Top 10: Formula One drivers of 2013 – Part I

Now that the Formula One season has come to a close, Online Sport Editor Jamie Klein takes you through the first half of his list of the top 10 best drivers of the year.

Photo: Joe McGowan (via Flickr)

10. Jenson Button – Down 5

With Lewis Hamilton moving on to Mercedes for the 2013 season, Button had every reason to be feeling confident back in March, but it didn’t take long to become obvious that McLaren’s design gamble was not going to pay dividends. Increasingly resigned to scrapping for the minor positions, a solid drive to fifth place in China stood as the Briton’s best result until the end of the season at Brazil, where Button stormed his way from 14th on the grid to take fourth.

Whilst Button is hardly renowned for being a one-lap specialist, he will have been disappointed at losing out to teammate Perez in the qualifying stakes 9-10, and perhaps, considering his world champion status, that there wasn’t more daylight between he and the Mexican in terms of race pace. That said, Button was the more consistent across the course of the year of the two McLaren drivers, only failing to score five times all year in a car often flirting with the fringes of the top 10.

Photo: Joe McGowan (via Flickr)

9. Daniel Ricciardo – New Entry

The prospect of promotion to Red Bull meant that there was awful lot at stake in 2013 for Ricciardo and his Toro Rosso teammate Jean-Eric Vergne. Though there was one stage where it appeared the latter may have been starting to get the better of Ricciardo, the gregarious Aussie upped the ante at precisely the right time, booking his seat at Red Bull with a series of convincing qualifying and race performances as Vergne faded into anonymity in the latter half of the year.

Indeed, Ricciardo was out-qualified by Vergne only four times all year, and made seven appearances in the points versus just three for the Frenchman – including a pair of superb seventh places at China and Italy. However, street circuits proved something of an Achilles’ heel for Ricciardo, retiring from both Monaco (where he was thoroughly eclipsed by Vergne) and Singapore, whilst poor starts, like his fellow countryman Webber, also occasionally served to undo his hard work during qualifying.

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See Also: The 10 Types of Formula One Fan

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8. Mark Webber – Down 2

Photo: Simon Williams (via Flickr)

Regrettably for Webber, his final season in F1 is inevitably defined by events at Malaysia, where Vettel ignored the instruction issued by Red Bull to remain behind his teammate, instead snatching away what was Webber’s rightful victory. Even more disappointing was the fact that the Australian thereafter failed to register a win all year whilst his German teammate proceeded to sweep all before him. Two late pole positions demonstrated the one-lap pace is still there, but Webber’s apparent inability to adapt his driving style to the demands of the modern breed of Coanda effect-assisted cars proved his undoing.

Nevertheless, there were some fine drives by Webber over the course of the year, such as at Silverstone, where he lost out on what would have been a fitting retribution for “Multi 21” by the narrowest of a margins to Rosberg. The Red Bull driver was also plagued with bad luck throughout the year, most notably at India, where an alternator problem denied him what would have been a straightforward second place; without such misfortune, he would have been considerably closer to clinching the runner-up spot in the championship his machinery warranted.

Photo: thesidelineagenda.com

7. Nico Hulkenberg – Up 1

During the first half of the season, prior to Pirelli’s decision to make its tyres more durable after the fiasco that was the British Grand Prix, it looked as if Hulkenberg had made the wrong decision to jump ship from Force India to Sauber. But, as the former suffered a competitive nosedive in the advent of the revised tyres, Sauber’s improving fortunes allowed Hulkenberg to really begin to shine and cement his reputation as a star of the future.

Monza was the start of this late season flourish, more than doubling his points tally for the year at a stroke by finishing a superb fifth. After that, the mild-mannered German was never out of the points, save for two occasions that weren’t his fault; his drive to fourth at Korea, where he held off the advances of the ostensibly quicker Hamilton for a significant chunk of the race, stood out in particular.

6. Nico Rosberg – Re-Entry

Photo: Cord Rodefeld (via Flickr)

It may have been the first time that Rosberg has been out-scored by a teammate in F1 since his maiden season in 2006, but it’s also been the first time the German has been partnered with a teammate as well regarded as Hamilton. And, few would have anticipated back in March that Rosberg would end the season quite so close to the former champion in the drivers’ standings, with just 18 points separating the pair, whilst also out-qualifying Hamilton, regarded by some as the best qualifier in the business, eight times over the course of the year.

Whilst Rosberg was able to rack up two race victories at Monaco and Silverstone this year to Hamilton’s sole triumph at Hungary, it’s worth remembering that the second of those wins was somewhat fortuitous, the 28-year-old benefiting from a puncture for Hamilton and a gearbox failure for Vettel. And, whilst Rosberg’s only non-appearances in the points can be pinned on mechanical maladies of one sort or another, there were perhaps a couple too many occasions where he was simply out-raced by Hamilton.

Check back later today for the second half of the list, which will reveal the top five drivers of the year.

