Alonso to miss season opener in Australia

Fernando Alonso will miss the season opener in Australia on 15th March due to worries about second impact syndrome. A statement from McLaren reported by autosport.com says 'Fernando's doctors have recommended to him that, following the concussion he sustained in a testing accident on February 22nd, for the time being he should seek to limit as far as is possible any environmental risk factors that could potentially result in his sustaining another concussion so soon after his previous one'.

Alonso has been allowed to return to training in preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks later on the 29th March. It's a strange situation as there has been conflicting information about the accident in winter testing after which Alonso spent three days in hospital.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis suggested Alonso hadn't got a concussion, but that is now known to be wrong. The doctors say physically he is fine and the Spaniard believes he is ready to race, however with concussion it is good to be safe.

Kevin Magnussen will replace Alonso, driving at the race where he made such an impact last season. It'll be a great opportunity for him to show up Jenson Button too, the man who was chosen ahead of him to partner Alonso this season.

Why McLaren should pick Button

Formula 1 doesn’t stop, just two days after the final race in Abu Dhabi finished, crowning Lewis Hamilton world champion for a second time, testing began in earnest as teams tried out new parts, new drivers and in McLaren’s case a new power unit, the Honda hybrid engine making its public debut although it only completed 5 laps.

Driving the car was Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren young driver and runner-up in GP2 this year in his rookie season. There are rumours floating around that Vandoorne could be the one to partner the yet to be announced Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2015. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has poured cold water on this idea, it’s most probable he’ll stay in GP2 for one more year, and I’m not sure Alonso would appreciate being partnered by a rookie at McLaren.

The Woking team say they’ll announce their 2015 line-up on December 1^st. If we assume, and I think it’s fairly safe to say that Alonso is one of the drivers, then who will be the second? It’s certainly between current incumbents Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

I could easily make a case for Magnussen to stay on. He’s young and has had a fairly impressive rookie campaign, took second in his first race, out qualified Jenson nine times, had a number of spectacular and aggressive drivers and will only improve in his second year. Being part of the McLaren driver program, they surely would want their protégé to get a good chance.

But this is Formula 1, it’s a tough place to be and after his second place in Australia, Magnussen was fairly mediocre for a while, failing to get to grips with the tyre management, getting too many penalties for his aggressive driving, couldn’t out-qualify Button over the whole season and had less than half the points too. Is that really good enough?

McLaren have been very unfair on their current drivers, pawing over Alonso, trying to persuade the Spaniard that he should return to the team he had such an acrimonious departure from after just one year in 2007. Particularly I think they could have shown Button more respect as a world champion rather than getting to the final race not knowing whether this was to be his last or not.

After 15 seasons but still only 34 years old, albeit 35 at the start of 2015, Button has had an impressive career. He’s come back against the odds when all seemed lost, particularly after 2008. He took his title opportunity in 2009, and then raced brilliantly against Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, where more often than not he was the equal of him, and sometimes just better.

I’m not going to talk about Button’s career as if it’s over, because in my opinion his time in Formula 1 should have at least another couple of years left. But looking back everyone expected Button to be trampled on by Lewis’ speed at McLaren despite being the reigning champion when he joined McLaren. But he raised his game to meet the challenge.

Yes he wasn’t as strong as him in qualifying, and his main problem is working around problems if the car isn’t to his liking, but that wasn’t seen as much at McLaren when up against Lewis. Button actually out pointed Lewis over their three years together and only took two victories less.

Give Button the car and he can be unbeatable, just look at Belgium in 2012, no one could get near him that weekend. Perhaps those weekends don’t come round often enough, but if you need a fast reliable racer who will get the job done, then Button is your driver.

Sergio Perez last year and Magnussen this year have both been young chargers who may have the raw speed but ultimately have been out performed by Button. He will bring home the points. He’s also very good with developing a car. As McLaren enter a new era with Honda, that expertise will be crucial especially in the first year.

Jenson also is popular in Japan and with Honda having worked with them while at BAR which became the Honda F1 team which is now Mercedes. His knowledge of how they work could make it easier to develop the car at a quicker rate from the driver’s perspective.

Alonso is probably still the best overall driver on the grid and his capture by McLaren is seriously good news for the team, but as good as I think Button has been the last couple of years, I think like with Lewis, he’ll be step up again and be more than a match for Fernando and there’ll probably be less of the tension.

In the end I think Alonso would have the better of Button, but Jenson will give as good as he gets and he would not let the Spaniard have everything his own way. In fact he could even surprise Alonso, if the chassis is decent then Button is just as good at running a race as he is. That competition would surely drive the team forward at a quicker rate. I don’t see Magnussen being able to offer that same competitive edge to Alonso just yet.

I do see him being able to learn a lot with a year as a test and reserve driver for the team with the aim being to slot in in 2016 if a seat became available. In the end though I think it’s going to come down to age and money. Button would realistically only be around for another couple of years in the sport whereas Magnussen can get much better and is very young and also very cheap.

