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Post by paulgilb on Jan 12, 2014 0:49:43 GMT 1
Constructors’ Championship
11th Place – Caterham-Renault (MAL) (0 pts) Drivers: Charles Pic (FRA), Giedo van der Garde (NED) Laps Raced: 1900 (11th)
Caterham started the season as the slowest car, behind Marussia, but were faster by the end of the season. Their best qualifying was 14th in Belgium, and their best result was 14th, achieved in Malaysia, Hungary, and Korea (they also managed 15th in all 3 races). However, they finished behind Marussia in the Championship due to Marussia managing 13th in Malaysia. They had 5 mechanical and 3 non-mechanical DNFs, including a double DNF in India.
10th Place – Marussia-Cosworth (RUS) (0 pts) Drivers: Jules Bianchi (FRA), Max Chilton (GBR) Laps Raced: 2101 (5th)
Marussia started off the season ahead of Caterham, with Bianchi (who was only a last-minute replacement for Luiz Razia) finishing in 13th in Malaysia. They slipped behind Caterham in the latter part of the season (although their best qualifying of 15th and 16th was achieved in Belgium), but still finished ahead of them overall. They had 2 mechanical DNFs and 1 non-mechanical DNF, with Chilton finishing every race, and the team completing more racing laps than Ferrari.
9th Place – Williams-Renault (GBR) (5 pts) Drivers: Pastor Maldonado (VEN), Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Laps Raced: 2114 (4th)
Race-winners in 2012, Williams had high hopes for 2013, missing the first test in order to maximise development on their car. However, the season was a disappointment, with the team only managing 1 point in the first 17 races (although they did have one moment with Bottas qualifying 3rd in Canada). A change to their exhaust allowed Bottas to finish 8th in the US, and the team to equal their points total from 2011, but they finished 1 place lower than in 2012 (when they scored 76 points). They had 2 mechanical and 3 non-mechanical DNFs.
8th Place – Toro Rosso-Ferrari (33 pts) Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) Laps Raced: 2015 (9th)
Another team with high aspirations for 2013 (targeting 6th place), Toro Rosso had a somewhat disappointing season at the rear of the midfield. However, they did manage a couple of good results, including Vergne’s 6th place in Canada and Ricciardo qualifying 5th in Britain, ending up 1 place higher than in 2012 (scoring 7 points more). They were the least reliable team in 2013, with 8 mechanical DNFs (including in Korea where both cars retired late on due to brake issues) as well as 3 non-mechanical DNFs. However, for only the second time, they were able to promote one of their drivers (Ricciardo) to the Red Bull team.
7th Place – Sauber-Ferrari (57 pts) Drivers: Nico Hulkenberg (GER), Esteban Gutierrez (MEX) Laps Raced: 2063 (7th) Laps Led: 10 (6th)
Sauber were another team with high hopes for 2013, following 4 podiums in 2012 and the arrival of Nico Hulkenberg to the team. However, the season started badly, with Hulkenberg failing even to the start the first race, and the team only managing 7 points in the first 11 races. They benefited from the tyre changes and an aerodynamic upgrade in the latter part of the season, with Hulkenberg managing several good results, such as 5th in Italy (having qualified 3rd), and 4th in Korea. Their best overall result was in Japan, where the drivers finished 6th and 7th (the latter being Gutierrez’s only points of the season). They finished only 1 place lower than in 2012 despite 69 fewer points. They had 3 mechanical DNFs (including the DNS in Australia) and 3 non-mechanical DNFs (including both cars crashing out in Canada).
6th Place – Force India-Mercedes (77 pts) Drivers: Adrian Sutil (GER), Paul di Resta (GBR) Laps Raced: 1916 (10th) Laps Led: 14 (5th)
Force India started the season strongly, scoring points in all of the first 8 races apart from Malaysia (where both cars retired with wheel nut failures), with Sutil leading in Australia, di Resta finishing 4th in Bahrain (having started 5th), and Sutil finishing 5th in Monaco (di Resta finished 9th in Monaco, meaning the team equalled the 12 points scored in Bahrain). However, the tyre changes,a switch in focus to the 2014 car, and 4 successive race-ending collisions for di Resta caused a massive drop-off in performance, with the team only managing 3 points in the next 7 races (despite di Resta qualifying 5th in Belgium). Double points-finishes in India and Abu Dhabi allowed them to stay ahead of Sauber to finish 1 place higher than in 2012, despite 32 fewer points. They had 12 DNFs (including 4 classified non-finishes) – 5 mechanical (including double DNFs in Malaysia and Hungary) and 7 non-mechanical.
5th Place – McLaren-Mercedes (122 pts) Drivers: Jenson Button (GBR), Sergio Perez (MEX) Laps Raced: 2242 (1st) Laps Led: 8 (7th)
After ending 2012 on a high, McLaren changed direction for 2013, and it proved to be a disaster, with the team not starting a race higher than 6th (Button in Belgium), and for the first time since 1980, the team failed to score a podium, with Button’s 4th in Brazil being the best result (with Perez finishing 6th to give the team their best overall result of the season). They were however consistent scorers, only failing to score in Canada and Britain, and in fact both cars were classified in every race (although they did have 3 mechanical retirements late in races). They were the only team not to have a non-mechanical DNF (whether classified or not). They finished 2 places lower than in 2012, with 256 points fewer.
