2013 Formula One World Championship

The 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 67th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 64th FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Eleven teams and twenty-three drivers contested the nineteen Grands Prix that made up the calendar for the 2013 season, [ 1 ] with the ...

The 2013 season was the final year the series used the 2.4-litre V8 engine configuration which was introduced in 2006 and for naturally-aspirated engines in general having been mandatory since 1989 as a 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid V6 engine formula came into force for 2014 . [ 2 ]

Sebastian Vettel successfully defended his World Championship, [ 3 ] winning his fourth consecutive title in the fourth to last race of 2013. In doing so he became the third driver in Formula One's sixty-four years to win four consecutive World Drivers' Championships . It was one of the most dominant championship victories in the sport and the last won by a Red Bull driver until 2021 with Max Verstappen , it remains the last for a Renault -powered driver, as of 2024 [update] . Vettel won the cha...

Vettel tied Schumacher's season record of 13 race wins and closed out the year with nine consecutive victories. [ 5 ] 2013 would turn out to be the end of his title run, with Vettel remaining at four titles until his retirement in 2022. Fernando Alonso finished second in the championship for Ferrari for the third time in four seasons, which would also be the last time he would win a race or end up on the championship podium for at least nine years.

Vettel's team Red Bull Racing , with the assistance of his teammate Mark Webber , successfully defended their World Constructors' Championship [ 6 ] at the same race as their lead driver secured his title. [ 7 ]

Teams and drivers

On 30 November 2012, the FIA published a provisional entry list for the 2013 season. [ 11 ] The final entry list was published on 3 March 2013. [ 12 ] All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli .

Free practice drivers

Six drivers participated in free practice sessions as third or test drivers.

Team changes

In November 2012, Thesan Capital, the owners of HRT Formula 1 Team , announced that they were putting the team up for sale. [ 40 ] The team needed to find a buyer by 30 November—the date by which entry fees for the 2013 were due to be paid—or else face closure and a departure from the sport. [ 41 ] Thesan Capital failed to find a buyer in time, and HRT was omitted from the 2013 entry list. [ 42 ] The team was later reported to be in liquidation , [ 43 ] and despite bids to purchase and revive th...

Driver changes

Upon starting his second career in 2010 , Michael Schumacher signed a three-year agreement to race for Mercedes AMG . [ 46 ] With that deal expiring at the end of the 2012 season, Schumacher was given the option of renewing his contract with the team for 2013. [ 47 ] However, in the face of disappointing results over the past three seasons, Schumacher became indecisive about his future, prompting Mercedes to start searching for a new driver. Following a protracted period of negotiation, [ 48 ] [...

With Hamilton leaving McLaren , the team sought out Sauber driver Sergio Pérez to replace him. Pérez was previously a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy , and was considered to be the leading candidate to join Ferrari should a vacant seat become available, [ 54 ] but said that although he had talked with the team, he had never considered racing for them to be a realistic proposition, adding that McLaren was the best place for him to go. [ 55 ]

Nico Hülkenberg left Force India after just one season, despite having originally signed a multi-year deal to race for the team starting in 2012, [ 56 ] to fill the vacant seat at Sauber. [ 25 ] Hülkenberg was joined by Esteban Gutiérrez , who had previously served as Sauber's testing and reserve driver in 2011 and 2012 whilst campaigning in the GP2 Series . [ 26 ] Hülkenberg's place at Force India was taken by Adrian Sutil , who returned to the team after a season out of the sport. [ 28 ]

With Hülkenberg and Gutiérrez joining Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi was left without a seat after three seasons with the Swiss team. [ 57 ] In a bid to secure a seat, Kobayashi accepted donations from fans to raise as much money as possible. [ 58 ] However, shortly after Lotus F1 announced that they would retain Romain Grosjean , [ 21 ] Kobayashi announced that he had given up hope of securing a racing seat for the 2013 season. [ 59 ] He later joined AF Corse for the 2013 FIA World Endurance Champions...

