Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter
A thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix which had fans and teams alike on the edge of their seats saw both Kimi and Romain suffer various dramas; the Frenchman making an early exit whilst his Finnish counterpoint came home in P10 to secure P3 in the 2012 Drivers’ World Championship standings.
Summary
- The race began under light drizzle which became heavier as the opening laps went on
- Kimi started on white marked medium compound Pirelli tyres, Romain on the silver marked hards; both making a clean getaway
- Yellow flags emerged on the first lap after an incident involving a number of cars at T5
- Romain crashed heavily at T11 on lap 6 to bring out further yellow flags; thankfully emerging unscathed
- Conditions varied between wet and dry throughout, forcing multiple tyre changes
- The race finished under safety car conditions after DIR collided with the pit straight wall on the penultimate lap
Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05
Grid: P8
Race: P10
Fastest Lap: 1:19.444 [Lap 34]
Pit Stops: 3 [Lap 5, 19, 53]
Key Moments:
Lap 01: Loses a position to HUL through T1, then forced to move off track at T4 to avoid VET; eventually ends the first lap in his starting position
Lap 04: Drops to P10 as rain becomes heavier; suffering from lack of grip on slick rubber
Lap 05: Pits for intermediates
Lap 19: Drops into the box for a fresh set of medium tyres; enough of a dry line now emerging to allow for slicks
Lap 37: Up one spot as DIR spins trough T12
Lap 38: Back into the points; great move around the outside of MSC into T1, superb close driving by both
Lap 52: An off-track excursion and ill-fated detour up the slip road at T15 to fall outside of the points
Lap 53: Back onto intermediate rubber as the rain intensifies once more
Lap 65: Steady progress through the field to regain a top 10 slot
Lap 71: Chequered flag; P10 and a single point to clinch P3 in the Drivers’ World Championship
Kimi knew where he was going: “I went off at the last corner on lap 52 as I couldn’t see well with my visor being dirty and fogged up. Where I went off you can get back on the track by going through the support race pitlane, but you have to go through a gate. I know this as I did the same thing in 2001 and the gate was open that year. Somebody closed it this time. Next year I’ll make sure it’s open again…”
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h45:22.656 2. Alonso Ferrari + 2.754 3. Massa Ferrari + 3.615 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.936 5. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 5.708 6. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 9.453 7. Schumacher Mercedes + 11.900 8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 28.600 9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 31.200 10. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 11. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 12. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap 13. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 15. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 16. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 18. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 19. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 3 laps Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:18.069 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 55 Grosjean Lotus-Renault 6 Maldonado Williams-Renault 2 Senna Williams-Renault 1 Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1 World Championship standings, round 20: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 281 1. Red Bull-Renault 460 2. Alonso 278 2. Ferrari 400 3. Raikkonen 207 3. McLaren-Mercedes 378 4. Hamilton 190 4. Lotus-Renault 303 5. Button 188 5. Mercedes 142 6. Webber 179 6. Sauber-Ferrari 126 7. Massa 122 7. Force India-Mercedes 109 8. Grosjean 96 8. Williams-Renault 76 9. Rosberg 93 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 26 10. Perez 66 11. Hulkenberg 63 12. Kobayashi 60 13. Schumacher 49 14. Di Resta 46 15. Maldonado 45 16. Senna 31 17. Vergne 16 18. Ricciardo 10
Video: Raikkonen overtakes Schumacher, Kimi goes off track
Kimi Raikkonen – 10th: “It was a busy race and we didn’t have the pace we wanted all the time. There was certainly a lot going on. I went off at the last corner on lap fifty-two as I couldn’t see well with my visor being dirty and fogged up. Where I went off you can get back on the track by going through the support race pit lane, but you have to go through a gate. I know this as I did the same thing in 2001 and the gate was open that year. Somebody closed it this time. Next year I’ll make sure it’s open again.”
Romain Grosjean – DNF: “I’m a little bit shaken but otherwise not too bad. Everything was nicely under control at the start of the race then it all ended very suddenly at turn eleven. It was a strange one; I could see it was raining a bit more so I was taking it even easier than on the lap before, then suddenly the car just went from underneath me and that was it. I’ve not had much luck this weekend and that’s definitely not the way I wanted to end the season, but overall it’s been a good year and hopefully there will be many better days to come.”
Eric Boullier, Team Principal: “That was obviously a very dramatic race to end the season; not the one we would have expected and not really the one we would have wanted on track. The conclusion of the championship is good; fourth was our target and we’ve achieved that by a considerable margin. On top of that we’ve been fighting with the leading teams right to the end of the year. For Kimi to take third in the Drivers’ Championship is a really great achievement after being away for two years and a testament not only to the car we gave him, but to the team for their support. We scored our first win with the Lotus name and achieved a good number of podiums over the year, so overall it’s been a very good season. I can only thank everyone at Enstone and everyone at Renault; I’m very proud to be a part of this effort. Our progress is very promising for next year. With the continuity and stability we have I’m sure we’ll be fighting for podiums again in 2013.
“In terms of the bigger picture, we must of course send our congratulations to Sebastian Vettel who joins the sport’s greats as a triple World Champion. A mention also for the fine efforts of another former Enstone champion – Fernando Alonso – who drove superbly all season. Finally, we say a very fond farewell to another of the finest drivers around in Michael Schumacher. It’s always a big thing when a multiple champion leaves the sport, and Michael has achieved great things over many years, including two Drivers’ Championships for Enstone. We wish him all the very best for the future”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “It was an incident-packed race which ended early for Romain who spun off very early in the damp conditions. Kimi had a very tricky race including a couple of spins and problems with his visor, so not the ideal day and a tough weekend overall. Looking at the season, we’re happy with P3 in the Drivers’ Championship for Kimi and P4 in the Constructors’ Championship for the team. Our target was fourth and we’ve easily achieved that, but perhaps even more encouraging is that at one stage it looked as if we could challenge for third or maybe even higher. I’m sure Kimi would have rather won the championship but it was certainly a very respectable comeback.”
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 
I´m sure – as the radiotext “Leave me alone…….” is the F1 legend already, as will be the “little tour” outside of the track in Brazil as well:)) That´s Kimi! Probably it was the last hope to back out of prize-gala, but no, no, no……it´s time to dig out the tuxedo and bow-tie:))Super season! KIMI – thanks for the unforgettable moments!!!
LikeLike