if next weekend Massa is the form man once again at Ferrari.
Other performances of note: Romain Grosjean delivered a very similar performance to his race in Silverstone, where he also had to run long due to an early-race incident. He still managed to catch Raikkonen again, as in Silverstone, and even if this was not a faultless weekend, at least the speed, which had been missing now and then since the summer break, was back again.
Daniel Ricciardo: although he didn’t have a good qualifying this time, he also showed that the early-season wisdom of “quicker in qualifying, slower in the race (than team mate Vergne)” is no longer true, as the second half of the season had many strong race performances, including this one.
Vitaly Petrov: Jarno Trulli was the man that almost made Kovalainen’s career, and Petrov could be the one that ends it. More and more, I feel it’s a common occurrence for Petrov to be ahead of his team mate, who has had very little to boast about this season, especially since the summer.
Mr draw
19th November 2012, 18:52
Indeed! I think Petrov has always been an underrated driver, as he was destroyed by Kubica, but he’s become a much more complete driver since then. I don’t think Kovalainen’s performances at McLaren truly reflected his potential, but he was certainly flattered last year by Trulli’s unmotivated driving. Maybe he’s losing his motivation too, being a backmarker for the third consecutive year without much hope for improvement.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
19th November 2012, 21:12
Being destroyed by Kubica is a bit like being destroyed by Alonso, you could actually draw the conclusion that he’s a pretty decent driver for not being destroyed completely! Kovalainen started our well at Caterham but sadly he hadn’t really impressed since Valencia in my opinion. Sadly there are worthier drivers of top-end race seats.
Jani (@jan1)
19th November 2012, 17:59
Hamilton is going to win this and deservedly so but my vote is going to Massa. He was true team player, didn’t complain but proved to be faster Ferrari throughout whole weekend. Faster in all qualifyings and in the race than teammate who is fighting for the title and says he is extracting 150% out of the car. Felipe must be getting 200% then.
Maybe its just another one off but being faster than Alonso at this stage of the season proves something, which doesn’t mean that Alonso would be any worse than is believed. Just that Massa is probably faster than most admit.
Jani (@jan1)
19th November 2012, 18:01
Good drives from Button, Raikkonen, Grosjean and Alonso too.
Fixy (@)
19th November 2012, 18:18
Hamilton. He was so perfect and pushed Vettel every lap. Although he had used his tyres too much during the first stint and lost ground from Vettel, he pushed again and stayed on him like a shadow and passed him brilliantly. The Red Bull was quicker through the twisty part, but Hamilton’s form lately has been so impressive I can expect anything from him.
William Katz (@hwkii)
19th November 2012, 18:26
With a lot of pundits talking about how this impacts Massa’s state of mind… Am I the only one who wouldn’t be grinning ear to ear every time he has to make a concession to Alonso? If the Ferrari really is still as inferior today as the Tifosi claim (and it’s just not, but lets pretend), is there a team out there who wouldn’t want to pay Massa a boatload of money to come drive for them in the future? He’s clearly got pace, he’s clearly willing to put the team first, and every time he has to sacrifice his position to Alonso it reminds the world that “the best driver on the grid” can’t do his own dirty work unless he complies. If I were Massa, I’d go home every night with the world’s biggest **** eating grin.
Felipe Baby may just be my driver of the year…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th November 2012, 19:37
@hwkii
They probably don’t want to pay “a boatload of money” a driver who’s scored a substantially smaller proportion of his team mate’s points tally than any other driver in a top team has over the last three years.
necrodethmortem (@necrodethmortem)
19th November 2012, 19:52
Don’t forget that the reason they “use” Massa like that is because the first half of his season was so bad he didn’t stand a chance of finishing high up in the driver’s championship. Ferrari decided to stick with Massa when everyone in Italy and their momma wanted him out, so now he has to pay back for that trust. Win-win.
William Katz (@hwkii)
19th November 2012, 20:40
I think that’s an interesting Chicken and Egg argument actually, what’s to say that the first half of his season wasn’t caused by Ferrari’s clear desire to “use” Massa? Because while the car was dreadful at the beginning of the year, it certainly appeared to be far more dreadful on the ‘other’ side of the garage. Now, maybe Felipe can’t wrangle a car around the track by the neck the way that Fernando (thought honestly, compare them physically, this is not surprising) but neither can a lot of drivers.
