It’s been a drama-filled first few months of 2013 across all of motorsport – in Formula One, MotoGP, rallying, endurance racing and more. But, how much of it you can actually remember?
Finding the answer to that couldn’t be simpler. Just type your name in the box below to begin making your way through the ten tricky questions that await.
Good luck – and try not to cheat by resorting to Google or Wikipedia – it’s far more fun that way!
[slickquiz id=2]
Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor
This year’s Formula One season sees a number of new faces joining the grid in place of some departing familiar names. Exeposé Online takes you through the newcomers and the men they have replaced…
Esteban Gutiérrez (Sauber)
Gutiérrez’s promotion from a reserve role to a race seat at Sauber was undoubtedly aided by Sergio Pérez’s departure to McLaren, with main sponsor Telmex keen to see a Mexican driver remain behind the wheel. In spite of this, Gutiérrez arrives at the Swiss team with a GP3 title and GP2 race wins under his belt, albeit with limited testing experience in F1 machinery. Beating his more experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg is unrealistic, but Gutiérrez has the talent to at least pose an occasional threat to the German – if he can cut the errors that blighted his GP2 campaign last year. Regular points finishes will be essential to prove he has the consistency needed at this level.
Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
The decision to replace the well-funded Bruno Senna is a bold statement of intent on the part of Williams. Such a decision did not come as a huge surprise, given the degree to which Bottas impressed the British team during his Friday practice outings last season. The young Finn, who won the GP3 series crown in 2011, may take a few races getting himself used to wheel-to-wheel combat once again having only tested last season, but it’s said that Bottas’ times were enough to suggest he could out-pace Grand Prix-winning teammate Pastor Maldonado this year. Of all the rookies lining up in Melbourne, it seems that Bottas has the biggest potential to go all the way.
Giedo van der Garde (Caterham)
At the ripe old age of 27, van der Garde is one of the oldest F1 debutants for some time; years of experience in the lower formulae should however make him the best prepared of all of this year’s rookie crop. The Dutchman made numerous appearances for Caterham during Friday practice sessions last year in between racing in GP2, though financial concerns undoubtedly aided his promotion to a race seat. Even so, van der Garde will be looking to give teammate Charles Pic, who has jumped ship from Marussia during the off-season, a good run for his money even if points finishes remain out of reach for Tony Fernandes’ team.
Luiz Razia (Marussia)
Razia is the latest Brazilian talent to step up to F1, replacing the veteran Timo Glock who lost his seat at Marussia due to budgetary pressures. Razia however has plenty of talent to go with his cash, having finished a close second place to Davide Valsecchi (who will be Lotus’s reserve driver this year) in GP2 last year. With numerous F1 tests under his belt, the 23 year old is ready to make the step up, but he’ll do well to make an impression with what may well be the least competitive car on the grid. Points are likely to be out of reach for Marussia, so beating teammate and fellow novice Max Chilton (see below) will have to be Razia’s main goal.
Edit – As of March 1st, due to non-payment by sponsors, Razia has now lost his seat to newcomer Jules Bianchi, who in turn missed out on a Force India seat to the experienced Adrian Sutil. Bianchi is a race winner in GP2 and World Series by Renault, and participated in several Friday practice sessions for Force India last year.
Max Chilton (Marussia)
Like Razia, 21-year-old British hopeful Chilton has the unenviable task of trying to gain a foothold in F1 driving for one of the sport’s perennial backmarkers. And also like Razia, it’s no secret that his drive comes down to sponsorship. Though the Reigate-born driver has a limited programme of F1 testing and respectable GP2 results, including two wins last year, to his credit, 2013 may prove a struggle without an experienced teammate to help set up and develop the car. Gaining respectability will therefore probably be all Chilton can realistically hope to achieve this season, though he’ll no doubt be eager to show his Brazilian teammate a thing or two.
What happened to…?