Williams promoted test and reserve driver Valtteri Bottas to a full-time racing seat alongside Pastor Maldonado , replacing Bruno Senna . [ 29 ] Bottas, the 2011 GP3 Series champion, made regular appearances for Williams during the 2012 season, in official practice sessions at fifteen Grands Prix. Faced with the loss of his seat, Bruno Senna initially sought a drive with Force India, [ 61 ] but instead moved to the World Endurance Championship , joining Aston Martin Racing . [ 62 ]

Mid-season changes

Kimi Räikkönen was forced to miss the final two races of the season in order to undergo surgery to relieve pain from a back injury he had been suffering from for a long time and which flared up during the Singapore Grand Prix . His place in the team was taken by fellow Finnish racer Heikki Kovalainen . [ 20 ]

Calendar

The following nineteen races appeared on the 2013 race schedule. Bernie Ecclestone , Formula One's commercial rights holder through his Formula One Management and Formula One Administration companies, has previously said that he believes twenty races is the maximum that is viable. [ 77 ] The number of races on the Formula One calendar is dictated by the Concorde Agreement , the arrangement between teams, the FIA and Formula One Management. At the time of Ecclestone's comments regarding the lengt...

Championship summary

With the nineteen races of the season completed, the defending World Champion, Red Bull Racing 's Sebastian Vettel , retained the Drivers' Championship. He did so by winning in India and opening an unassailable 115-point gap with only three races remaining. He broke the record for most consecutive wins in a single season with nine. He also tied the record for consecutive wins, which was set by Alberto Ascari in 1952 – 1953 , and for total wins in a single season with 13, set by Michael Schumache...

Ferrari 's Fernando Alonso finished as the runner-up with 242 points. The Spaniard won two races, in China and Spain , [ 126 ] and scored five second-places, in Australia , Canada , Belgium , Italy and Singapore , to keep him in a strong championship position throughout the season. However, a retirement in Malaysia and relatively poor results in Bahrain , Monaco , Korea and India saw him fall behind Vettel in the points. The gap closed briefly after the German's gearbox failure at the British Gr...

Lewis Hamilton , who scored a win in Hungary , four third places and five pole positions in 2013 with Mercedes AMG, finished fourth in the drivers' standings with 189 points. His Malaysian Grand Prix podium came with a share of controversy as team orders were employed to help him retain third place. After the race, Hamilton said that his teammate Nico Rosberg was the one who actually deserved the podium. [ 129 ] Italy was the first time that Hamilton failed to make a Q3 appearance since the 2010...

Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 183 points. He missed the last two races of the season due to a back surgery. [ 132 ] The Finn won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and placed second at the Chinese , Bahrain , Spanish , German , Hungarian and Korean Grands Prix, but a retirement in Belgium combined with a non-points finish in Italy opened the gap to the championship leader. Belgium was the first time Räikkönen failed to finish a race since retu...

Despite finishing the 2012 season with two wins in the final two races, McLaren openly admitted to a difficult 2013 campaign. [ 136 ] Button finished ninth overall, 39 points behind Massa, whilst teammate Sergio Pérez ended up eleventh. The team ended the season in fifth place in the Constructors' Championship, with a best result of fourth achieved by Button in Brazil . It was the first time since 2006 that McLaren failed to win a race and the first time since 1980 that the team did not score a ...

Tyre issues

Tyre supplier Pirelli faced criticism early in the season due to the wear of some tyres, with some claiming tyre management had become too important to race strategy. This prompted Pirelli to announce plans to introduce new designs after the Canadian Grand Prix. [ 145 ] The testing Pirelli undertook on these proposed new designs led to an official complaint on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix from Ferrari and Red Bull who claimed the way it was done, using the 2013 Mercedes car and drivers, woul...

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure: [ 153 ]

Table 1

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	No.	Race drivers
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault	Red Bull Racing-Renault	RB9	Renault RS27-2013	1	Sebastian Vettel[13]
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault	Red Bull Racing-Renault	RB9	Renault RS27-2013	2	Mark Webber[14]
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	F138	Ferrari Type 056	3	Fernando Alonso[15]
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	F138	Ferrari Type 056	4	Felipe Massa[16]
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren-Mercedes	MP4-28	Mercedes FO 108F	5	Jenson Button[17]
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren-Mercedes	MP4-28	Mercedes FO 108F	6	Sergio Pérez[18]
Lotus F1 Team	Lotus-Renault	E21	Renault RS27-2013	7	Kimi Räikkönen[19]
Lotus F1 Team	Lotus-Renault	E21	Renault RS27-2013	7	Heikki Kovalainen[20]
Lotus F1 Team	Lotus-Renault	E21	Renault RS27-2013	8	Romain Grosjean[21]
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	F1 W04	Mercedes FO 108F[22]	9	Nico Rosberg[23]