Fact remains, when the car is there, there’s very little between them. When the car isn’t there, is there anyone on the grid other than (by popular consensus) Lewis and Fernando? Considering the cries for his head at the midpoint in the season (justifiably, sure), if not Driver of the Year, certainly Comeback of the Year. Just… 2 years on.
William Katz (@hwkii)
19th November 2012, 20:46
I have to admit here, I am no fan of Ferrari, and that’s all due to the way that they use Massa. So, full disclosure. I’m just a bored Williams fan because the best driver on “my” team is also the very, very worst.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
19th November 2012, 19:15
Vettel. Fastest in all the sessions.
Sterling Archer
19th November 2012, 19:29
Except for the session that counts, of course.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
19th November 2012, 21:13
@kaiie – I was close to voting Vettel but I was just swayed for Hamilton. I agree though, he was definitely the DOTW on a single lap!
Guilherme (@guilherme)
19th November 2012, 19:20
Looks like Alonso gets automatic points here just for showing up for the race. Can’t believe Button is behind him in this poll, I think Jenson drove a good recovery race to finish 5th, and would very likely be 4th had his KERS not failed, while Alonso did a good start nothing else.
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
19th November 2012, 19:28
Hamilton, Massa, Vettel, Button, Hulkenberg… many drivers deserve it, but I have to give it to Hamilton. Brilliant qualifying (his last lap in Q3 was a joy to watch) and a dogged, relentless pursuit of Vettel that ended in deserved victory.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
19th November 2012, 19:28
3% for Alonso, the same as Button?
Have people even watched the GP?
Fernando had a great start… and stayed ahead of Massa after Webber was late for his BBQ.
Those 10 seconds are the easiest way anyone has ever earned DotW votes…
DelendaEstAmbulando
19th November 2012, 23:35
Didn’t vote for Fernando (or for anybody else), he surely could have qualified better (not much better though) but his race was as good as could be, his start was superb and then there was no way he could match Vettel’s or Lewis’ pace, so a third place was the absolute best he could get, and he got it (helped by Webber’s DNF of course but it would have been an exciting fight to watch)
Mncedi (@mmncedi)
19th November 2012, 19:41
I voted Hamilton because McLaren are going to miss him. Not even Alonso managed to get maximum performance from their cars, something he will be doing @ Merc next year. He was exceptional and finally got Vettel back for overtaking him in the 2008 Brazilian GP almost costing him the title.
HK (@me4me)
19th November 2012, 19:46
For me it was between Vettel and Hamilton. Both did amazing all weekend. Personally i don’t feel the assumption of the Mclaren being worse then the RB8 is correct. All year, the Mclaren has been faster then the Redbull in fast corners which require high downforce. Redbull got great qualifying speed cause of the double DRS, but that obviously doesn’t work in the race. This again got proven in sector 1, where Hamilton was faster then Vettel. The RB8 on the other hand might be a bit better in low-speed / traction corners, which combined with Vettels skill gave them an advantage in sector 3. So all in all, i think it was pretty much even between Vettel and Hamilton.
My vote went for Vettel though, for two reasons: he was quick all weekend, even though he had a water leak and missed valueable track time, and secondly cause his qualifying lap was just a bit sharper then Hamiltons. Both did amazing though, way ahead of the field.
Antonio Nartea (@tony031r)
19th November 2012, 19:47
I’m still not a Hamilton fan, I confess…but there’s no one else who deserves this DoTW more. The guy was absolutely stellar the whole weekend and managed to beat Vettel at his own game of level headedness and perfection on track. Well done! Perhaps the most well-deserved DoTW award so far this season.
Notable mentions, in order:
Massa – once again the fastest of the two Ferrari cars and all that in the midst of “the decision”. I can only wonder, what if the whole season was like this for him?
Button – frankly, this was a completely different side of Button. Drove the wheels of that McLaren for the first time since Canada 2011, in my opinion.
Vettel – did what he could do and has to come to terms with being the best of the rest this weekend. However, he secured the WCC for Red Bull and took another huge step towards his 3rd WDC.
Hulkenberg – once again stood out as the best midfielder out there and compared to where his team mate finished we could say he put on one great performance here.
BrawnGP (@brawngp)
19th November 2012, 19:52
So many strong drives this weekend- Jenson, Kimi, Alonso, even Vettel. But for me the 2 stand outs were Massa and Lewis. Lewis was VERY fast all weekend and won the race so he would be very deserving… but I had to give it to Massa. Faster than Alonso all weekend, gave up his start position for his teamate, had a strong aggressive race and was a solid wingman.