4th Place – Lotus-Renault (315 pts) Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen (FIN), Romain Grosjean (FRA) Laps Raced: 2018 (8th) Laps Led: 77 (4th)
Despite a much lower budget than other top teams, Lotus’s season started well with Raikkonen winning in Australia, and managing 5 further 2nd place finishes before the summer break (as well as the team’s only front-row start of the season in China). Despite initially appearing as though the tyre change would harm the team, it seemed to have the opposite effect (as the tyres were now softer), although the balance of power shifted towards Grosjean, who managed 5 consecutive top 4 finishes towards the end of the season (although Raikkonen did also have a couple of podiums after the mid-season break). On 3 occasions (Bahrain, Germany, Korea), the team got both cars on the podium (Raikkonen 2nd, Grosjean 3rd). Raikkonen then missed the last 2 races, with his replacement Heikki Kovalainen failing to score (this was the second season in a row in which Lotus made the only mid-season driver change). Brazil was the only race in which the team did not score. The team had 5 mechanical (1 of which was still classified) and 2 non-mechanical retirements. They finished in the same position as in 2012, with 12 more points.
3rd Place – Ferrari (354 pts) Drivers: Fernando Alonso (ESP), Felipe Massa (BRA) Laps Raced: 2099 (6th) Laps Led: 99 (3rd)
Ferrari had a mixed start to 2013, with Alonso winning twice (China, Spain), and Massa managing his only podium of the season in the latter race, but also had disaster races in Malaysia (where the team failed to pit Alonso, whose front wing subsequently failed) and Bahrain (where Alonso’s DRS jammed open twice and Massa picked up 2 punctures). Massa also managed the team’s only front-row start of the season (Malaysia). However, performance dropped somewhat, and the team opted to focus on 2014. Alonso did however drag the car to some decent results throughout the season, but Massa’s performance meant that the team were unable to beat Mercedes, thus finishing 1 place lower than in 2012 (with 46 fewer points). They scored in every race (their lowest total being 4 points in Bahrain), and were the only team not to have a mechanical DNF all season, but they did have 3 non-mechanical DNFs.
2nd Place – Mercedes (360 pts) Drivers: Nico Rosberg (GER), Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Laps Raced: 2142 (3rd) Laps Led: 170 (2nd)
Despite a poor end to 2012 and focussing mainly on 2014, Mercedes usually had the fastest car over a single lap in the early part of 2013 – managing 8 poles in 9 races from China to Belgium inclusive. This included front-row lockouts in Spain, Monaco, and Britain. Initially, they struggled in the races (such as in Spain where they locked out the front row but could only manage 6th and 12th), but after a controversial test they did manage 3 wins (Monaco, Britain, Hungary), becoming the only team to win races with both drivers in 2013. Their best overall results were 1st and 4th in both Monaco and Britain. From Italy onwards, their performance dwindled somewhat, but they still managed to hold off Ferrari and Lotus for 2nd place, 3 places higher than in 2012 (with 218 points more). They scored points in every race. They had 3 mechanical DNFs (1 of which was still classified) and 1 non-mechanical DNF.
1st Place – Red Bull-Renault (596 pts) Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (GER), Mark Webber (AUS) Laps Raced: 2169 (2nd) Laps Led: 753 (1st)
In the early part of the season, Red Bull suffered a bit due to the 2013 tyres (such as in Australia where they locked out the front row for the first of 5 times but could only finish 3rd and 6th). However, they did score 3 poles and 3 wins in the first 8 races (including a 1-2 in Malaysia, after Vettel ignored team orders), and were leading both championships even before the tyres were changed. After the mid-season break, the team (in particular Vettel) became totally dominant, with the team managing pole position in the final 8 races (Webber managing 2 of them), and Vettel winning the final 9 races (they managed 1-2s in Japan, Abu Dhabi, and Brazil). They scored at least 12 points in every race. They clinched both titles in India, winning both titles for the 4th year in a row. They scored 136 points more than in 2012. They did however have 4 mechanical DNFs (1 of which was still classified), and 1 non-mechanical DNF.
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Post by paulgilb on Jan 12, 2014 0:50:04 GMT 1
Drivers’ Championship
23rd Place – Max Chilton (GBR) (Marussia-Cosworth) (0 pts) Best qualifying: 16th Best finish: 14th
Chilton started 2013 with little expectations, and in Australia he finished over a minute behind his team-mate. However, he improved relative to Bianchi as the season went on. He only started higher than Bianchi on 3 occasions (Korea, Japan, Abu Dhabi), although only Japan was on merit. His best qualifying was 16th (achieved in Belgium thanks to a dry-tyre gamble at the end of Q1). He finished every race, but only twice (Singapore, India) finished ahead of Bianchi (excluding the latter’s DNFs) – and on both of those occasions Bianchi had problems (and in Singapore Chilton defied a team order). His best result of 14th ironically came in one of his worst races – Monaco, where he caused a crash with Maldonado that damaged Bianchi’s car and led to a red flag. The resulting drive-through penalty was nullified by a late safety car, and he passed van der Garde towards the end.
22nd Place – Giedo van der Garde (NED) (Caterham-Renault) (0 pts) Best qualifying: 14th Best finish: 14th
van der Garde had a mixed first season in F1, with a couple of good qualifying performances (15th in Monaco and 14th in Belgium, the latter coming after a dry-tyre gamble which resulted in him finishing 3rd in Q1). His best result of 14th came in Hungary thanks to a superior 3-stop strategy. He also managed 3 15th-place finishes, notably in Abu Dhabi where his team-mate was ordered to let him through. However, there were some low points, such as in Monaco (where he ruined his good qualifying by crashing into Maldonado on lap 1, although he still managed to finish 15th), Canada (where he crashed into both Webber and Hulkenberg while they were lapping him, the latter crash ending his race), Korea (where he received a drive-through penalty for forcing Bianchi wide), Japan (where he was eliminated in a lap 1 collision with Bianchi), India (where he was eliminated in a lap 1 collision with Chilton), and Brazil (where he received a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags). In addition to the 3 race-ending collisions, he also retired due to a loose wheel in Spain.
