Formula One 2013 preview – Lights out, away we go (Part One)

By Simon Wright

Formula One returns from the winter break this weekend

A new season is almost upon us.  Formula One returns with the Australian Grand Prix on 17 March.  2012 was an unbelievable year, with seven different winners in the first seven races, and a championship battle full of twists and turns that was only settled in the dying stages of a brilliant Brazilian Grand Prix.

We might have lost Michael Schumacher to retirement again over the winter, but there are still five world champions on the grid.  With 19 races, there will be plenty of globetrotting across the world for the 11 teams, now that HRT have said farewell to the sport.

We welcome five rookies onto the grid, the most for a Grand Prix season since 2001, and although the depth of the midfield could be criticised, there are plenty of reasons to get excited about 2013.

I now preview the campaign ahead, attempting to get indications from the difficult formbook of winter testing, and see what might happen over the course of the season.

Red Bull Racing – The champions to be shot at

Red Bull Racing will once again arrive at Albert Park as double champions, but can they make it a quadruple of successes in both the drivers’ and constructors’ title battles?

The Milton Keynes based team have set the standard over the past three seasons, and are there to be shot at. 

Testing indicated an evolution of last year’s successful RB8, and the RB9 will start as clear championship favourites.  Anything can happen, but there is no doubt the confidence levels will be flowing in their garage. 

If a combination beats them in 2013, they will probably end up being champions.

Sebastian Vettel starts again as championship favourite

Sebastian Vettel: The youngest triple world champion has already written his name into the history books, but he had to work doubly hard to retain his title in 2012.  Sebastian Vettel has proven to the doubters that he has the ability to overtake, can handle with pressure, and has a ruthless streak amidst his driving – as Fernando Alonso can testify to when he was stuck on the grass at Monza last season.

Vettel has come back fully refreshed from his party celebrations in Brazil, and begins the season as championship favourite.  There are still minor chinks in his armour, and he didn’t end up fastest at any end of a day during the winter testing programme. 

However, I’d expect the ‘famous finger’ salute to be victorious on many occasions in 2013.  His message to the rest of the field is ‘Catch me if you can.’

Mark Webber: He will deny it venomously, but Mark Webber has become a valuable and reliable number two.  He is an important part of the Red Bull jigsaw, and will take some replacing when he eventually decides to retire.

Webber will want to be competitive from the outset.  Last season, he showed some great consistency early doors, and was unbeatable around Monaco and Silverstone.  After that though, his championship challenge derailed thanks to gearbox penalties, unreliability and scrappy incidents.  He is full of Aussie Grit and a nice guy but as they say, nice guys don’t win the main prizes.

Helmut Marko made some rather poisonous comments about Webber and handling pressure back in January.  I hope Mark can shut his mouth once and for all in 2013, but I can’t help feeling his best days and best shot of winning the outright prize has already evaded him.

Ferrari – A better baseline

Ferrari turned up in Melbourne last season with a car that handled like a pig.  It wasn’t the quickest, but through some rapid developments and some stunning performances, it almost became a title winner in the hands of the fantastic Fernando Alonso.

This season, they have started with a better baseline, but the car doesn’t seem to be world-beating standard like it was in the Michael Schumacher era of a decade ago.

The Scuderia had the most reliable car last season, but they need to work on their one-lap pace if they want to turn their 2013 challenger into a title winner.

Fernando Alonso: What else can you say about Fernando Alonso that hasn’t been said already?  He might not be the quickest driver on the current grid, but he is the most complete driver, and has been for some time now.

Alonso has spearheaded and moulded the Ferrari team around him.  He has driven them on in difficult periods, and always kept their spirits up.  He was the best driver last season, and fully deserves to be a triple world champion. 

If Ferrari can finally give him a car capable of his talents, then title number three could be waiting at the end of 2013.

Felipe Massa will be hoping to recapture his form from the season's end

Felipe Massa: Felipe Massa was a finished article at the midway point of the 2012 season.  He even admitted in January that he came close to walking away from Formula One, and even went to see a psychologist to sort his head out.

It seemed to work.  Massa rediscovered some of the form that took him within 30 seconds of the title in 2008, with strong podiums at Suzuka and Brazil, and great efforts in Korea and USA.

