F1 Season review: Young Vettel secures his legacy

The 2011 Formula One season will best be remembered by Indian fans for the inaugural Grand Prix which placed the country on the calendar of one of the most exciting sporting events in the world. Sebastian Vettel defended his Championship with three races yet to go and becoming the youngest ever to do so in a season dominated by Red Bull. Here is a look at what unfolded on the tracks where speed, resilience and automobile science combine to create a lot of vrrrooooom! The Bahrain Grand Prix was scheduled to be the opening race of the season but political unrest forced the country to call if off. There were some rescheduling meetings which took place but organizers thought it would be best to cancel it outright. If it would have gone through then maybe India would have hosted the final race of the season. The Australian Grand Prix: The season kicked off on 27th March at Albert Park in Melbourne with the home crowd firmly rooting for Mark Webber to win. But Vettel qualified for Pole position by just eight tenths of a second and started his defence with a victory. Webber, though, failed to finish at the podium, with Lewis Hamilton and Vitaly Petrov finishing behind Vettel. It wasn’t a great start for Indian Narain Karthikeyan, though, whose Hispania F111 car failed to qualify due the re-entry of the 107% rule. Malaysia Grand Prix: Renamed from ‘Malaysian’ to the ‘Malaysia Grand Prix’ by organizers to promote the country, the Sepang circuit proved to be profitable again for Vettel. It was again via qualifying at pole position but this time he was pushed down to the wire by McLaren. First Lewis Hamilton almost snatched it, just falling behind by one tenth of a second and later Jenson Button trailed by just three seconds at the chequered flag. Maybe Hamilton had Fernando Alonso to blame for his absence on the podium with the Spaniard colliding with him, forcing him to change his front wing. Chinese Grand Prix: Vettel was already making his mark and this race established the fact that it would be hard to dethrone the champion as he took pole yet again. But the race was hardly as easy, with the lead exchanging several times thanks to Jenson Button ending up at the Red Bull pit, leaving his McLaren tech team bewildered. Teammate Hamilton saved the blushes for them, overtaking Vettel with just four laps to go. Surely a pick for one the most exciting races of the season. [caption id=“attachment_142328” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever back-to-back Formula One champion. Reuters”]  [/caption] Turkish Grand Prix: No guessing who took pole in Turkey and this time for a record fourth times in the first four races since 1999. Vettel also led from start till finish in a clean race followed by Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. Spanish Grand Prix: Mark Webber broke Vettel’s dominance in Catalunya, taking pole but still falling behind to fourth-starting Fernando Alonso. Vettel though made a strong comeback to win it but constructors McLaren were happy with Hamilton and Button finishing behind the German. Ferrari were looking good early on but Pirelli’s hard compound tires made their day a forgettable one. Monaco Grand Prix: Monte Carlo is always tricky and lived up to its tag. Two drivers woke up in hospitals as Sergio Perez suffered a concussion in qualifying and Vitaly Petrov was knocked out in a five-car crash late on race-day. The race was stopped for a period but Vettel went on to win it ahead of Alonso and Button. Canadian Grand Prix: Vettel was ruthless in qualifying this time but Jenson Button was a step ahead. First he crashed into Hamilton in the pits, then he earned a speeding penalty and ended up last before the race was stopped for two hours due to rain. When it was back up, he worked his way to second position till Vettel made his only mistake in the last lap, leaving Button to overtake and end the race as winner. Classic this one. European Grand Prix: It was no more a surprise who would start at lead. Pirelli introduced their medium-compound tires in Valencia but Ferrari still couldn’t adjust to them as much as Red Bull could. Vettel ran away victorious with the race seeing a record 24 classified finishers…Karthikeyan finishing last. British Grand Prix: Webber took pole but Vettel took the lead from him in the first lap itself. The race was eventful in the least with Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton colliding in the last corner. A rare mistake in Red Bull’s pit allowed Alonso to gain surge ahead and win his first race since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. German Grand Prix: Home territory did not prove as lucky for Vettel. He qualified outside the first two since almost a year and later struggled after going for a spin on one of the turns. It looked like the Germans weren’t up to it because Michael Schumacher committed a mistake on the same turn. Hamilton won the race after all the top three were in the lead at some point. Alonso finished second with Webber third. [caption id=“attachment_142358” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Michael Schumacher was in his second season after his comeback from retirement. Reuters”]  [/caption] Hungarian Grand Prix: A slippery track welcomed the racers and Hamilton was at his most aggressive on it, forcing Force India driver Paulo di Resta off the track and earning a penalty. Vettel had pole position but couldn’t make the most of it, finishing behind Jenson Button who celebrated his 200th race start. Nick Heidfeld’s Renault exploded during a pit stop but no injuries were reported. Belgian Grand Prix: It was 20 years since Michael Schumacher made his debut in Formula One and the rest is of course folklore. But his return wasn’t that tidy as he lost a wheel during qualifying and finished the race in fifth. Hamilton went out of the race after a crash with Kamui Kobayashi and Red Bull got their first one-two since Istanbul. Italian Grand Prix: Hamilton was getting closer to the pole position but this time half a second denied him. Vettel took it and took full advantage of it, moving just one win closer to the championship. Webber finished the race with a broken front wing after a collision with Massa. Singapore Grand Prix: Pole number 11 for Vettel and he moved a point closer to the championship, courtesy Button also finishing on the podium. Controversies did not stop chasing Hamilton as he earned his sixth penalty of the season and the rest of the results put him out of reckoning for a title. Japanese Grand Prix: Button came nine thousandths of a second close to snatching pole from Vettel but the Briton made amends by finishing the race in first position. Vettel, of course, needed only a point and his third place was enough to crown him champion for the second successive year. Korean Grand Prix: It was raining champagne for Red Bull as they sealed their second World Constructor’s Championship in as many years. Hamilton made sure Red Bull didn’t have pole for the first time in the season but couldn’t repeat the feat on race day, with Vettel securing yet another win. Indian Grand Prix: Vettel must really like the Indian racing track, claiming pole position, recording the fastest lap and leading the race from start till finish. Hamilton continued his duels with Massa, prodding him for the third time in four races but it was teammate Button, who looked to be on course for a second place finish in the driver’s championship. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: After starting with a record equaling 14th pole position, Vettel had to retire on race-day due to a suspension damage and a right rear puncture. It was the first time the podium did not have someone dressed in dark blue with two Red Bulls ramming into each other, as Hamilton finished first ahead of Alonson and Button. Brazilian Grand Prix: Vettel broke Nigel Mansell’s record of 14 pole positions at Sau Paulo, but it was teammate Mark Webber who won his first race since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2010. Felipe Massa’s home return did not help sweeten his bitter record of becoming the first Ferrari driver in 20 years not to finish on the podium all season.