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Vettel wins again as Webber waves goodbye to F1

Mark Webber’s pit garage just before his final race. Photo: Red Bull Racing (via Twitter)

Sebastian Vettel ended an utterly dominant 2013 season with a record-equalling ninth successive win in Brazil, with teammate Mark Webber making it a Red Bull one-two in his final ever Grand Prix outing.

Though Nico Rosberg was able to jump ahead of Vettel at the start the race from second on the grid, once the four-time champion assumed the lead of the race at the start of the second lap, he was unstoppable as ever.

Six laps in to the race and Vettel had already established a cushion of as many seconds over nearest pursuer Fernando Alonso, who was quick to dispatch the struggling Rosberg whose car was seemingly set up for the wet conditions of qualifying rather than the dry of the race.

Alonso’s grip on second place was short-lived however, as Webber, after clearing Rosberg, cruised up to the back of the Ferrari driver and quickly found a way past. By this stage, however, Vettel was already 10 seconds down the road and all but out of reach of the rest of the pack.

There was a brief moment of drama for Vettel, when he lost a few seconds stationary in the pits as the Red Bull mechanics failed to have his tyres ready, but this proved only a small blip in the 26-year-old’s inexorable charge towards a 13th win of the season.

That particular feat puts Vettel on a par with Michael Schumacher’s record, set back in 2004 for Ferrari, as well as Alberto Ascari’s run of nine successive wins – which Vettel could surpass with a victory at Melbourne in March.

Behind Vettel, Webber and Alonso duly completed the podium, with Jenson Button claiming McLaren’s best result of what has been a dismal year for the team with fourth place through a combination of a great opening stint from a poor grid slot of 14th and other drivers hitting trouble.

Chief among these were the two drivers battling for fourth place – Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. The former sustained a puncture and then a penalty for a collision with a lapped Valtteri Bottas, whilst the latter was slapped with a penalty for a minor pit-lane infraction.

That allowed Rosberg, who was swallowed up by the pack in the opening part of the race, back into fifth, just ahead of Sergio Perez in his final race for McLaren. Massa had to be content with seventh place after his penalty in his last race for Ferrari, whilst Hamilton could do no better than ninth after his dramas.

The abiding memory of the Brazilian Grand Prix will be the sight of Mark Webber with his helmet off on the slowing-down lap, cruising back to the pits to stand on the podium for the last time as a Formula One driver.

It’s rare that a driver decides to walk away from the sport by choice, but the fact the Australian was still in demand prior to making the decision to quit demonstrated that it was the right time for Webber to depart the scene.

After all, at 37 years of age, it’s doubtful Webber could have gone on to have a better chance of winning the title than the one which slipped through his fingers in 2010, while next year’s rule changes, which will place further emphasis on the kind of car preservation Webber is known to dislike, make it a logical time to stop.

Webber, one of the most colourful characters in the paddock and a real fan favourite, will undoubtedly be missed by everyone involved in the sport next year. Never afraid to speak his mind, he will be remembered more for his personality off the track than his achievements on it.

That said, nine Grand Prix victories and 13 pole positions is nothing to be sneezed at, particularly when you consider that Webber, who made his F1 debut back in 2002, didn’t get his hands on a veritable race-winning car until 2009 – when he had the poor fortune of being joined at Red Bull by Vettel!

Webber’s F1 career may now have come to a close after 215 races across 12 seasons, but he now embarks on a new chapter of his career as he joins Porsche’s fledgling endurance racing programme next year. It may not be long before motor racing fans see him spraying champagne atop a podium once more.

Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor

Victorious Vettel is not taking his success for granted

Photo: Takayuki Suzuki (via Flickr)

Sebastian Vettel romped to yet another victory in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, his 12th of the year and his eighth in a row – the most any Formula One driver has ever taken in succession in the space of a single year.

Getting away from pole position cleanly, the race was once again as good as over by the end of the first few laps as Vettel inevitably eased his advantage at the head of the field from the chasing pack. His winning margin may not have been as dominant was it was two weeks ago at Abu Dhabi, but at no stage was the Red Bull driver’s victory in any real doubt.

The only person able to keep Vettel even vaguely honest all race was Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who vaulted ahead of Mark Webber at the first corner and went on to claim his best result of the season with second place. Grosjean came under immense pressure from the soon-to-retire Aussie towards the end of the race, but held his nerve superbly to cement his reputation as a future star of the sport.

Lewis Hamilton was another man to get ahead of Webber at the start, but was forced to concede third position early on. A fresh chassis for this weekend nevertheless undoubtedly gave the Briton a boost after two disastrous races, Hamilton narrowly hanging on from Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages.

Sergio Perez responded to his recent firing by McLaren in the best possible fashion with an impressive drive to seventh, ahead of Valtteri Bottas – one of the stars of the weekend – who took his recalcitrant Williams to a magnificent eighth place, scoring his first ever F1 points, on a weekend where his struggling teammate Pastor Maldonado had accused the team of sabotaging his car.