He is a team player, and has accepted that he can’t live with Alonso on a regular basis, but he is still quicker on his day, and I hope he will return to the winners circle at some point in 2013.  

Massa is a popular guy in the paddock, and seems reborn.  Let’s hope he can continue his form from the backend of last season.

McLaren – No more excuses

Martin Whitmarsh will face tough questions if McLaren don't deliver

For a large chunk of 2012, McLaren had the quickest car in Formula One, but like in 2005 and 2007, they failed to win either championship.  Finishing below Ferrari in last season’s constructors’ championship would have been a body blow to their reputation.

Former technical director Paddy Lowe is on ‘gardening leave’ and his impact will be missed, as will Lewis Hamilton in his departure for Mercedes.

Testing form suggested that with the perfect setup, they could be the early season pacesetters, but form did fluctuate way too much.

It is time to deliver.  Five years without a drivers’ title, and 15 years without a constructors’ championship to their name is simply too long for a team of winners.

Jenson Button: This could be Jenson Button’s year.  The 2009 world champion came into Lewis Hamilton’s den, and turned the team in his favour.  Hamilton threw his toys out of the pram in Spa last year, and has gone onto pastures new.

With the team’s full backing, Button could be about to deliver big time.  He is the master when it comes to tricky conditions, and is on top of his game when he has the perfect surroundings.  However, he can suffer mysterious drops in performance, which can’t be allowed this season for a team leader.

Some argue his 2009 title was a fluke due to Brawn GP’s superior car advantage at the start of that season.  If he can win the main prize again – it would silence those few doubters once and for all.

Sergio Perez: Rising talent Sergio Perez is stepping into some very big shoes, and will be under pressure from the outset.

He is targeting a championship assault.  If he isn’t a regular podium finisher or a race winner by the end of 2013, severe questions will have to be asked about Martin Whitmarsh’s choice as a McLaren driver.

Perez was exceptional on his day in 2012, but went missing at some points, and by the season’s end, became a magnet for hitting other cars.  

I’m still not totally convinced by his worth in Formula One.  Seeing how he deals with the expectation will be one of the most intriguing stories of this 2013 season.

Lotus – Bold predictions

When asked about his team’s competitive edge at the second pre-season test, Lotus team principal Eric Bouillier suggested his team was only behind Red Bull in the pecking order.

This is a bold statement of intentions from Lotus, who surprised a lot of people last season.  They might have only achieved one victory, but collected many more podium finishes for their two drivers.

With the best looking car in the paddock, watch out for Lotus in 2013.  They are more than capable of giving Formula One’s top three teams some regular headaches.

Kimi Raikkonen: The Iceman’s return to Formula One after two seasons hitting trees in the World Rally Championship on a frequent basis was a fruitful one.  

He completed all but one lap during the season, finished every race and only failed to score in China.  He won in Abu Dhabi, and won even more fans for his ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’ comments on the team radio.

Kimi does have a change in race engineer, as Simon Rennie has departed for Red Bull over the winter.  Ciaran Pilbeam will work with Mark Slade to get the best out of Kimi, but if you keep reminding him, you know what his response will be.

With all the foundations in place after his impressive return, Lotus has brought the best out of Raikkonen, and he has to be considered as a serious championship contender in 2013.

Romain Grosjean needs to stop hitting cars and score more points

Romain Grosjean: Romain Grosjean crashed into many cars in 2012, and Lotus was in no rush to confirm him for this season.  They have already warned the Frenchman that another season of wrecked cars and that will be his career in the rubbish bin.  That is understandable when you consider the economic recession we live in.

However, Grosjean showed on his day his sheer speed, and he collected three impressive rostrums, and should have won in Valencia had it not been for a dodgy alternator failure.  He always smiles, which is nice to see.

I hope he calms down, as we all know he has the speed.  He desperately though needs to neuter his wild side, or it will cost him more than it did in 2012.

Mercedes GP – All the ingredients in place

The biggest amount of upheaval over the winter has come at Mercedes.  Paddy Lowe will join the team for 2014, while Niki Lauda has joined the team as a member of the board.

