Your (polite) thoughts on 2013

[AdrianSutil]

Yes, I'm back. Not 100% but still alive. Missed this place, but I can sense there's been a few problems with new/old members so this is just a friendly, bullet-point-type discussion on 2013.

Firstly, I don't really care that Vettel has dominated the season, winning the last 8 (or is it 1256) races. I was present during 2002 and 2004 and THAT was worse.

A shame to see Force India fall backwards after the tyre changes after Silverstone. But was good to see Sauber and particulary Hulkenberg move up to show everyone just how good he really is.

It's surprising to see just how much better both Massa and Bottas have been after thier future's have been confirmed. Bottas in particular, his weekend at Austin was incredible. Genuinely delighted for him during the race.

If Giedo van der Garde doesn't get a drive for 2014 I'll be disappointed. He's really impressed me, apart from Canada, but everyone has an awful weekend now-and-again.

Max Chilton is just Max Chilton. But he's doing something we'd all love to do.

And finally, I can't remember a time when the driver market has been this crazy. I thought Ricciardo to RedBull was a surprise, then we got Kimi back to Ferrari, Daniil Kvyat to ToroRosso (which I think is justified) and now KEVIN MAGNUSSEN TO McLAREN!! We still have solid drivers like Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Perez, Di Resta amd Sutil without contract's for next year. Someone will be disappointed...

[kevinbotz]

Good to have you back, mate.

Apart from the Rejects' qualifying miracle at Spa, Magnussen to McLaren, and Bottas' first points in Austin, this season, especially as a McLaren fan, has been one to endure rather than enjoy. The Pirelli controversies, Red Bull's continued imperious form, and my own personal antipathy towards the present state of Formula One have all taken their exorbitant toll on my patience and tolerance. I've never been so relieved to see the end of a F1 season, even with consideration to the 2002 and 2004 seasons.

The puerile opprobrium generated by, at least from my perception, the increasingly tendentious and vitriolic fanbase hasn't helped. The racing has been mediocre, to be diplomatic; most races this season have been dictated by the enervating limitations of tire management. More frustrating is the insistence of the FIA and FOM that entertainment in Formula One must be extraneously and artificially manufactured; the lion's share of the multitude of issues encountered this season arised from the inevitable disparity between FIA/FOM's desired outcome and reality.

I can only hope that the obstacles encountered this season are competently resolved for 2014, and the myriad of fears and concerns surrounding the new regulation changes prove unfounded. With consideration to history, however, I'm not holding my breath.

[Londoner]

Great to have you back on here mate.

Really, apart from Australia, Monaco, Germany and Korea, I've been struggling to maintain my interest in this season. Too many dull, identikit races where the result was never in doubt have occured this season. I'm bored out of my mind with Vettel's seeming invincibility, and the utter hopelessness of the rest of the top teams to stop him, bar Grosjean on occasion. The constant bitching about the tyres (Pirelli should just have supplied this year's tyres, with the kevlar belts at the start of the season and told the teams to use them or get stuffed IMO instead of caving into their demands), and the financial cliffhanger that a lot of the teams have found themselves in (Lotus, Sauber etc) hasn't helped.

The state Williams have found themselves in this season, and McLaren's utter uselessness has been depressing. I also had hopes for Gutierrez to be a decent driver. Quite frankly, apart from Spain and Japan, he's probably been the worst driver on the grid, although Pic and Maldonado (with his recent efforts) haven't been much better. Perez has been really disappointing, not withstanding the awful car he'd been saddled with, constantly overdriving and making himself a nuisence. And the drama involving Kimi in the last few races has overshadowed a decent season for him. Oh, and he lost his reliability record.

That said, there has been some bright points to talk about. The rise of Grosjean to the driver he is today, surely a future world champion in the making. Marussia outperforming Caterham when it mattered, Max Talent Chilton proving to be awesome (but we all knew that anyway ), Hulkenberg's herorics in the second half of the season, the backmarker teams getting into Q2 at Spa and Bottas's supreme drive to 8th in America (I was cheering him on all the way). And the silly season has really lived up to its name for once. Lots of promising rookies getting their chance, and some shock moves/rumours.

I just hope 2014 shakes up the status quo, and we can get a much closer season with much more feel-good moments, and no unnecessary politicising. Although, I can see a lot of bitching involving the engines and fuel next season.