21st Place – Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) (Lotus-Renault) (0 pts) Best qualifying: 8th Best finish: 14th (x2)
Kovalainen replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus for the final 2 races. In the USA, he qualified 8th (his best qualifying since 2009), but thanks to a poor start, a front wing problem, and a KERS problem, he only finished 14th. He matched that in Brazil (where he qualified 14th). He was the only driver in 2013 not to outqualify a team-mate, and the only driver not to spend any racing laps in front of his team-mate (when both drivers were running). Despite this being the first season in which he did not manage a top 13 finish, he still finished higher overall than in either 2011 or 2012.
20th Place – Charles Pic (FRA) (Caterham-Renault) (0 pts) Best qualifying: 18th (x5) Best finish: 14th (x2)
Pic was another driver who had a mixed season – he never qualified higher than 18th (which he managed on 5 occasions), but did outqualify his team-mate more often than not, although due to penalties it was van der Garde who started in front more often than not. He usually finished ahead of his team-mate, with his best finishes being 14th in Malaysia (despite a pit-lane incident with Vergne) and Korea. He also had good drives in Spain and Britain (when he was ahead of Bottas before the final safety car). However, on 2 consecutive weekends (Korea and Japan) he passed a pit-lane red light, the former occasion earning him a reprimand (which resulted in a grid penalty for Japan), the latter resulting in a drive-through penalty before the race had started. He also received a drive-through penalty in the USA for ignoring blue flags. He had 4 retirements – gearbox failure in Monaco, oil leak in Belgium, hydraulics failure in India, and a suspension failure in Brazil. Despite not matching his 12th-place race finish from 2012, he did finish 1 place higher in the championship.
19th Place – Jules Bianchi (FRA) (Marussia-Cosworth) (0 pts) Best qualifying: 15th Best finish: 13th
Despite a late call-up, Bianchi performed well in his first season, only once being beaten on merit in qualifying by his team-mate, and only twice being beaten in the races (excluding DNFs). He finished 15th, over a minute ahead of his team-mate, in Australia (where he was running 12th early on), and in Malaysia finished 13th (qualifying very close to Vergne and Bottas and keeping Maldonado behind him for several laps). The latter result meant that Marussia beat Caterham in the Constructors’ Championship. The only time he started higher than 18th was in Belgium, where he started 15th after a dry-tyre gamble in Q1. He had 3 DNFs – a brakes failure in Monaco (where he had failed to set a time in qualifying and was damaged by the barrier that his team-mate had helped dislodge), an engine failure in Germany (after which his car rolled backwards), and a first-lap collision with van der Garde in Japan (when he only completed 32 laps all weekend and was outqualified by Chilton).
18th Place – Pastor Maldonado (VEN) (Williams-Renault) (1 pt) Best qualifying: 13th Best finish: 10th
Having won a race in 2012, Maldonado’s 2013 season was similar to 2011. He never qualified higher than 13th (which he managed in Canada), and was often outqualified by his team-mate (although he did well to reach Q2 in Italy, starting 14th). He often had good race pace, picking up his only point of the season in Hungary (although even this was helped by a couple of retirements ahead of him), as well as finishing 11th in Singapore (despite going out in Q1), 12th in India (only 3 seconds away from the points), and 11th in Abu Dhabi (despite Williams’ pit stops being slower to prevent wheels being lost). However he did have several less-than-stellar moments: spinning out in Australia, being involved in a collision with both Force Indias in Belgium (resulting in di Resta’s elimination and a stop-go penalty), slagging off his team on Twitter in Korea, and accusing his team of sabotage in the USA. As well as the retirement in Australia, he also failed to finish in Malaysia (engine failure) and Monaco (collision with Chilton). He finished 3 places lower in the Championship than in 2012.
17th Place – Valtteri Bottas (FIN) (Williams-Renault) (4 pts) Best qualifying: 3rd Best finish: 8th
In his rookie season, Bottas was more often than not beaten by Maldonado in the races – however, he was a good qualifier, more often than not outqualifying Maldonado, and qualifying 3rd in the wet in Canada (the first weekend that he had ever driven at the circuit), although he did drop down to 14th in the race. He generally stayed out of trouble – his only DNFs were a hydraulics failure in Hungary and a collision with Hamilton (whilst trying to unlap himself) in Brazil, and towards the end of the season in the USA (after a problem with the car was identified and fixed), he qualified 9th despite a mistake in Q3 (his only Q3 appearance in a dry session), and held on to 8th in the race (helped by a good pass on Gutierrez) to score his only points of the season.
16th Place – Esteban Gutierrez (MEX) (Sauber-Ferrari) (6 pts) Best qualifying: 8th Best finish: 7th Fastest laps: 1 Races led: 1 Laps led: 2
Gutierrez had a tough first season – he only outqualified his team-mate once (in Singapore), and that was partly down to Hulkenberg having a problem with his DRS, and was knocked out of Q1 on 10 occasions (including in Australia where he crashed). He had some ragged moments – a crash with Sutil in China, a crash on exiting the pitlane in Canada (he was still classified in the latter race), and a 10-place penalty for dangerous driving in qualifying in the USA (he would have qualified 10th). However, he did have some better moments – in Spain, where despite starting 19th, he led 2 laps (after a longer first stint), set fastest lap, and finished only 0.3s away from the points (he finished ahead of Hamilton who had started on the front row); in Singapore, where he again came close to scoring; in Korea, where he managed his best qualifying of 8th, and again just missed out on a point; and in Japan, where he only qualified 14th but gained 5 places at the start and ended up 7th for his only points of the season. In addition to his 2 accidents he also retired due to a gearbox failure in Hungary.