I believe Magnussen deserves a second chance, but I think he’d benefit from a learning year, it certainly did Alonso no harm at all. And personally I’d love to see Button have a crack at Alonso, it would be a lot closer than many might think and the team would benefit from the car being developed by two experienced racers. Alonso is in a hurry to get a third crown, he’s only a year younger than Button, and if he’s smart, I get the feeling he’s already got some influence over the team so desperate were they to get him, then he’d use that to make them keep Button so as to sort the car out and make it competitive quicker, rumours go he’s already working on it.

Talking about the better numbers Button has against Magnussen Boullier told autosport that ‘If it was all about statistics, it would be really easy…but it is not like this’. McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis is said to want Magnussen while other senior staff would prefer Button. Unfortunately you get the feeling Button may well have driven his last race in Formula 1 and that’s a great shame for the sport and McLaren as he’s one of the most genuine and sporting guys out there. Still, the World Endurance Championship is growing nicely and it’s been a while since anyone has done the F1 championship and Le Mans double.

all photos taken from autosport.com

Kvyat the big winner as Vettel leaves Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel is to leave Red Bull at the end of the year with Daniil Kvyat to take his place in the current World Champion team. Red Bull all but confirmed Vettel is off to Ferrari, most likely in place of Fernando Alonso whose relationship with the Scuderia has fallen apart, while Alonso is likely to end up with McLaren.

A shocking announcement to wake up to as qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix got underway. Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton to set up another enticeing battle in the championship fight but all talk was for the driver movements affecting 2015.

Vettel's decision to leave comes as a complete surprise. Not so much that he's leaving Red Bull but how soon it is to happen. Although not confirmed by Ferrari it is almost certain that's where he's off to, but why?

Well Red Bull haven't been as good this year, Technical director Adrian Newey is going to step back, he's been taking a beating from Daniel Ricciardo and perhaps he wants to prove to the doubters that he can win in another team as many still seem to think he only won because he was in the best car. It's sound reasoning therefore that he would want to take up a new challenge and get Ferrari back to the top.

Although if Alonso can't win with them and they're in a worse state than ever it seems a curious decision. It's no secret Vettel has struggled to adapt to these new cars this year, I'd have thought stick with what you know and see how Ferrari get on next year, meanwhile do your best to get one over on Ricciardo.

But what if Ricciardo continued to beat him next year? Vettel's market value would diminish and potentially he could be left with fewer options about where to go. There's so many permutations to this it could be assessed forever. In the end it's probably a wise decision as Ferrari will of course one day get it right again, but how soon? And as one F1 journalist tweeted today, if Vettel struggles with them will they be left reflecting on how Alonso would be doing, or worse how Ricciardo would have done?

One thing we know for sure is that Alonso can drive round a bad car, but Vettel seems to need things more suited to him, it's going to be fascinating to see how this pans out. There's so much more to this situation as well, what of Kimi Raikkonen? Will he stay after such a miserable season. Vettel and Kimi are two drivers who have openly admitted they've struggled to adapt to these new turbo cars, is this what Ferrari want to lead them? Meanwhile this looks like it certainly means Alonso is on his way.

With all the management changes going on at Ferrari and the relationship between driver and team on the critical list at least since last year when Alonso criticised the team, it was inevitable that he would leave but I think most people thought it would come next year.

After the catastropic 2007 campaign he had with McLaren no one would have thought he'd end up back there but negotiations are on-going and it'll no longer be a surprise to see him end up back there. Ron Dennis wants the best drivers, and like at Ferrari there's been a lot of restructuring in the management and in the technical departments, so perhaps both team and Alonso are putting the past behind them to look to a brighter future.

More importantly though Honda want a big name driver, McLaren's new engine partner for 2015. They have long since targeted Alonso and I think whether Ron liked it or not, they were going to get their way as they aim to re-start their latest stint in F1 in a positive fashion. Honda will spend what they need to secure wins and like Ferrari it is inevitable that they will get it right again one day. But how soon?

Alonso is desperate for a third title and after five years of trying at Ferrari, they've not been able to make it work. We know he has a reputation for sometimes putting teams on edge, but for so long they seemed very much in love, how can this relationship have fallen apart so dramatically? Maybe he was demanding too much, maybe the new management at Ferrari had had enough of him looking for other options or were tired of everyone believing Alonso was carrying the team (which to be fair, he has been). Whatever it is, it's not a harmonious departure.

On that note how long can Alonso suffer another team in flux? It'll take a while for Honda and McLaren to get it right, perhaps he might take a year out, perhaps we're about to get another bombshell regarding a drive at Mercedes. Who knows? Alonso seems quite relaxed and happy and says he knows, so thats who. 

If Alonso is to go to McLaren I would think it'll be at the expense of Jenson Button. I think after the investment they've put into Kevin Magnussen who is at the start of his career they'll decide to stick with the Dane. But Button would raise his game considerably up against Alonso, like he did with Hamilton so it could be argued they should stick with him and give Magnussen a year out?

Unfortunately for Jenson that scenario is unlikely and it looks like it could be his last year in Formula 1 because as a former world champion do you really want to race for say Force India? Probably not. It would be a sad way to end, but nothing is confirmed yet.

