Formula 1 Racing
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This weekend, Formula 1 heads to US soil, and it's guaranteed to be an exhilarating race. Even though Red Bull only needs to score four points in order to secure the World Constructors' Championship, this season has demonstrated how anything can happen with nine different racers taking the podium over the course of the 18 races that have occurred thus far.
Weeding your way through the raff of drivers, teams and technical jargon that make up the world's most high-tech sport can leave even the most ardent fan reeling. In preparation for the penultimate race of the 2012 season, we've prepared this handy guide to the sport's top drivers, teams and those pesky terms nobody ever bothers to explain. Get ready for a race, gentlemen.
The Title Contenders
The reigning two-time world champion and the man everybody wants to beat, Sebastian Vettel is the 25-year-old German who became the youngest ever World Champion in 2010, when that gripping season came down to a final title-determining race. He followed it up with a more comfortable defense of his title in 2011. A product of Red Bull’s driver development program, Vettel won his maiden Grand Prix for the Toro Rosso team in 2008 and is shooting for a rare hat-trick of world titles in 2012.
Fast Fact: Vettel is a German with a sense of humour and is a fan of British comedy, including the famous Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Like Vettel, this rather serious Spaniard is also a two-time World Champion who won back-to-back titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. Widely regarded as one of the most complete drivers in the sport, Alonso narrowly missed out on a third title in 2010 when Sebastian Vettel came out on top of their season-long duel. He became the youngest ever World Champion in 2005, when he beat Kimi Räikkönen to the title, but now Vettel can lay claim to that honour as well. He moved to Ferrari from Renault in 2009 and is still chasing his first title for the famous Italian team.
Fast Fact: Alonso likes to sing before every race and is also claustrophobic.
One of the most complex and intriguing characters on the grid, Räikkönen is nicknamed "The Ice Man" for his cool temperament and laid-back attitude. The 33-year-old Finn made his F1 debut racing for Sauber during the 2001 season and actually fell asleep on the grid before his first race! His driving was impressive enough to secure a move to McLaren the following season, and he won his first Grand Prix in Malaysia the season after en route to a second-place finish in the drivers’ standings. After five years with McLaren, Räikkönen joined Ferrari in 2007 to replace Michael Schumacher and went on to win the title in his first year with the Italian marque, topping Lewis Hamilton by a single point in a gripping finale. After leaving Ferrari in 2009, Räikkönen pursued a brief career as a rally driver but returned to F1 in 2012 with Lotus.
Fast Fact: Räikkönen is a renowned party animal who has a preference for vodka.
Signed on by McLaren when he was just 11, Lewis Hamilton repaid their faith by missing out on the Drivers’ Championship by a solitary point in his debut F1 season and regularly outperforming illustrious teammate Fernando Alonso. The following year, Hamilton got his title and did so in dramatic circumstances; he overtook Toyota’s Timo Glock on the final corner of the final lap of the season to finish fifth and take the title by a single point. In doing so, he became the youngest driver to win the championship.
Fast Fact: Hamilton was awarded the MBE by the Queen in the 2009 New Years Honours.