91jb12 (@91jb12)
19th November 2012, 19:54
Hamilton ust about from Vettel and Massa. The first 2 especially in a class of their own all weekend
JUGNU (@jugnu)
19th November 2012, 21:43
Lewis without a doubt.
James_mc (@james_mc)
19th November 2012, 21:49
I voted for Massa.
I’m not massively keen on Massa personally, however this is the first time in a long, long time that I can genuinely say that I was impressed with him.
Out-qualified Alonso on merit and took his team-induced punishment stoically and professionally. And still managed to climb from 11th to 4th.
Rodrrico (@rodrrico)
19th November 2012, 21:51
Hamilton was the man to beat today, however Massa was the driver of the day. His team have treated him like garbage ever since Alonso joined the team. It must be hard for Ferrari to think back to when Massa was fighting Hamilton for the DWC. Now this weekend he deserved to be on the podium, but once again Ferrari jerked him around (even if it was ultimately the right decision). He drove fast and smooth for the whole weekend.
OmarR-Pepper (@)
19th November 2012, 22:00
Massa, for signing in with the most respectful, fair, open-minded team in F1. I’m sure that if Massa keeps this way next year Ferrari will ask Alonso to move back and let Massa win.
No, seriously Massa was the best driv… impossible right? My vote has to go for Hamilton
Himmat
20th November 2012, 9:56
Fair you say? Hmmm….if the tables are reversed next year, will Ferrari get Alonso to squander his position to Massa in a race for example? If that happens, I will really respect Ferrari.
Moosehead
19th November 2012, 22:35
Hamilton all the way. I had the live feed from Hamilton’s onbaord up on my PC from about lap 20 or so until the end. Fun to watch him with the expectation that he was going to catch Vettel.
like the commercial says… WWLHD
petebaldwin (@)
19th November 2012, 22:41
Massa for me. I’ve been a big critic of him as he has been hopeless over the last few years and I was astonished when he was given another year. Why give someone you know is hopeless a seat when you’d have nothing to lose trying a promising youngster I thought.
However, he was brilliant and had he not taken the 5 place hit at the start, he could have been genuinely involved near the front. Massa showed what he can do but he also showed why he deserved all the crap he got for being so slow. He is capable of winning championships and he needs to start putting in performances that he’s capable of.
Dane. (@dane-1)
19th November 2012, 22:59
I voted Vettel. He set the lap record
dirgegirl (@dirgegirl)
19th November 2012, 23:33
Hamilton, for the sheer exuberance of that performance. Forget the helmet nonsense and his anti-social media antics, when he’s on form like that it’s a delight to watch and you’ve got to grin to see him so happy afterwards too.
sumedhvidwans (@sumedhvidwans)
20th November 2012, 3:10
I could not vote for Hamilton. He had the fastest car. Button’s pace proved that. He should have had pole and if not that then he should have been able to overtake Vettel much earlier than lap 43. He was on his tail since lap 30. Most people just like to believe that Red Bull is fastest because then it is easier to say that Vettel is not a great driver.
I ended up voting for Massa. For sentimental reasons of course. When he got the psychological blow in Germany 2010, he could not recover from it for very long. But this time, he did! Let’s hope he can take the fight to Alonso next season.
Jake (@jleigh)
20th November 2012, 17:11
Button was on a different strategy so his pace relative to others isn’t really relevant when comparing cars speeds. Pretty difficult to logically argue that the car that set the fastest lap in every single session of the weekend (including the race) isn’t the fastest car. Also, If you were watching the live timing throughout the weekend you would have noticed that the Red Bull was quicker through S2 and S3 all weekend quite comfortably and Hamilton was the only one able to match or beat them through S1. Hamilton took a different line to most through sector 1 (it was noticable how different it was to Vettel’s during the race), all of which suggests to me that the Red Bull was the faster car if either was. Of course, it’s an incredibly difficult thing to judge, but after observing the live timing all weekend I believe the Red Bull was probabaly the slightly faster package.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
20th November 2012, 4:07
Button for me,though Massa deserve it equally,both proved that they are far away from been number 2 drivers!
GeeMac (@geemac)
20th November 2012, 5:10
The drivers of the RACE were Hamilton and Massa, the driver of the WEEKEND was Vettel. I voted accordingly.