Arguably it could be said that Vettel and Alonso are swapping their current seats for potentially worse seats, at least in the current situation, so you have to say that Kvyat's move from Toro Rosso to Red Bull is the really big winner in the driver moves.

What an opportunity for the young Russian driver after only one year in the junior team to be promoted to the four time champions. He has to believe Renault are going to make a huge improvement on the power unit and Red Bull will still have a car which will have been predominantly overseen by Adrian Newey despite him stepping back, at least for 2015.

He has been mostly hugely impressive this year and you could say looked better against his team mate Jean-Eric Vergne than even Ricciardo did last year, especially when you consider it's his rookie campaign. It could be quite a close battle at Red Bull next year and I don't think you can say their driver line up looks less despite the loss of a four time champion because quite simply Ricciardo has been brilliant and is a star in his own right while Kvyat looks a worthy addition for the reasons I've just given. Potentially if you look at the comparisons between drivers at Red Bull and Toro Rosso, then he could be in line to be the first Russian world champion in Formula 1. You got to say that it is not an unlikely scenario.

Vergne is rightly annoyed too that he was looked over. But it was never going to be him moving to Red Bull when Max Verstappen was announced for Toro Rosso. He's matched the 2015 Red Bull line-up, he deserves a seat but like Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari before him, the Red Bull young driver program is ruthless.

It's also been rumoured Nico Hulkenberg might be off to sports cars which would be a great shame as he has deserved a seat in a top team for years but it seems he will be continued to be overlooked and admittedly he hasn't been quite as on it this year, perhaps for this reason. Force India say he is under contract for 2015.

A roller coaster of a Saturday morning and so many different scenarios, reasons and arguments that can be presented for all this situations. It's fascinating and there's probably a few more shocks to come in this crazy world of F1.

all photos taken from autosport.com

Is Kevin Magnussen the next Lewis Hamilton?

Lazy headline I know, but stay with me. Kevin Magnussen has risen through McLaren’s young driver program at a time when a lot has been written in the F1 press about pay drivers. Those drivers who have managed to fund their stay in Formula 1 perhaps at the expense of better drivers who are not backed as heavily. The likes of Pastor Maldonado securing a top line drive at Lotus is the obvious one.

This was particularly notable for the fact that Lotus openly said that if they could secure the finance they wanted to hire Nico Hulkenberg. They couldn’t so they didn’t and in stepped Maldonado with a tonne of Venezuelan cash behind him. Let’s not forget though that Maldonado is a race winner, even the drivers with money have a huge amount of talent to reach Formula 1. Even Max Chilton was a race winner in GP2.

It is sad though that money can be a deciding factor in who gets to drive where and who will rise up the grid. It’s a distinct aberration in the way Formula 1 is run that some of the better midfield teams and even now some of the top teams have to make this consideration when deciding who will drive for them. There’s enough money coming in that all teams could be run comfortably, but large amounts of money are siphoned off into Bernie and CVC’s coffers while the spread amongst the teams is incredibly unfair and tilted to those who already have an advantage.

However, amongst all the concerning talk of pay drivers not allowing new talent to shine through in the top echelon of motor sport, the curious thing about 2014 is that the two rookies who have been promoted to rarefied air of Formula 1 have been picked on talent.

Admittedly Toro Rosso’s new driver is Russian Daniil Kvyat who has been hired just as the first Russian Grand Prix comes on the calendar. But let’s not be cynical, he is the current GP3 champion, like Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, so I look forward to seeing how he gets on alongside Jean-Eric Vergne. These are the kind of drivers who should be in the sport.

So it’s with even more glee I anticipate Magnussen’s arrival into the sport, not least because he is slotting into the McLaren seat vacated by Sergio Perez. He’s been under the McLaren young driver scheme since 2009 when he was just 17 years old.

So is he the next Lewis Hamilton? Well no, I wouldn’t seek to categorise him as such at all, he is Kevin Magnussen who has his own talents. If anything he is on a steadily rising upward curve. Whereas Hamilton won pretty much every championship he entered, Magnussen hasn’t reigned supreme. However as the Formula’s have got bigger he has got more successful. He was Danish Formula Ford champion, but after this success he didn’t win a title again until last year in World Series by Renault 3.5 which featured a great many talents I’d hope and expect to reach Formula 1 in the next few years including fellow McLaren young driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

That’s not to say he didn’t have success, his talent was obvious and in the Formula 1 young driver test at Silverstone last year he created a strong impression, so much so that Perez was moved on after just one year at McLaren to make room.

But what makes him so exciting is that he is probably the best prepared rookie we’ve had for years. He’s not had the testing miles he would have had in the past, but he’ll have had a lot of simulator experience and has been groomed by McLaren for five years now; for them to promote him without farming him out to a midfield team first means they have a lot of faith that Magnussen’s is a special talent just like Lewis was…is.

I’m really looking forward to how he comes up against Jenson Button. Gary Paffet, McLaren development driver, has said that he expects Magnussen will push Button, which is something Button needs to get the best out of himself anyway. I expect the 2014 regulations to suit Jenson too, so if Magnussen can compete with and even beat the former world champion, then we’ll have a superstar almost immediately.

