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2012 F1 season in pics

Monday 24 December 2012 15:24, UK

  1. Image: The class of 2012 lines up on the grid in Melbourne for the season-opening Australian GP.
  2. Image: Although Lewis Hamilton claimed the first pole position of the season, Jenson Button started the year with a win at Melbourne.
  3. Image: To considerable interest, Mercedes tried to steal a march with an innovative double-DRS system.
  4. Image: Despite the Ferrari F2012 starting the season with a serious shortage of lacking pace, Fernando Alonso won the second race of the year - the Malaysian GP.
  5. Image: The rain played its part at Sepang with the race red-flagged for over an hour.
  6. Image: The emerging talent of Sergio Perez hunted down Alonso in the closing stages of the race before Sauber settled for second place.
  7. Image: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg claimed his first win in F1 at the third race of the season - the Chinese GP.
  8. Image: World Champion Sebastian Vettel then claimed his first win of the season at Bahrain.
  9. Image: The Bahrain event proved hugely controversial with Force India skipping Practice Two due to safety concerns.
  10. Image: Although beaten to the victory by Red Bull and Vettel, Lotus celebrated a double podium success.
  11. Image: In one of the defining moments of the year, Lewis Hamilton ran out of fuel on his in-lap in Spain after claiming pole. He was sent to the back of the grid.
  12. Image: A day later, Williams driver Pastor Maldonado secured his first F1 win with victory of the Spanish GP ahead of Fernando Alonso.
  13. Image: But Williams' joy at their first win in almost a decade was cut short when a fire broke out in their garage.
  14. Image: Michael Schumacher was quickest in qualifying in Monaco but was denied the first pole position of his comeback because of a pending grid penalty.
  15. Image: Who says F1 cars can't jump? Kamui Kobayashi was flying at the start at Monte Carlo.
  16. Image: After leading a posse of cars over the line, Red Bull's Mark Webber continued the run of different winners at the start of the season.
  17. Image: Four months after the season's start Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton took his first win of the year at Montreal
  18. Image: The Montreal event highlighted the importance of the Pirelli tyres, with Vettel and Alonso made to suffer for not pitting at the end of the race
  19. Image: Delighted with his Montreal win, Lewis Hamilton went for a victory swim
  20. Image: Fernando Alonso became the first double winner of the year at the European GP despite only qualifying eleventh.
  21. Image: In one the year's most action-packed races, Lewis Hamilton's battle with Pastor Maldonado ended in disaster.
  22. Image: Alternator failures became a persistent problem for Red Bull during the course of the season and Vettel had to retired from the lead of the Valencia race.
  23. Image: Mark Webber won at Silverstone - a victory which secured him a contract extension with Red Bull.
  24. Image: But the wet weather at Silverstone stole the headlines.
  25. Image: Rain, rain, rain. What else did you expect during a British summer?
  26. Image: The bad weather also caused lengthy traffic problems outside of the circuit.
  27. Image: Fernando Alonso took another win in Germany
  28. Image: A first lap puncture led to Lewis Hamilton wanting to park the car
  29. Image: Having fallen behind in the championship battle, Lewis Hamilton was back on top in Hungary just before the season took its summer break.
  30. Image: The Belgian GP started with a bang - and resulted in a race suspension for Romain Grosjean.
  31. Image: Having qualified on pole in his McLaren, Jenson Button went on to dominate the Spa race.
  32. Image: Belgium was followed by another win for Hamilton at Monza. However, questions still remained about his future.
  33. Image: In another iconic image of the season, Hamilton retired from the lead of the Singapore race. Days later, he announced his decision to join Mercedes.
  34. Image: With Hamilton retired, Sebastian Vettel took full advantage - the first of four successive victories.
  35. Image: Hamilton had plenty of questions to answer in Suzuka after announcing he had signed a three-year deal with Mercedes.
  36. Image: With Hamilton announced as Nico Rosberg's team-mate in 2013, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement in Japan
  37. Image: Back on the track, the increasingly-assured Sebastian Vettel took another win...
  38. Image: Meanwhile, after a first-lap crash, Fernando Alonso was forced to watch his points-lead evaporate/
  39. Image: For Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi took his first podium at his home race. But the Japanese driver would still be dropped at the end of the season.
  40. Image: Dominant Red Bull took a one-two finish in Korea...
  41. Image: ...and there was another double podium in India as Sebastian Vettel made it four in a row
  42. Image: For Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen claimed the first win of his comeback in Abu Dhabi.
  43. Image: After being disqualified from qualifying, Sebastian Vettel went from the pit-lane to the podium.
  44. Image: Lewis Hamilton took victory in Austin as the title battle went to the wire
  45. Image: Sebastian Vettel crossed the line in Interlagos in sixth place to secure the championship from Alonso by three points
  46. Image: And so 2012 ended with Vettel crowned a triple World Champion and Red Bull crowned Constructors' Champions again.