Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race - 2014 Malaysia

[Shizuka]

based on the assumption that, at any moment in time, there is a non-zero probability that even the slowest, most inexperienced and least reliable of underdogs might win the race. That under every rock, there might be a gold nugget. This is the award for that first podium that we all celebrate, for the overtake no-one was expecting, for JEV's first win. This is the award, in short, for the driver or team that makes you go "Woah! Where did THAT come from?!".

Just remember: this is a feel-good award, that will focus on nothing but track action.
Usual rules: everyone gets two votes. First vote is worth 10 points, the second 6.

Post your results until 4th April

[rachel1990]

1- Grosjean!!!- Managed to finish and kept Kimi Behind him
2- Hulkenberg!!- 5th- 3rd best Mercedes!

[SgtPepper]

1. RoGro
2. Kamui

Honourable mentions - Ricciardo for that great start, Hulk, and the TV director for actually showing battles further down the grid.

[Salamander]

1. Romain Grosjean - I was very impressed with him all throughout the race, and he's proving as much as the end of last year that he deserves a much more competitive car.

No 2nd nomination from me - nothing else was particularly surprising.

[Vassago]

1. Kobayashi - miles ahead of the fellow strugglers and even dicing with the midfield at one point.

[Ataxia]

1. Grosjean - You wouldn't have expected that after Friday.
2. Kobayashi - Great job; the Caterham is still down on traction (KK had very little to defend with out of the slower corners) but a strong drive all the same.

[wsrgo]

Grosjean and Hulkenberg. Honourable mentions to Kvyat and Kobayashi..

[mario]

1. RoGro
2. Kamui

Honourable mentions - Ricciardo for that great start, Hulk, and the TV director for actually showing battles further down the grid.

I think that's a fair assessment - Grosjean kind of gets the award merely for finishing, given the unreliability of the Lotus, and Kamui certainly tried as hard as possible when fighting with the midfield pack on occasion. The other suggestions are good too - Ricciardo showed that he wasn't going to be easily cowed, though his race fell apart at the end in a way that will surely test even his good humour, Hulkenberg put in another solid performance and the TV director did well to actually give most of the runners pretty even media coverage.

[tristan1117]

1. Grosjean
2. Kyvat

[go_Rubens]

1. Grosjean - He finished. Ahead of Räikkönen. 'Nuff said.

2. Kobayashi - Finished 13th. Ran legitimately in the points at one point. Great run.

[andrew2209]

Hulkenburg-He was almost 40 seconds ahead of Button, which would've allowed him to make a 3rd stop.

[good_Ralf]

1) Grosjean
2) Hulkenberg

[Meatwad]

1. Kamui Kobayashi: Actually made the Caterham look like a competitive car. This is why Kamui deserves to be in F1!
2. Nico Hülkenberg: Another great result from him. Ran second for a while and seemed like a podium contender at times.

[UncreativeUsername37]

1. Lotus
2. Hulkenberg (again again again)

[AndreaModa]

1. Kobayashi
2. Hulkenberg

I don't think Grosjean's finish was particularly noteworthy - he was the last of the midfield runners, Kimi was only behind him because he lost effectively an entire lap thanks to the puncture. Without that he would have only beaten the two Caterhams and Chilton. Hardly inspiring stuff.

[SeedStriker]

1)Kamui Kobayashi: Cowboy made a Caterham run close to the point, being competitive on it's own, and showing that the car has promise.

2) Romain Grosjean: His antics off track worked, as his Lotus didn't broke. Consistant drive.

Honorable mentions for the rookies (K-MAG and Kvyat run into the points again and even Ericsson not only got closer to Cowboy, but beat TALENT), Nico Hulkenberg (another solid drive for a man that deserves to be in a top team) and the TV broadcast, as we could see Williams, Catherham and the rest of the field battling the good fight as the Mercs dominated in another league)

The Clash of the Titans Award goes to Fernando Alonso for his late charge and overtake over The Hulk

[Londoner]

1. Romain Grosjean - Don't think anyone was expecting him to get the Lotus to the finish, but he did. Fantastic stuff

2. Kamui Kobayshi - Dragging that Caterham into places it clearly doesn't deserve to be in.

[Shizuka]

1. Kobayashi and the TV director split
Kamui had a very good race, having fought with the Saubers at one point even. Great race for him.
The director actually showed that there is a race with the backmarkers too. We got to see Ericsson fighting with Kimi, Kamui fighting Max and so on. Of course, when Kimi finally did his pass, we got cut to a Red Bull onboard...
2. Hülkenberg and Grosjean split
Nico showed where the Force India realistically is. At this rate, we will have a three-way dice for the 3rd place in the WCC, but finishing above Ferrari will be difficult, if Perez either gets into accidents or his car breaks down resulting in a DNS.
Romain showed a forceful race. Yes, the Lotus is still down on pace and grip (when Alonso passed him, that was a prime example), but even in this form - as we mentioned it on chat many times -, they are still faster than the Sauber. Grosjean also finished just a single position outside the points, fending off Kimi to boot. Great job.

