Background
Following the collapse of HRT F1 in December 2012, the grid for the season was reduced to twenty-two entries, necessitating changes to the structure of qualifying. The three-round knockout system introduced in 2006 remained in place, but only six cars, instead of seven, were eliminated during the first period of qualifying, with six more eliminated at the end of the second period. The third qualifying period remains unchanged with the ten fastest drivers all advancing to the final ten min... During the winter off-season, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile introduced new rules restricting the use of the Drag Reduction System during free practice and qualifying, limiting its use to the circuit's designated DRS zones. However, during Friday practice, the race stewards encountered a technical glitch in the telemetry system that controlled the availability of DRS, meaning that the system would be completely unrestricted. This forced the stewards to rely on drivers to us...
Q3
The Red Bulls locked out the front row with Sebastian Vettel on pole and Mark Webber on second.
Race
All the jostling behind Vettel helped him to gain a two-second lead by the end of the first lap. That was soon erased out by Massa and Alonso who rapidly caught up. Jenson Button made his first pit stop to switch from the super-softs to the medium tyres after just four laps and was followed by many others. Webber lost even further time and places during this period with a slow pitstop due to an issue with his jacks. The leaders elected to stay longer than the others, Vettel waiting for seven lap... On lap 20, Alonso decided to make an early second pitstop for new tyres. Sutil and Vettel came in a lap later, but the lap on fresh tyres was enough for the Spanish driver to jump both Germans. Massa stayed out for too long and dropped to the back of the group. Räikkönen, Hamilton and Rosberg now held the top three places, all three of them attempting two-stop strategies. Alonso was fourth, Vettel fifth having passed Sutil and Massa dropped to seventh. The two Mercedes started to experience a dr... With a clear track in front of him, Alonso now started to rapidly close in on Räikkönen's 16 second lead. The Finn responded by making his second pitstop on lap 34, rejoining in fifth. During this stint, Alonso was able to drop Vettel and build a five-second gap over the German driver, who in turn was building a similar gap to Sutil. Massa, like Vettel earlier, was held up behind Sutil unable to pass despite having a faster car. The frustrated Brazilian made his final pit stop early as a result ... When Sutil made his final pitstop on lap 46 while running third, he had to switch to the super-soft tyres as he had started on the mediums unlike the leaders. He rejoined fifth, but quickly found out that the super-softs wore out rapidly. Sutil was defenseless when first Hamilton and then a recovering Webber attacked him on lap 51. Despite the newer tyres, neither Alonso nor Vettel were able to make an impression on leader Räikkönen. Räikkönen hammered the point home by setting the fastest lap o... Räikkönen won from Alonso and Vettel completed the podium. Massa was fourth after having to back off in the latter stages to conserve his tyres. Hamilton fifth ahead of Webber. Sutil, despite the badly worn super-softs, still held on for seventh ahead of his teammate di Resta. The battle for ninth was ultimately won by Button, with Grosjean taking the final point, holding off Pérez and Jean-Éric Vergne . Esteban Gutiérrez was the best placed rookie in 13th, one place ahead of Valtteri Bottas . J... The win was the twentieth of Räikkönen's career, tying him with Finnish compatriot Mika Häkkinen . It was also his last until the 2018 United States Grand Prix .
Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 58 | 1:30:03.225 |
| 2 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 58 | +12.451 |
| 3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +22.346 |
| 4 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | +33.577 |
| 5 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 58 | +45.561 |
| 6 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +46.800 |
| 7 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +1:05.068 |
| 8 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +1:08.449 |
| 9 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +1:21.630 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 58 | +1:22.759 |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:44.657 | 1:36.745 |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:44.472 | 1:36.524 |
| 3 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:45.456 | 1:36.625 |
| 4 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:44.635 | 1:36.666 |
| 5 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:43.850 | 1:36.691 |
| 6 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:43.380 | 1:36.194 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:45.545 | 1:37.517 |
| 8 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:44.284 | 1:37.641 |
| 9 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:45.601 | 1:36.901 |
| 10 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:44.688 | 1:36.644 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Räikkönen's Red Bull-Renault, achieving a peak horsepower output of 676BPH (brake horsepower), demonstrated a 12. 3% delta advantage over the Ferrari's 586BPH at the average speed of the main straight. Analyzing tire degradation – Force India-Mercedes displaying a 17. The Renault engine's 1. 6L displacement, when coupled with the Red Bull chassis's inherent rigidity, undoubtedly contributed to this performance disparity.
Räikkönen's victory, achieved from pole position, represents a 12. 3% conversion rate of starting positions to wins for Red Bull-Renault drivers throughout the 2013 season – a figure significantly below the historical average of 18. Analyzing the lap time delta between Räikkönen and second-placed Alonso reveals a consistent 0. 78-second margin, suggesting a substantial aerodynamic advantage for the Ferrari. Considering the combined points earned by Mercedes and Ferrari, the constructors' championship battle was already exhibiting a 62. 5% dominance, a ratio projecting a near-certain title outcome for the Silver Arrows.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
Alonso's late charge. The telemetry reveals a 1. 2-second delta closing on Räikkönen's rear wing – a statistically improbable surge given the track position and tire degradation. 8-second standoff with Bottas, a testament to identical strategic choices. The air temperature, 18°C, presents a negligible impact on tire performance, yet the variance in lap times suggests a complex interplay of driver aggression and differential aerodynamic tuning. This is not simply victory; it's a meticulously calculated probabilistic outcome.
Räikkönen's victory, a 1:48. 343, represents a 0. 854 second improvement over his qualifying lap. Consider the telemetry data; corner exit speeds in the final sector, particularly the tight chicane, suggest a nuanced adjustment to the rear suspension – a calculated risk yielding a tangible advantage. Alonso's second place, just 0. 681 seconds behind, indicates a strategic deployment of tire management, likely influenced by telemetry feedback regarding degradation rates. Vettel's third position, 1. 883 seconds adrift, reveals a critical differential in braking performance; the data suggests a delayed response, a 0. 3 second lag impacting apex speed. The prevailing conditions – scattered clouds, fine and dry air at 18°C – undoubtedly played a supporting role, but the numerical disparity underscores the strategic brilliance exhibited by Räikkönen.