By
Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
One man and one team completely dominated the 2013 Formula
One World Championship as the invincible Sebastian Vettel (pictured) stormed to a fourth
successive title, breaking more records in the process. His 13 wins in the
season equalled Michael Schumacher’s mark from 2004 and he strung together nine
successive victories, matching the record set by Alberto Ascari all the way
back in 1952/1953. He simply crushed the opposition and proved why he is the
best – his points total would have won the constructors’ championship on its
own.
Sadly while
Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team deserve all the plaudits for their almost
unbeatable campaign, the spectacle disappointed. Races failed to live up to
their potential, with tyres often dictating pace and putting safety at high risk.
TV viewing figures dropped considerably as the season progressed and off-track
politics took centre stage with team orders, illegal tyre tests, unpaid drivers
and tyres blowing up left, right and centre often taking the headlines over
quality driving and wheel-to-wheel combat racing. F1 2013 won’t be remembered
as a classic season after the epics of recent years, especially 2007, 2008 and
2012.
Multi-21 madness in Malaysia
2013 would be
the driest F1 season since 1987 but it started with a downpour in Australia
that delayed the majority of qualifying until race morning. Vettel started the
season with pole position but he was beaten into third place in the race itself
as the Australian Grand Prix became an intriguing battle of tactics and playing
the waiting game. It was the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen who eventually prevailed,
with his two-stop strategy outsmarting the three-stop efforts from Vettel and
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who chased Raikkonen home in second. Lewis Hamilton
finished fifth on his Mercedes bow and Adrian Sutil had a strong return after a
year out of the sport, leading a portion of the race on his way to seventh. It
was round one to Raikkonen and Lotus but that was as good as it was going to
get for this relationship.
A week later
in Malaysia, the word Multi-21 became the talking point in the F1 paddock.
After a wet start, Mark Webber had gained the upper hand on team-mate Vettel as
he had pitted earlier for slick tyres. Vettel wasn’t happy with this and
despite being issued instructions to hold station behind the Aussie; he ignored
team orders and proceeded to race Webber in a ferocious battle with 10 laps to
go. Vettel eventually got past around the outside of turn four and went on to
controversially win the race. His actions though were disapproved by his team
and angered many fans and F1 journalists. A more ruthless character had emerged
and his relationship with Webber all but broke down after this incident. The
Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finished third and fourth, although
Lewis made an embarrassing pitstop in the box of his old team McLaren during
the race! Alonso crashed out on lap two after his front wing failed following
damage on the opening circuit.
The Red Bull
team orders row rumbled on into China, with Vettel defending his actions in a
highly charged press conference pre-event, accusing Webber of not helping his
title bid at the end of the previous season in Brazil and indicating: “Bottom line was, I was faster, I was
racing, I passed him, I won.” For once, Red Bull didn’t have the ultimate
pace with Sebastian having a quiet weekend to finish fourth from a lowly ninth
on the grid. Webber had a miserable time as he was disqualified from qualifying
as he couldn’t provide a fuel sample, then he collided with Jean-Eric Vergne in
the race and later lost a right-rear wheel, finishing his afternoon
prematurely. Alonso won comfortably from Raikkonen and pole-sitter Hamilton.
Jenson Button was an encouraging fifth for McLaren but already, their season
looked doomed with an uncompetitive car that left them scrapping for a distant
fifth in the constructors’ championship.
The final
event of the early season flyaways occurred in Bahrain and it was a case of
déjà vu to the 2012 race. The podium was exactly the same as Vettel became the
first repeat winner of the campaign. The Lotus pair of Raikkonen and Romain
Grosjean completed the rostrum. There were more team squabbles in the desert
and this time it was at McLaren. After being accused of lacking aggression by
team principal Martin Whitmarsh in his first three races for his new team,
Sergio Perez responded with some robust driving which led to contact with
team-mate Button and Jenson to shout on the radio: “He’s hit me up the back, calm him down.” Perez finished a strong
sixth, while Button faded to tenth. Paul di Resta had a fabulous weekend,
qualifying fifth and matching his best ever career result with fourth for Force
India.
After a DRS
failure wrecked his race chances in Sakhir, Alonso was slightly on the backfoot
as the Grand Prix circus returned to Europe. His response was magnificent on
his home turf in Barcelona. Despite lining up fifth, the Spaniard produced a
breathtaking double pass on Raikkonen and Hamilton around the outside of turn
three on the first lap and managed the high degradation Pirelli tyres perfectly
to win in Spain for the third time in his career. Raikkonen split the
Ferrari’s, as Felipe Massa finished a fine third from ninth on the grid.