At the very least I expect a longer and better McLaren career than his dad Jan Magnussen had in 1995, who had a two race stint before fading out of Formula 1 with Stewart Grand Prix a few years later after he’d shown such promise in junior Formulae.

There’s lots of other drivers to get excited about in 2014, the aforementioned Kvyat, the progress of Bottas at Williams, especially as he’s not up against Felipe Massa who I think will be rejuvenated now he’s left Ferrari.

Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez make a tasty combination at Force India. While at the front of the grid, I’m looking forward to seeing if Daniel Ricciardo can get one over on the four time champion Sebastian Vettel. It’s Ricciardo’s chance to shine and he might just get one chance with so much talent on the Red Bull young driver program coming through.

Ferrari obviously have quite the pairing with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, although I don’t think it’ll be acrimonious between them it might get heated between the Spaniard and the team. I think it could get quite tense between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, especially if as is predicted Mercedes could be holding a title winning car.

Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado could surprise everyone. Grosjean particularly I think will shine this year if Lotus can get it together.

A lot has been talked about with the regulation changes but the drivers are the heart of the sport, they are the focus and there’s a lot to be excited about as 2014 gets going.

14 things to ponder in F1 2014

Formula 1 2014 is just two weeks away from hitting the track and commencing one of the most anticipated seasons in years. Huge regulation changes mean this season is something of a reset with turbo engines back with us amongst other chassis changes. 

Many teams will see this as an opportunity to progress up the field, but it'll certainly be easy to fall too with reliability going to be crucial. Added to a huge shake up with the driver line ups this year, 2014 already shows signs of being a vintage year. With so much going on here's a few things that might be focused upon as the season unfolds.

1. Will the new technical regulations throw Red Bull back in the pack?

2. Will the loss of Ross Brawn hurt Mercedes?

3. Is Kevin Magnussen going to shine bright as all are predicting?

4. Lewis Hamilton to become increasingly frustrated with F1?

5. Does Daniel Ricciardo stand a chance against Sebastian Vettel?

6. Will Bernie survive several trials this year or throw F1 into turmoil?

7. Should double points in Abu Dhabi be dropped?

8. So, Kimi and Fernando at Ferrari; Harmonious or fireworks? And will Ferrari           be in for a year in the doldrums?

9. Lotus to survive the year

10. Reliability to be the determining factor in the 2014 title fight

11. McLaren and Williams to thrive again?

12. Nico Hulkenberg to bag a top drive before the year is out

13. Marussia and Caterham to use new regulations to finally climb into midfield?

14. It’ll be a lot closer than 2013.

And here are the answers…possibly

1. Yes

2. Yes, but perhaps it won’t tell until later in the year

3. I feel sure if McLaren get their act together Magnussen is going to be a

    bright star this year.

4. I hope not. Lewis is brilliant and if he gets comfortable in the car this year, 

    he can do anything that anyone else can do. I just don't think he likes this         style of F1, it's not flat out.

5. He stands a chance, but I don’t think it’ll last.

6. Probably. And isn’t F1 always in some sort of turmoil?

7. Yes, ideally before the year starts.

8. Harmonious. Kimi will just get on with it but I’ve a feeling Kimi might have             been better off staying with Lotus.

9. Well, if they survive the year. I hope they and all the teams do, more 

    money needs to come down from the top of the sport. The teams create 

    the show and deserve more and not just the top teams. Of course hiring             Pastor Maldonado may create a higher parts bill.

10. I think the teams will get on top of it quite quickly actually.

11. McLaren to do better, Williams to be more respectable. I think 2015 will

     bring McLaren back to the top table, while Williams can be a major team

     once more. Would love to see Ross Brawn at Williams.

12. Sadly, no.

13. Doubtful.

14. Yes, yes it will.

There are many more things to ponder, such as if Romain Grosjean can win a race, will the Formula 1 ever treat its competitors and circuits fairly, or will they drop the stupid double points rule. I hate it. I think my safest bet is that it's going to be a lot closer than 2013, how much closer comes down to whether one team has found a magic loophole, last time there was a major change in the regulations, Brawn found the double diffuser and won the championship. Brawn are now Mercedes, no wonder they've been tipped to be a title challenger this year. 

photo taken from autosport.com

A sad start to the Formula 1 year

Before I go into a few little previews for the 2014 season it’s such a shame that the start of this anticipated new beginning has been tainted by the sad loss of Jenson Button’s father John who was a loved member of the F1 paddock and the appalling skiing accident of Michael Schumacher at the end of last year that still leaves him in an induced coma.

I remember watching as a ten year old when Schumacher claimed his first win in the 1992 Belgium Grand Prix, beating the dominant Williams-Renault of Nigel Mansell. I remember being mesmerised as what seemed like a small green and yellow Benetton was chased down by the mighty Williams, he remained my F1 hero for the next 20 years. The Williams developed a fault towards the end but it was a fantastic race as he held on to win as he went on to do so many more times through sheer determination and fight and a little bit of luck.

