F1 World Championship 2013 Thread

[Chasethebase Veteran]

The poll will be added once all teams are confirmed.

Technical and rule changes

• DRS is only allowed during practice and qualifying within the same designated zones as in the race session
• Cars must have enough fuel to make it back to the pits and provide the 1L sample required. If stopped on track there must also be enough fuel in the car for the required distance to the pits as well as the 1L sample.
• The number of permitted breaks of curfew is reduced from 4 to 2 occurrences.
• Double DRS is now banned
• Minimum weight of cars increases to 642kg

Driver and team changes

• HRT are no longer present on the team roster, after failing to find a buyer, and get enough money to make the entry fee for 2013 in time.

Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing RB9 ? Renault RS27-2013
Team Principal: Christian Horner; Technical Director: Adrian Newey
1. Sebastian Vettel (on a long-term deal through '14, perhaps with options)
2. Mark Webber (another one-year deal)

Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari F138 ? Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Stefano Domenicali ; Technical Director: Pat Fry
3. Fernando Alonso (contracted through '16)
4. Felipe Massa (another one-year deal)

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
McLaren MP4-28 ? Mercedes FO108Z
Team Principal: Martin Whitmarsh ; Technical Director: Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley
5. Jenson Button (contracted through '13 with option for '14)
6. Sergio Perez

Lotus F1 Team
Lotus E21 ? Renault RS27-2013
Team Principal: Eric Boullier ; Technical Director: James Allison
7. Kimi R?ikk?nen (contracted through '13)
8. Romain Grosjean

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Mercedes F1 W04 ? Mercedes FO108Z
Team Principal: Ross Brawn ; Technical Director: Bob Bell
9. Lewis Hamilton
10. Nico Rosberg (on a multi-year deal beyond '13)

Sauber F1 Team
Sauber C32 ? Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Peter Sauber ; Technical Director: James Key
11. Nico H?lkenberg
12. Esteban Gutierrez

Sahara Force India F1 Team
Force India VJM06 ? Mercedes FO108Z
Team Principal: Vijay Mallya ; Technical Director: Andrew Green
14. Adrian Sutil
15. Paul Di Resta

Williams
Williams FW35 ? Renault RS27-2013
Team Principal: Adam Parr ; Technical Director: Mike Coughlan
16. Pastor Maldonado (on a long-term deal through '14, perhaps with options)
17. Valtteri Bottas

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso STR8 ? Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Franz Tost ; Technical Director: Giorgio Ascanelli
18. Jean-?ric Vergne (current driver; likely to stay on)
19. Daniel Ricciardo (current driver; likely to stay on)

Caterham F1 Team
Caterham CT03 ? Renault RS27-2013
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes ; Technical Director: Mike Gascoyne
20. Charles Pic
21. Giedo van der Garde

Marussia F1 Team
Marussia MR02 ? Cosworth CA2013
Team Principal: John Booth ; Technical Director: Pat Symonds
22. Jules Bianchi
23. Max Chilton

2013 Race Calendar:

• 17.03.2013 - Australian GP, Melbourne - Winner: Kimi R?ikk?nen
• 24.03.2013 - Malaysian GP, Sepang - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 14.04.2013 - Chinese GP, Shanghai - Winner: Fernando Alonso
• 21.04.2013 - Bahrain GP, Sakhir - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 12.05.2013 - Spanish GP, Barcelona - Winner: Fernando Alonso
• 26.05.2013 - Monaco GP, Monte Carlo - Winner: Nico Rosberg
• 09.06.2013 - Canadian GP, Montreal - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 30.06.2013 - British GP, Silverstone - Winner: Nico Rosberg
• 07.07.2013 - German GP, Nurburgring - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 28.07.2013 - Hungarian GP, Budapest - Winner: Lewis Hamilton
• 25.08.2013 - Belgian GP, Spa - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 08.09.2013 - Italian GP, Monza - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 22.09.2013 - Singapore GP, Singapore - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 06.10.2013 - Korean GP, Yeongam - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 13.10.2013 - Japanese GP, Suzuka - Winner: Sebastian Vettel
• 27.10.2013 - Indian GP, Greater Noida - Winner: Sebastian Vettel - Secured WDC
• 03.11.2013 - Abu Dhabi GP, Abu Dhabi
• 17.11.2013 - United States GP, Austin
• 24.11.2013 - Brazilian GP, S?o Paulo

Thanks to Meph for the template

[simonlang]

The poll will be added once all teams are confirmed.

was just going to ask that :D

anyway: if ferrari manages to build a half-decent car from the very beginning (not such a s*itbox like last year) alonso has to be the clear favourite.

[Sparky Marky]

Timo Glock agrees to leave Marussia for 'commercial' reasons

German Timo Glock will not race for Marussia this year after he and the team "agreed to part company with immediate effect".

The German, 30, has raced for Marussia since their debut in 2010 as Virgin. Team boss John Booth said "commercial" considerations were behind the move.

Timo's time

"Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone," Booth added.

Glock earned a salary; Marussia need a driver who brings sponsorship.

Marussia did not say in their statement who would be replacing Glock. They have already confirmed the English novice Max Chilton in one of the seats.

Brazilians Bruno Senna, who raced for Williams last year, and novice Luis Razia have been linked to the team.

Source: BBC News

[TheLegendOfMart]

This is really turning me off F1, its not about who has the skill anymore its all about who can bring the most money to buy a seat, you get idiots like Pastor Maldonado who clearly wasn't ready for F1, though has been improving, smashing into everyone and being aggressive.

