I'm not a stats man . . . but I just couldn't resist

Usually, when fighting tiredness, stats and facts are the last thing I'd look at. However, after the cut and thrust of the past 18 races across the globe, they're relevant and interesting.

You see, unlike many people involved in this sport, in fact, in sport generally, the statistics usually leave me cold. I'm far more fascinated by the human element. The unseen hours of dedication in the gym, the fact most sports are won using the mind not the body, the transience of modern sporting warfare where you can go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye.

The human side is why I love coming to these traditional motor-racing meccas like Brazil. I'll walk the track today and I'll look up at the grandstand that precisely 20 years ago was rocking to the sound of 'Ayrton Senna, Ole, Ole, Ole'.

It was right here at Interlagos in 1991 that Senna achieved his dream of winning at home, yet his McLaren was stuck in sixth gear and the physical and mental pressure on his body meant after the race he wasn't even able to climb out of the car without help, or lift the trophy above his head.

I feel the same in Monaco as I imagine Graham Hill or Sir Stirling Moss negotiating the same corners that challenge the modern F1 superstars.

I love to walk in their footsteps. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that since 2009 my most rewarding moment as the BBC's F1 presenter was in a small study, on the first floor of a house just off Park Lane in central London. The house belongs to Moss and I was holding the steering wheel that sits on his study wall. It has a big dent in the centre, caused by his head following a crash at Goodwood in 1962 that ended his F1 career.

Perhaps due to my own lack of anything resembling sporting ability, what fascinates me is the human being behind the sporting mask, and strangely, that brings me back to the facts and stats I'm trying to turn into entertainment for you this weekend.

I'll share a couple of the more salient. This year there has been 92 per cent more overtaking than in 2010, an average of 45 overtakes per grand prix, with Michael Schumacher boasting an incredible 112 of his own. All this is relevant because, despite everything the sport has done to make the racing dramatic, one man has dealt with all that has been thrown at him. His stats also tell us something.

With 14 pole positions and having led a record 711 laps this season, Sebastian Vettel has dominated a season that has still seen unpredictable racing with cars designed to overtake their rivals.

If we only focused on the statistics, they'd tell us half the story and it has been some story this season.

And as Sebastian walks away, so do we all. We must refresh ourselves over the winter before it all starts again. Talking of 2012, I'll remain the host of the BBC's coverage and here's a final fact. You can still see every race on the BBC, so I'll see you in March.

Follow me @jakehumphreyf1