F1 FANS MAG ISSUE 4 - PART 1 DECEMBER 2013 @F1FANSMAG WWW.THEF1FANSMAG.COM MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Dear Reader, First of all ,I want to thank every single person who hit ‘Follow’ on our Twitter account and to everybody who has read any of the first 4 issues of the mag. I would like to also thank every person who has contributed to the mag and to everyone who RT’d and replied to our tweets. I would like to give an extra special thanks to Paul Gawne, Ashley James, Sarah Jones, Lewis Duncan and Tom Wilkinson. Without these, this mag would have ended not long after it began. Thank you. As for the future of the mag, I hope we will be able to bring you great coverage of a very exciting time in F1. Thanks, James
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Feeling The ‘Force’ Nico Hulkenberg Returns to Force India It was announced on 3rd December 2013 when Force India confirmed that Nico Hulkenberg would be resigning for Force India on a ‘multi-year’ deal for the 2014 season. At this current time, Force India has said that they will name the second driver who will partner Hulkenberg ‘in due course’. Hulkenberg is expected to be partnered by former McLaren driver Sergio Perez, with Di Resta set to lose his place in Formula One (who is looking for a move to IndyCar Racing) and Sutil rumoured to be going to Sauber. The decision has now I think put all Formula One fans at ease especially after the news that Hulkenberg did not get the drive at Lotus last week. So how did Hulkenberg end up resigning for Force India? Hulkenberg had a very strong second half of the Formula One season where he scored points in the final six races. That run included an impressive drive to fifth place at Monza and fourth place in Korea a month after. It was from his show of form that Hulkenberg was linked with a drive at Lotus. However, Lotus were experiencing financial problems and a planned investment deal with the USMiddle Eastern consortium Quantum Motorsports failed to materialise in time and the team have signed Pastor Maldonado for 2014. As we all know, Maldonado comes with significant financial backing of £30 million from Venezuelan company PDVSA and Hulkenberg only has limited personal backing behind him which has denied him the drive.
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This then left Hulkenberg with limited and sensible options to remain in the sport competitively which were staying at his current team Sauber or resigning to his previous team Force India. Hulkenberg has decided to rejoin his former team Force India on a ‘multi-year’ deal. And you can see why Force India has signed him up for next season. Hulkenberg has impressed everyone throughout his Formula One career so far. The German made his debut in the sport in 2010 and took his maiden Pole Position in the penultimate race in Brazil of that year. He joined Force India as a test driver in 2011 before being promoted to a race driver in 2012. In the 2012 season, he scored on eleven occasions and even led the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix before crashing into Lewis Hamilton and recovering to fifth place. This year Hulkenberg finished tenth in the Driver’s standings with 51 points and has impressed everyone this year with his driving. On Tuesday, when Force India’s Team Principal Vjay Mallya announced that Hulkenberg was rejoining the team he said:‘I am delighted to see Nico back with Force India. When he [Hulkenberg] drove for us in 2012, it became clear Nico was an exceptional talent and he has continued to impress everyone in the paddock with his strong performances this season. Having Nico in our line up is a real statement of intent and a huge boost for everyone associated with the team.’ And I completely agree with Mallya. This year has seen Hulkenberg grow and develop his talent and driving further and he has been rewarded with a suitable drive within the sport with a team that he knows and a team that will try and do everything to help his personal and also driving development next season. And despite Lotus not signing him for next season, Force India will be thrilled to have resigned him and will use all of their racing experience and also the experience gained by Hulkenberg for their own advantage.
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However, many have argued that Hulkenberg resigning for Force India next season has been a step back for him as many felt that the Lotus seat should be been his (which I do agree with). But at the end of the day, we are not going to know even if the deal with Quantum had been finalised with the Lotus team that Hulkenberg would have been given the drive anyway despite the promises in the media. And if Hulkenberg would have waited for the deal any longer, Hulkenberg may not have even had a drive next season and that would have been the biggest injustice that Formula One could have dished on a talent like Hulkenberg. Despite the deal with Lotus not going ahead, many have debated that if resigning for Force India is the right decision for Hulkenberg. This year saw Force India having a great start to the season, outscoring McLaren who did not have the pace. Throughout the season, Force India have shown that they had gotten a grip of the 2013 tyres to suit their car and made one stop tyre strategies work when it was thought that it was not even possible. But throughout the second part of the season, Force India I have to admit struggled to due to events happening at the British Grand Prix (tyres exploding left, right and centre) that reverted the Pirelli tyres back to the 2012 specification on grounds of safety. This decision did not suit their car and the car sadly lacked the pace and was uncompetitive at races such as the United States Grand Prix.