15th Place – Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA) (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) (13 pts) Best qualifying: 7th Best finish: 6th
In his 2nd season in F1, Vergne had some good races at the start of the season – finishing 10th in Malaysia despite going out in Q1 and being involved in a pitlane collision with Pic, 8th in Monaco after reaching Q3 for the first time, and in Canada where he qualified a career-best 7th in the wet and finished a career-best 6th (this included a key pass on Bottas). These would however be his last points of the season, due to a combination of poor qualifying (he only outqualified Ricciardo on 4 occasions all season), 5 mechanical DNFs (overheating in Bahrain after a collision with van der Garde, tyre failure in Britain, hydraulics failure in Germany, engine failure in Italy having reached Q3, and a handling problem in Korea where he was still classified), and a brakes problem in qualifying in Japan. He also had 1 non-mechanical DNF – a crash with Hulkenberg in Spain. His season finished on a low in Brazil – despite reaching Q3, he made a poor start then collided with Maldonado towards the end, only finishing 15th. Despite 3 points fewer than in 2012, he finished 2 places higher overall.
14th Place – Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) (20 pts) Best qualifying: 5th Best finish: 7th (x2)
In his second full season in F1, Ricciardo qualified well, starting in the top 10 on 8 occasions, the best being 5th in Britain. He was not so dominant over his team-mate in the races, but he had some good performances, finishing in the points on 7 occasions, including China (where he qualified and finished 7th), Britain (where his failure to pit behind the final safety car dropped him from 4th to 8th), Belgium (where he finished 10th after starting 19th), and Italy (where he started and finished 7th). He could also have managed a good result in Japan, but received a drive-through penalty for going off the track. He had 3 mechanical DNFs (only the first one resulted in a non-classification): exhaust failure in Australia and Malaysia (having damaged his car going off on the way to the grid), and a brakes failure in Korea. He finished 4 places higher in the Championship than in 2012, with twice as many points.
13th Place – Adrian Sutil (GER) (Force India-Mercedes) (29 pts) Best qualifying: 6th (x2) Best finish: 5th Races led: 1 Laps led: 11
After a year out of F1 (and in his 6th season in total), Sutil qualified 12th in Australia and was leading on lap 14 as a result of his different strategy, and spent a total of 11 laps in the lead in 2 spells, before a disastrous final stint relegated him to 7th. After 4 no-scores (wheel nut problem having reached Q3 in Malaysia, a collision with Gutierrez in China, a tangle with Massa having qualified 6th in Bahrain, and another wheel nut problem in Spain consigning him to 13th), he entered a run of 3 points-scoring races: Monaco (where he qualified 8th and finished 5th – his best result since 2010 – after a double-pass on Button and Alonso at the hairpin), Canada (where he qualified 8th but spun trying to pass Bottas, was damaged in a collision with Maldonado, and received a drive-through penalty after holding up Hamilton, finishing 10th), and Britain (where he qualified 6th and was running as high as 3rd on a couple of occasions but dropped back to 7th after not pitting behind the final safety car). After Silverstone, the team’s performance dwindled, and did not reach Q3 again, and only managed 6 more points, not helped by a hydraulics failure in Hungary, a late brakes failure in Italy (having received a grid penalty for holding up Hamilton), a collision with Webber in Korea (he was still classified here as in Italy), and a first-lap collision with Maldonado in the USA (having had a broken brake disc in qualifying). He finished 4 places lower in the Championship than in 2011 (scoring 13 points fewer).
12th Place – Paul di Resta (GBR) (Force India-Mercedes) (48 pts) Best qualifying: 5th (x2) Best finish: 4th Races led: 1 Laps led: 3
In his 3rd season in F1, di Resta scored points in 7 of the first 8 races (the exception being Malaysia when he retired with a wheel-nut failure). This included Bahrain, where he started 5th after Hamilton and Webber’s penalties, and led 3 laps before being pipped to 3rd by Grosjean. His points-scoring run was made more impressive by the fact that he started outside the top 16 in each of the last 3 races of this streak: strategy error during Q1 in Monaco, gearbox problem during Q1 in Canada, and an exclusion from qualifying for being underweight in Britain (having qualified 5th). He went from 17th to 9th (thanks to some good passes at Ste Devote), from 17th to 7th (thanks to a 1-stop strategy), and from 21st to 9th respectively. However, in the following 7 races he failed to score a point, thanks to the car’s competitiveness decreasing, as well as a hydraulics failure in Hungary (having only qualified 18th – he was classified there), and 4 consecutive race-ending crashes: taken out by Maldonado in Belgium (where a tyre gamble in Q3 led to a provisional pole position before the track dried and he was demoted to 5th), a first-lap crash with Grosjean in Italy, a crash late on in Singapore whilst running in 6th (despite an ill-timed safety car), and a crash in Korea. He managed a couple more points-scoring finishes towards the end of the season: 8th in India and 6th in Abu Dhabi (when he employed a 1-stop strategy and managed to keep Hamilton behind in the closing stages), to finish 2 places higher overall than in 2012 (with 2 points more).