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
20th November 2012, 5:53
Lewis Hamilton had one his best races in Austin. I was simply amazed the way he could keep the pressure on Vettel for such a large duration of the race and then overtake him eventually. He did not get flustered even once when he was just 0.5 -1 second and in the DRS zone of Vettel but could not pass him. I have rarely seen Vettel lock up his wheels when he is in the lead and LH forced him to do that which says a lot of the pressure Lewis was applying on him.
Alonso and Massa had very good drives as well. Massa better than Fernando I would say. He was strong on pace and made some good overtakes as well. He has turned his season around and I look forward to seeing how he does in 2013.
Kiambu SubChief
20th November 2012, 6:10
I am a Massa fan and that guy drove a splendid race. One can only wonder what if he started from 6th? iIn 2013 I look forward to a rejuvenated Massa and who knows Andrea Stella on the radion “… Alonso, Massa is faster than you do you understand?”
Hamilton was also super too, I really wish the points difference between Vettel and Alonso would have been like 5 points to Brazil. I think all year round Alonso has arguably been the guy who has been the most consistent, but as they say whoever finishes with the most points…
Imre (@f1mre)
20th November 2012, 19:00
There are some question marks: Will Massa be able to handle the new spec tyres from the start? Will he be allowed to use his own setup, just like he’s been doing since Monaco? Will he be allowed to beat Alonso?
My biggest fear is the answer to my last question…
smifaye (@)
20th November 2012, 8:52
Hamilton for me. Great qualifying lap to get close to Vettel’s time and a perfect drive to take the win. He just looked to be in tune with the car this weekend and was driving like he really really wanted the win.
OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
20th November 2012, 10:58
Karthikeyan 1% wonder why…
Oskar (@oskar)
20th November 2012, 12:16
Hamilton! no doubt.
RedBullRacer (@redbullracer)
20th November 2012, 14:05
Just sparing a thought for a couple of guys who will, most likely, never get any votes for Driver of the Weekend…. I was actually pretty impressed by the HRT boys this weekend. Given the state of the team at the moment, morale can’t be too high, and then they had such limited running in practice – particularly Karthikeyan, who didn’t even participate in FP1 as he had to make way for Ma Qing Hua once again.
OK, so they finished last – but they finished. I think that for both Karthikeyan and De La Rosa to drag those cars across the finish line on Sunday was quite an achievement, and should be recognised as such.
Nirupam (@nirupam)
20th November 2012, 14:41
I find it really funny how ppl were after LDM, SD and almost the entire Ferrari for sticking to Massa and not giving Perez a drive. When LDM said that Perez was too inexperienced to drive a ferrari, how many comments did it draw here? 200+ may be? 300? Almost everyone shared the same view that Ferrari should have sacked Massa lot earlier!
Not exactly a comparison in term of points scored given performance diff between Ferrari and Sauber, but looking into both these two’s driving from that point onwards, do ppl still think Perez will do significantly better in that car?
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
20th November 2012, 16:27
It was perhaps one of the best races of Hamilton’s career.
But much like Suzuka, it was a race that showed Massa has still got it.
They are my driver’s of the day for sure.
Cosmas (@cosmas)
20th November 2012, 16:46
Hamilton, Vettel, Massa and Button all drove very well this weekend.
If i saw only the race without knowing what the championship standings are then probably i would vote for Hamilton.
I vote for Vettel because he toped all free practices and Quallify and although he get passed by Hamilton (with some help from Karthikeyan) he kept the fight until the end taking many risk’s (mostly reliability-alternator etc) despite the pressure for the championship title.
Hamilton drove very fast and took a deserving victory but he had nothing to lose and had therefore no pressure.
Massa was bitterly disappointed from his team decision and wanted to prove his value and he did it driving his best race of the year.
if i could give 4 vote’s i’l voted all of them , since i have only one then this is for Vettel.
baldgye (@baldgye)
20th November 2012, 23:26
Voted for Lewis, don’t really need to say why… but can you really compare Massa and Alonso at this point?
Arn’t they driving vastly diffrent cars (due to upgrades Alonso gets that Massa dsnt etc etc)?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
21st November 2012, 13:29
Massa for me. He not only did better than Alonso but he did very good by his own standards. He didn’t let the gearbox situation knock his eagerness to race and perform and it was a pleasure to see him back on form. Keep it up!
PJA (@pja)
22nd November 2012, 18:07
I voted for Hamilton as driver of the weekend.
Vettel had the edge in qualifying but Hamilton had the edge in the race.
Should also mention Massa, his return to form continues, he out-qualified Alonso, took one for the team with his gearbox change and then had a great race.