Sebastian Vettel barely put a foot wrong in the second half of the 2013 Formula 1 season, as Red Bull Racing really got into their stride. Focus turned to 2014 and orders settled down, leaving one man at the front of the field.
Part one of my 2013 season review looked at the first 10 rounds of the season, from Australia to Hungary, and now part two goes through the final nine races, all of which were won by a certain four-time world champion.
It is incredible to think that from August to the end of November, only one man stood on the top step of the F1 podium. It was an unbelievable achievement and one that, whilst being predictable, was incredible to watch.
Sebastian Vettel made it look easy in the second half of the year, but it was far from it. Watching him cross the line to register victory after victory, it was something very special indeed. Yes, I would have liked a bit more drama and uncertainty but with the regulations ending, Red Bull was always going to dominate.
After Hamilton’s Hungarian Grand Prix win, the sport took a break for the summer – the factories shut down, the drivers headed off on holiday and the journalists were left with less to write about. Fortunately I was kept busy with work experience at Car Throttle and had plenty of pieces to keep me busy, reflecting on the past 10 races and wondering what the next nine would bring.
I expected Red Bull to move ahead but I did hope someone would challenge them. That never happened. The sport made its return at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, one of my favourites on the calendar, and looked promising after Lewis Hamilton took pole position. Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton also starred after gambling on dry tyres in Q1 and making it through to Q2.
Hamilton only led for the first sector of lap one after Vettel passed him on the back straight. He dominated the rest of the race, setting the tone for things to come. Fernando Alonso had a strong race to second and Hamilton slipped to third. Pastor Maldonado didn’t help his reputation by hitting Adrian Sutil at the chicane. He turned sharply at last minute to make the pit entry but ended up taking out the Force India driver’s team-mate instead.
The sport then moved to another classic track, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy for the 12th round of the season. The big news ahead of the weekend was the announcement that Daniel Ricciardo would replace Mark Webber at Red Bull in 2014, a great decision in my view. Shortly after the race, Kimi Raikkonen was confirmed as Felipe Massa’s replacement at Ferrari.
The big shocks on Saturday were Hamilton’s Q2 exit and Nico Hulkenberg setting the third fastest time. Vettel took pole and was unchallenged to the chequered flag. He received boos on the podium, which I think was very unfair and disrespectful, in contrast to the euphoric cheers for Alonso, who finished second. Hulkenberg finished in a brilliant fifth, the start of an impressive run of points finishes.
Next up was the only night race on the calendar in Singapore, a brilliant spectacle under the bright lights. We had a glimmer of hope at turn one after Nico Rosberg beat Vettel into turn one but the German soon reclaimed the lead. It was another truly commanding race win, helped by balance issues for Rosberg holding up the rest of the pack, to finish 30 seconds clear of Alonso. Raikkonen drove well despite back pain to finish third after struggling in qualifying.
The big story from Singapore was the 10-place grid penalty handed to Mark Webber for picking up his third reprimand. This was for unsafely running across the track to hitch a lift with Alonso. This was misunderstood by some fans who thought the grid drop was for the lift itself. It wasn’t, he was reprimanded for running across the track – which was definitely unsafe – and as it was his third reprimand, he was penalised – that is the rules.
The Korean Grand Prix was next up and as usual, the grandstands were pretty bare for the 55-lap race. Vettel managed to score his second consecutive Grand Chelem – pole position, led every lap, fastest lap and race win – after a chaotic race that included two safety cars, a random Jeep, a fire for his team-mate, a dramatic front-wing failure for his rival and a number of crashes.
He emerged from it all as the race winner, finishing four seconds clear of Raikkonen – who took the runner-up spot from his team-mate late in the race after a close battle. My driver of the day, though, had to be Hulkenberg after a stunning defensive race to finish fourth. Even Alonso praised him after the race. It may not be the most popular venue but we saw some great racing in Korea.
The 15th round of the season, held at the popular Suzuka circuit in Japan, started in dramatic style after Hamilton was tagged by Vettel’s front wing on the run to the first corner, giving him a puncture and ultimately causing his retirement. Webber was on pole position but it was Grosjean who led the field into turn one. The Frenchman had a great race but dropped to third by the flag, behind winner Vettel and second-place man Webber – who was forced to switch to a three-stop strategy.
The F1 paddock headed to the Buddh International Circuit for the third Indian Grand Prix. Vettel won the race and with it, took his fourth F1 championship. He celebrated with donuts on the pit straight, which he was later fined for, after another faultless drive that saw him finish 30 seconds clear of his nearest rival.
