Formula 1: The 2011 Season in Numbers

2011 is well and truly behind us, and will likely be remembered with little fondness by most fans of Formula One.

While there were some great moments, it wasn't a classic.  From the first race in Australia the writing was on the wall, and a predictable season ensued.

For every Canada, there were two Valencias.  For every heart-stopping moment, there were a hundred incident-free laps. 

It wasn't excruciatingly bad, but a return to the one team, one driver dominance not seen since Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in 2004 was a disappointing result for a season which had promised so much.

So rooting through statistics to find enough pieces to put this article together was actually more enjoyable than a lot of the races.

Five fun (or not so fun) facts for each number up to 15, with some larger numbers in the final slide.

No. 1

The number of races Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber won—Britain and Brazil, respectively.

The number of points scored by Pastor Maldonado—10th place at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The number of points finishes by Bruno Senna—in Italy.

The number of races without a Red Bull on pole—South Korea.

The number of races with no Sebastian Vettel on the front row—he started third at his home race in Germany.

No. 2

The number of points finishes by Rubens Barrichello—ninth in both Monaco and Canada.

The number of podiums scored by anyone other than Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari—both by Lotus-Renault, one in Australia and one in Malaysia.

The number of times cars did not start the race due to the 107 percent qualifying rule—the two HRTs in Australia.

The number of times former qualifying specialist Jarno Trulli outqualified teammate Heikki Kovalainen—in Canada and Italy.

The number of races in which neither Mercedes car scored a point.

No. 3

The best grid position for Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg—third in Canada, third in Turkey, respectively.

The number of drivers who didn't retire from a single race—Pedro de la Rosa and Karun Chandhok finished their only races, while Bruno Senna finished all eight of his.

The number of races won by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button—the former won China, Germany and Abu Dhabi, the latter Canada, Hungary and Japan.

The number of times Pastor Maldonado made it into Q3—Spain, Monaco and Britain.

The number of laps led by Michael Schumacher.

No. 4

The number of times Saturday's wooden spoon winner Narain Karthikeyan qualified last from eight starts, not counting the Australia DNQ—Malaysia, China, Turkey and India.

The number of retirements made by Ferraris—Spain, Monaco and India for Massa, only Canada for Alonso.

The number of drivers who started every race in the top 10—Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

The number of times Bruno Senna reached Q3 from seven attempts—Belgium, Italy, Japan and Brazil.

The best finishing position for Michael Schumacher—fourth in Canada.

No. 5

The best finishing position for Felipe Massa—fifth, six times.

The number of drivers who started on the front row at least once—Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button and Alonso.

The number of drivers who won races—the same five as above.

The number of points scored by Williams—their lowest total in their history, from just three points finishes.

The number of penalties received by "top-scorers" Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado.

No. 6

The number of times HRT locked out the back row of the grid—23rd and 24th.

The number of times Red Bull locked out the front row of the grid.

The number of times Jenson Button outqualified Lewis Hamilton.

The number of podium finishes scored by Lewis Hamilton—three wins, three seconds.

The best finishing position for Paul di Resta—sixth in Singapore.

No. 7

The number of races Pastor Maldonado did not finish—more than anyone else.

The number of fastest laps set by the top man of the season, Mark Webber.

The number of times Michael Schumacher started from eighth on the grid.

The best finishing position for Jaime Alguersuari and Sergio Perez—Britain for Perez, Italy and South Korea for Alguersuari.

The number of times the two Virgin cars qualified together on the second to last row—21st and 22nd.

No. 8

The number of times both cars from the same team failed to finish a race.

The number of times Paul di Resta scored points in his debut season.

The number of times Mark Webber qualified on the front row.

The number of races won by someone other than Sebastian Vettel.

The number of mechanical failures suffered by Lotus—the highest of any team.

No. 9

The number of times a car other than an HRT started in 24th.

The number of laps led by Felipe Massa.

The number of times Adrian Sutil finished in the points for Force India.

The number of positions gained by Sebastien Buemi on the first lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The number of times Lotus locked out the third to last row of the grid—19th and 20th.