11th Place – Sergio Perez (MEX) (McLaren-Mercedes) (49 pts) Best qualifying: 7th (x2) Best finish: 5th Fastest laps: 1
In his first season with McLaren (and 3rd season in total), Perez had a mixed season – he outqualified his team-mate more often than not, and a few good races including some great overtakes e.g. on Alonso in Bahrain (where he finished 6th after also passing Webber), and on Maldonado in Germany (where he finished 8th). However, he was involved his share of incidents, such as a collision with Raikkonen in China, a collision with his team-mate in Bahrain, and a collision with Raikkonen in Monaco (where he had qualified 7th and had passed Button and Alonso), leading to a brakes failure. This along with a tyre failure in Britain were his only 2 non-finishes of the season, and he (like his team-mate) was classified in every race. After McLaren announced they were dropping him for 2014, he had a few good races, including 5th in India (where he ran a long first stint, running 2nd at one point, and passed Hamilton and Raikkonen in a single move), and 6th in Brazil (having crashed in Q2, started 19th, and passed 10 cars in the first 14 laps). Despite 17 fewer points than in 2012, he only finished 1 place lower overall.
10th Place – Nico Hulkenberg (GER) (Sauber-Ferrari) (51 pts) Best qualifying: 3rd Best finish: 4th Races led: 1 Laps led: 8
The early part of Hulkenberg’s 3rd season in F1 was compromised by issues with his car (such as a failure to start in Australia and tyre troubles in subsequent races) and problems in the pits (such as an unsafe release in Spain and a speeding penalty in Hungary due to a gearbox fault). He also was involved in a race-ending collision with van der Garde in Canada. As a result, he only managed 7 points in the first 11 races, 4 of which came in Malaysia (where he jumped up from 12th to 6th at the wet start before eventually finishing 8th). He briefly led in China (after passing Button and Vettel in a single lap) before a poor final stint dropped him to 10th. However, the revised tyres plus a new aerodynamics package transformed his season, starting in Italy where he qualified 3rd (only behind the 2 Red Bulls) and finished 5th (being beaten by the Ferraris who he was closing in on towards the end), and then a 4th in Korea (where he stayed ahead of Alonso and passed Hamilton), and a 6th in the USA (having qualified 4th – he very nearly passed Alonso on the final lap). In the final 8 races, his only no-scores were a floor problem late on in India (where he was looking set for at least 8th) and a 14th place in Abu Dhabi (after an unsafe release penalty). He finished 1 place higher overall than in 2012, despite 12 fewer points.
9th Place – Jenson Button (GBR) (McLaren-Mercedes) (73 pts) Best qualifying: 6th Best finish: 4th Races led: 2 Laps led: 8
Button’s 14th season in F1 was compromised by a much slower McLaren compared to previous seasons. Qualifying was a weakness – he never qualified higher than 6th (which he managed in the wet in Belgium), and started outside the top 10 on 7 occasions. In Malaysia he was running 5th (having briefly led) before a disastrous pit-stop ruined his race (he eventually retired due to a wheel problem – this was the only race in which he failed to reach the finish, but he was still classified). He made amends by finishing 5th in China (again leading briefly) due to making 1 fewer stop than his rivals, a strategy which also worked in Spain (he finished 8th). However, the race in-between (in Bahrain) was a disaster – as well as forcing his team-mate off the track, he had to make 4 stops, and only finished 10th. Despite not having a car that was capable of a podium finish, he was scoring consistently (he scored in 14 of the 19 races), and could have finished in higher in several races, such as Britain (where he dropped down to 13th after not pitting behind the final safety car), Germany (where he finished 6th despite an ill-timed safety car and behind held up by backmarkers), Belgium (where he finished 6th but could have finished higher if he had gone for a 1-stop strategy), Korea (where he was hit on lap 1 and had a long pit stop but still finished 8th), India (where he made contact with Alonso on the first lap, finishing 14th), Abu Dhabi (where he made contact with di Resta on the first lap, finishing 12th), and USA (where he had a grid penalty for passing under red flags during practice, finishing 10th). However, in Brazil, despite only starting 14th, he gained 5 places in the first 2 laps (despite being on hard tyres), and ended up finishing 4th, his best result of the season. He finished 4 places lower overall than in 2012 (with 115 fewer points). This was his first season without a win since 2008 (when he also failed to score a podium).
8th Place – Felipe Massa (BRA) (Ferrari) (112 pts) Best qualifying: 2nd Best finish: 3rd Podiums: 1 Races led: 3 Laps led: 10
Massa’s 11th season in F1 was slightly stronger than either 2012 or 2011, especially in qualifying (he outqualified Alonso on 8 occasions). He managed his first front-row start since 2010 in Malaysia – however, a poor start and an early pit-stop consigned him to 5th place. In Spain, he was demoted for impeding Webber but recovered (passing Hamilton and jumping Vettel in the pits) to finish 3rd – his only podium of the season (in a year where his team-mate scored 9). However, he went through a rough spell after this – in Monaco he failed to set a time in Q1 after crashing, then had a virtually identical crash in the race; in Canada he again crashed in qualifying, leaving him 16th (he recovered to 8th in the race); in Britain he crashed in practice, only qualified 11th, climbed up to 6th at the start before a tyre failure demoted him to last – although the late safety allowed him to recover to 6th; and in Germany he spun out early on having outqualified Alonso. Towards the end of the season he had a couple of good results – finishing 4th despite having to let his team-mate past (which allowed Webber to jump him in the pits) in Italy (after the race it was announced that Ferrari would not be retaining him for 2014), and finishing 4th in India (where he was running 2nd early on and led during the pitstops). However, he also received a couple of drive-through penalties – for pit-lane speeding in Japan (having ignored team orders, allowing Hulkenberg to pass both cars, and still failed to keep Alonso behind) and in Brazil (for repeatedly crossing the pit-entry line). Apart from his 2 DNFs, his other no-scores were in Bahrain (where he collided with Sutil and picked up 2 punctures) and USA. Only twice did he outscore Alonso – on both occasions (Malaysia and India), Alonso hit trouble. He finished 1 place lower overall than in 2012, with 10 fewer points.