Rosberg finished second and Grosjean had a stunning race to climb from 17th on the grid to third. Perez also performed strongly to finish in fifth. However, all eyes were on the newly crowned four-time champion as he joined a very exclusive club that includes Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
He didn’t have long to celebrate though as the season swiftly moved to the beautiful Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the only day-to-night race on the calendar. The 2013 champ started the race from the front and dominated all 55 laps to win by over 30 seconds from his team-mate Webber.
The story making the headlines ahead of the weekend was the news that Raikkonen almost didn’t turn up due to delayed payments by his Lotus team. It didn’t get any better after he was excluded from qualifying after his car failed a floor deflection test. He then retired from the race on lap one after first corner contact, a rather uncharacteristic and disappointing error as I was looking forward to watching his progress.
Who won the penultimate round of the 2013 F1 season? You guessed it, Vettel! It was another incredible drive from the 26-year-old at the Circuit of the Americas, I really couldn’t fault it. He extended his record for the most consecutive race victories. Some may say it was boring, but we saw some great racing in the midfield and a great scrap for second between Webber and Grosjean, which the Aussie ended up losing.
I must mention Valtteri Bottas and his incredible drive to eighth, finishing nine places ahead of his more experienced team-mate. His overtake on Gutierrez was hugely impressive and it was great to see him scoring a good result after a difficult year. It was another tough race for Button after first lap contact for the third race in a row, which was very disappointing.
There was plenty of news to report on over the United States Grand Prix weekend. Perez announced his departure from McLaren, a shame, and the team announced his replacement: Kevin Magnussen. Williams also confirmed their driver line-up of Felipe Massa and Bottas for 2014, a great decision in my view.
After 36 weeks and just over eight months, the final round of the 2013 season took place. It was an emotional one for a number of drivers as Webber raced in F1 for the last time, Massa drove in his final race for Ferrari and several drivers crossed their fingers for a drive on next year’s grid.
Rain caused chaos on Friday and Saturday and with a dry race, teams went into it with no running on the slick Pirelli tyres. It was full of unknowns. Vettel took another pole position and went on to win, although it was a slightly closer race and he – like Singapore – lost the lead to Rosberg at the first corner.
Webber finished his F1 career on a high with second and Alonso finished in third. It was a shame that the Mercedes duo couldn’t challenge the Red Bulls with Rosberg dropping to fifth, between the McLaren’s of Button and Perez who had great races after qualifying poorly, and Hamilton to ninth after contact with Bottas, who he was unusually lapping. It was a thrilling race with plenty of battles throughout the field.
It may be called a ‘winter break’ but there is no rest for the wicked, with work at the F1 factories still in full swing as preparations for 2014 continue. With so many regulation changes and – already – a mixed up grid, I really can’t make any predictions. One thing is for certain: I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
See part one of my season review here: http://bit.ly/1ii9jqJ
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| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
It is incredible to think that from August to the end of November, only one man stood on the top step of the F1 podium. It was an unbelievable achievement and one that, whilst being predictable, was incredible to watch.
Sebastian Vettel made it look easy in the second half of the year, but it was far from it. Watching him cross the line to register victory after victory, it was something very special indeed. Yes, I would have liked a bit more drama and uncertainty but with the regulations ending, Red Bull was always going to dominate.
After Hamilton’s Hungarian Grand Prix win, the sport took a break for the summer – the factories shut down, the drivers headed off on holiday and the journalists were left with less to write about. Fortunately I was kept busy with work experience at Car Throttle and had plenty of pieces to keep me busy, reflecting on the past 10 races and wondering what the next nine would bring.
I expected Red Bull to move ahead but I did hope someone would challenge them. That never happened. The sport made its return at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, one of my favourites on the calendar, and looked promising after Lewis Hamilton took pole position. Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton also starred after gambling on dry tyres in Q1 and making it through to Q2.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Hamilton only led for the first sector of lap one after Vettel passed him on the back straight. He dominated the rest of the race, setting the tone for things to come. Fernando Alonso had a strong race to second and Hamilton slipped to third. Pastor Maldonado didn’t help his reputation by hitting Adrian Sutil at the chicane. He turned sharply at last minute to make the pit entry but ended up taking out the Force India driver’s team-mate instead.
The sport then moved to another classic track, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy for the 12th round of the season. The big news ahead of the weekend was the announcement that Daniel Ricciardo would replace Mark Webber at Red Bull in 2014, a great decision in my view. Shortly after the race, Kimi Raikkonen was confirmed as Felipe Massa’s replacement at Ferrari.