As doctors announce there has been no change to his condition since last week, I can only hope that he continues to fight as hard as he ever did on track. It goes without saying that thoughts are with both of their families and friends. 

photo taken from autosport.com

Drivers of the year 2013 - The Top Ten

For the first two parts please click here for 23-17 and here for 16-11.

We've reached the top, I'm not sure all will agree, but surely no one can deny who is number one...

10. Jenson Button (McLaren)

In his McLaren years and many before that too, Jenson has never been a great qualifier so perhaps it is unsurprising that he was out-qualified by his team mate Sergio Perez. Having said that Perez wasn’t thought of as a great qualifier either…

However, Jenson proved many times over that he can still bring the car home where it should be, and his race to fourth in Brazil deserved to be a podium. I wonder sometimes if Button needs extra impetus, I feel sure we’d have had more of those races if he’d still had Lewis Hamilton alongside him pushing him. With Kevin Magnussen joining McLaren and being touted as a rookie that will make as much of an impression as Hamilton, Button is sure to have his hands full. But I’d expect far more inspirational performances from him next year as a result as I’m sure he felt he didn’t have to overly extend himself to get one over Perez. This season he sparkled on occasion but too much did just seem slightly disillusioned.

9. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

He’s been regularly beaten at Ferrari since Fernando Alonso joined the team so his performance at beating Fernando nine times in qualifying is pretty impressive. Once he learned he wasn’t being kept on he seemed to leap into life a bit more. He managed a podium early on in the year, but his best racing came in the latter half with fourth place in India a particular highlight where he out-qualified and out-raced Alonso pretty comprehensively.

It is time Massa moved away from Ferrari and I think he’ll have a new lease of life with a safe two year contract at Williams. As long as the team progress I think he’ll flourish and certainly show a bit more of the fight that characterised his early years at Ferrari that allowed him to nearly become world champion before his terrible accident in 2009. He was overwhelmed by Alonso, but away from that atmosphere he can show much more of the great racing that we saw only occasionally this year.

8. Mark Webber (Red Bull)

Webber may have finished third in the championship and taken eight podiums and took an astounding pole position in Abu Dhabi that showed total commitment but at other points he seemed decidedly lacklustre. And perhaps the harshest stat available is that his team mate Sebastian Vettel took 13 wins while he failed to take one in his final year of Formula 1.

Admittedly he probably should have had one in Malaysia after Vettel ignored team orders while mechanical failures and poor starts hampered other opportunities, but when you only direct comparison is your team mate he had one of the worst records in 2013. That’s no shame to a driver who seems to be getting better and better as he was still very close quite often and could often pull off some fantastic overtakes.

But when the Red Bull is as strong as it was this year, he’ll be disappointed he couldn’t push it the way Vettel could. I think Malaysia affected his state of mind and perhaps even a bit of his motivation. Maybe his mind wondered to his new life with Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, whatever though there were moments when you thought why is he retiring, but too often this year he failed to get the better results that he might once have gritted his teeth and dug in for.

7. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

Well at least he’s still in Formula 1. Yes, despite more heroics behind the wheel this year Hulkenberg faced the very real threat that he could end up without a seat for 2014. The fact he’s ended up back at Force India and not moved up the grid is quite the travesty. He should have replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus but unfortunately money talked and they took Pastor Maldonao, someone I’ve ranked 11 places lower.  If he’s not in a top team by 2015 he could well end up missing out.

But let’s hope that doesn’t happen because if he can produce another season with some giant killing performances then surely next year someone will give him a call. The Sauber wasn’t great in the first half of the season, but he still managed to knock out some points with some hard fought drives. The second half the car improved and his results rose as they should.

But nothing beats his drive to fourth in Korea, holding off Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso for lap after lap under constant pressure. It was a drive along with many others this year that merited more.

6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

If there was a prize for the most improved driver of the year there is no doubt it would go to this man. Although to start off with he looked tame. Last year ended in a bit of a disaster so this year to combat his wild ways he almost went in the opposite direction. It was as if he feared that to unlock his speed he had to push beyond his control.

Thankfully this turned out to not be the case, he clocked six podiums in total, four in the final six races and was regularly out pacing Kimi by the end of the season. There were some circumstances involved in this, the tyre change mid-season didn’t help Kimi, nor did the introduction of a longer wheelbase car. But Grosjean dealt with it effectively and outshone his Ferrari bound team mate to the point that in the latter third of the season Grosjean looked to be the most likely man to take the fight to Vettel.

Perhaps his sports psychologist helped, perhaps the birth of his first child made him grow up and mature. He’s said that he realised he focused too much on Formula 1 and by releasing himself from that pressure he’s thrived. Whatever it is, he’s matured into a fast, incisive over taker who looks in total control and will lead Lotus into the unknown of 2014 with deserved confidence. I look forward to seeing what he can do next year.

5. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

Everyone expected Nico to fall to Lewis Hamilton. That he remained strong against him throughout most of the year is a great credit to Nico. In fact there were times when Rosberg had quite a significant edge over his World Champion team mate.