7th Place – Romain Grosjean (FRA) (Lotus-Renault) (122 pts) Best qualifying: 3rd (x4) Best finish: 2nd Podiums: 6 Races led: 4 Laps led: 36
In the early part of his 2nd full season in F1, Grosjean missed out on some upgrades to his car that team-mate Raikkonen received – as a result he was outperformed by Raikkonen. He did score in all the first 4 races, managing a couple of good passes on Hulkenberg (in Malaysia and China), and recovering from missing Q3 and having to make an early pit-stop to finish 3rd in Bahrain. He then failed to score in the next 4 races: an early suspension failure in Spain, a disaster weekend in Monaco (having crashed 3 times in practice he crashed into Ricciardo in the race, eliminating both of them), a 13th-place finish in Canada (after going out in Q1 and failing to make a 1-stop strategy work), and a gearbox failure late-on in Britain (he was classified 19th). However, his season was transformed from Germany onwards by the revised tyres. In the final 11 races he only started lower than 7th on 2 occasions (13th in Italy and 17th in India, the latter due to an attempt to get through Q1 just on the harder tyres) – this included 3rd-place starts in Hungary, Singapore, Korea, and the USA. In Germany he led for 5 laps, but an ill-timed safety car meant that he finished behind Vettel and Raikkonen (whom he was ordered to let through). In Hungary he led 3 laps, and managed a good pass on Massa, but just put all 4 wheels off the track and received a drive-through penalty. He also received a post-race penalty for a collision with Button, but still finished 6th. He was looking likely for a podium in Singapore before suffering an engine problem. He then managed 5 consecutive top 4 finishes: 3rd in Korea (where another ill-timed safety car ruined his victory chance, then he was passed by Raikkonen and unsuccessfully tried to get his team to reverse the positions), 3rd in Japan (where he led 26 of the 53 laps before finishing behind both Red Bulls), 3rd in India (where he benefited from being able to start on new tyres to make a 1-stop strategy work), 4th in Abu Dhabi (where he managed a good pass on Massa), then 2nd in the USA (where he got through Q1 without the softer tyres and was able to split the Red Bulls at the start and keep Webber behind him for the rest of the race, leading 2 laps during the pitstops). His season finished on a low with an early engine failure in Brazil. He scored 36 points more than in 2012, but only finished 1 place higher overall.
6th Place – Nico Rosberg (GER) (Mercedes) (171 pts) Best qualifying: 1st (x3) Best finish: 1st (x2) Podiums: 4 Races led: 6 Laps led: 104
Having beaten Michael Schumacher in the previous 3 seasons, Rosberg had a new team mate in Lewis Hamilton for his 8th season in F1. Rosberg’s season did not start particularly well – an electrical problem in Australia, being ordered to stay behind his team-mate (in 4th) in Malaysia, and a fault with his anti-roll bar in China. In the next few races, the Mercedes was the fastest car over a single lap – Rosberg managed pole in Bahrain, Spain, and Monaco – but had problems looking after its tyres in the race – he dropped to 9th in Bahrain and 6th in Spain (being passed by 3 cars in one lap at one point) – but did manage to convert pole to win in Monaco. He scored a second win in Britain – despite being beaten to pole by Hamilton and falling behind Vettel at the start, he benefited from Hamilton’s tyre failure (Rosberg himself nearly had one) and Vettel’s gearbox failure to win (holding off Webber in the closing stages). The next 2 races went badly – he only qualified 11th (and finished 9th) in Germany (this was one of only 2 occasions where he started outside the top 6, the other being 12th in the USA), and retired with an engine failure late on in Hungary (having been involved in a first-lap tangle with Massa). After the mid-season break he had several good performances, with 3 front-row starts: Singapore (where he briefly got ahead of Vettel at the start before running wide at turn 1, then picked up some debris in his front wing dropping him back, but recovered to finish 4th), India (where he managed to finish 2nd) and Brazil (where he again got past Vettel at the start but was re-passed before the end of lap 1 before dropping back to 5th). He was also looking set for a podium in Korea before his front wing failed, after which he recovered to finished 7th, and started and finished 3rd in Abu Dhabi. He did have a couple of low points late on in the season – an unsafe release penalty in Japan, and a struggle with tyre temperatures in the USA. He scored 78 points more than in 2012, and finished 3 places higher overall, with 6th being his highest Championship position to date.
5th Place – Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) (Lotus-Renault) (183 pts) Best qualifying: 2nd Best finish: 1st Podiums: 8 Fastest laps: 2 Races led: 4 Laps led: 41
In the second season of his comeback (11th season in total), in Australia, Raikkonen only qualified 7th but passed Hamilton early on, and by pitting twice when the other top drivers pitted 3 times, he was able to win and set fastest lap. After a disappointing race in Malaysia, where he received a grid penalty, damaged his front wing on the first lap, and went off the track twice, eventually finishing 7th, he managed 3 consecutive 2nd-place finishes: in China (despite a poor start from his only front-row start of the season and receiving damage from a collision with Perez), in Bahrain (where he again managed a 2-stop when others stopped 3 times, and led 1 lap), and Spain (where he led 4 laps and might have won had he not been caught in traffic). However, he only managed 3 points from the next 2 races: in Monaco, he collided with Perez, dropping him down the order, before gaining 6 places in the final 8 laps (on fresh tyres) to finish 10th; and in Canada he suffered several problems en route to 9th. In Britain, he dropped from 2nd to 5th in the final stint after not pitting behind the final safety car, but he did finish 2nd in both Germany (where he was helped by the safety car and could possibly have won, having led 9 laps of the race, if he hadn’t pitted towards the end) and Hungary (where despite struggling with the revised tyres he again made a 2-stop strategy work and managed to keep Vettel behind him towards the end). In the latter part of the season, Grosjean became the stronger Lotus driver, and Raikkonen had a couple of no-scores: a brakes failure in Belgium (ending his record points-scoring streak), and 11th place in Italy (after missing Q3 and hitting Perez on the first lap). Due to a back injury, he missed Q3 again in Singapore (only starting 13th) but recovered in the race due to an early pit-stop to finish 3rd. In Korea he crashed in FP1, started 9th, and had a slow pit-stop, but a fortuitously-timed safety car followed by an opportunistic pass on Grosjean led to him finishing 2nd. After finishing 5th in Japan (after passing Hulkenberg at the chicane), Raikkonen’s season ended on a low: he refused to let his team-mate past in India (finishing 7th after an attempted 1-stop failed, although he did manage fastest lap), had a row over non-payment by his team, was excluded from qualifying in Abu Dhabi, crashed out at the first corner, then missed the last 2 races after deciding to have surgery on his back. He finished 1 place lower overall than in 2012, with 24 fewer points.
