When someone says they have pneumonia, you might expect them to be on the way to hospital. Not in F1. Red Bull Racing's chief mechanic suffered from the condition at the end of the 2011 season but it didn't slow him down - or the team. Its 1-2 finish in last Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix was a fitting end to their season of dominance.
Australia's Mark Webber took his only victory of the season ahead of pole-position starting (for the 15th time this year) Sebastian Vettel. The 24-year old German won 11 of the 19 races (held in 18 countries across five continents) and became a back-to-back World Drivers' Champion with four races to spare - while scoring more points than the two Ferrari drivers combined. And he led 739 laps to Webber's 59.
But as the 24 cars and equipment head back to Europe for the end of 160,000 kilometers criss-crossing the globe, there are other outstanding performances to consider.
Your correspondent is eating humble pie about Pirelli: F1's exclusive supplier of the 24,000 tires used (and recycled!) this year. Their clever choice of rubber compounds with different wear rates contributed to a season that saw a record number of overtaking moves. Between six degrees centigrade in pre-season testing and 49-degrees in Abu Dhabi - and even at the record top speed of 349.2 km/h set by Sauber's Sergio Perez during qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix - Pirelli's tires were safe, and their 43,250 cups of espresso served kept the paddock awake.
Similarly, McLaren's Jenson Button proved himself superior over the season to teammate Lewis Hamilton by taking second in the points and brilliant victories in Canada (from last place at one point), Hungary and Japan. Hamilton also took the top step of the podium three times, which left only one win for the Scuderia Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was always strong on race day, but too often his car became uncompetitive once switching to the harder of the two tire compounds of which use is mandatory.
In contrast, the Force India team punched above its weight this year. Cost-cutting regulations introduced two years ago have encouraged teams to buy technology from each other, and that from McLaren and Mercedes has certainly helped Vijay Mallya's outfit. As did having three excellent drivers.
His Shanghai nightclub incident aside, Adrian Sutil had a good season - and an excellent sixth place in Brazil helped him take ninth in the points. Paul Di Resta's rookie year was very solid, and he should shine in year two. He'll probably have alongside him Nico Hulkenburg who will return to the pitch from the reserves' bench.
A more famous returnee for 2012 is Kimi Raikkonen - with the Renault team. F1 has never before had six World Champions on the grid and despite his lackluster final season with Ferrari in 2009, the Finn remains almost as popular as Pirelli's coffee machine.
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