IF SPORT was ever scripted, I would love to see how one would have written the script for the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It all started with Hamilton clocking the fastest laptimes in all practice sessions (well almost!), qualifying and then leading the race with ease only to retire mid-way due to Mclaren’s recurring mechanical issues.
And if Hamilton’s race was script enough, we had Vettel clinch P3 in qualifying on Saturday only to be penalized post-session for infringing the rule which makes it compulsory for drivers to have one litre of fuel left for post-session investigation. As a result, Vettel was excluded from the session, robbing him of a row 2 starting position. Red Bull Racing decided to have Vettel start from the pitlane thereby allowing setup changes to his car. Vettel benefitted the most from the two Safety Car periods and the high attrition rate to finish 3rd in the race and lose only 3 points to Alonso in the Drivers’ Championship.
He still leads the Championship by ten points going into the last two races of the season.
The beneficiary of Hamilton’s retirement was Raikkonen, who won his first race of the season and became the 8th driver to win this season. As good as his drive were his radio messages mid-race which added to the on-track entertainment also provided by a colliding Perez, Webber, Karthikeyan, Rosberg and Hulkenberg.
Karthikeyan’s weekend started on the backfoot after the team replaced him in FP1 with development driver Qing Hua Ma. Probably a wrong decision to do so especially since this was his first time on the Yas Marina Circuit and track time would have done him much good. This maybe also explains why he was six tenths off de la Rosa in qualifying.
In the race, Karthikeyan got lucky after Rosberg crashed into the HRT F112 narrowly missing the Indian’s helmet. The accident was caused due to Karthikeyan being forced to lift throttle after a hydraulics failure on his car led to steering issues. The HRT cars are suffering from mechanical reliability in the recent races and posing danger to their drivers. This is their fourth straight race where one car failed to reach the finish line.
While there is no clarity on a possible contract extension with HRT for 2013 for Karthikeyan, the team has indicated that their next year’s car will be a completely new one and not an upgrade of the 2012 F112. They have also indicated that they are in the process of hiring new engineering staff to ensure that they have a better car next year. While the team is showing right intentions, for Karthikeyan and for the sport, I hope that they do succeed. It would be good to see a backmarker team join the ever competitive mid-field grid.
And the mid-field too was extremely competitive in Abu Dhabi with both the Williams, a Sauber, a Toro Rosso and Paul Di Resta of Sahara Force India scoring points. As things stand, Sauber are 6th in the Championship, chasing Mercedes, while Sahara Force India are nearing a century of championship points and 22 points ahead of Williams.
Post their home race, Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg announced that he would be moving to arch rivals Sauber for the 2013 season. This would be Nico’s third team in three competitive Formula1 seasons. He drove for Williams in 2010, Sahara Force India in 2012 and is slated to drive for Sauber in 2013. It is a one year deal and speculation is rife that he is one of the options Ferrari would like to explore in 2014 as Massa’s replacement. Whether the switch to a big team would happen for Hulkenberg waits to be seen if one was to look at the form in the last few years, Sahara Force India has been consistently competitive as compared to Sauber’s spikes in performances. With the departure of Sauber’s technical chief James Key to Toro Rosso, it will be interesting to see if Sauber can indeed remain as competitive next season.
Hulkenberg’s move means that Sahara Force India will have at least one empty seat next year. There are a number of names being discussed for next season and they include the return of the team’s driver from last year Adrian Sutil, ex-Toro Rosso drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi.
The team could also promote current test and reserve driver Jules Bianchi to a race seat next year. Their choice of drivers for 2013 will be an interesting one followed by many in and outside the Paddock!
And post last weekend’s Indian Grand Prix, Vicky Chandhok, the president of the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India voiced his opinion that the Govt. of India should offer a waiver on the import duty on equipment needed to execute the successful Indian Grand Prix. His claim was strengthened by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) that reported that Formula1 could generate revenues of over Rs 900 billion in the next decade and over 1.5 million new jobs in technical, skilled and commercial. While I don’t have access to the findings or research objective of this report, it certainly is an interesting one.
It was not so long ago that the govt. termed Formula1 as ‘entertainment’ and not a sport. Will the govt. finally step up to understand the economics of the sport and tourism benefits it offers to change their attitude towards it? For the future of the Indian Grand Prix, Indian Formula1 fans and Indian Motorsport, I certainly do hope so!
And while one section of the govt. is ignoring the sport, I was amused to see ‘Incredible India’ as one of the lead sponsors of the race broadcast in India. A case of split personality this?