4th Place – Lewis Hamilton (GBR) (Mercedes) (189 pts) Best qualifying: 1st (x5) Best finish: 1st Podiums: 5 Fastest laps: 1 Races led: 5 Laps led: 66
After 6 seasons with McLaren, Hamilton moved to Mercedes for 2013. His season nearly got off to a bad start when he hit the barrier in Q1 in Australia – however, he survived, qualified 3rd and finished 5th (after failing to make a 2-stop strategy work), leading 4 laps. He finished on the podium (in 3rd) in Malaysia despite stopping in the McLaren pit and having to save fuel (although he was helped by team orders). He managed pole in China, but was passed by both Ferraris after just 4 laps, eventually finishing 3rd. In Bahrain he was hampered by a gearbox penalty (he started 9th) but recovered to finish 5th. He then managed a run of 7 front-row starts (3 2nds followed by 4 poles) from Spain to Belgium inclusive – however, the races generally did not go so well, most notably in Spain, where poor tyre treatment led to him dropping from 2nd to 12th. Hamilton could have finished 2nd behind his team-mate in Monaco, but was caught out by a safety car, finishing 4th. In Canada, he led 3 laps but was denied 2nd after being held up trying to lap Sutil (he finished 3rd), but in Britain he qualified on pole and led the first 7 laps before his tyre exploded – however, thanks to the safety car he was able to recover to 4th. In Germany, a recurrence of the tyre wear problem meant that he finished no higher than 5th, but in Hungary he qualified on pole, held his lead at the start, got past Button (who subsequently held up Vettel) quickly after his first stop, got past Webber quickly after his 2nd stop and went on to win. A pole in changing conditions in Belgium (having only just scraped into Q3) was converted into 3rd, before his form dropped somewhat. In Italy he missed Q3 (starting 12th), and after an early puncture could only finish 9th, although he did set fastest lap. 2 5th-places in Singapore and Korea (where he started on the front row but was compromised by his team-mate’s front wing failure which resulted in him having to do another lap – he was then overtaken by Hulkenberg later on) were followed by his only DNF of the season in Japan, where first-corner contact with Vettel caused a puncture that led to his retirement. Undetected chassis damage meant that he only managed 6th in India and 7th in Abu Dhabi (where he spun in Q3 and got stuck behind a couple of slower cars), before managing 4th in the USA and being a contender for a podium in Brazil, before he collided with Bottas (while the latter was trying to unlap himself), with the resultant drive-through penalty leaving him 9th. He scored 1 point fewer than in 2012, and finished in the same Championship position.
3rd Place – Mark Webber (AUS) (Red Bull-Renault) (199 pts) Best qualifying: 1st (x2) Best finish: 2nd (x5) Podiums: 8 Fastest laps: 5 Races led: 5 Laps led: 69
Webber nearly started his 12th season in F1 with pole in his home race, but had to settle for 2nd, before an ECU problem dropped him down the order, from where he finished 6th. He could have won in Malaysia after delaying his switch to dry tyres – he led 32 laps, but was passed late on by Vettel (who had ignored team orders). China was a disaster – he was excluded from qualifying due to insufficient fuel, picked up a grid penalty for the following race, then retired due to a loose wheel. He then entered a run of 9 consecutive top 7 finishes from Bahrain to Belgium inclusive, including 3rd place in Monaco, 2nd place in Britain (despite falling down to 14th at the start, he was able to recover thanks to the late safety car, managing several passes including a good one on Raikkonen, finishing less than a second behind Rosberg), and 3rd in Italy (after a front-row start). Britain was the only race in which he outscored Vettel all season (Vettel failed to finish the race), and he managed fastest lap. He was looking set for a podium in Canada before a collision with van der Garde (he did manage fastest lap). In Germany he led 2 laps but dropped to last after a wheel came off in the pits, from which he recovered to finish 7th. He also led 9 laps and set fastest lap in Hungary. He retired on the last lap in Singapore due to a water leak, then walked on to the track without permission after the race, earning him his 3rd reprimand of the season, and thus a grid penalty for Korea, where he was taken out by Sutil (having suffered a puncture a few laps earlier). A KERS problem for Vettel allowed Webber to take pole in Japan, but was switched to a 3-stop strategy in the race and finished 2nd behind Vettel (he did however take fastest lap). An alternator failure cost him a likely 2nd place in India (where he led 21 laps) before he took pole again in Abu Dhabi (after a mistake by Vettel), where a slow getaway dropped him behind Vettel. In the USA he missed out on pole after a slow final sector in Q3, dropped 2 places at the start, passed Hamilton but could not pass Grosjean, finishing 3rd. In his final race in Brazil, he recovered from a slow start, managing a good pass on Hamilton, and a slow pitstop to finish 2nd behind Vettel, setting fastest lap. He finished 3 places higher than in 2012, with 20 more points, and equalled his best Championship position (also managed in 2010 and 2011).