This year’s championship will come to a close this weekend at Brazil, where Vettel will be aiming for a 13th win of the season that would see him tie Michael Schumacher’s record for total wins in a year, set in 2004, as well as Alberto Ascari’s 60-year old record of winning nine Grands Prix on the trot.

But, just before doing his now customary celebration of a post-race doughnut, Vettel appeared to get somewhat emotional on the team radio after taking the chequered flag, saying: “We have to remember these days; we have to enjoy them while they last.”

He has a point. Next year’s technical rule changes, in which a new breed of turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engines will be introduced, are expected to shake up the competitive order, and, while most are expecting Red Bull to remain firmly among the strongest few teams, history shows that nothing can be taken for granted.

The last time there was such a major rule change was back in 2009, when Brawn GP – which rose from the ashes of the defunct Honda team – took the paddock by surprise and propelled Jenson Button to six wins in the first seven races and, consequently, the title. At the same time, Red Bull went from being one of the sport’s also-rans to undisputed front-runner.

Conversely, those that set the pace the previous year – Ferrari and McLaren – struggled badly, taking just three wins all year between them. Hamilton, who became the sport’s youngest ever-title winner in 2008, went from hero to zero, whilst his fellow countryman Button did precisely the opposite.

Vettel, a fastidious student of F1 history, is only too aware that he could suffer a similar fall from grace next year. Previous rule changes have often heralded a changing of the guard, perhaps most notably back in 2005, when a temporary ban on mid-race tyre changes led to an upstart named Alonso stealing the mantle of the hitherto untouchable Schumacher.

Similarly, back in 1998, wholesale rule changes saw Mika Hakkinen go from being a driver whose time seemed it would never come to a two-time champion and Schumacher’s most feared rival. 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, on the other hand, would never win a race again in his career.

Whilst it’s extremely unlikely that Vettel will suffer the same fate as Villeneuve, it’s clear that the uncertainty created by next year’s rule changes means that the 26-year-old is not taking any of his phenomenal recent success for granted.

For him, every victory is to be savoured, as if it could well be his last; his lack of complacency is incredible for somebody who has become so used to standing atop the podium.

It’s an admirable attitude, and one that will serve Vettel well as he endeavours to continue rewriting the F1 record books for the remainder of his career.

Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor

Vettel showing no signs of slowing down after crushing Abu Dhabi win

Vettel hoists aloft yet another winner’s trophy. Photo: Red Bull Racing (via Twitter)

Sebastian Vettel continued his domination of the 2013 season with a win in Abu Dhabi that can only be described as devastating.

The four-time world champion led every single lap and greeted the chequered flag over half a minute in front of the sister Red Bull of Mark Webber, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean finishing a further three seconds behind.

Vettel’s victory seemed all but inevitable as soon as he made the jump on pole-sitter Webber at the first corner and proceeded to build his lead at an astonishing rate, which stood at 26 seconds after the first round of pit-stops.
Following a near-perfect qualifying performance to put his car on pole, Webber was left reeling in Vettel’s wake, losing another place to Rosberg on the exit of the first corner.

The Australian’s challenge was effectively over after having to negotiate traffic after his first pit-stop. He managed to snatch second place from Rosberg on lap 20, at which point Vettel was cruising to a seventh consecutive win and his 11th of the year in all.

An entertaining dice for fifth place was ultimately settled in favour of Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver was able to manage his tyres well enough to fit a fresh set of soft compound tyres with 10 laps to go, enabling him to hunt down the limping cars of Lewis Hamilton and Paul Di Resta, who were both struggling on worn medium tyres come the end of the race.

It was a brief outing for Kimi Raikkonen, who, having started at the back after being thrown out of qualifying for a technical infringement, made contact with Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham at the first corner which put the Finn out of the race.

In spite of all the excitement further down the field, post-race discussion was dominated by the recently-crowned world champion, which is somewhat ironic when you consider that Vettel received hardly any coverage during the race itself.

The man’s form of late has been nothing short of astounding, having taken his fourth drivers’ title last week in India with a similarly dominant performance. You might think that such an achievement, along with seizing another constructors’ championship for his team, would rein in his relentless pursuit of glory.

Alas, you only have to look at his reaction to missing out on this weekend’s pole position to realise how badly misplaced that hope was. If anything, his perceived failure enabled him to find that final gear that no other car in the field possessed; indeed, you could be forgiven for thinking that Vettel’s Red Bull was racing a bunch of GP2 cars.

The hardest thing to comprehend is the disparity between the two RB9s, which team principal Christian Horner and chief wizard Adrian Newey maintain are completely identical.

There are numerous conspiracy theories darting around that make this disparity remarkably easy to understand, but none of them have been proven with any meaningful or convincing evidence. Of course, it would be foolish to take their word for it given the highly subversive nature of the sport, but at the same time it doesn’t make sense Red Bull giving one driver such a vastly superior car.