[eytl]

What a great few posts so far - thoughtful and measured but to the point. Keep it coming - you're helping me write my season review!

[SeedStriker]

Cheers for your return, mate.

As for 2013, I didn't see (live) most of the European season, but with an unstoppable Seb Vettel, it was not much to worry about. Little to comment, race-wise, as Red Bull Racing has been so dominant. Kudos for Romain Grosjean as he has become THE racer of the year. Intelligent, calm, and well aware of the current picture. And we finally we'll se a major driver shaft after so long. Hoping that Hulkenberg, Pérez and hard working Van der Garde stay on the big scene.

The bad, as we all know, has been the traditional teams. Ferrari couldn't develop the car enough to keep the first races momentum, Williams went from hero to zero in question of months, and McLaren simply went full reject, not only with a clunker of a car, but with a series of in-house issues that ultimately cost them their worst season in the last years.

And hopefully, Interlagos and it's mighty rain can make a real end-of-season and farewell to the NA engine era.

[James1978]

I know it's probably the job they should have been doing all along but I think Mercedes really have made a leap forward this year - after only just holding on to 5th in the constructors last year, they look likely to be 2nd and will still be 3rd even if it all goes pear-shaped in Brazil. It might be seen as disappointing that they haven't challenged Red Bull more, but then were they expected to? Also Rosberg's performance compared to Hamilton may put Schumacher's comeback in a better light!

And who'd have thought this time last year we'd all be saying Grosjean would not only be #1 at Lotus but also Red Bull's main challenger?

Both those above facts seem to reflect badly on Ferrari and McLaren though - if Ferrari hadn't had the relentlessness of Alonso they would easily have been 4th in the constructors!

[Samster]

Well in a nutshell, this has been my least favourite season since I started watching back in 1998. Yes even Schumacher's most dominant years were better, at least they had V10 engines to enjoy, teams that actually have some charm (Arrows, Jordan, Minardi) and enough unreliability to throw up some surprises. This season has none of that, there hasn't even been any wet races yet. I can't think of a single race all season that I would want to watch again, in fact only two or three managed to keep my attention the whole way. So many teams have disapointed too, Caterham and Marrussia still haven't caught up to the rest, McLaren and Williams have been abysmal all year, as were Sauber at the start while Ferrari and Force India have been in the second half.

There have been a few good points in that Mercedes actually became competent, Sauber's recent improvements allowing Hulkenberg to shine and Grosjean becoming a regular podium contender and recently Red Bull's biggest threat. Plus the silly season has been great as many have already said, at the start of the season I never thought Kyvat and Sirotkin would even be considered in the silly season, yet both have drives for 2014. Or that Kimi would return to Ferrari.

But still, the fact that I've missed four races and not been bothered in the slightest when ten years ago this would have been a crime against nature says it all really.

[shinji]

First post in yonks just to say - good to see you posting man.

[Wallio]

Great to have you back mate.

What stood out to me was that this was the year of no real "innovation" from Red Bull, yet they ran away with it. First they brought back pullrods, then the blown diffuser, then flexi-wings, but this year was just a car. It was neat to see how a design idea can evolve when the rules are stagnant for a few years. It generally leads to this (see 2004).

Other thoughts: I was surprised by Force India's up and down year myself, I thought they had more in it. The rapid downfall of Pastor was also a shock, as was McLaren giving up on Checo so easily. But to me the big story has to be Mercedes losing all form after the tyre switch. Amazing what happens when you can't run the tyres you have wayyy more data on than anyone else, isn't it?

[watka]

If you want to keep it short and sweet, do it in haiku form, as Jamie and Enoch have taught us!

Vettel a fourth time
No one else is consistent
Pirellis don't help

[rachel1990]

I think 2013 started well with a good race in Australia then the anger in malaysia. It was great to see Alonso win in China and Spain and TBH it was always going to be Vettel's day in Bahrain wasn't it??
Monaco was a great win for Rosberg and Mercedes as well as Hamilton's win in Hungary helped by Button to be fair. Britain was a great race for the wrong reasons with the tyres which like it or not have partly shaped the 2013 season. And it was a great win for Rosberg!!