The powers of Stuttgart have enticed Tito Wolff away from Williams and with Ross Brawn, Bob Bell, Aldo Costa, Geoff Willis, Jock Clear, Ron Meadows, Nick Fry and Andrew Shovlin all onboard – there are plenty of winners.

Of course, the main attraction is the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.  He is playing down expectations, but the car looks mighty quick, if very fragile from testing form.  After three seasons of relative underachievement, improvements must be made in 2013 from a team with so many resources at its disposal.

It is a new start and a new dawn for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton: So the boy has become a man.  After 14 years being nurtured by McLaren, Lewis Hamilton has elected to move to Mercedes.  He sees this as a new dawn, and a new challenge to rebuild a team – like his predecessor Michael Schumacher managed when he quit Benetton for Ferrari in 1996.

Hamilton has been quick to play down expectations, and that is a good thing.  He will expect the car to at least be challenging for Q3 in Melbourne, and anything else is a bonus to begin with while he settles into a totally new environment.

However, I would expect podiums fairly quickly, and Hamilton did win two races in 2009 when McLaren had an appalling car to start with.  I wouldn’t say he will be a championship contender in 2013, but I’d be hugely surprised if we arrive in Brazil in November, and he hasn’t at least visited the top step of the podium once this season.

Nico Rosberg: I still remember Nico Rosberg’s debut for Williams in Bahrain 2006.  He put in a terrific drive and set the fastest lap of the race.  Seven years on, and his potential has largely been unfulfilled. 

With just one victory to his name in his career, it is time for Rosberg to start showing his proven capabilities at the wheel of a Mercedes on a regular basis.  Apart from the Chinese victory and second in Monaco, Rosberg largely disappointed in 2012 and was matched by Michael Schumacher throughout.

Remember this wasn’t Schumacher at his prime either.  Lewis Hamilton’s arrival will give Rosberg a greater incentive to deliver.  If he matches Hamilton, it will be a notable achievement.  

If he is soundly beaten, he will go the same way as fellow countryman Timo Glock and Nick Heidfeld have gone in recent years – out of the sport.

Sauber – New beginnings

A new line-up at Sauber, but they will do well to repeat last season

Sauber have made some significant changes in recent seasons, as they come fully out of the shell left by BMW’s departure from the sport at the end of 2009.

A commercial partnership with European champions Chelsea has seen them become more noticed, while Monisha Kaltenborn has made the Swiss outfit far more media friendly than what they ever were under the previous regimes of the shy Peter Sauber and Mario Thiessen.

It is a new driver line-up that makes the headlines for 2013.  Sergio Perez has departed for McLaren, while Kamui Kobayashi was ditched into the wilderness.  

Changing both drivers is a huge gamble, and it could well backfire spectacularly for Sauber if they aren’t lucky.

Nico Hulkenberg: A lot of people in the paddock think Nico Hulkenberg is the real deal.  Already on his third team in the sport, some were surprised by this sideways move from Force India to Sauber, but if it lands him a McLaren or Ferrari seat in the future, it could be well worth it.

Hulkenberg has plenty of natural speed, and has the ability to outperform his machinery.  Had he been a bit more cautious in his attempts to reclaim the lead in Brazil last season, he could have won on his Force India swansong.

Richly talented and totally focused, Hulkenberg will lead the Sauber team in 2013, and I reckon he will be a surprise package with a number of visits to the podium on the horizon in the coming eight months.

Esteban Gutierrez: Esteban Gutierrez has been promoted from his third driver role at Sauber into the number two seat.

There is no doubt that he is fast, but has a lot of rough edges around him – as demonstrated in the junior formulae.  It is difficult to judge how much of an impact he will have on Sauber.  

Considering Kobayashi achieved one podium last season, Gutierrez must do better than that and it sounds like a big ask.

I’m afraid when I think of Gutierrez, I think of a driver paying the bills.  He brings big sponsorship and could make a big impact this season.  Sadly for his fans, I think it will be many meetings with the gravel traps and tyre barriers around the globe rather than on the point’s leaderboard.

COMING UP IN PART TWO: Force India, Williams, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Marussia previewed, along with the calendar and the minor regulation changes.

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