Vettel has experienced remarkable success in his Red Bull career so it is natural that they should favour the more successful driver, but Mark Webber is a proven winner and can be regarded as a world-class driver, so why not make the most of his ability? After all, the team get far more money from their constructors’ position than they do from their ‘darling’ driver winning the drivers’ title.

For all the abounding speculation and accusation, nothing can detract from the impact that Vettel has had on the sport. There seems to be no halting his relentless charge into the history books, as he looks pretty handy for an eighth successive victory next time out in the States. The ninth? You would be brave to bet against it.

As monotonous and ‘samey’ as this continuous process is, one can’t begrudge the press for indulging extensively in the unfolding legend that is Sebastian Vettel’s career; this is a man who has won four championships on the trot, 28 races in the last three seasons and set countless unofficial records—and yet, for all his achievements, he is only 26 years of age.

Love him or hate him, these statistics unquestionably make him a living legend. We have not seen his like for a decade, and we should be so fortunate as to see his like again.

James Coghlan

Vettel victorious again in Japan but title must wait

Vettel now just needs 10 more points from the remaining four races to secure this year’s F1 title. Photo credits: Alessio Mazzocco

Sebastian Vettel took a fifth successive victory at the Japanese Grand Prix with yet another superb drive, but must wait at least until the next round of the championship at India until his inevitable coronation.

KERS issues during qualifying meant the Red Bull driver was forced to start from second on the grid, conceding pole position to teammate Mark Webber on the Australian’s final trip to the revered Suzuka circuit as a Formula One driver.

Both Vettel and Webber however were jumped at the start by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who started from fourth on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton, the Frenchman diving up the inside at the first corner to take an early lead.

It was to be a short race for Hamilton, who also made a good start but sustained a right-rear puncture as he tried to sweep across the bows of a slow-starting Vettel. The Brit managed to coax his Mercedes back to the pits, but retired several laps later due to the damage sustained in the process.

At the head of the field, Grosjean was unable to build a significant advantage over Webber and Vettel initially, leading by less than two seconds after the initial round of pit-stops.

Of the leading trio, it was Webber who was struggling the most with tyre degradation. This forced him to switch to a three-stop strategy, while Grosjean and Vettel were able to get by making just two stops.

This meant that Webber made an early second stop, but grabbed the lead when Grosjean and Vettel made their second visits to the pits. It was at this stage when Vettel really began to turn up the heat, rapidly closing the gap to Grosjean and making the crucial pass for second place at the first corner on lap 41.

Second soon became first for Vettel when Webber came in for a third pit-stop a lap later, with the latter losing time behind a slower Grosjean for several laps before finally finding a way through at the first corner on the penultimate lap of the race.

Up ahead, there was once more simply no stopping Vettel romping to yet another victory – his ninth of the season and the 35th of his career – and extending his points advantage at the head of the pack to a mammoth 90 points with 100 left to play for in the remaining four races.

Fourth place behind Webber and Grosjean was enough to keep Fernando Alonso in mathematical contention of this year’s title crown. The Spaniard efficiently made his way up from a lowly starting position of eighth during the race, dispatching the ever-impressive Nico Hulkenberg in the closing stages.

The Sauber driver also dropped behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been making his way up from ninth on the grid, with two laps to go, but sixth place was a worthy reward for another superb drive by Hulkenberg. His teammate Esteban Gutierrez also recorded his first points of the season with a mature drive to seventh.

Eighth place went to Nico Rosberg, who ran fourth early on but lost time after being awarded a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release during a pit-stop. Also forced to take a drive-through for pit-lane speeding was Massa, who ended up in tenth place as a result having ran with teammate Alonso early on, one place behind a fairly anonymous Jenson Button.

The second McLaren of Sergio Perez endured a far more eventful race, losing time as a result of Rosberg’s pit-lane antics before later becoming embroiled in an on-track battle with the German. Contact between the pair, as Perez clumsily attempted to defend his position, saw the Mexican sustain a puncture and plummet down the order, eventually finishing 15th.

Points Standings after 15 Races: Vettel 297, Alonso 207, Raikkonen 177, Hamilton 161, Webber 148, Rosberg 126.

Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor

Vettel extends points lead with Canadian win

Sebastian Vettel Image credit: Nick@ under Flickr Creative Commons License

Sebastian Vettel consolidated his championship lead with a dominant performance at the Canadian Grand Prix. Starting from pole position, the Red Bull driver quickly sped away from the chasing pack and was never truly threatened thereafter.

Fernando Alonso rebounded from a subdued qualifying to finish second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium after starting on the front row alongside Vettel.

Vettel made a clean getaway from pole to lead the race away from Hamilton, and wasted absolutely no time in pressing home his advantage with tyre wear less of an issue than it had been in recent races.

Within two laps, the gap between the reigning champion and Hamilton in second had grown to 2.7 seconds, and after a further 12 laps, the gap was up to almost eight seconds. By half distance, Vettel had a entire pit-stop in hand, meaning the win was all but out of reach for any of his opposition.