Of course Lewis is one of the fastest out there and that did tell in qualifying, but not by all that much in the end. And in the races Nico won two races to Lewis’ one. Ok the second win was because Lewis and Vettel retired, but the first in Monaco was a masterpiece of control from a great pole position in which he kept the field behind him at a pace he wanted. It was sublime.

I think Nico has an edge with the conservation role in Formula 1 over Lewis. It’s only Hamilton’s brute force that has helped push him ahead, but with more tyres to manage and fuel conservation next year, Formula 1 is no longer about going as fast as you can which I think can help Nico.

He has continued his good form, although he still can have a tendency to fall back in races or just disappear, although that is happening less often.

4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Sometimes Lewis is great, sometimes he seems lost. It seems like he can’t maintain focus for a whole season anymore. It seemed like he was the ultimate professional in his first two years in Formula 1 which resulted in his 2008 Championship. Since then there have been lapses and even with a move to Mercedes these lapses continue to happen.

Admittedly in 2013 the Mercedes has not been to his liking. He hasn’t felt completely comfortable in all year, particularly with the brakes, one tool you certainly need for confidence. Despite this he has led the way for the team in the most part, taking five pole positions, a fantastic victory in Hungary and another four podiums too. He has certainly added impetus to a team that stagnated last year.

However, I feel like he is not using his full potential a lot of the time. Such is the talent of Lewis Hamilton he doesn’t have to drive to his maximum to be up there, but if he could just feel comfortable and get his head fully focused on his driving again, then we could see something special. Sometimes all it takes is a winning car, and if Mercedes produce the standard bearer many are predicting for 2014, then Hamilton can be something to behold.

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)

He may have not been paid all year, he may have been grumpy, had back problems and left the team two races early to sort said back problems in preparation for his return to Ferrari. He also may have not liked the change of tyres mid-season or the alterations to his car, or the fact his team mate Grosjean started getting the better of him.

But the thing with Kimi is, he just shakes it off, gets in the car and drives it to its maximum potential and that’s pretty much all you can ask. Ok, his qualifying since he’s been back has not been as good as it should be, but overall he was still beating Grosjean and despite his two race absence was still 51 points better off.

Kimi won a great race in Australia and was always up there fighting, no matter where he started from. His move to Ferrari could produce fireworks alongside Fernando Alonso, although I think they’ll get on fine. Kimi is there to do a job. Fernando thinks Kimi won’t be a problem as Massa was often quicker when they were Ferrari team mates. But that was Massa before his accident and Kimi when he was on his way out of Formula 1.

Now the Finn is in the ascendency again, I think Fernando is going to have a lot tougher time than he thinks. Kimi is relentless in his consistency and certainly will not be Fernando’s back up. Maybe not fireworks, but definitely some sparklers.

2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)

I wasn’t sure who was going to be runner up. It was a tough choice between Kimi and Fernando. They both have qualifying as a weakness at the moment, but they also both have never say die attitude in the races and will always be up there fighting it out whatever. In the end I went for Fernando because he had more of an edge of his team mate and overall just a slightly more consistent year than Kimi did.

Yet again Fernando produced some fantastic drives, his wins in China and Spain were fantastic, his podium in Brazil was another highlight. But unlike in 2012, there seemed to be a few lacklustre displays too such as Monaco or India where he just didn’t seem as on it. And the mistake in Malaysia then Bahrain didn’t seem entirely Fernando. Perhaps even in those early stages that despite having a decent car to start off with he already knew that some developments weren’t working as they should.

Once again Ferrari couldn’t give him the car to take the title and that frustration boiled over in the middle of the year so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles Kimi next season. However, he still managed to find a pace his team mate couldn’t and obtain results which seemed out of reach as he always does. I hope he can challenge properly for the title again next year, he deserves to otherwise I can see his time at Ferrari not ending pleasantly.

1       

           1.  Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

Well what can you say about this four time champion that I and many others haven’t already said. He was simply brilliant this year. He topped anything he’d done before. He showed his ruthless streak in Malaysia and so many times he demonstrated his just awesome speed and consistency. He took nine pole positions, his lap in America when he looked out of it was fantastic. His race winning margins in Abu Dhabi and Korea just made it look easy while his defensive victory in Germany was a joy.

This year we watched history be made as he won a record nine times in a row and took 13 wins in total to equal the most in a season. Some will point to the tyre change helping Red Bull unleash more of the potential of their car, but it was updates to the rear of the car too in Belgium that helped optimize the cars potential.

It should also be pointed out that Vettel was a decent points haul ahead at the mid-way point, I’m not sure anyone was about to get on terms with him. Vettel only went two consecutive races without a win in the first 10 Grand Prix. It was under the radar domination but domination none the less. He showed he could produce the results when the car couldn’t in the first half and then exploited everything to the full when the Red Bull stretched its legs in the second half.

