JOIN USSchumi, Hamilton hit headlines for different reasons
There were few gasps of surprise when seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, three years into an unimpressive comeback with Mercedes and six years on from his last win with Ferrari, decided to call it a day for the second time at the age of 43.
There were rather more when 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton cut the umbilical cord with super-successful McLaren and signed for Mercedes, whose otherwise bleak year was illuminated only by their first win as a works team since 1955.
That bombshell was comparable to the shock in MotoGP when Australian Casey Stoner announced in May that he was calling it a day at the age of 26 because he had fallen out of love with the sport. Spain's Jorge Lorenzo won that title with Yamaha, the second of his career.
Schumacher’s second stint ended without success as during his three years with Mercedes, he only once got a podium place, a third position at European Grand Prix this season. His contract with Mercedes was for three years after signing with them in 2010 and both the team and the legendary German driver knew that the union did not bring about the expected results.
Hamilton leaving McLaren for a far less successful team would have been dismissed by many at the end of 2011, and they might have scoffed also at the idea of Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado winning the Spanish Grand Prix for Williams — whose chairman Adam Parr had resigned only weeks after being lined up as founder Frank Williams' heir apparent.
Mercedes dominating the Chinese Grand Prix was another surprise, so was Jenson Button, winning the first and last races of the year, endomg up scoring more points than Hamilton over their three year McLaren partnership.
There would have been few bets on Ferrari academy youngster Sergio Perez ending the season, after the Mexican had celebrated three podium finishes for mid-table Sauber, with a McLaren contract in his pocket. The sport welcomed its first woman team principal when Indian-born Monisha Kaltenborn took over the reins from Peter Sauber and shuddered at the freak testing accident that cost Marussia's female Spanish tester Maria De Villota the use of an eye as well as inflicting horrific injuries.
From the Indian point of view, Sahara Force India finished seventh in the constructors’ table, one position below their 2011 standing. But the team scored 40 more points than 2011 season as it ended with a total of 109. The team also came close to getting a podium place twice.
German driver Nico Hulkenberg, who was fantastic throughout, finished fourth in Belgium while Paul di Resta was fourth in Singapore. Hulkenberg earned 63 points, 17 more than his Briton teammate and also secured a seat for the next season with Sauber on the back of his stellar show.
India yet again hosted a successful GP. However, it’s not sure that the Indian fans will see a driver from the country on the grid next season. Narain Karthikeyan’s future is uncertain since his Hispania Racing Team has been put on sale. On the domestic scene, a restructured Indian National Rally Championship turned out to be a damp squib with MRF pulling out of the series following the scrapping of Group N+ class in which the tyre giant had invested heavily. After much dilly-dallying as FMSCI searched in vain for a promoter, a four-round INRC calendar was announced, but only two were run in Bangalore and Chikmagalur. The round in Coorg was cancelled due to heavy rains while the Nashik Rally met a similar fate as the organizers could not put together dirt track Stages.
There was a note of tragedy too, with Jitender Shukla and co-driver Ashish Mahajan crashing to their deaths in the Mughal Rally that triggered heated debate over safety or the lack of it. The organisers insisted that adequate safety arrangements were in place, but many were convinced that the two lives could have been saved with better planning.