Hamilton held second for much of the distance, managing his tyre wear better than Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who ran third early on but was demoted by the second Red Bull of Mark Webber and Alonso’s Ferrari as he fell off the pace in the second stint.

Alonso then wasted little time in picking off Webber to move up into third, and after his second pit-stop proceeded to swiftly catch Hamilton. Though the Brit fought valiantly to retain his position, he lacked pace in the closing laps and was forced to concede to Alonso with seven laps remaining.

Maintaing a cushion of some 15 seconds, Vettel meanwhile effortlessly reeled off the remaining laps to secure an emphatic third win of the season and the 29th of his career. The runner-up position allowed Alonso to move ahead of Kimi Raikkonen to second position in the standings, albeit 36 points down on Vettel. Behind Hamilton, Webber and Rosberg completed a rather spaced out top five.

Sixth position went to Jean Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), who, from a creditable seventh on the grid, put in a quietly assured performance to secure his best ever F1 finish and potentially put himself back in contention for a future Red Bull drive.

Behind Vergne finished Paul Di Resta (Force India), who once more recovered from a disastrous qualifying session thanks to making his initial set of tyres last for a mammoth 56 laps. Teammate Adrian Sutil had been on course to finish eighth, but lost two places thanks to a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags.

That promoted Felipe Massa, who had made good progress having started 16th after a crash in qualifying, to eighth place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. From tenth on the grid, the Lotus driver failed to make much progress, losing time stuck behind slower cars early on.

Finishing just outside the points in eleventh and twelfth were the off-the-pace McLaren drivers Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, with the team failing to score for the first time since the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; the prospects for Button’s home race at Silverstone appear gloomy.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was the star of qualifying, taking a sensational third place on the grid in damp conditions. The Finn lacked pace in the dry however, dropping to sixth by the end of the first lap and eventually finishing down in a disappointing 14th.

Points Standings after 7 Rounds: Vettel 132, Alonso 96, Raikkonen 88, Hamilton 77, Webber 69, Rosberg 57.

The next round of the F1 championship is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which takes place on 30 June.

Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor

Rosberg rules around the streets of Monaco

Rosberg (left) gets away at the start of the race from Mercedes teammate Hamilton (right). Photo credits to telegraph.co.uk

Nico Rosberg dominated an eventful Monaco Grand Prix to take his and the Mercedes team’s first F1 victory of the year. In a race that saw two safety cars and a red-flag period, Rosberg led every lap from pole position en route to replicating his father Keke’s victory of 30 years ago.

Rounding out the podium were Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, with the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton dropping from his front-row starting position to fourth during the first safety car period.

Mercedes had dominated qualifying with their impressive one-lap pace, Rosberg taking pole position from teammate Hamilton. The start saw the ‘Silver Arrows’ get away in formation ahead of Vettel, Webber, Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari.

With the tight Monaco street circuit offering almost no overtaking opportunities, most drivers were simply driving to a target lap time at this stage to extend their tyre life as long as possible. The teams meanwhile waited patiently for a gap in the midfield traffic to emerge in which they could ‘place’ their driver.

Things got interesting however when the Safety Car was deployed on lap 31. Felipe Massa, having started from the back row after missing qualifying due to a practice crash, once more ended up in the barriers at the first corner in an identical shunt to the one he suffered the previous day.

The Mercedes drivers were the last to pit, both doing so at the end of lap 31, but the Safety Car released the Red Bulls, both of whom had pitted. This allowed Vettel and Webber to close the gap, and while Rosberg re-joined in the lead after his stop, Hamilton found himself fourth behind the Red Bull duo.

The race was interrupted again when the red flags were shown after a crash involving Pastor Maldonado (Williams) and Max Chilton (Marussia) dislodged a trackside barrier. The drivers formed up at the starting grid, and after one lap under the Safety Car, proceedings got away once more with the order of the top four remaining unchanged.

The Safety Car made a third appearance on lap 63 as a result of Romain Grosjean (Lotus) rear-ending the unfortunate Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), a shunt which put both drivers out of the race and gave Grosjean a ten-place grid penalty for the next race at Canada.

After the race got underway for the final time, none of the top four drivers were going to risk a skirmish with the barriers in pursuit of an extra couple of championship points – unlike some of the drivers further down the field.

That meant nobody could prevent Rosberg taking a memorable second career victory – albeit overshadowed by a controversy over Mercedes taking part a ‘secret’ tyre test with tyre suppliers Pirelli after the Spanish Grand Prix, something which the rules prohibit.

Vettel held on for second place, his fastest lap in the dying stages eluding to the speed the Red Bull was capable of. Third place for Webber meant his first podium finish since he was controversially denied the win at Malaysia, whilst Hamilton was disappointed to finish only in fourth place after his front row start.

