Another strategy driven race, this time it was Ferrari and Fernando Alonso who surprised many with a four-stop race which allowed them to push the tyres to their limits and comfortably hold-off the three-stopping Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen.

A masterful victory from Fernando Alonso kept him out of the strategic battles going on behind and, at points in the race, around him. Taking the projected approach to the race of a three-stopper after starting on the soft tyre compound, the Ferrari driver took control of the race after coming out ahead of pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton in the first round of pit stops.

In the end, the Australian Grand Prix didn’t turn into the Red Bull dominated affair that many feared after being the runaway stars of Sunday’s delayed qualifying shoot-out. Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus F1 took firm control of the race while Ferrari possibly should have had both drivers ahead of Sebastian Vettel rather than just Fernando Alonso. But what does this mean for the season ahead?

A round-up of the first week of testing at the Circuito de Jerez where Felipe Massa set the pace but Sauber had perhaps the most productive week, racking up 430 laps over their four days, an impressive 252 of them by Esteban Gutiérrez on his debut…

With the Italian Grand Prix run, the European leg of the Formula One calendar closes for 2012. Europe produced mixed fortunes for the drivers, with McLaren perhaps happy to see the back of it despite winning the last three race. In fact, this year’s unofficial European Championships standings make interesting reading as while World Championship leader Fernando Alonso is unsurprisingly crowned champion, his nearest challenger by some distance is Kimi Raikkonen.

In a remarkable Malaysian Grand Prix, it was the out of shape Ferrari and Fernando Alonso that came through to take the victory – but only after holding off the Sauber of Sergio Pérez. After constantly changing weather conditions mixed up the running order, the Mexican should have won as he rapidly hauled in the Ferrari in the closing laps only for a mistake to send him wide and too far back to make a second challenge…