[Barbazza]

1) Grosjean - Getting that car to where it had no real right to be. Even completing the race would have been an achievement

2) Caterham - I want to give it to the whole team because Ericsson did well to recover from his quali error, and the team did brilliantly to get 2 cars to the finish.

[Ferrim]

Kobayashi: I think he was clearly within 3 secs of top pace, and he made it look like his car belonged in a different category to those of the other minnows. Still not enough to reach the midfield, but then the Saubers didn't finish - he wouldn't have been that far off them.

Grosjean and Hülkenberg aren't really surprising by now. I would say Hamilton for being easily faster than Rosberg, but he has been for all the weekend.

[CaptainGetz12]

1)Kamui Kobayashi. Mixing it up with his Caterham in the midfield and even was in contention for 10th place around halfway through the race. When he doesn't bin it at the start he really knows how to make the most of what he has

2) Romain Grosjean. Wasen't seen that much until the second half of the race, but bringing that underdeveloped Lotus to the upper midfield and bringing it close to the points was a surprising performance. Perhaps having Proton sponsor their car at Malaysia gave them good luck?

[James1978]

1. Hulkenberg - though the fact that Perez DNS'd makes me still wonder how much is him and how much is the car.

2. Kvyat I guess.

[AdrianSutil]

1. Niko Hulkenberg: Kimi got the Ferrari job because... ?!
2. Kamui Kobayashi: Said it in the mibbit chat, but his performance reminded me of Kovalainen from 2010/11.

Honourable mentions:

TV Director: Thanks for showing us battles throughout the field. The Caterham/Marussia/Sauber/Kimi battles were real good stuff.
Romain Grosjean: That run to the flag will have given Lotus more data and information than the whole of pre-season and Australia.
Lewis Hamilton: Yes I'm a fan. Get over it. Faultless, Vettel-esqe winning drive.

[pablo_h]

...Hülkenberg aren't really surprising by now.

I'd argue that the suprising thing about Hülkenberg was he was never picked for a drive by a top team, so it's still suprising to me.

Anyway, my nominations are:
1. Kobayashi
2. Hülkenberg

[DOSBoot]

1. Hulkenburg: I know. It's not surprising now, but I still think he deserves a place here.

2. Grojean: Almost got into the points.

Honorable Mentions:

Kamui Kobayashi: Could we finally see Caterham score points this year?

Daniil Kvyat: Another point for the rookie.

[Paul Hayes]

Definitely Kobayashi. Great drive.

[More_Blue_Flags]

1. Kobayashi. Fantastic drive - bold, fast, yet clinical and composed.
2. Hulkenberg. I hate to admit it, but both Williams looked a bit ordinary when compared to him.

Encouragement award - Grosjean, and both Toro Rossos were all right, too.

[Alextrax52]

1 Grosjean: Got the Lotus to within 3 seconds of points and condemned Raikkonen to the worse of the non-Caterhams/Marussias (OK Kimi's puncture helped but still)
2 Hulkenberg: Not for finishing 5th but for being the only man to do a 2 stop plan. Not bad for a man who I think is just as hard on tires as Hamilton is.

[Cynon]

1. Rogaine Grosjean. Er, RoGro... erm, sorry.
RRRRRMMMMNNNN GGRRRRSSSJJJNNN

2. Kobash.

[roblo97]

1.RRRRRMMMMNNNN GGRRRRSSSJJJNNN

2.Kobayashi
Honorable Mentions:
Hulkenburg and Kvyat

[Bleu]

1. Kobayashi
2. Hülkenberg

[takagi_for_the_win]

1. Kobayashi
2. Gggggggrrrrrrjjjjjjjjnnnnnnnn

[watka]

1. Kobayashi - shut me up
2. Hulkenberg - not so much of a surprise these days, but still a very disciplined drive

[CoopsII]

Kobayashi 'Maru'
The 'Hulk'enberg

[eagleash]

Massa for not moving over.

[LeytonHouse]

1. Hulkenberg – The Force India is ok (not great imo) but Hulk absolutely maximised it in every session. Heavy weight be darned, talent always shines.

2. Kobayashi – Very solid drive and could prove to be a vital one for Caterham.

[Shizuka]

1. Kamui Kobayashi - 189
2. Romain Grosjean - 167
3. Nico Hülkenberg - 127
4. Daniil Kvyat - 12
5. Lotus - 10
6. Caterham - 6
= Felipe Massa - 6
8. TV director - 5