Schumacher top overtaker in 2011 F1 season

Michael Schumacher might have had another tough year in Formula One after his return, but he ended the 2011 season as the top overtaker, according to data compiled by the Mercedes GP team.

The seven-time World Champion recorded 116 passes in the 19 races, two more than the Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi.

Schumacher’s tally can be attributed to his ability to gain places initially in the race every time he qualified low on the grid and a Mercedes car that only proved slower to the top three teams in Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari; Autosport reported Saturday.

Schumacher finished the year at eighth position in the drivers’ standings, behind younger teammate Nico Rosberg for the second year in a row.

The team’s data reveals that there were a total of 1,486 overtaking moves during the season.

In individual races, the Turkish Grand Prix saw the maximum number of overtakes at 85, ahead of Canada (79) and China (67). The rounds in Monaco (16), Australia (17), India and Brazil (18) witnessed the least number of overtaking manoeuvres.

The top 10 overtakers of 2011, according to Mercedes GP’s data:

Pos Driver Passes1. Michael Schumacher 1162. Sebastien Buemi 1143. Kamui Kobayashi 994. Jaime Alguersuari 945. Pastor Maldonado 916. Paul di Resta 907. Sergio Perez 878. Rubens Barrichello 869. Jenson Button 8510. Felipe Massa 82