[Daedroth]

Possibility for more sponsor drivers? If it keeps up like this, soon anyone who isn't Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull or Mercedes will be using pay drivers!

[Guest]

Talent isn't enough to secure a seat in an F1 car these days :(

[TheLegendOfMart]

In the lower ranking teams anyway.......

Something needs to be done, like the constructors championship, normalise the payments a bit, you have to be top 10 to get any money at all, so the better teams get more money to spend on developing faster cars and the bottom ranked teams get jack ****. It should be the other way round.

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Here's the testing/car launch calendar for you all.

28-Jan Lotus

31-Jan McLaren

01-Feb Ferrari

01-Feb Force India

02-Feb Sauber

03-Feb Red Bull

04-Feb Mercedes

04-Feb Toro Rosso

05-Feb Caterham

05-Feb Test 1: Jerez

19-Feb Williams

19-Feb Test 2: Barcelona

28-Feb Test 3: Jerez

15-Mar Australian Grand Prix

[simonlang]

This is really turning me off F1, its not about who has the skill anymore its all about who can bring the most money to buy a seat, you get idiots like Pastor Maldonado who clearly wasn't ready for F1, though has been improving, smashing into everyone and being aggressive.

pay-drivers have always been a part of formula 1 especially in the lower-grid teams. have a look in the 90s, there have been much worse pay drivers.

maldonado has shown he can win races, thats at least something. also grosjean has shown he can contend for wins. if id had to throw out someone based on last year it has to be senna.

[Noir Angel]

Formula 1 isn't meant to be some utopian sport where everyone gets equal cars, if you want stock car racing watch nascar or champ car. It's about the biggest and the best showcasing their engineering and driving talents. If you don't have the capital to compete that's your problem, not the problem of the FIA and of FOM. Rewarding failure just doesn't make sense.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Here's the testing/car launch calendar for you all.

31-Jan McLaren

01-Feb Ferrari

01-Feb Force India

02-Feb Sauber

03-Feb Red Bull

04-Feb Mercedes

04-Feb Toro Rosso

05-Feb Caterham

05-Feb Test 1: Jerez

19-Feb Williams

19-Feb Test 2: Barcelona

28-Feb Test 3: Jerez

15-Mar Australian Grand Prix

Add the Lotus launch on January 28 to the list.

As for the team finances/pay driver situation: It reminds me of 1994/95. Only this time around there are no new teams waiting to enter F1. Or manufacturers who would want to buy an existing team. The FIA needs to act, and quickly - what good is a F1 grid with 16 drivers?

[Noir Angel]

One more thing: How has the regulation regarding having enough fuel in the car changed? The FIA already send cars that don't have enough fuel to the back of the grid as Seb and Lewis found out to their cost during 2012.

[Daedroth]

One more thing: How has the regulation regarding having enough fuel in the car changed? The FIA already send cars that don't have enough fuel to the back of the grid as Seb and Lewis found out to their cost during 2012.

I think its changes by increasing the minimum amount of fuel so they have the minimum 1L plus another 1L for a sample. Any punishments will remain the same i think.

[simonlang]

One more thing: How has the regulation regarding having enough fuel in the car changed? The FIA already send cars that don't have enough fuel to the back of the grid as Seb and Lewis found out to their cost during 2012.

they threw out the passus "higher force" out of the rules, so by now if you cant provide ennough fuel you are demoted back to the grid no matter what, you cant argue with "higher force" anymore.

however that also means that if you have indeed ennough fuel and had to stop the car for another technical reason, nothing will happen.

[Noir Angel]

Ah that makes sense, thanks!

[Daedroth]

The FIA have also said that teams can cover the platypus nose/step to make them smoother and more appealing to the eye. That was following the controversy that 2012 cars were ugly and no longer good looking.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

We'll get an idea of how the 2013 generation of cars will look like today: The Lotus E21 launch will be broadcasted on the team's YouTube page at 19:15 GMT/20:15 CET.

[Daedroth]

Lotus have unveiled their car, the E21. It still features the stepped nose:

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

[simonlang]

car looks ok, nothing too radical but it seems to be a good package. allison expects many teams to keep the stepped nose because the cover means only more weight added. however williams and mclaren have said that they will use the cover. if one team is not to use it, its probably red bull because they have some kind of air-intake in the step included.

i cant wait for mclaren and redbull to show their cars. their launches are usually the most exciting ones. :D

[Guest]

The McLaren was the only car to have a decent looking front nose last season.

[Lovell]

Cheers for the details, Chasethebase I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste this to another forum.

[SledgeNZ]

car looks ok, nothing too radical but it seems to be a good package. allison expects many teams to keep the stepped nose because the cover means only more weight added. however williams and mclaren have said that they will use the cover. if one team is not to use it, its probably red bull because they have some kind of air-intake in the step included.

i cant wait for mclaren and redbull to show their cars. their launches are usually the most exciting ones. :D

McLaren don't have the stepped nose to cover in the first place. Was the best looking car last season.

Can't wait for the this season...

If a car stops on track during qualifying how do they calculate the fuel need to finish the lap? Say x ml's per lap and multiply by the remainder of the track left or better still count a car on track as requiring a laps worth of fuel and the 1 litre required for testing?

Prefer the 2nd option so you don't see drivers coasting to save fuel and stopping on track. Wouldn't put it past some of the teams to try it on!

[simonlang]

McLaren don't have the stepped nose to cover in the first place. Was the best looking car last season.

i was talking about the mp4/28 not the mp4/27

[SledgeNZ]

i was talking about the mp4/28 not the mp4/27

The new car has a stepped nose? Have you got some insider info or pics?