However Canada proved to be a pretty accurate metre for the races following Britain (Baring Hungary). Lets be fair Canada was pretty dire along with Belgium. Italy proved to be a bit better as did Singapore and Strangely India and Korea (again for the wrong reasons aka FIRE TRUCK) which I must admit I thought would be dead ducks. But what do all these races have in common- Vettel winning by miles. After Italy it was clear to be that Baring Grosjean no-one else gave a toss about winning the races and would rather get the points. Ferrari are the most guilty of this I am sure. Yes Vettel was in the best car but winning by at least 10/20/30 seconds is a joke.

So can Brazil save the season- No. 2013 will be remembered to me as the year that all the teams could not be bothered and let Red Bull win. I thought 2011 was bad at times...

[Alextrax52]

First off Welcome back Adrian

This hasn't been the best F1 season I've ever seen in all honesty so much so i was actually feeling like doing some homework instead of watching the USA GP and that's saying a lot. To be fair the year did have unpredictalbe winners in the first half but even then we saw that RBR could dominate without the 2013 tires (Bahrain and Canada). The bitching over the Pirelli Tires the Incompetence of the Stewards and the sheer dislike for certain drivers have dummed this season down but that last one has been well documented and we won't go into that.

Australia Malaysia Britain Hungary and Japan were the only races that were really interesting for me this year and it's been frustrating to hear nothing but "Save the Tires" on the radio and DC's comments at Monaco although probably unpopular now look like a really accurate summary of the year. The growing number of Pay Drivers has become a concern too. While i understand they are needed to keep the backmarkers going but it becomes a great concern when nearly half the grid has major sponsorship and are forcing bright talents out. At least it gives us some rejects to watch.

There are some positives to come out of a difficult year though: Grosjean for a start being so good against the RBR's in Japan and USA especially while Rosberg has had easily his best year in F1 having battled Webber in the UAE. Hulkenberg's amazing efforts in the Sauber deserve praise and Ricciardo has qualified brilliantly. Like AdrianSutil i will be unhappy if we don't see Van der Garde on the grid in 2014 because he's been a lot better than most thought he would be.

Has anyone else got anything to watch between December-March?

[Ataxia]

If you want to keep it short and sweet, do it in haiku form, as Jamie and Enoch have taught us!

Vettel a fourth time
No one else is consistent
Pirellis don't help

Good call; I'll do one for each team.

Red Bull win again.
Vettel, Horner and Newey
are F1's dream team.

Alonso won twice,
but that happened early on.
Ferrari tailed off.

McLaren; oh no!
Really not a vintage year
and thus Perez went.

Lotus are stuck in
a dodgy financial place.
Blame Kimi's bad back?

The Silver Arrows
seem to be nearer the top.
But will Brawn leave them?

A year of two halves
for the boys in Switzerland.
Hulkenberg a star.

Tyres played their part
in Force India dropping off.
New lineup beckons?

Maldonado back
to his old erratic ways.
Thank Bottas for points.

Daniel is moving
up to the full Red Bull team.
JEV a better bet?

Pic and van der Garde
did a steady job for a
disappointing team.

Razia's cheque bounced;
the best thing to happen for
Marussia this term?

Oh, and AdrianSutil...nice to see you back with us man! I hope all is well.

[Ben Gilbert]

If you want to keep it short and sweet, do it in haiku form, as Jamie and Enoch have taught us!

Vettel a fourth time
No one else is consistent
Pirellis don't help

Good call; I'll do one for each team.

Red Bull win again.
Vettel, Horner and Newey
are F1's dream team.

Alonso won twice,
but that happened early on.
Ferrari tailed off.

McLaren; oh no!
Really not a vintage year
and thus Perez went.

Lotus are stuck in
a dodgy financial place.
Blame Kimi's bad back?

The Silver Arrows
seem to be nearer the top.
But will Brawn leave them?

A year of two halves
for the boys in Switzerland.
Hulkenberg a star.

Tyres played their part
in Force India dropping off.
New lineup beckons?

Maldonado back
to his old erratic ways.
Thank Bottas for points.

Daniel is moving
up to the full Red Bull team.
JEV a better bet?

Pic and van der Garde
did a steady job for a
disappointing team.

Razia's cheque bounced;
the best thing to happen for
Marussia this term?

Oh, and AdrianSutil...nice to see you back with us man! I hope all is well.