Fifth position was a just reward for Adrian Sutil (Force India), who made two brilliant overtaking manoeuvres at the tight Loews hairpin late in the race to pass Jenson Button (McLaren), who finished sixth, and an out of sorts Alonso, who trailed home seventh.

Completing the points finishers were Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Paul Di Resta (Force India), who recovered well from a disappointing qualifying session, and Raikkonen, who made a series of late overtakes to snatch the final point following a late pit-stop to replace a punctured tyre.

The puncture was caused by a collision with Sergio Perez (McLaren), who had an eventful afternoon. Running eighth behind Button early on, the Mexican driver found his way ahead of his teammate for seventh and later Alonso for sixth in clean moves at the harbourside chicane.

Perez then attempted to pass Raikkonen for fifth, but the door was shut once he had committed and the McLaren was squeezed between the inside barrier and the Finn’s Lotus. The inevitable contact gave Raikkonen a puncture and ultimately put Perez out of the race with brake problems.

Points Standings after 6 Rounds: Vettel 107, Raikkonen 86, Alonso 78, Hamilton 62, Webber 57, Rosberg 47.

The next round of the F1 Championship is the Canadian Grand Prix, which takes place on June 9.

Jamie Klein, Online Sport Editor

Vettel in contentious Malaysian victory

Photo credit: Jalopnik (Twitter)

Sebastian Vettel took his first win of the season at the Malaysian Grand Prix in highly controversial style. After Red Bull had all but secured a one-two finish after the final pit-stops, Vettel disobeyed the team’s instruction to hold position and made his way past a furious Mark Webber in an incredible on-track dice.

A rain shower prior to the race ensured the entire field would start the race on intermediate tyres. As the race got underway, Vettel made a good start from pole to lead the field into the first sequence of bends with Fernando Alonso slotting into second for Ferrari.

The Spaniard however lightly tapped the rear of the leading Red Bull under braking for the second corner, causing severe damage to his front wing; despite this, Ferrari advised Alonso to stay on the track to avoid having to make an extra pit-stop.

The result of this decision was that the front wing became lodged under Alonso’s car just as he entered the braking zone for the first corner of the second lap, resulting in the Ferrari sailing into the gravel trap and subsequently early retirement.

That left Vettel leading teammate Webber, who made a good start from fifth on the grid. Lewis Hamilton was up to third for Mercedes, with the sister car of Nico Rosberg quickly moving up to fourth in the opening laps.

The track quickly began to dry out, causing a flurry of early pit-stops as the entire field pitted for dry-weather tyres. Vettel’s decision to pit one lap earlier than Webber, while the track was still a touch damp, allowed his Australian teammate to take the lead with Hamilton and Rosberg holding position.

Relatively heavy tyre wear ensured that the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers would all have to make a further three pit-stops in the remaining distance, with Webber retaining the advantage until immediately after the last of these.

Vettel was able to get right on Webber’s tail having gained time by making his final stop a lap earlier. Though team orders had been administered by the Red Bull bosses to ensure a one-two finish with the Mercedes cars posing no longer any threat, Vettel was in no mood to obey them.

A furious scrap for the lead ensued, with Vettel and Webber coming perilously close to colliding on more than one occasion. The battle was finally settled in the former’s favour with an audacious around-the-outside overtaking manoeuvre – Webber was powerless to keep pace with his teammate thereafter.

The net result was victory for Vettel and an irate Webber, whose frustration was clearly visible on the podium. He thought he had been guaranteed the win by the team following his final pit-stop and was thus driving in order to preserve the car. Vettel later issued an apology to his teammate, but the damage had undoubtedly been done.

Mercedes also employed team orders to safeguard third and fourth positions, with the fuel-saving Hamilton gallantly acknowledging that his teammate Rosberg was the faster and thus deserving of the final podium position in his place.

Fifth position went the way of Felipe Massa in the sole remaining Ferrari, who benefited from a botched pit-stop for Jenson Button that saw the McLaren driver depart his pit-box without his front-right wheel properly attached.

The Brit had been on course for fifth until this mishap but later retired with any chance of scoring points up in smoke. Sixth place went to Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who had been running fifth on a three-stop strategy before being overhauled by the four-stopping Massa.

It was a frustrating weekend for Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus, who was dropped from seventh to tenth on the grid for impeding Rosberg during qualifying. The Finn made a poor start and wound up seventh having lost time fighting Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) and Sergio Perez (McLaren).

Hulkenberg went on to finish eighth ahead of Perez, with tenth place going to Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso). The Frenchman did well to recover from an early pit-lane collision with countryman Charles Pic (Caterham) and collect the final point of the race.

Points Standings after 2 Rounds: Vettel 40, Raikkonen 31, Webber 29, Hamilton 25, Massa 22, Alonso 18.

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The next round of the F1 championship is the Chinese Grand Prix, which will take place on April 14.

Jamie Klein

2013 Formula One season preview

Mark Webber, seen during pre-season testing behind the wheel of the new-look Red Bull. Photo credits to Wikimedia Commons

With the practice sessions for the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix now just over a week away, it’s time to examine the prospects of this year’s Formula One runners and riders.

