Seven different winners in seven races. Rain, chaos, underdogs, and a title fight that went to the wire. Alonso gave the drive of his life — and still lost. Vettel rose from the ashes — and still almost burned. No season made sense. And that’s why it was perfect.
The 2012 Formula One season — the 63rd — was pure, unfiltered madness. New tyres. New rules. A grid so tight the midfield could win races, and the front-runners could vanish. What started as a roulette wheel turned into a heavyweight duel between Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel — two world champions fighting from opposite corners of the technical spectrum.
Alonso had no business being in the title fight. Vettel had no business winning it. And yet, by Brazil, they were locked in a final battle, rain pouring, cars spinning, dreams breaking.
This wasn’t dominance. It was defiance.
Key Highlights of the 2012 Season
– Seven winners in the first seven races: Button, Alonso, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado (!), Webber, Hamilton. Utter insanity.
– Fernando Alonso’s best-ever season: Three wins, fourteen podiums — in a Ferrari that had no right to be there.
– Vettel’s late-season charge: Four consecutive wins (Singapore to India) dragged him from nowhere into the title lead.
– Kimi Räikkönen’s triumphant return: Wins in Abu Dhabi, finishes third in the standings with Lotus.
– Pastor Maldonado wins in Spain: Yes, that actually happened.
– Brazilian finale in the wet: Vettel is hit on lap one. Drops to the back. Fights through to sixth. Secures title by three points.
– McLaren’s pace, McLaren’s disaster: The fastest car, plagued by botched pit stops and mechanical failures.
– Pirelli tyres spice up the grid: Strategy chaos and thermal degradation — no one understood them until it was almost too late.
The Story of the Season — The Wild, The Wise, and the Warrior
When the lights went out in Melbourne, nobody saw what was coming. Not even the teams. The new Pirelli tyres weren’t just tricky — they were chaotic. Get them in the right window and you flew. Miss it, and you were spinning like a top.
The first seven races?
- Button wins in Australia.
- Alonso wins in Malaysia — in the wet, in a tractor of a Ferrari.
- Rosberg wins in China — Mercedes’ first since 1955.
- Vettel takes Bahrain.
- Maldonado — yes, Pastor Maldonado — wins in Spain after a front-row start and a real drive.
- Webber wins Monaco.
- Hamilton wins Canada.
Seven races. Seven different winners. Zero predictability.
Amid the chaos, one man rose: Fernando Alonso. His Ferrari wasn’t fast — but it was dependable, and Alonso was otherworldly. He hauled it onto podiums through sheer rage and genius. Won in Malaysia. Won in Valencia, starting 11th. Won in Germany. After 11 races, he led the championship by 40 points.
And then…
Vettel woke up.
Red Bull found something in Singapore — some dark aerodynamic sorcery — and Vettel did not lose again until Abu Dhabi. Wins in Singapore, Japan, Korea, India. From 40 points down to 13 points ahead.
The tension was unbearable. Alonso stayed alive with podiums in Abu Dhabi, the US. He didn’t blink.
Then came Brazil.
It rained. Because of course it did. On the first lap, Vettel got hit — Senna tagged him at Turn 4. He spun. Dropped to the back. The world stopped.
Alonso surged. Passed, clawed, hunted. Webber held him up. The fog and rain rolled in. Vettel, car damaged, began the comeback. Every pass was agony. Every position counted.
In the end:
- Vettel finished sixth.
- Alonso finished second.
- Vettel won the championship. By three points.
Off-Track Drama — Finesse, Fire, and the Madness of the Midfield
Behind the wheel-to-wheel chaos was something deeper. Red Bull faced scrutiny for their floor design and engine maps. Ferrari raged quietly at the lack of pace. McLaren — arguably the fastest car — imploded with pit stop disasters and mechanical failure. Hamilton’s final year there ended in agony, and Button faded after early heroics.
Kimi Räikkönen? He returned from his rally sabbatical and reminded everyone how to drive. Finished every single race. Won in Abu Dhabi. Delivered the greatest radio line in F1 history: “Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing.”
2012 wasn’t just fast. It was alive.
Season Summary & Results
Twenty races.
- Sebastian Vettel – 5 wins, 281 points
- Fernando Alonso – 3 wins, 278 points
- Kimi Räikkönen – 1 win, 207 points
- Lewis Hamilton – 4 wins, 190 points
Red Bull took the Constructors’ again, but Ferrari pushed them to the brink.
Alonso called it “the best season of my life.” No one disagreed.
Legacy — The Beautiful Madness That Nearly Broke Them All
2012 will always be the wildest season of the modern era.
It gave us Maldonado on the top step. Alonso driving like a man possessed. Vettel losing his mind in Abu Dhabi traffic. Hamilton storming off into a Mercedes future. And a title fight that refused to die until the final lap.
It was the last time unpredictability ruled F1. Before the turbo hybrid era, before Mercedes’ empire.
A season where talent mattered more than machinery. Where grit outshone raw pace.
And where three points decided a championship — and rewrote the careers of everyone involved.
