The World Championship might have eluded him for a mere three points at the rollercoaster-like Brazilian Grand Prix, but Fernando Alonso at least had the satisfaction of being named driver of the year by the Formula One team principals.
In a survey carried out by British magazine Autosport, all bosses from the twelve teams that competed in 2012 were asked to rank their choice of top drivers from the recently completed season. Points were allocated following the current Championship system and all voting was anonymous in order to guarantee a fairer appraisal of the drivers.
Alonso racked up a grand total of 269 points, 71 more than eventual Championship winner Sebastian Vettel, and was voted top of the list by eight of the team managers – including, unsurprisingly, own boss Stefano Domenicali of Ferrari.
“I was pleased to be chosen by the team principals as the best driver of 2012,” said Alonso on the Ferrari website. “I think it will be very difficult to repeat what was almost a perfect season this year, but we will try.”
Lewis Hamilton, who shone on track despite many reliability issues with his McLaren, was third in the survey, just ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, while the first driver not from the top four teams in the standings was Nico Hülkenberg, who finished seventh.
It may be the second time the Asturian wins this award after his first selection in 2010, but the Ferrari driver doesn’t shy away from revealing there are bigger prizes in his sights.
“Next year I would prefer to win the title, I am happy to leave this prestigious yet idealistic award to one of my peers!”
The Top 10 of the survey:
1. Fernando Alonso - 269
2. Sebastian Vettel - 198
3. Lewis Hamilton - 177
4. Kimi Räikkönen - 176
5. Jenson Button - 104
6. Mark Webber - 66
7. Nico Hülkenberg - 50
8. Nico Rosberg - 30
9. Sergio Pérez - 30
10. Felipe Massa - 27
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Stefano Domenicali
Fernando Alonso
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