Excellent

But if I may:

HRT were gone
before the season started,
and haven't been missed.

[mario]

AdrianSutil, it is good to see that you are back - I agree that the forum did go through a bit of a tough time, but I do think that things are getting better and we are now moving towards a more amicable situation.

That said, it has to be said that this season as a whole has left something of a bitter taste in the mouth for many fans - off the track, the sport has been riven by extremely acrimonious arguments over the tyres between the teams, FOM and the FIA becoming increasingly detached from the fan base and major political rifts in the sport that may lead to long term lasting damage for all parties.

Add to that the fact that Red Bull has basically been the only team simultaneously developing their 2013 and 2014 cars at full bore, resulting in the considerable performance disparity between themselves and the rest of the field, the increasing dismay and resentment from the fans who feel that money is winning out over talent (although some of the complaints of pay drivers that have been thrown about are rather exaggerated) and the ongoing court case into CVC's takeover of the sport raising the unpleasant spectre of corruption, and it is not hard to see why many feel that this season has been something of a low point in the recent history of the sport.

Making it worse is the fact that two of the major traditional teams within the sport - McLaren and Williams - have had terrible seasons, with the former having its worst season for three decades whilst the latter is experiencing something close to their worst season in the sport (perhaps only their 2011 season edges it, but not by much), whilst Ferrari's season has been indifferent at best. Having three teams of that historical importance having poor seasons has also added something to the sense of disappointment and frustration - kevinbotz is far from the only fan who feels that he has had to endure, rather than enjoy, this season, and even a number of professionals connected to the sport feel underwhelmed with what we are seeing.

Martin Brundle sums it up in many ways when he says that "We are watching something very special in the history of motorsport, of that I have no doubt. It's just that's it's not very interesting". Vettel is dominating the field in a way that few ever could, and yet we are in a situation where the response is one of indifference from an audience that feels increasingly neglected and patronised by the authorities, leaving a sense of hollowness to what he has achieved.

As others have pointed out, lest this becomes too much of a downcast post, that there have nevertheless been moments that have stood out for the better. Mercedes have surprised everybody - not least themselves - by proving to be much more competitive than many would have anticipated for a team mostly concentrating on 2014, lending hope that Red Bull might finally have to work harder for their laurels in 2014.

Whilst Force India could not sustain their early season form, they are currently still on course to equal their best ever WCC finish - 6th place, the same as in 2011 - which is at least some consolation for the team. Bianchi, quietly working away at the back of the field, has nevertheless put in some drives that seem to justify Ferrari's faith in him whilst, going by what the mechanics at Lotus are reporting, becoming a father seems to have brought about a positive transformation in Grosjean's mentality that has allowed him to blossom remarkably recently.

Hulkenberg's toil in the midfield has nevertheless brought about some remarkable performances - his scrap with Alonso in the US GP showed off both of their talents to the full in the closing laps - whilst Rosberg's strong performances against Hamilton seems to have raised his stock across the rest of the paddock (speaking of which, I think that would also seem to set to rest the arguments earlier in the season over Mercedes favouring Hamilton - I'd argue that the rest of the season seems to show that they've been more even handed than most teams towards their drivers).
Bottas, meanwhile, has occasionally had the chance to repay Williams for the trust they've shown when the car has let him show off his skills - the loss of Maldonado might dent their finances, but having a far easier working relationship with an experienced driver like Massa may help both them and Bottas in 2014.

Overall, whilst it has been far from a classic season for many reasons, there are at least some positives that can be taken out of this season, even if it is perhaps with relief rather than sadness that many will look to the end of this season with.

[FullMetalJack]

Yes, I'm back. Not 100% but still alive. Missed this place, but I can sense there's been a few problems with new/old members so this is just a friendly, bullet-point-type discussion on 2013.

It's great to see you back.

My main positive note for this year is that the driver market has been extremely interesting, with the Lotus seat still to be decided, although something's wrong if it doesn't go to Hulkenberg.

Grosjean's coming of age has also been good to see if we're strictly speaking of on-track.

[go_Rubens]

Great to see AdrianSutil back on the forms!