Vettel has undoubtedly been the best in the current regulations with his ability to drive counter-intuitively with the blown diffusers being a particular asset and one which his team mate was never able to master. His mastery of the Pirelli tyres has also been second to none, but next year comes a change. I think in previous years this may have been a worry, but I do believe he continues to get better and he learns so quickly I don’t think he has anything to fear. No, the rest of the field need to fear him as I think he proved this year he’s the best in the world. 

all photo's taken from autosport.com

It had to be Vettel in Brazil

It couldn’t end any other way could it? The threat of rain that so many wanted to create a thrilling finale to the Formula 1 season didn’t materialise, but in any case if it had done would it have changed the result? I don’t think so, Sebastian Vettel has simply been immense and in a way it would have been wrong for 2013 to finish in any other way other than with Vettel taking his ninth consecutive win and 13^th of the year.

He didn’t have it all his own way this time, Nico Rosberg qualified alongside him on the front row and took the lead into the first corner. He held the lead for all of one lap as Vettel tucked into his slipstream on the start finish straight and was easily through. He pulled a gap and was gone.

Only a fumbled pit stop stopped him from executing an almost perfect race. When Valtteri Bottas attempted to un-lap himself from Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes driver moved over on the Finn just slightly that it broke the left rear wheel sending the Williams driver careering off the circuit. Red Bull immediately thought that a safety car could be called so brought Vettel in a lap early.

Unfortunately and as happened far too often, this compromised the race of Mark Webber who was due to pit that lap. As they rushed to get Vettel’s tyres out, the German was sat there losing time. He had only been 12 seconds ahead of Webber, so now he was stacked behind. It made no difference in the end, Vettel was released back into the lead while Webber maintained his second place.

Vettel reeled off the laps, a few drops of water did nothing to slow him down and he took a comfortable win followed by his now customary doughtnuts. It typifies just how brilliant he has been this year. He has got better every year he’s won, and being only 26 years old he can get better still.

Next year there are plenty of regulation changes including with the power trains or engines as most people like to call them, aero rules are also significantly altered and it’ll be a hard task for Red Bull to continue to repeat their success, especially after they kept on developing this year’s car longer than most other teams.

However, they have Adrian Newey still heading up the design team, and they still have Vettel, who I’ve no doubt could mix it with the more lauded talents of Fernando Alonso and Hamilton. It’s not going to be an easy task for anyone to beat them next year. As Vettel says on the radio, they’ve got to enjoy these victorious moments because you don’t know when it could stop. But right now, you’d be a fool to think that Red Bull won’t be right up there competing at the front again in 2014.

Webber finishes F1 career in style

Before Mark pops off to the World Endurance Championship with Porsche he had one more race to take part in, and he gave his all as he signed off with a superb showing of race craft and passing that puts many far younger drivers to shame.

He made his traditional poor getaway, and dropped to fifth, but he was soon pulling the moves to get up the order. His pass of Lewis Hamilton into turn six around the outside was brilliant, but just another one to add to a collection of great moves.

He was soon ahead of Rosberg too and set about getting on the tail of Alonso. These two have had numerous bouts before and this one was just as good as they Webber stalked the Ferrari. It was so good that after the first pit stops when Webber had a slow stop and came out behind the Ferrari, they did it all over again. Webber was just on it all race and even had a go at closing his team mate down, but just couldn’t manage it.

He’d obviously have liked to go out with a win but unfortunately Vettel has just become too good with this current generation of car. It’s all change next year, and Webber deemed it appropriate that this was a time to get out of the F1 circus. Probably the correct thing to do but after a race like this it seems like he’s still got much more to give.

However we shouldn’t forget that he has been soundly beaten this year by his team mate. It’s true that most of the time if a Red Bull had a problem then it would be on Webber’s car. It’s also true that a few contentious decisions went in the favour of Vettel. But I think from an outsiders point of view he got given a good crack at Red Bull.

He nearly and probably should have won the 2010 championship. Things went against him, perhaps Red Bull made a few dodgy calls, but I feel that he tied up towards the end and let it get away from him. He still put in a fantastic season but unfortunately he’s only ever equalled that kind of performance on a few weekends since, and not consistently like that year.

It’s the one that got away, but Webber has had a great career, some of the qualifying laps in his early years, especially in the Jaguar were of the highest quality while some of his race drives in the glory years of Red Bull could not have been bettered by anyone.

McLaren end year on a high

Jenson Button had a smile on his face for the first time in what seems like months. He may have qualified a rather poor 14^th, but he worked his way up quickly and efficiently and made the strategy work for him. He actually ended up in a rather comfortable fourth place, albeit with Hamilton and Felipe Massa having suffered drive through penalties.

But the fact Button got ahead of Nico Rosberg on pace and then kept him back will have pleased him and the team no end as they head into 2014. McLaren will want to forget this year completely, they haven’t even recorded a podium for the first time since 1980. At least it sets them up for the winter, especially as the departing Sergio Perez also managed to secure sixth place after suffering a gearbox penalty that meant he started from 19^th on the grid.

He had a tremendous drive and was only a handful of seconds behind Rosberg after he’d hounded him for several laps. Perez moves on though and the exciting talent of Kevin Magnussen moves in but it would have been nice for Checo to have had another year, I only hope he manages to find a drive for 2014. But with the money that backs him I’m sure he’ll be fine.

