F1 2012 〈500+ TRENDING〉

But the chaos resumed in (Race 5). Pastor Maldonado—then a pay-driver known for crashing—produced one of the biggest shockers of the decade. From pole position, the Venezuelan drove a flawless race in the Williams-Renault to take the team’s first win since 2004. It was a fairytale, albeit one that ended with a garage fire during the podium celebration.

A four-win streak in Singapore, Japan, Korea, and India flipped the script entirely. Vettel, who had looked lost in the first half, suddenly had a massive lead. Alonso, meanwhile, was eliminated in the first lap of the Japanese GP (by Raikkonen) and suffered a puncture in Abu Dhabi. The season came down to the final race in Brazil. Vettel led Alonso by 13 points. But on the very first lap, disaster struck. Vettel spun after contact with Bruno Senna, dropping to the very back of the grid. The championship was swinging toward Alonso. F1 2012

It was the most competitive start to a season in F1 history. The "Alonso vs. The World" Narrative While the winners were diverse, one man emerged as the moral champion of the season: Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari F2012 was, by the admission of the team's own engineers, a dog. It lacked downforce, suffered from understeer, and was often the fourth-fastest car on the grid. But the chaos resumed in (Race 5)