Three pre-season test sessions have confirmed, if nothing else, that 2013 is going to be close, perhaps even closer than last season. With the technical regulations remaining stable, and many of this year’s cars thus evolutions of last year’s models, this should come as little surprise.

Despite the inconclusiveness of the testing timesheets, reigning champions Red Bull are widely predicted to retain their mantle as pacesetters as the F1 circus descends upon Melbourne. That means that Sebastian Vettel, who narrowly overcame Fernando Alonso in last year’s nail-biting title showdown, will begin the year as favourite to clinch a fourth consecutive title this year.

With Ferrari looking in far better shape during this year’s testing than a year ago, Alonso also must be feeling bullish about his chances of securing that illusive third title. If the Spaniard can match his scintillating form of last year, even if the new F138 still lacks the ultimate pace of Red Bull’s RB9 as most suspect it will, the mouth-watering prospect of another ultra-close championship fight seems extremely real.

Vettel and Alonso’s respective teammates, Mark Webber and Felipe Massa, have a point to prove after inconsistent campaigns last year. Both have their contracts up for renewal at the end of the year, with numerous usurpers waiting in the wings for an opportunity with a top team, and must deliver if they are to prolong their F1 careers beyond November.

How McLaren are likely to fare this season remains one of the pre-season’s mysteries, as the relatively radical MP4-28 has shown good one-lap speed combined with erratic long-run pace in testing. Jenson Button will be hoping that any issues are solved quickly, as the departure of Lewis Hamilton from the team appears to give him his best chance of a title challenge since his unexpected triumph for Brawn GP back in 2009.

Ironically, three years after Button joined McLaren, Hamilton has moved the opposite direction to what is now the Mercedes team. The 2008 champion was quick to downplay expectations during the early part of testing, but the final test suggested the W04 may in fact be a contender for podiums or perhaps even wins initially. The real challenge for the German manufacturer however will be to avoid a repeat of the performance drop-off they suffered last year.

2013 could be make or break for Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, who has never had such a competitive teammate alongside him during his career up to now – how he responds to the challenge will be fascinating. Moving to McLaren to fill Hamilton’s shoes is Sergio Perez, who has impressed during his first two seasons of F1 for the midfield Sauber team despite making some high-profile mistakes late last year. The pressure will be on for the Mexican to perform immediately.

The dark horses – literally and figuratively – for the championship this year could prove to be the Lotus team. Their E21 challenger has looked quick and consistent during testing, and 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen proved last year that he still has what it takes to put a second crown to his name. Romain Grosjean was another driver to come under fire for on-track incidents last year, but the prodigious turn of speed the Frenchman demonstrated warrants a second chance.

The increasing reliance on sponsorship among the tightly-bunched midfield teams has seen a number of established drivers fall by the wayside during the off-season with several rookie drivers arriving to take their place.

Sauber is one such team, recruiting GP2 graduate Esteban Gutierrez to partner Nico Hulkenberg, who steps across from Force India with a move to Ferrari (who supply engines to Sauber) in 2014 a distinct possibility. Filling the breach alongside Paul Di Resta, after months of speculation, is the veteran Adrian Sutil, who returns to the team he drove for from 2007 to 2011 after a year spent on the sidelines following a controversial night-club incident in early 2011.

Williams have eschewed Bruno Senna in favour of their highly-rated test driver Valtteri Bottas, who will drive alongside the fast-but-volatile Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado. Toro Rosso meanwhile have elected to retain both of their rookies from last season, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, with the potential prize of a 2014 Red Bull drive on offer should Webber’s services be dispensed of.

With the HRT team having collapsed due to financial woes during the winter, the battle will be between Caterham and Marussia to avoid finishing bottom of the heap. Both teams have been forced to rely on well-funded, inexperienced drivers in order to assure their survival, with Charles Pic (who moves across from Marussia) and newcomer Giedo van der Garde making up Caterham’s driving strength and Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi forming an all-rookie line-up at Marussia.

Timo Glock was originally set to remain with the team for a fourth season before his contract was terminated, whilst his original replacement Luiz Razia was dropped after just one test session after the promised sponsorship money failed to materialise. Bianchi had been a contender to race for Force India before the team elected to hand Sutil his old seat back, but was announced as a Marussia driver during the third and final pre-season test.

The Australian Grand Prix will take place at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit on March 17.

Jamie Klein

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Top 10 Formula One drivers of 2012

Photo credits to CaterhamF1

It’s been a roller-coaster season for Formula One, one that makes up for the degree of domination enjoyed by Sebastian Vettel last season; with no fewer than eight different winners and twelve different visitors the podium, it came as little surprise to see the title showdown go down to the wire in Brazil. You could make a case for the majority of the drivers on the grid to be included on this list, but in the end I had to narrow it down to just ten:

10. Felipe Massa – Scuderia Ferrari (7^th in championship) – Re-entry

After an atrociously poor start that rapidly led to calls for his replacement, Massa raised his game considerably in the second half of the year. From Hungary onwards, the Brazilian scored points in every race, turning in particularly impressive drives once his seat was confirmed for 2013 – at Japan, where he scored his first podium in two years, Austin, rebounding brilliantly from the grid penalty brought about by the team, and, as ever, on home turf at Interlagos.