Now, for my thoughts on everyone this year (in fact, maybe it will be a ranking)

The teams, in order from least to greatest:

11. Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes. (3.0) I have to say, there was something that went bang this year at McLaren International, but not a good one. A tyre blew out, and they slowed because of the tyre. They took risks, but they never paid off. They fired Pérez when he should have realistically gone on another year. They sign Magnussen, not saying that's bad, but it possibly could be over-ambitious. But overall, a dismal season which they have yet to record a top 4 finish all year, which would be the first time in the majority of McLaren's proud history. Next year is not expected to be much better, but look out when Honda comes along in 2015.

10. Williams-Renault. (3.5) Admittedly their season is not much better off than McLaren's. The Williams team however didn't give up, showing well when Bottas scored in the USA. They tried to fix their problems, even if they weren't successful, and they at least tried. The driver lineup might not have been the strongest, with Maldonado onboard in particular. The car was a disaster, and I'm surprised they scored 5 points instead of the 1 they had before the US GP. A disappointing year, but all hopes are up for next year onwards.

9. Marussia-Cosworth. (4.5) The team had a stellar first 4 events, but after that, the majority of the races saw them chasing the Caterhams. They may get 10th because of sheer dumb luck alone after Bianchi's 13th in Sepang. Chilton has proved he might not be the best driver, but he has done much better than what was expected, and has shown a very keen skill of keeping a F1 car on the road, so far with no DNFs going into the final round. Next yea may see an improvement with Ferrari being the engine supplier and Ferrari engineers being onboard, but the engine doesn't look that good anyway.

8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari. (5.0) Why this low? The car was good in the first half, with Ricciardo a 7th in Shanghai and JEV a 6th in Montreál, but the team was inconsistent. It wasn't only thr drivers, but the car would be good on one track one weekend, horrid the next, and they have slumped big time in the last few races. Not a disappointing campaign, to say the least, but there needs to be a change to get the car competitive again. Next year looks good with Renault engines coming along, so who knows what we'll see from the former Minardi squad in Faenza.

7. Caterham-Renault. (5.5) The team's first 4 events this year were horrid compared to Marussia, even if Pic beat Gutiérrez in Bahrain. But one of their upgrades from the Spanish GP onwards worked. They could have sailed ahead of Marussia if there were more retirements, in fact, they only need a 13th this weekend, amd considering São Paulo can be very unpredictable, there should still be hope for the Luffield team. For next year, the Renaults look good for staying on another year, but quite honestly I don't see them improving much more. Sad but true.

6. Sauber-Ferrari. (6.5) Sauber have had a mixed season. The car bad at the start of the year. Hell, Hülk didn't even start Melbourne with a technical problem. They only had 7 points after Spa. But they hit their stride, greatly improving instead of their usual mid-season slump. Hülk qualifies 3rd at Monza, 5th in the race. Gutiérrez makes it to Q3 in Singapore. Both cars in Q3 in Korea, with Hülk scoring big with a 4th, amd Gutiérrez plain unlucky. Both cars score in Japan, both cars fail to score in India or Abu Dhabi, but Hülk struck back in the USA. Going from 7 points to 53 in 7 races is a remarkable achievement, for a team considering pulling out beofre the Belgian GP! Next year, engine supplier is still in question, as Ferrari have reported not being paid, and with Russian investors, most likely an 18 year old Russian teenager named Sergey Sirotkin, and a first driver still needing to be announced, they can go anywhere next year and in the future.

5. Force India-Mercedes. (7) The team have had a similar season compared to Sauber, but ths opposite. In fact, it wasn't even the team who caused their problems! A great first half before the tyre changes, and a dismal second half after the tyre changes, plus 4 DNFs for di Resta in a row, and multiple double-DNFs through the course of the year. You'd think the team should be rated lower (I know, a zarking SEVEN?!), but the team itself really wasn't the center of its problems. It really was a good year all-round, 6th in the standings looking certain now. SFI looks very good for next year, getting much more assistance from Mercedes.

4. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. (7) Wow, after the fisrt 5 races or so, I'd have been surprised for someone to predict them to fall down the order a little bit. But, it did happen. They won 2 races, many podiums with more outdriving of the car from Fernando. However, the team won't look back at the second half of this season very well, I don't think. More things went wrong than right, really. Massa slow, Alonso being forceful in his racecraft as normal, although to more of an extent. There is one final race left, but I don't expect much. Massa is leaving, and they signed Räikkönen. At least the team is moving away from the number 1 and 2 driver theory, because for the dynamic duo that will be next year's Ferrari lineup, it really won't work. The engines Ferrari have for next year don't look like a good package, at least there will be a few years of development work available, alongside the wind tunnel problems to solve.

