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The 2012 Christine's Rankings Champion - Jenson Button - The British driver saw a healthy lead dwindle, but kept off the competition

Published by Christine

The third season of Christine's Rankings is done and dusted and we can now crown our third different champion in a row. Joining such illustrious Rankings winners as Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen, this year's victorious driver is Jenson Button. It's been a heck of a year both on track and off it, but here, we don't care about the wins and the trophies, we care about the cartoon characters, the fan interaction and the best teammate relationships F1 has to offer. Button had all of this and more, and that's why he's the 2012 Christine's Rankings Champion.

Third time lucky for Button
Third time lucky for ButtonCredit: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Here's how the year went for our three medallists.

Bronze medalist - Fernando Alonso

The best thing Fernando Alonso ever did for his image was to get himself a Twitter account and a phone with a decent camera. It started with just a few stunning photos from his travels, but became a way to really gain an insight into the mind of the competitor. The messages to fans never stopped, not even right up to the end when he was in contention for, and then lost, the championship at the final race.

For a short while in the first half of the year, Alonso was leading the Rankings championship, and he - along with others such as Kamui Kobayashi - looked like a dead cert to maintain the popularity right to the end. It was not to be, and his progress has tailed off towards the end of the year, but that's not because he's not still being open. We've seen a new side to Alonso this season, and I hope it can continue into 2013 and beyond.

Silver medalist - Lewis Hamilton

When it comes to Hamilton, the only word that can describe his season is a rollercoaster. From his unsettled antics at McLaren, including sharing telemetry that he probably shouldn't be, to ranting at his teammate for unfollowing him on the internet, when he wasn't even following him in the first place. It all seemed to be a bit much... until he announced he was joining Mercedes and seemed to find some peace.

Hamilton has been one half of the best teammate pairings we've seen in F1 for a long while, and the fun and games his Tooned character got up endeared him to me. I also really, properly enjoyed some of the marketing videos - either where he opened up when playing guitar, or took part in a little skit with Tony Stewart. Lewis has provided plenty of entertainment this year, for better or worse, and it is testament to his personality that he dropped twenty points just eight short weeks ago, and still managed to claw his way back up to second place in the rankings.

Gold medalist - Jenson Button

So to our winner, one Jenson Button. Just like on track, where Hamilton has had his ups and downs, Button has seen a lot of consistency as he glided towards victory. He overtook his teammate when Hamilton suffered the aforementioned twenty point drop, but didn't move on massively from there - the last few weeks have been quiet for most drivers, but Button already had a healthy points tally from hanging out with his Tooned friends, and hitting back at media speculation.

Level-headed, friendly and super nice to his departing teammate in the last few weeks, it's not really a surprise to see Button take a Christine's Rankings victory - the real surprise is that it has taken him this long! And so, with a reasonable F1 season behind him, and some exciting changes coming up, Jenson Button can head into the off-season relaxed and happy, and in the knowledge that he is the 2012 Christine's Rankings Champion! Congrats JB!

All content in the series Driver rankings 2012