Table 2

('Constructor', 'Constructor')	('Practice drivers', 'Driver name')	('Practice drivers', 'Rounds')	('Practice drivers', 'Unnamed: 3_level_1')
Caterham-Renault	Ma Qinghua Heikki Kovalainen Alexander Rossi	3 4–5, 11–12, 15, 17 7, 18	nan
Force India-Mercedes	James Calado	12, 14, 16–17, 19	nan
Marussia-Cosworth	Rodolfo González	4–5, 9–10, 12, 14, 17–19	nan
Toro Rosso-Ferrari	Daniil Kvyat	18–19	nan
Source:[35][36][37][38][39]	Source:[35][36][37][38][39]	Source:[35][36][37][38][39]	nan

Table 3

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Unnamed: 4	Unnamed: 5
1	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March	nan	nan
2	Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	24 March	nan	nan
3	Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April	nan	nan
4	Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April	nan	nan
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May	nan	nan
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May	nan	nan
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	9 June	nan	nan
8	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June	nan	nan
9	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July	nan	nan
10	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July	nan	nan

F1ABY Commentary

Consider the relentless pressure exerted upon the gearbox’s first gear cluster – a consequence, surely, of those aggressive launch deployments we’ve witnessed? The titanium shift forks, while robust, are still subject to cyclical fatigue under such extreme torsional loads. Observe the subtle, almost imperceptible, shudder following Hamilton’s exit from the first corner; that’s not simply tyre slip, is it? The differential’s locking mechanism, calibrated for optimal traction, is fighting a losing battle against the inherent wheelspin. Let’s examine the impact angles – the resultant forces are dramatically altering the gear’s tooth profiles, accelerating wear. Furthermore, the cooling system’s effectiveness, particularly during those extended DRS activations, appears insufficient to mitigate this thermal stress. A fascinating, if somewhat alarming, development, wouldn’t you agree?

The resultant torque vectoring, a consequence of that differential adjustment, is what allows the car to rotate almost instantaneously, a testament to the engineering precision involved.

F1ABY Trivia

Let’s examine the Ferrari 175’s intake system – a curiously truncated design, prioritizing airflow through the plenum chamber, a calculated gamble considering the inherent limitations of the 4. 5-liter V8’s power delivery characteristics. The team’s reliance on the P Zero soft compound, particularly during qualifying, suggests a deliberate strategy to maximize initial grip, though this inevitably presented challenges managing tire degradation during the race. Considering the planned calendar originally slated for fifteen races, the team’s focus on consistent top-three finishes speaks volumes about their operational efficiency, a testament to meticulous data analysis. Furthermore, the engine’s peak horsepower, hovering around 640 bhp, was demonstrably lower than Red Bull’s, a critical factor in the team’s strategic approach to corner speed.

Let’s examine this. Vettel’s stranglehold on pole position – four out of ten races – presents a statistically significant divergence from the broader championship battle. While he secured four victories, the disparity between his dominance at the start and his ultimate points accumulation reveals a critical element of strategic execution often overlooked. A deeper dive into tyre management and race pace during those qualifying sessions might illuminate a crucial weakness in his overall campaign.

F1ABY Tales

Hamilton’s rear wing…it’s a catastrophic flutter. The aero load on that single element – specifically the inboard section – is exceeding the composite’s allowable strain. Observe the subtle, almost imperceptible, flexing; a rapid, cyclical deformation. The carbon fiber layup, likely a ten-layer weave, isn’t handling the sudden pressure differential generated during braking. This isn't simply a structural failure; it’s a cascade. The resultant vibration is propagating through the entire rear suspension, threatening to induce a loss of traction. A critical moment, to be sure.

The rain in Sepang… a persistent, insistent drizzle. It’s a devil for tire management, isn’t it? Hamilton, pushing so aggressively, the rear tires fighting for grip. Look at the telemetry – a significant drop in longitudinal slip angle compared to Vettel’s data. He’s sacrificing straight-line speed for corner entry, a calculated risk, certainly, but the simulation data suggested a higher probability of lock-up here. The differential’s torque bias is critical; the team’s adjusted it, but the inherent instability of the tarmac remains a significant factor. A fascinating display of control, or perhaps, a delicate dance with the limits of the Pirelli compound.