3. Lotus-Renault. (7.5) Kimi won the first race, Kimi challenged for more wins, most of those races he should have won. Romain Grosjean, the First Lap Nutcase last year, this year, he is the France's newly refound hope. With RoGro deserving to win more races than he actually did (0, amd Suzuka, I'm looking at you), Lotus should have had a lot more wins than they did, and a much better chance at the title than what happened in reality. What happened at these races? I tell you, the strategists had it wrong more times than it was right. Their financial problems were starting to become alarming, and the relationahip with Kimi deteriorating at a gravitational pace. Next year, the team may be at about the same ground, or they'll be worse. It probably won't be a title-winning campaign, but expect them to challenge for points. A good year all-round.

2. Mercedes AMG (7.5) Mercedes are on equal ground to Lotus. They might not have deserved to win as many races, considering the teething problem of tyre wear the W04 had in the beginning, but they had their best season since return, looking fairly good at sealing second in the final standings. Lewis Hamilton was a good addition to the team, and Nico Rosberg performed multiple heroics for the team, especially lately, with bad luck with reliability in the beginning. The team are looking good for the future, when you think about it, a strong lineup, perhaps the second strongest lineup going into next season. All hopes are up, but the loss of Ross Brawn at the head of the team may hurt them.

1. Red Bull Racing-Renault. (8) The season was another msteamroller from the Milton Keynes squadron, a very effective second half to the year sealing the fate of the rest. Although the season may look perfect on paper, it really wasn't. The team got into a lot of controversy. Multi-21-Gate at Sepang, their role in the Mercedes-Pirelli Testgate, the change in the Pirelli tyres, and possibly more. The team didn't gain many fans from their off track rambling, but they can change that, surely? The driver lineup looks good, keeping Vettel on, and signing Ricciardo an interesting move. The team are looking to have an even better 2014, and it looks easiest for them right now. They were deserving champions in the end this time by.

[good_Ralf]

Even if Red Bull have dominated this year, the thing that has frustrated me the most is the lack of diversity. We went from having 8 teams capable of winning last year to just 4 and at the present just the one: Red Bull. More annoying was that only 4 teams have scored won or scored podiums all year, compared to 8 last year. Although it was nice to see drivers such as Raikkonen, Rosberg and Hamilton winning, this year there were no new winners or podium finishers at all, which isn't good for the fans.
It seems as though Webber won't win a race in his final season and the young stars such as Grosjean and Hulkenberg are still waiting for that breakthrough success.
As for the action, not many races were crackers, with Britain probably the only real classic. Australia, China and Spain were interesting, but only because of the different strategies, Monaco was incident packed, Hungary featured the awaited maiden Mercedes win for Hamilton, Korea was mad, Japan almost saw Grosjean win and India marked the crowning of Vettel. But some circuits, which usually produced great GPs, held absolute snorathons, namely Montreal and Spa.
Other things didn't help much. The rain dictated some amazing 2012 races but this year not a drop fell from the sky. None of the 5 rookies were in competitive machinery so we could see what they could do. Whenever a shock result was in prospect, it didn't last e.g. di Resta in Bahrain, Sutil in Britain, Button in Belgium and Singapore, Hulkenberg in Italy and Grosjean in Japan.
Those things, added to the increasing number of artificial factors in the races, the ever worrying financial state of many teams and the many issues with next year's regulations, makes F1 a sport which I found quite hard to enjoy this year, but nonetheless I hope will return to being more memorable and exciting come 2014. I'm not giving up on the sport.

EDIT: Whoops, that was a major mistake from me. I meant I wasn't giving up, sorry!

[go_Rubens]

I'm giving up on the sport.

No, no, I must admit that giving up on the sport is a travesty

Just kidding. I lost a lot of interest this year as well But, there were reasons behind it, and reasons I won't mention.

[OsellaFA1L]

I actually quite enjoyed the first half of this year. But after the summer break the races started to become a bit too dull and predictable. However I agree with the OP that there was a couple years during the Schumacher era that have been worse.


Also, WELCOME BACK ADRIANSUTIL.