The big shocks on Saturday were Hamilton’s Q2 exit and Nico Hulkenberg setting the third fastest time. Vettel took pole and was unchallenged to the chequered flag. He received boos on the podium, which I think was very unfair and disrespectful, in contrast to the euphoric cheers for Alonso, who finished second. Hulkenberg finished in a brilliant fifth, the start of an impressive run of points finishes.
Next up was the only night race on the calendar in Singapore, a brilliant spectacle under the bright lights. We had a glimmer of hope at turn one after Nico Rosberg beat Vettel into turn one but the German soon reclaimed the lead. It was another truly commanding race win, helped by balance issues for Rosberg holding up the rest of the pack, to finish 30 seconds clear of Alonso. Raikkonen drove well despite back pain to finish third after struggling in qualifying.
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| (c) Getty Images |
The Korean Grand Prix was next up and as usual, the grandstands were pretty bare for the 55-lap race. Vettel managed to score his second consecutive Grand Chelem – pole position, led every lap, fastest lap and race win – after a chaotic race that included two safety cars, a random Jeep, a fire for his team-mate, a dramatic front-wing failure for his rival and a number of crashes.
He emerged from it all as the race winner, finishing four seconds clear of Raikkonen – who took the runner-up spot from his team-mate late in the race after a close battle. My driver of the day, though, had to be Hulkenberg after a stunning defensive race to finish fourth. Even Alonso praised him after the race. It may not be the most popular venue but we saw some great racing in Korea.
The 15th round of the season, held at the popular Suzuka circuit in Japan, started in dramatic style after Hamilton was tagged by Vettel’s front wing on the run to the first corner, giving him a puncture and ultimately causing his retirement. Webber was on pole position but it was Grosjean who led the field into turn one. The Frenchman had a great race but dropped to third by the flag, behind winner Vettel and second-place man Webber – who was forced to switch to a three-stop strategy.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Rosberg finished second and Grosjean had a stunning race to climb from 17th on the grid to third. Perez also performed strongly to finish in fifth. However, all eyes were on the newly crowned four-time champion as he joined a very exclusive club that includes Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
He didn’t have long to celebrate though as the season swiftly moved to the beautiful Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the only day-to-night race on the calendar. The 2013 champ started the race from the front and dominated all 55 laps to win by over 30 seconds from his team-mate Webber.
The story making the headlines ahead of the weekend was the news that Raikkonen almost didn’t turn up due to delayed payments by his Lotus team. It didn’t get any better after he was excluded from qualifying after his car failed a floor deflection test. He then retired from the race on lap one after first corner contact, a rather uncharacteristic and disappointing error as I was looking forward to watching his progress.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
I must mention Valtteri Bottas and his incredible drive to eighth, finishing nine places ahead of his more experienced team-mate. His overtake on Gutierrez was hugely impressive and it was great to see him scoring a good result after a difficult year. It was another tough race for Button after first lap contact for the third race in a row, which was very disappointing.
There was plenty of news to report on over the United States Grand Prix weekend. Perez announced his departure from McLaren, a shame, and the team announced his replacement: Kevin Magnussen. Williams also confirmed their driver line-up of Felipe Massa and Bottas for 2014, a great decision in my view.
After 36 weeks and just over eight months, the final round of the 2013 season took place. It was an emotional one for a number of drivers as Webber raced in F1 for the last time, Massa drove in his final race for Ferrari and several drivers crossed their fingers for a drive on next year’s grid.
Rain caused chaos on Friday and Saturday and with a dry race, teams went into it with no running on the slick Pirelli tyres. It was full of unknowns. Vettel took another pole position and went on to win, although it was a slightly closer race and he – like Singapore – lost the lead to Rosberg at the first corner.
 |
| (c) Getty Images |
Webber finished his F1 career on a high with second and Alonso finished in third. It was a shame that the Mercedes duo couldn’t challenge the Red Bulls with Rosberg dropping to fifth, between the McLaren’s of Button and Perez who had great races after qualifying poorly, and Hamilton to ninth after contact with Bottas, who he was unusually lapping. It was a thrilling race with plenty of battles throughout the field.
It may be called a ‘winter break’ but there is no rest for the wicked, with work at the F1 factories still in full swing as preparations for 2014 continue. With so many regulation changes and – already – a mixed up grid, I really can’t make any predictions. One thing is for certain: I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
See part one of my season review here: http://bit.ly/1ii9jqJ
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