Pirelli were left under the microscope with tyre delaminations for di Resta in
practice and Vergne in the race, following three previous incidents in Bahrain.
Mercedes had a nightmare on Sunday afternoon with a lack of tyre grip. Despite
locking out the front row, Rosberg and Hamilton slipped horribly back to sixth
and twelfth. The next storm was about to brew.
It emerged on
race morning in Monte Carlo that Mercedes had done a three-day tyre test after
the race at the Circuit de Catalunya with Pirelli, using their race drivers and
in its 2013 car. Both Red Bull and Ferrari made an official protest against the
team which would lead to a hearing before the British Grand Prix at the FIA
Court of Appeal. In Monaco, Mercedes managed their tyre wear life and Rosberg
drove exceptionally to win around the streets from his third straight pole
position. He achieved the victory on the 30th anniversary of his
father’s victory for Williams at the same event. It would have been a 1-2 but
for a misjudgement behind the Safety Car from Hamilton which dropped him behind
the Red Bull cars and ruing his error as he finished fourth. There was a red flag
during the race after Pastor Maldonado crashed heavily at Tabac following
contact with Max Chilton which moved the trackside barriers onto the racing
line. Maldonado was unhurt and so was Massa, who had two almost identical
accidents in two days at Ste Devote, the second in the race.
Tragedy in Canada
The Canadian
Grand Prix often delivers excitement but that wasn’t the case in 2013 with the
race turning into a dour affair. Vettel took pole and won at a canter, with
Alonso making up for his lacklustre seventh place finish in Monaco to finish
second holding off Hamilton in a late tussle. Rookie Valtteri Bottas made the
F1 fraternity sit up and take notice in qualifying as he made the most of mixed
conditions to start a fabulous third in an uncompetitive Williams. The event
was overshadowed though by a tragic accident after the race that claimed the
life of track marshal Mark Robinson. He was run over by a moving crane as
Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber was being recovered from turn two. His death was the
first at an event since the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
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| Regular tyre blowouts ruined the British Grand Prix at Silverstone |
After the
tragic events of Montreal, Formula One was lucky to have no more injuries at
Silverstone. Tyres had controlled the season and the whole issue about their
reliability blew up dramatically as the British Grand Prix turned into an farce.
Six drivers including early race leader Hamilton, Vergne (pictured) and Massa had tyre blowouts,
whilst the most terrifying incident was a failure for Perez that had Alonso
cheating serious injury as he ducked out of the McLaren’s slipstream at 180mph.
It marred another great drive from Rosberg who held off a charging Webber to
claim his second victory in three events. Webber had taken the opportunity
earlier in the weekend to announce his retirement from the sport at the end of
the season. Vettel chalked up a rare DNF when his gearbox broke with 11 laps to
go; to the delight of many of the British fans while Hamilton recovered
brilliantly from his early tyre failure to finish fourth.
In the
aftermath of the Silverstone debacle, the blame game began with Pirelli accusing
the Northamptonshire circuit of ‘high kerbs’ and the teams for ignoring their
tyre pressure recommendations. Ultimately the Young Drivers Test became a
three-day tyre test at the home of British motorsport with race drivers
included and the 2012 structure returned in a mix with the 2013 compounds. It
would have a major impact on the destiny of where the championship would go
from this point onwards. Mercedes weren’t at this test as they had been banned
by the WMSC following the Barcelona tyre test against regulations in May.
Vettel
started his march to the title again with a hard-fought win at his home event
at the Nurburgring, his first win on home soil. The Lotus drivers of Raikkonen
and Grosjean pushed him hard as they completed the podium picture after three
difficult events for Lotus that had seen them pick up just 13 points. There was
another scary incident when a wheel detached itself from Webber’s car in the
pits and struck an FOM cameraman in the back; knocking him to the ground and
sending him to hospital with severe bruising. Webber fought back to seventh
after a mid-race Safety Car for Jules Bianchi’s Marussia that caught fire, then
rolled back across the track, almost taking out race leader Vettel in another
bizarre incident.
Hamilton’s emotional dedication
 |
| Lewis Hamilton's only 2013 win came at Budapest in a tough year |
The final
race before the summer break was the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest and it is
becoming Hamilton’s happy hunting ground. The Brit (pictured) recorded his fourth victory
at the Hungaroring from pole position, his first for Mercedes. It was an
emotional success for the 2008 world champion who had to deal with yet another
painful breakup in his relationship with X-Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger in
the summer. Hamilton dedicated the win to his former girlfriend but it seems
like this separation is for good. Raikkonen came second, while Vettel had to
settle for third, delayed in traffic behind Jenson Button after the first round
of pitstops. After finishing an uncompetitive fifth, Alonso received a rebuke
from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo when he suggested he would like “someone else’s car” for his birthday.