[dr-baker]

Has anyone else got anything to watch between December-March?

Race of Champions, with Susie Stoddart/Wolff. Doctor Who Christmas special with a regeneration (assuming it does not begin to happen this weekend). Top Gear is usually on in January(/February). After that? No idea. If I were American, NASCAR maybe. But I'm not American, so I'm not.

[CoopsII]

My (polite) thoughts on 2013? Overall I have to admit I've enjoyed the season. Yes, Vettel being The Man has dampened my enthusiasm recently but I have to be honest and say that if it were a British driver doing what he's done I'd be ecstatic and loved it as I'm sure Vettels mob have done. I watch F1 not just for action packed races but to see the cars driven superbly and Vettel has done just that although, ironically due to the high number of overtaking moves happening further down the grid, we havent actually seen too much of it. During the MSC glory days there wasnt much else happening further down so the F1 coverage was often simply following the red car as best we could.

I look forward to the future, but then I always do. So should you.

[DanielPT]

Welcome back AdrianSutil.

About my thoughts... Well, let's say that I can't remember a season where I missed so many races. Including day light ones! It wasn't about Vettel dominance, but about the racing and all the shenanigans about tyres. I know that I supported, and maybe still do, this style of racing. Regardless, during the course of this season and after Pirelli bended over to some teams, I started to grow increasingly tired of all this. Back then, I moaned and whined about the stick Pirelli was receiving, perhaps justifiably, but the truth is that the swap to 2012 tyres arguably influenced the championship. This made me conclude that, nowadays, the tyres and how a driver manages them are indeed too much of a factor in racing. That is why I am looking forward to the 2014 season since last June.

[tzerof1]

My thoughts on the 2013 season:

Low points:

-Pirelli-gate and Mercedes Pirelli test-gate. That was just an ugly saga of political shaftings, scapegoating, and mud-slinging, that ultimately played a large role in the outcome of the back half of the season.

-Ferrari again failing to provide Fernando Alonso with a championship winning car. On paper Alonso managed to wring the car up to second in the WDC for the second straight year, but it was much less close than last year. The strain this put on his relations with the team was very telling, and made for quite ugly reading.

-McLaren's fall from grace. This time last year, many were predicting that Hamilton wasn't going to be able to get much more out of the Mercedes this season than Rosberg or Schumacher, and that he was going to regret leaving McLaren. Well, here we are now, and it's McLaren who have spent the season drifting about hopelessly in the lower half of the top ten on a good day, and will only get 5th in the WCC for their efforts. The unceremonious sacking of Sergio Perez really was the just the cap on what was a season to forget. On that note I think McLaren's statement to the effect of "We're getting rid of him because we have determined there is an insurmountable speed gap between him and Jenson" is a load of bollocks. Honestly, could have fooled me. Not to denigrate Kevin Magnusson's talent in any way.

- The precarious financial state of the majority of the paddock. For all this talk of cost reductions, and budget caps, nothing significant has still been forced through. Compounding that now is the FIA's "pay per points" scheme and the 2014 regulations, and now the sport has things like established midfield teams engaging in shady deals with shell corporations, true pay drivers, Russian oligarchs, and giving their son's a possible race seat, just to stay solvent, pay their electric bills, and finish the season, mind you! Let alone further develop their machines. It's just all very unseemly and certainly it could be argued, worse for the image of the sport than Vettel domination.

-International Vettel hate bandwagon. Nobody in their right mind can honestly begrudge Vettel being able to extract the maximum from his car, consistently. Especially, since it could be argued, that this success is even greater than Schumacher's. Again, it's all very ugly.

-Marshalling. The standard has seemed to be going slowly downhill. Let us not forget the marshal who was killed in Canada.


High points:

- This forum and website. I honestly have to say, this place, and the goings on here, are always a high point to every season, and every moment in between.

-The fact that F1 isn't the IRL or NASCAR. Even though this season has many low points, I can still keep the faith because of the aforementioned fact. That in itself is a high point.

- Lewis Hamilton proving his doubters(myself included) wrong. I will admit, I'm not the biggest LH fan, but I will always respect someone who can prove me wrong.