No. 10

The number of podium finishes scored by Fernando Alonso—one win, five seconds, four thirds.

The number of positions gained by Michael Schumacher on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The number of podium finished scored by Mark Webber—one win, two seconds, seven thirds.

The number of (theoretical) grid places lost by Vitantonio Liuzzi due to penalties.

The number of different drivers who qualified 24th in at least one race.

No. 11

The number of laps Michael Schumacher spent in 24th place.

The number of wins recorded by Sebastian Vettel—bettered only by Michael Schumacher in 2004.

The number of times Lewis Hamilton qualified on the front row—more than anyone except Vettel.

The number of grid position penalties given out over the course of the season.

The best grid position achieved by Rubens Barrichello—11th in Turkey and Monaco.

No. 12

The number of teams who contested the 2011 F1 season.

The number of podiums scored by Jenson Button—three wins, four seconds, five thirds.

The number of times Vitaly Petrov reached Q3.

The number of races in which no driver made more than three pit stops.

The total number of safety car deployments throughout the season.  Canada accounted for six of them.

No. 13

The number of drivers who registered at least one lap in 24th place.

The only car number between No. 1 and No. 25 not used at all throughout the season.  Superstition aside, Adrian Sutil would have carried this.

The best finishing position for a Lotus—13th in Australia and Monaco for Trulli, and in Italy for Kovalainen.

The number of drivers who finished a race in sixth or better—they would have been the only scorers under the old points system.

The best finishing position for an HRT—Liuzzi's 13th at the Canadian Grand Prix.

No. 14

The average grid position of Sauber's Sergio Perez—the only whole number average, excluding the drivers who only qualified once.

The number of different positions a HRT completed a lap in throughout the season—the highest was Narain Karthikeyan's single lap in ninth.

The number of times Timo Glock outqualified Jerome d'Ambrosio in the Virgin.

Jerome d'Ambrosio's total net (gains minus losses) gain of positions on Lap 1.

The number of drivers who received at least one drive-through penalty.

No. 15

The number of times Sebastian Vettel started in first place—every race except Spain, Britain, Germany and South Korea.

Heikki Kovalainen's best qualifying position for Lotus—15th in Spain, ahead of both Force Indias.

The number of times Fernando Alonso outqualified Felipe Massa.

The number of times Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q2.

Timo Glock's best finishing position for Virgin—15th in Canada and Italy.

Bigger Numbers

19—the total number of races in the 2011 season.

19—the number of drivers who started every race of the season.

19—the number of drivers who scored at least one point.

24—the number of finishers at the European Grand Prix in Valencia—the highest ever number for a F1 race.

27—Michael Schumacher's total net (gains minus losses) gain of positions on the first lap.

27—Bruno Senna's total net loss of positions on the first lap.

28—the total number of drivers who started at least one race.

29—the total number of retirements caused by accidents.

49—the total number of retirements due to mechanical failures.

55—the total number of podium finishes taken by the top five drivers.

56—the total number of places on the grid lost due to penalties.

57—the total number of podium finishes available.

78—the total number of retirements.

88—the total number of pit stops in the Hungarian Grand Prix, an all-time record high.

130—the total number of seconds added onto race times due to penalties.

140—the number of kilometres led by the safety car at the Canadian Grand Prix.

392—the number of points scored by Sebastian Vettel.

739—the number of laps led by Sebastian Vettel.

893—the number of laps completed by Pastor Maldonado, the lowest of any driver who started every race.

1105—the number of laps completed by Paul di Resta, more than anyone else.

1133—the number of laps which could have been driven throughout the season if a driver had completed every full race distance.

And There We Have It...

The 2011 season, or rather selected parts, broken down into numbers.

Above all other sources, thanks must go to F1 Fanatic for their incredible and unparalleled database of statistics.  It made researching this article immeasurably less painful.

We're now just weeks away from the start of testing for the 2012 season, and the minor changes to the regulations will hopefully give us a closer year of racing.

Happy New Year!