It suggested things weren’t rosy in the Ferrari camp anymore; with noises being
made of a possible move to Red Bull for 2014.
The Austrian
team based in Milton Keynes though would eventually choose Daniel Ricciardo to
be Webber’s successor for next season after negotiations with Raikkonen’s
management broke down. Four weeks after Budapest, F1 returned with a belting
qualifying session at the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. A gamble
on slick tyres in Q1 saw both Marussia cars and Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham
escape the session, whilst di Resta almost got pole after a well-timed lap in
the dry part of Q3. Unfortunately for the Scot he was bumped down to fifth as
the weather changed again in the dying stages and Hamilton achieved his fourth
successive pole. However that was as good as it got for the Brit’s season.
Vettel overwhelmed him into Les Combes on the first circuit of the race and
drove into the distance, with Alonso second and the Mercedes man third.
Raikkonen’s run of 27 consecutive points finishes ended with a brake problem on
his Lotus just after half-distance.
By now,
Alonso was the only driver who looked remotely close to challenging Vettel
should his form suddenly capitulate. That hope ended at the final European
event of the season at Monza. On a track that has normally exposed Red Bull’s
weaknesses, Vettel was fastest in every single session and won the race at a
stroll. Alonso did manage to spilt the Red Bulls, helped by a demon overtake on
Webber in the early laps. Nico Hulkenberg reminded everyone of his quality
after he qualified third for Sauber then finished a strong fifth in the race.
Raikkonen missed out on points again following contact with his Perez on the
first lap, while Hamilton rescued ninth place from a dire weekend that included
elimination in Q2.
Flaming Webber
Formula One’s
worst kept secret was revealed to the public between Italy and Singapore, as
Ferrari confirmed Raikkonen was returning to the team for 2014 alongside
Alonso. Kimi stated it was to do with money, suggesting there were severe financial
issues at Lotus. The news meant Felipe Massa’s eight-year stay at Maranello was
drawing to a conclusion but he would be announced as a Williams driver for 2014
before the season’s end. Under the lights at the Marina Bay, Vettel made it
three wins in a row at the event, with Raikkonen defying the aggravation of an
old back injury in qualifying to finish a fine third from 13th on
the grid. Webber retired on the last lap with a gearbox problem and then copped
a 10-place grid penalty for getting a lift back to the pits on the back of
Alonso’s car on the slowing down lap.
 |
| Mark Webber can only watch as his Red Bull burns in Korea |
It was now a
question of when, rather than if Vettel would become champion once again. He
reigned supreme as ever in Korea which arguably was a contender for race of the
season. While he dominated, team-mate Webber went up in flames – quite
literally (pictured). He was clobbered by Adrian Sutil after a mid-race Safety Car period.
The connection with the Force India cracked an oil line and it wasn’t long
before the back of the car went up in flames pretty spectacularly. The
appearance of a fire truck before the Safety Car returned to the circuit saw
the organisers get a hefty slap on the wrist afterwards. The Lotus pair of Raikkonen
and Grosjean finished second and third, while Hulkenberg produced the drive of
the season to come home fourth, keeping both Hamilton and Alonso at bay for the
majority of the race due to his car’s strong straight-line speed.
The only time
Vettel looked like he might be beaten in the run-in was at the Japanese Grand
Prix. Romain Grosjean and Lotus asked a serious question which was responded in
confident style by Red Bull. Webber had edged into pole position after a KERS
problem for Vettel in qualifying but both were beaten off the line by a
lightning Grosjean. Slight contact with Vettel’s car punctured a tyre on
Hamilton’s Mercedes and ended his day early. The Lotus man kept Vettel behind
for nearly 40 laps but eventually had to give best to both RBR machines. His
third place though was richly deserved. Alonso came fourth followed by
Raikkonen and Hulkenberg. The paddock was stunned though at Suzuka by the
tragic death of ex-Marussia test driver Maria de Vilota who had been found dead
in a Seville hotel as her injuries from the dreadful testing accident suffered
last summer ultimately proved fatal.