Battles in the pack

Despite another Vettel win and the lack of rain, the race was generally quite exciting. It was an interesting spectacle as teams had to gamble on the best set up in a wet qualifying while knowing that race day was probably going to be dry, or at least dryer. In the early laps there were numerous changes of position as everyone found their wheels on a dry track for the first time this weekend.

Alonso was an early mover as he made up ground after losing his third place grid slot at the start. He soon passed Hamilton and Rosberg to move up to second before he succumbed to Webber’s attacks. The Ferrari though looked particularly fast in race conditions and Alonso was able to keep in the number 2 Red Bull’s wheel tracks for several laps before eventually fading, but he was never too far away.

Alonso finished in third and cemented his second place in the drivers championship. It’s been a good year for him again as he’s driven as well as ever although I do feel he suffered a dip in form in the middle as he realised that yet again Ferrari were not going to deliver the goods.

You’ve got to think that the Alonso/Ferrari relationship has to deliver at least one championship, but if it’s not next year, a separation could come sooner than what’s written on the contract especially as the rumours go that the new Ferrari turbo engine is the weakest of the three manufacturers behind Mercedes and Renault.

Alonso was apparently meant to give up his podium to Massa who had another barnstorming start, and got up from ninth to sixth, before passing a few more to lie fourth. He was holding off Hamilton when he got a drive through penalty for cutting the pit entrance to much. Apparently he had been warned before but it seems a particularly churlish penalty, but then rules are rules. He still fought back to end his last race for Ferrari with a seventh.

Mercedes had set their cars up for a wetter climate, so it was not too much of a surprise to see them suffering with a lack of straight line speed. Rosberg initially took the lead but was easy prey as Vettel hunted him down over the first lap. He dropped through the field and even had to yield to his team mate as his tyres went off. He still just about managed to maintain a decent fifth place.

Hamilton would have finished higher than his eventual ninth if it hadn’t have been for his clash with Bottas which left him with a puncture and then his subsequent drive through. He didn’t know what happened but it didn’t look like he realised Bottas was alongside him, and he moved just slightly enough that it was probably his fault the clash happened. He managed to scramble back up to ninth but that was a fairly poor payback from what looked like a promising race.

Hulkenberg continued to put himself in the shop window with a decent eighth, but it looks likely that if he is to have a seat next year it’ll be a midfield one. Lotus don’t seem to be getting the deal with Quantum sorted to bring more money into the team which means they might have to go for a driver who brings money to the team which is a sad state of affairs. Paul di Resta could only manage 11^th, but he is a driver who should be in F1 but at the moment it looks like he could end up with no seat at all.

The final point went to Daniel Ricciardo in his last race for Toro Rosso before he moves to the big team next year. A competent driver, but when he and Jean-Eric Vergne had locked out the fourth row, you might have expected Toro Rosso to bring home a few more points than they did. Another team to suffer from a set up directed too much towards wet weather perhaps?

Lotus had an appalling last race of the year. Romain Grosjean had qualified sixth but at one point looked like he could snatch pole position. His engine went after just two laps, but the end of the season has been a real fillip for Grosjean’s career as he seeks to lead Lotus into a new era next year.

Marussia maintained their 10^th place in the constructors ahead of Caterham.

It is the end of the shrill V8, but the dawn of the turbo

So next year it’s all change. Gone will be the V8’s and in come 1.6 litre Turbo’s with various energy recovery systems which make the cars far more road relevant. The racing will certainly be different next year and the sound not quite as loud, but they’ll still be the best and fastest racing cars in the world.

The main question is can anyone stop Red Bull? As 2014 gets closer we’ll begin to learn more about how everyone’s doing, but you have to believe that with such fundamental rule changes, the order is bound to be mixed up, already we’re getting glimpses of who might be leading the back, with Mercedes rumoured to be on the right track while Ferrari could face further struggles next year.

I think we can safely assume that Red Bull will continue to mix it at the front but you have to believe they won’t have own F1 quite as much as they have done this year, the future is an exciting one.

There's still things to be sorted with drivers too with a number of seats still up for grabs as the off season starts. There's going to be a lot of negotiations and worrying winter thoughts for a lot of drivers.

But this past season has been good. It might not have been a battle to the end, but it was one of just a perfect combination of man and machine, and when that happens, they become unbeatable. Vettel and Red Bull were that perfect combination and this year they made history.

Final Result after 71 laps:

1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull

2. Mark Webber - Red Bull

3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari

4. Jenson Button - McLaren

5. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes

6. Sergio Perez - McLaren

7. Felipe Massa - Ferrari

8. Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber

9. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

10. Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso

11. Paul di Resta - Force India

12. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber

13. Adrian Sutil - Force India

14. Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus

15. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso

16. Pastor Maldonado - Williams

17. Jules Bianchi - Marussia

18. Giedo van der Garde - Caterham

19. Max Chilton - Marussia

R. Charles Pic - Caterham - Suspension

R. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - Accident

R. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - Engine

all photo's taken from autosport.com