9. Pastor Maldonado – Williams F1 Team (15^th in championship) – New Entry

Arguably the surprise package of the season, Maldonado featured in Q3 no fewer than 12 times over the course of the season and out-qualified teammate Bruno Senna at every race bar two. The way he resisted the pressure of home favourite Alonso to take his maiden win at Catalunya was sublime, although costly errors at Melbourne, Valencia and Spa (to name a few) prevented Maldonado from finishing as high in the standings as he deserved to.

8. Nico Hulkenberg – Sahara Force India F1 Team (11^th in championship) – New Entry

After a somewhat steady start, Hulkenberg was able to gain a clear upper hand over his highly-rated teammate Paul Di Resta during the latter half of the year. After top-five finishes at Valencia and Spa, the young German never finished outside the top eight in the final six races apart from his early retirement at Abu Dhabi. Leading in the rain at Brazil was the highlight, even if Hulkenberg threw away a chance of a maiden podium finish with his collision with Lewis Hamilton.

7. Sergio Perez – Sauber F1 Team (10^th in championship) – New Entry

Armed with a competitive Sauber, Perez made an immediate impression and was heartbreakingly close to what could have been a momentous maiden win in tricky conditions at Malaysia. The Mexican proved that result was no fluke by backing it up with further podiums at Canada and Monza later in the year, earning himself a promotion to McLaren in the process. Perez did however occasionally reveal some rough edges that will need to be smoothed next year.

6. Mark Webber – Red Bull Racing (6^th in championship) – No Change

Things started well for Webber in 2012 as he adapted to the new rules better than teammate Sebastian Vettel, paving the way for victories at both Monaco and Silverstone. A period of frustration nevertheless followed as a poor run of form stretching from Hockenheim to Singapore curtailed any title ambitions he may have been harbouring. Once the car became the class of the field for the final part of the season, he was unable to match a re-invigorated Vettel.

5. Jenson Button – Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (5^th in championship) – Down 3

Though Button’s Melbourne victory boded well for an assault on the championship, it proved to be a false dawn as the 2011 runner-up endured a fallow period from Bahrain to Silverstone which obliterated his title hopes. His remaining wins at Spa and Sao Paulo weren’t attained without superb driving, but on the same token Button managed to by and large avoid the misfortune that blighted Hamilton’s campaign – the meagre difference between the respective points tallies of the McLaren teammates masks the degree to which Button was outperformed.

4. Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus F1 Team (3^rd in championship) – Re-entry

Making the best use of a competitive Lotus machine, a close second place at Bahrain let the world know in no uncertain terms that Raikkonen was back after two years on the sidelines. Establishing a virtually unrivalled level of consistency, the ‘Iceman’ scooped an additional five podiums in the next eight races, and finally bagged that elusive win with an emphatic drive at Abu Dhabi, albeit aided by the demise of Hamilton. Raikkonen also succeeded in seeing off the threat of his fast but error-prone teammate Romain Grosjean.

3. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Racing (World Champion) – Down 2

It took Vettel longer than expected to adapt to the new 2012 regulations, and with the exceptions of his Bahrain victory and at Valencia, where he surely would’ve won without alternator failure, the flourish of his 2011 campaign was noticeably lacking for much of the year. It was only from Singapore onwards that he really hit his stride, and his four successive wins, not to mention his incredible comeback from the pit-lane to third position at Abu Dhabi, were just sufficient to clinch a historic third straight championship.

2. Lewis Hamilton – Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (4^th in championship) – Up 2

While 2012 was probably the most consistent and error-free campaign put together by Hamilton yet, several blunders by McLaren and a depressing amount of misfortune meant that a championship challenge was never on the cards. His four wins at Canada, Hungary, Monza and Austin were all occasions when he was undoubtedly the class of the field, but he could have taken twice as many if bad luck hadn’t struck at Catalunya, Singapore, Abu Dhabi or at Brazil.

1. Fernando Alonso – Scuderia Ferrari (2^nd in championship) – Up 2

Alonso always extracted the very maximum from what was for the most part the third-fastest car in the field, reaching the podium positions 13 times throughout the season. The Spaniard’s win in the rain at Malaysia was masterful, his overtaking en route to victory at Valencia was a joy to behold and his Hockenheim triumph was equally hard-fought. If not for that rare error at the first corner of Suzuka, or perhaps Ferrari’s strategic mistake at Canada, we would be lauding one of the greatest and unlikely title triumphs that the sport has ever seen.

Jamie Klein