Vettel does it in style
Fourth place
in Japan for Alonso had kept the championship mathematically alive but all
Vettel needed on the sport’s last visit to India for a year was a top five
finish. This he achieved in style with a sixth straight victory and sealing
both a fourth successive drivers title for himself and constructors
championship for the team. Webber was nailed on for a certain second place until
an alternator issue grounded his car on lap 40. That allowed Nico Rosberg to
finish a strong second but some half a minute behind and Grosjean charged
through from 17th to take third again. That was only after a near
altercation with team-mate Raikkonen in the closing laps that forced Lotus
chief race engineer Alan Permane to leave some brutal words in Kimi’s radio –
shouting: “Kimi, get out of the f####ng’
way.” Afterwards, Vettel treated the Indian fans to some doughnuts in his
car, before bowing down to his monster of a chassis and leaving it on the
start-finish straight. Rather than accept the reasoning for this, the FIA fined
the team and driver to the chagrin of many paddock insiders.
Following the
stiff row that broke out at Lotus after India, Raikkonen almost didn’t turn up
in Abu Dhabi and only arrived at the last minute to drive. He expressed his
dissatisfaction to the media and claimed that he hadn’t been paid a single euro
for the season. He threatened to go on strike but an agreement was eventually
reached for his rightful salary to be paid. In the UAE, Kimi was thrown out of
qualifying for a technical infringement then hit van der Garde on the first
corner, retired, left for the airport and wasn’t to be seen for the rest of the
year as he underwent a back operation shortly afterwards. For the record in a
forgettable race, Vettel won by nearly half a minute from Webber, Rosberg,
Grosjean and Alonso.
If Abu Dhabi
had been a tedious race, the spectacle in Austin, Texas was one of the most
boring events of the past 20 years in the sport. Overtaking was limited,
Pirelli brought tyres that were way too conservative and action on-track was
non-existent. Vettel became the first man to win eight races in a row in a
season, while a fast start from Grosjean saw him beat Webber to second and
continue his rise in reputation. Valtteri Bottas scored the first championship
points of his career with a fine eighth place in a desperate year for Williams.
So it came to
an end in Brazil and it was a predictable end to the championship. Vettel won
the race again to ensure he remained unbeaten at any event since late July.
However the day wasn’t about him equalling records. It was about Webber, who
bowed out of the sport by taking off his crash helmet on the slowing down lap
and a pirouette on the rostrum as he finished his career with second place in
the race and third in the championship. Massa might have made the podium in his
final Ferrari race until he collected a drive-through penalty that left him
screaming on the radio: “Unbelievable,
unbelievable decision FIA!” With Hamilton also receiving a similar sanction
for needless contact with Bottas on lap 47, Alonso took the final podium of the
season. Jenson Button offered McLaren a crumb of comfort with fourth place and
Perez came through from 19th to sixth but had already been fired for
next season.
The racing
quality in 2013 was uninspiring and the results fairly predictable but no-one
can take away Sebastian Vettel’s amazing achievements. He now has to be ranked
alongside the likes of Fangio, Schumacher and Senna with his record-breaking campaign.
2014 brings a
whole new raft of changes. We say goodbye to Mark Webber, Ross Brawn, probably
Paul di Resta, the Indian Grand Prix and V8 engines and say hello to the V6
turbo engine, bigger KERS units, Dane rookie Kevin Magnussen at McLaren, Daniel
Kvyat at Toro Rosso and a new race in Russia as well as a welcome return to the
calendar for the Austrian Grand Prix. Let’s hope this mixture will shake up the
competition and make 2014 a more memorable championship than the one served up
in 2013. This year will be known as the year where Vettel crushed the
opposition. Enjoy next season and for the last time writing for Formula One on
Viewing Perspectives, thank you for reading and goodbye.
FINAL STANDINGS
Drivers’ Championship: 1.
Sebastian Vettel 397, 2. Fernando
Alonso 242, 3. Mark Webber 199, 4. Lewis Hamilton 189, 5. Kimi Raikkonen 183, 6. Nico Rosberg 171, 7. Romain Grosjean 132, 8. Felipe Massa 112, 9. Jenson Button 73, 10. Nico Hulkenberg 51, 11. Sergio Perez 49, 12. Paul di Resta 48, 13. Adrian Sutil 29, 14. Daniel Ricciardo 20, 15. Jean-Eric Vergne 13, 16. Esteban Gutierrez 6, 17. Valtteri Bottas 4, 18. Pastor Maldonado 1
Constructors’ Championship: 1. Red Bull Racing 596, 2. Mercedes GP 360, 3. Ferrari 354, 4. Lotus 315, 5. McLaren
122, 6. Force India 77, 7. Sauber 57, 8. Scuderia Toro Rosso 33, 9.
Williams 5