2nd Place – Fernando Alonso (ESP) (Ferrari) (242 pts) Best qualifying: 3rd (x4) Best finish: 1st (x2) Podiums: 9 Fastest laps: 2 Races led: 4 Laps led: 89
In his 12th season in F1, Alonso had a hit-and-miss first 5 races: finishing in 2nd (ahead of Vettel) in Australia, having led 6 laps, and wins in China (after passing Hamilton for the lead with DRS and getting past traffic easily) and in Spain (where he only qualified 5th but managed to pass Raikkonen and Hamilton on lap 1); however, he had a DNF in Malaysia (after staying out with a damaged front wing which subsequently failed), and only finished 8th in Bahrain (when his DRS jammed open twice). He appeared to be a genuine title contender after race 5 (he was only 17 points behind Vettel at this point), but he would not get this close again. His weakness was qualifying – even though he always started in the top 10 (although he did fail to reach Q3 in Abu Dhabi), he was outqualified by Massa 8 times, and he never qualified on the front row, his best being 3rd in Malaysia, China, Bahrain, and Brazil (in the wet). He often made good ground in the races, and scored consistently – his only no-score (apart from his DNF in Malaysia) was an 11th-place in India after lap 1 damage. He managed podiums in Canada (where despite his worst Montreal qualifying since 2001 in 6th, he benefited from his car’s straight-line speed to finish 2nd) and Britain (where he qualified 9th, narrowly avoided a puncture before his first pitstop, narrowly avoiding being damaged by Perez’s failing tyre, and pitted before the final Safety Car allowing him to gain several places towards the end to finish 3rd), set fastest lap in Germany, and then managed 3 consecutive 2nd-place finishes after the mid-season break: in Belgium (where he only qualified 9th in the wet but passed both Lotuses and Webber on lap 1, and eventually climbed up the field to 2nd), Italy (where he was angry with his team after only qualifying 5th, but managed a brilliant pass on Webber en route to 2nd – he also led 4 laps, the only laps he led after Spain), and Singapore (where he only qualified 7th but made a good start and ended up 2nd). Ferrari’s form dropped off in the final few races, but he managed a 5th place and fastest lap in Abu Dhabi (despite only starting 10th and nearly injuring his back by going off-track), 5th in the USA (after a battle with Hulkenberg towards the end), and got on the podium again in Brazil (finishing 3rd behind the Red Bulls). He finished runner-up to Vettel in the Championship for the 3rd time in 4 years (after near-misses in 2010 and 2012), but with the smallest points total in the last 4 seasons.
1st Place – Sebastian Vettel (GER) (Red Bull-Renault) (397 pts) Best qualifying: 1st (x9) Best finish: 1st (x13) Podiums: 16 Fastest laps: 7 Races led: 18 Laps led: 684
The first 10 races of Vettel’s 7th season in F1 saw him have the fastest car but due to the fragile tyres he was often unable to display the true pace of the Red Bull, such as in Australia, where he qualified on pole but only finished 3rd. In Malaysia he again qualified on pole but pitted for dry tyres too soon, losing the lead to Webber. Later on he ignored team orders to take the win. In China he chose not to set a time in Q3, thus only starting 9th (the only time he started outside the top 3 all season), but battled through the field, taking fastest lap and only just missing out on a podium. In Bahrain he qualified 2nd behind Rosberg then dropped behind Alonso at the start, but passed them both within a couple of laps to take the win (and fastest lap). He missed the podium in Spain after failing to make a 3-stop strategy work. Monaco was the only race in which he did not lead – he qualified behind both Mercedes, got past Hamilton in the safety car phase, but was unable to pass Rosberg due to tyre degradation (he did however set fastest lap). He then took his first Canadian win (from pole) despite scraping the wall and going off at turn 1. In Britain he took the lead after Hamilton’s puncture having passed Rosberg at the start (this was the last time he qualified off the front row), and was looking set for a win when his gearbox failed (his only no-score of the season, and the only race in which he was outscored by Webber). He bounced back to take his first win in Germany despite a KERS fault and pressure from both Lotuses. In Hungary he was pipped to pole by Hamilton, and lost time stuck in traffic, allowing Raikkonen to finish ahead of him as well. Heading into the summer break he had a 38 point lead. After the summer break he set a new record – 9 consecutive wins in the final 9 races of the season. This started in Belgium (where he was pipped to pole by Hamilton but got past at the start, led every lap and set fastest lap), and continued in Italy (where he started on pole and led all bar 4 laps despite concerns over a tyre and his gearbox), Singapore (where he managed pole with only one run in Q3, lost the lead to Rosberg at the start, regained it into turn 1, never lost it again, and set fastest lap), Korea (where he again managed pole, led every lap, and set fastest lap), Japan (where due to a KERS failure he missed pole at Suzuka for the first time – this was also the first time in 2013 that he had been outqualified by Webber - and was passed by Grosjean at the start, but played the long game and emerged victorious), India (where he started on pole, dropped down to 17th with an early pitstop, but climbed back through the field to win and clinch his 4th consecutive title), Abu Dhabi (where he was again pipped to pole by Webber but got ahead at the start and never lost the lead), USA (where Webber nearly beat him to pole, and he had to deal with tyre wear but held on, managing fastest lap as well), and in Brazil (where he qualified on pole in the wet and led every lap despite Rosberg getting past at the start and a botched pitstop). He managed his highest points total – 5 more than in 2011 (where he only took 11 victories but 17 podiums).
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