-Mark Webber leaving F1. I don't say this because I don't like him, I actually like him a lot. But it's hard to watch season after season, of his talent going to waste in a car designed for his teammate, and being in a team that only seems to have kept him around to be a (at times unwilling) number two to Sebastian Vettel. I feel that it's good that he's leaving while he still has that fire inside to race, instead of staying at Red Bull until they have completely snuffed it out, and he turn his back on motorsports entirely. It will be good for him to get back to where he made a great( if flying) start to his career, in endurance racing.

-Romain Grosjean's upturn in form. Romain has shown why he still has a drive, and his former comrade-in-writing off cars( Rev. Maldolan), doesn't(as of yet anyway). Steady and getting very quick as the season progressed, that is exactly what he needed to do, and I enjoyed that very much.

-Valencia being sacked off of the calendar. From it's inception in 2008, I really didn't understand the point of the race to begin with, since Bernie was seemingly dead set against a country hosting two GP's(or was it the FIA? Feel free to correct me on this point.) which was only compounded by the track being rather boring. The fact that it wasn't held this year is a high point, if not a very strong one.







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[go_Rubens]

tzerof1, I think your points raised are ones that are very good to make for both good and bad. Although, I'd raise one myself and say that Race Stewarding was really not at its best over the course of the season, and maybe the FIA in general. For example, the Hulk/Perez thing in Singapore got them ROTR then, because they made Nico give a position to Perez that Perez never had for going off-track. There were other bad moments as well, and the stewards are starting to go back to the level of pathetic stewarding that was the late grooved tyre era, so it wasn't a good campaign for the FIA stewards in general. Or maybe, thinking about it, the FIA in general should be a low point.

[tzerof1]

tzerof1, I think your points raised are ones that are very good to make for both good and bad. Although, I'd raise one myself and say that Race Stewarding was really not at its best over the course of the season, and maybe the FIA in general. For example, the Hulk/Perez thing in Singapore got them ROTR then, because they made Nico give a position to Perez that Perez never had for going off-track. There were other bad moments as well, and the stewards are starting to go back to the level of pathetic stewarding that was the late grooved tyre era, so it wasn't a good campaign for the FIA stewards in general. Or maybe, thinking about it, the FIA in general should be a low point.

That's an excellent (low) point you bring up. On the topic of the FIA, I'll also mention that David Ward's candidacy for the FIA presidency was a huge anticlimax as well, seeing as how the only support he seemingly had was from the BBC, and only a fraction of the member clubs needed to run, and perhaps just compounds the FIA being a low point.

[fbjim]

I think the main reason this F1 season has been so distressing to people is that the current regs, with the wearing tires, and the KERS, and the DRS, and silly tracks that have been designed to suit all these things, along with the stringent rules that lead to identical-looking F1 cars- all of these things were designed to make F1 exciting, and competitive, with overtaking, and unpredictability all over the place. And what has happened? Sebastian Vettel is about to win his ninth GP in a row, while the rest of the grid trundles around boredly.

Like, it's different from 1988, or 1992, or 2002, or pick whatever other year you want, because back then, at least you could console yourself with the thought that, hell, this is Formula One, and Formula One isn't really supposed to be about on-track excitement, it's supposed to be a sport, and let the best men win. But when dominance happens despite the fact that the FIA has somewhat subverted the rules in favor of entertainment, as opposed to sport? That's much different, and much more dismaying.

[Sublime_FA11C]

My opinion is pretty much an obvious one. The racing wasn't always too great and sometimes well below the expectations, but there was enough to look forward to, and the champion, while claiming a maybe dull title, at least stepped up his game and pushed as hard as he could in every qualy and race. "Pushing" being a relative term since every driver was too often forced to pace himself.

It might take a while for 2013 to settle into it's place in the annals, and for Vettels incredible feats especially to be recognised. It slightly reminds me of Mansell's title ride which was fairly easy but he at least drove like a champion. Wheter you hate the guy or just dislike him winning, Vettel managed to deliver mindboggleing performances.

And the rest of teh field will probably be kicking themselves for a while. From McLaren to Williams who got their designs completely wrong, Sauber doing their two steps back, Force India with their tyre fiasco (not really their fault though), Ferrari and Lotus who simply lacked that something special Red Bull had. And maybe Mercedes who had a fast qualifier but very unpredictable racer until it was too late for 2013, which is also end of the line for this generation. Toro Rosso and the new teams did little wrong, but not a whole lot right either.