Kamui Kobayashi – raised eight million euros of donations from fans in an unsuccessful attempt to remain with Sauber, and is now close to a Ferrari endurance racing deal.
Bruno Senna – has joined Aston Martin’s endurance racing programme after being dispensed of by Williams.
Heikki Kovalainen – dropped by the cash-strapped Caterham team and now faces an uncertain future; has been linked to a switch to rallying.
Vitaly Petrov – loss of financial backing cost him his Caterham seat, but he’s working on securing a reprieve in 2014 in time for his home Russian Grand Prix.
Timo Glock – will compete for BMW in German Touring Cars (DTM) after being dropped by Marussia.
Pedro de la Rosa – has become a test driver at Ferrari in the wake of the HRT team’s collapse in November.
Narain Karthikeyan – reportedly weighing up options in the US-based IndyCar championship after HRT’s demise.
Jamie Klein
It’s not been confirmed just yet, but the odds are that there will be four British drivers on next year’s Formula One grid – joining Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta is set to be GP2 race winner Max Chilton.
Chilton is set to make his F1 bow next season with the tail-end Marussia team, replacing Charles Pic (who is linked to a number of more attractive race seats for next year) alongside the experienced Timo Glock in a deal reported to be worth close to £10,000,000. Major backing from insurance giant Aon, where his father Graeme is vice-chairman, has no doubt played its part, but the 21-year old has proven he’s ready to make the step up to the highest level.
Chilton made his debut in an F1 car at last year’s Young Driver Test at Abu Dhabi for the Force India team. Joining Marussia’s team for his third season in the GP2 series – a championship that has seen Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado, among others, graduate to F1 – gave him the opportunity to test the team’s F1 car at Silverstone this year. He’s since been named the team’s official test and reserve driver in place of Maria de Villota, who suffered potentially career-ending head injuries in a testing accident earlier in the year.
This season has been Chilton’s most impressive to date in the GP2 series. The Reigate-born driver bagged a third place finish at the first race of the season at Malaysia, and stood on the podium once again at Monaco after finishing just behind race winner and fellow Brit Jolyon Palmer. After taking pole position at Hungary, Chilton fended off race-long pressure from eventual championship winner Davide Valsecchi to claim victory before repeating the feat at the final round at Singapore.
Chilton concluded the year fourth in the points standings, one place ahead of another promising British prospect in James Calado. Fresh from finishing runner-up to Valtteri Bottas (another man likely to step up to F1 next year with the Williams team) in GP3 last year, Calado matched Chilton’s win tally of two this season to finish the campaign as the highest-placed rookie in the championship. If Calado returns for a second season of GP2, he will surely be a threat to take the title.
Looking slightly further down the single-seater hiearchy at future F1 hopefuls from these shores, Jack Harvey fought off stiff opposition to win the coveted British Formula Three crown. The RSF-backed driver overcame Jazeman Jaafar and Felix Serralles by winning two of the final three races at Donington Park to become the first home-grown driver to win the championship since 2006. Alex Lynn also showed promise in his debut season in the category, taking a win at Silverstone, and should challenge for the title next year if he sticks around.
Formula Renault, widely regarded as the first major rung on the motorsport ladder, also boasts a number of promising British talents. Chief among these is another RSF protegé, Oliver Rowland, who this season placed third in the leading Eurocup championship having finished second to Lynn in the now-defunct British series last year. In the Northern European Cup, Jake Dennis, Jordan King and Josh Hill (son of 1996 F1 champion Damon) have all been race winners and between them occupied the top three slots in this year’s standings.
Looking across the pond, another British driver worth keeping an eye on is Jack Hawksworth. Taking a somewhat less conventional path than some of his rivals from British Formula Renault from last year, Hawksworth re-located to the United States to compete in the Star Mazda championship, a stepping stone en route to the prestigious US-based IndyCar Series. In his debut season, Hawksworth has won no fewer than eight races and has taken the championship with one race still to run.
Jamie Klein
exeposedev 