2012 Half Term Report

Speshal

World Champion
Valued Member
So, we have reached the halfway point of the season, what are your thoughts and opinions on how the 2012 season has progressed?

We had the spectacle of 7 winners of 7 different races, the Ferrari was deemed a pup by some as the season started yet Fernando Alonso has the lead at the top of the standings, has the dominance of Red Bull been bought under control? Will Michael Schumacher actually finish a race? Have McLaren cracked it with the upgrades? Can Romaine Grosjean's grin get any wider?

Over to you :D
 
It is certainly been unpredictable, Ferrari's rise from mid table to the top. McLarens fast start, fall then rise again while Mercedes seem to have slowly fallen from the scale as the season has gone on. Only Red Bull and Lotus have had some form of consistency throughout the season while Alonso has been the most consistent driver which explains why he is top of the Championship.
 
Report Cards?
Car Number 1- Vettel, Poor start with qually in Oz, picked up in the race and has only got better, unlucky in KL with the collision with Karthikeyan, slightly fortunate with Kimi in Bahrain but deserved the win. Grade, B+
Number 2- Webber, Got off to a great start out-qualifying Vettel in Oz and looked to have the better of him after the overtake at China showing what could have been a change of power in the team. Won in Monaco, probably would have been 2nd if Schumi hadn't had the penalty and a well deserved win in Silverstone, Consistency has kept him second. Grade, A-
Car 3- Jenson Button got off to the perfect start in Oz, started 2nd and went on to win the race, a dominant performance, many tipped him for another world championship, collision with Karthikeyan ruined his race in KL but was back on form in China but a problem in the pits cost him the chance of a win. Had a poor string of races, stuck behind a Caterham in Monaco and Canada was poor. Came back in Germany with second, strategy let him down in Hungary. Grade C, untapped potential.
Car 4- Lewis Hamilton started with 2 poles but couldn't convert either to wins, was very consistent, 3 3rd places left him first in the championship. Pit stop problems in Bahrain and more left him frustrated shuffling him down the championship order and a costly collision with Maldonado in Valencia and a puncture in Germany left him further behind in no fault of his own, wins in Canada after taming the tyres and driving with the perfect strategy while a near faultless drive in Hungary, 2nd being his lowest position in all sessions saw him back in contention. Grade A-, let down by his equipment
Car 5- championship leader Fernando Alonso has been faultless all season, his only mistake being in Oz Q2 when he beached it in the gravel. The uncompetitve Ferrari he managed to drag to the finish line with decent points and then took an unlikely win in Malaysia holding off Perez. The car hadn't got the dry pace but he still had the points and after the Mugello test, the car matched his ability and he took a win from 11th at Valencia in an eventful race, 2nd in Silverstone after a brilliant pole in the wet, a feat repeated in Germany and this time he maxed it to a win, deserved championship lead. Grade A*, faultless
Car 6- Massa has been poor, the car wasn't good and he did the best he could but that hadn't been helped by his team mate being able to out drive it. Nowhere to be seen in Malaysia where Alonso won but finally took points albeit a little later then Alonso. Had a great drive to P4 in Silverstone showing progress had been made after P6 in Monaco as well. Rumours have been planning his depature and replacement. Grade E, overall poor.
Top 3 done, the rest will follow...
 
I would give Massa an F, he has been more likely to be seen fighting HRTs and Marussias than lapping them...

It has been an excellent season so far - it has been a mix of 2010 and 2011 with great racing along with a good championship battle. Apart from today's race, I feel asleep a couple of times. But at least Valencia gave us a great race!

I really wish Kimi would sort out his qualifying because he could have had a couple of wins and possibly be fighting for the title! But Spa is next and that could be his time to :)
 
24. Pedro de la Rosa - Exam results slightly unflattering, impressing in batches and beating Marussia in qualifying. 5/10
23. Narain Karthikeyan - The headmaster is happy with his continued payments, but probably better off in another school. 1/10
22. Charles Pic - Settling in well and improving as time goes by. Usual anonymous Marussia #2 though. 4/10
21. Timo Glock - We're starting to question his motivation in the teacher's lounge. Could do better. 4/10
20. Vitaly Petrov - Vitaly is not doing too badly, closer to Heikki than Jarno was. 5/10
19. Heikki Kovalainen - Spends too much time playing Angry Birds in class. Performance pretty consistent. 7/10
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Decent homework performance has not translated to exam success. 5/10
17. Jean-Éric Vergne - A quite slippery character, please start preparing better for exams! 4/10
16. Nico Hulkenburg - Flashes of brilliance in some classes, particularly in rain. Improving. 5/10
15. Bruno Senna - Seems to have excellent equipment but not maximising. The headmaster misses his Uncle Ayrton. 4/10
14. Felipe Massa - Has not recovered from sick leave 3 years ago. Pity. 4.5/10
13. Paul di Resta - Out of sorts towards the end of term, but brilliant on his good days. 6/10
12. Michael Schumacher - Needs better equipment. Passed exams years ago, should graduate. 5.5/10
11. Pastor Maldonado - Clearly a bright kid, but really needs to stop hitting rest of school. Could do better. 5/10
10. Kamui Kobayashi - More studious and less agressive than at start of school life. Doing OK. 6/10
09. Sergio Perez - Successfully makes an eraser last for a long time. Playing with bigger boys. 7/10
08. Romain Grosjean - Too often goes home sick by half 9. Doing well, that considered. 6.5/10
07. Jenson Button - Not the star student we expect. Hasn't followed up unbelievable last term. 6/10
06. Nico Rosberg - Scores well in some exams but not consistent enough for modular course. 6.5/10
05. Kimi Raikkonen - Nice to see him back at this school. Again, often brilliant, sometimes disinterested. 7.5/10
04. Lewis Hamilton - Doing really well. I suspect he's hanging around with the wrong kids at times. 9/10
03. Sebastian Vettel - Lack of success of last term is getting to him. Would like Christian to stop arguing with me. 8/10
02. Mark Webber - Back to the form of 2010. Seems more confident, but still not consistent. 8/10
01. Fernando Alonso - Impressed by his high scores across all subjects. Determined and brilliant. 10/10
 
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