(CNN) -- After two races of the 2011 Formula One season, Sebastian Vettel had racked up back-to-back wins and was on his way to emphatically retaining the world drivers' championship.
The Red Bull star is now seeking to become the third man to win three consecutive titles, but it is not yet quite going to plan.
He conjured up second place in Melbourne after starting sixth on the grid, but disaster struck in rain-hit Malaysia on Sunday as the German finished out of the points for the first time since August 2010.
The 24-year-old struggled home in 11th after losing radio contact with his team and suffering a punctured tire trying to overtake backmarker Narain Karthikeyan of HRT -- who he blamed for the incident.
Australian Grand Prix: March 18, Melbourne
Formula One 2012: The circuits
The 2012 Formula One season sees the introduction of a four-hour limit for races, following last year's rain-delayed marathon in Canada. Charlie Whiting, the FIA's race director, explained the decision, telling the sport's official website: "Should four hours elapse during a future race, drivers will receive a signal telling them they have one more lap before the checkered flag."
Formula One rule changes for 2012
"We lost radio communication and that makes it very difficult in these conditions to know what's going on," he told reporters after failing to follow up his 2010 and 2011 victories at Sepang. "Nonetheless we did our maximum and got up to fourth.
"To then lose the race how I did is very frustrating. Some people need to look more where they are going. Having no radio meant we were delayed getting the messages and I didn't hear anything from the team at the end.
"There were no points for me. Before the incident with HRT, the way the race had unfolded was good for us I think, so it's frustrating to lose the race like that."
Team principal Christian Horner revealed that the contact had caused damage to Vettel's car, but the lack of radio contact made it impossible to communicate with him.
"We had lost all radio contact with Sebastian, which meant we could only speak with him via the pit board," he said. "After his stop he came up to the HRT, who hit him and caused a puncture.
"The incident caused damage to the rear brake duct, which went into thermal runaway, so we wanted to stop the car before the end from a safety point of view. Seb didn't hear us on the radio and continued.
"Thankfully his car got to the end without failing, but the incident cost Sebastian at least a fourth-place finish."
It was a better weekend for Vettel's veteran teammate Mark Webber, who finished fourth despite torrential race which stopped the race for almost an hour.
"It was busy with a lot of calls going on at the restart and with the tires," the 35-year-old Australian said.
"My stint on the intermediates after the red flag was tricky and I didn't have much confidence. When I went onto the dry tires, I felt much more confident, but it was a little bit too late then."
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Malaysian Grand Prix: March 25, Kuala Lumpur 
Chinese Grand Prix: April 15, Shanghai 
Bahrain Grand Prix: April 22, Sakhir 
Spanish Grand Prix: May 13, Catalunya 
Monaco Grand Prix: May 27, Monte Carlo 
Canadian Grand Prix: June 10, Montreal 
European Grand Prix: June 24, Valencia 
British Grand Prix: July 8, Silverstone 
German Grand Prix: July 22, Hockenheim 
Hungarian Grand Prix: July 29, Budapest 
Belgian Grand Prix: September 2, Spa 
Italian Grand Prix: September 9, Monza 
Singapore Grand Prix: September 23, Singapore 
Japanese Grand Prix: October 7, Suzuka 
Korean Grand Prix: October 14, Yeongam 
Indian Grand Prix: October 28, New Delhi 
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: November 4, Yas Marina 
United States Grand Prix: November 18, Austin 
Brazilian Grand Prix: Sao Paulo, November 25 
Teams can no longer use engine exhaust to produce large amounts of downforce -- a practice which has been prevalent for the last two years in the form of blown diffusers. Now exhaust pipes must exit in a defined area at the back of the car, not run along its underbelly.
Many of this year's cars feature a dramatic stepped-nose design. Whiting said this is to make sure the height of the nose was lower than the sides of the cockpit, therefore reducing the risk to the driver in the event of a collision.
In previous seasons, cars had to pass crash tests in order to compete in races. Now, cars must pass the FIA's 18 mandatory tests before the official preseason test events. "It is indefensible to have drivers testing cars in the winter that haven't met the safety standards we demand for a race," said Whiting.
As bizarre as it may sound, drivers have been told not to drive off the race track without good reason. "We've seen drivers taking shortcuts on in and out laps, either to save time or fuel," explained Whiting.
Pit stops are a crucial part of F1, and a race can be won or lost depending on how quickly the crew are able to replace a car's tires. In an attempt to save valuable time, teams have been known to power their wheel guns with compressed helium instead of air. But not anymore. "It saved fractions of a second," Whiting said. "It would have been a very expensive method of gaining no advantage."
The gulf in class between some cars means that the leading drivers often lap back-markers during a race. The safety car is deployed if there has been an accident on track or if conditions become dangerous. Drivers are not allowed to overtake each other under such conditions, but in 2012 strugglers will be able to un-lap themselves by going past the safety car and reforming at the back of the field.
Each driver is allowed 11 sets of tires to use over the course of a race weekend, but they must last through practice, Saturday qualifying and Sunday's race. Previously teams could only use three of their sets during Friday practice, but they will now be able to use as many as they like.
The highlight of any grand prix is seeing drivers attempt daring, fast-paced overtaking maneuvers. But now, when a driver has someone behind them, they are allowed to make only one defensive move to protect their position. This rule is to prevent potentially dangerous blocking strategies.
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