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But despite this drop in form from the team in the second half of the 2013 season, they have had a really good year. Force India have produced a car that has shown the ability to be competitive, that allows the drivers to make a strategy work that others cannot do and have taken changes to outscore teams such as McLaren for points when they were able to. However, in my eyes the team do need to work on consistency with the car. As even though they have the potential to show what they can do when they are competitive, they need to make sure that they achieve consistency with their car throughout the season will not only show the rest of the teams that they can challenge but will give the team and the drivers the confidence to do. And this is where Hulkenberg could prove to be very handy indeed. When the media asked Hulkenberg his thoughts about resigning back to Force India he said:‘I know this team and I can see their determination. We all share the same hunger for success. The team is aiming high for next season and I believe the experience I have gained over the years will help us achieve their goals. I’ve heard a lot of positive things about the Mercedes engine as well, so I think there is a lot to be excited about for next year.’ I believe that personally Nico has made the right decision for next year to resign for Force India. Even though Hulkenberg will probably be slightly annoyed that despite all of Lotus’s promises of a deal with Quantum Motorsports that would have secured him a drive (who knows?), resigning seems to be a perfect fit for him. Force India have managed to convince him that they have put all the necessary steps in place that will only benefit each other now and also in the future. The team and Hulkenberg already have proven a track record from the 2012 season and have enjoyed success with each other (even though Hulkenberg moved to Sauber for this season). And this will not only strengthen their relationship with each other, but it also provides them both with a platform that will beneficial for not only the team but also for Hulkenberg as well. This year we have seen yet again Hulkenberg showing that if he is provided with a competitive car, he has the ability to challenge and perform for decent results for himself and the team he drives for. vi
Hulkenberg once again throughout the season has extended his proven track record with the sport. Hulkenberg has shown the world of Formula One that he can deliver when he has the tools in front of him. Hulkenberg has shown once again that he is worthy to be a contender for a top drive within the sport when the opportunity is presented to him. Hulkenberg has shown once again that he is a talented racing driver and that he is undoubtedly a talent of the future. And that has been the mistake of Lotus. Of the Lotus team not realising Hulkenberg’s potential has given him the chance to resign with the Force India team for 2014. Hulkenberg’s resigning demonstrates that despite the limited financial backing that he has, Force India now have the opportunity to show and develop his racing talent further with a team that will use this to their advantage. Hulkenberg has been given the opportunity and I have no doubt he will thrive from it and also the team too. The surprise package of 2014: Force India and Hulkenberg? It may well be.
By Sarah Jones You can follow me on Twitter at @jonesy_laaa. I also regularly blog about the sport on www.mclarenf1messiah.wordpress.com
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F1 ADVENT CALENDAR Here at the F1 Fans Mag, we thought we’d spread the Christmas cheer with a very special F1-themed Advent Calendar
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The Best V8 Race Since 2006, 2.4 litre V8 normally aspirated engines have powered the F1 grid. 2013 was the last of that format and instead F1 will adopt new 1.6 litre turbocharged engines aimed at improving the sports ‘green’ image. The current V8 era has been truly special in the sports history and it has produced some fantastic races. There is one race in particular that stands out most in my memory. The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. At this point in the season, Sebastian Vettel had won the first five out of six races with Lewis Hamilton being the only other winner and in Canada it looked as if he was going to claim win number seven. The race started behind the safety car due to an extremely wet track. On lap four the safety car pulled into the pits and the race got underway. Vettel led the field away but went in to deep at the final turn and allowed the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso to get a run on him down into turn one. Vettel held his nerve but further behind team-mate Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton connected. Webber was left pointing in the wrong direction whilst Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button snuck ahead. Lap five and Button ran wide at turn seven and lost two positions to Michael Schumacher and Hamilton.
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At the end of lap seven, the McLaren’s made contact against the pit wall. Hamilton was forced to retire whilst Button was left disgruntled. “What is he doing” cried Jenson. Things were to worsen for Button as he was given a drive-thru penalty for speeding under the safety car. Lap twenty one and the heavens opened. The safety car was brought out once again and on lap twenty six the race was red flagged. Thus began a long wait but the race finally resumed two hours later. The safety car entered the pits on lap thirty five but would appear two laps later after Button and Alonso came together at turn four. Alonso was left stranded on the kerb whilst Button had to complete the lap on a punctured front left. Jenson was left at the very back of the field but this was to be the start of a very special comeback. On lap fifty six, the safety car appeared again. This time for debris left by Nick Heidfeld’s Renault after he ran into the back of Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi and ran over his front wing. As the race resumed on lap sixty, Button had fought his way up to fourth but he wasn’t done yet. Lap sixty four and he was up to third after Webber missed the last chicane and nearly lost the rear of his RB7 re-joining the track. A brave move from Jenson. The following lap he disposed of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes and set about chasing down the race leader. At turn six on the final lap, the unexpected happened. “I think Vettel’s gone wide. Yeah, look at that, he went into deep, he got the tyres, Button leads the Grand Prix!” yelled the BBC commentary. After the most difficult of afternoons, Jenson Button drove the wheels off his McLaren to claim a sensational victory. A wonderful day to be a Button fan and a wonderful day to be an F1 fan. What a race. xviii
Check out there Retro F1 car designs on modern cars by designer Camille De Bastiani - http://cdebdesign.blogspot.co.uk
McLaren 1996
Williams 1989
Jordan 1991
Tyrell 1974
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March 1981
Simtek 1994
Renault 1982
Ferrari 1982
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UOP Shadow 1975
Pacific 1995
Lotus 1986
Williams 1993 xxi
Sauber 2000
Williams 2001
Benetton 1995
Arrows 1994 xxii
Osella 1983
Copersucar 1979
Lotus 1969
Jordan 1996
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Wolf 1977
Forti 1995
Brabham 1986
Prost 1998
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Lotus: Talent or Money? It was announced on 29th November 2013 Lotus confirmed that Romain Grosjean would be paired with Pastor Maldonado for the 2014 season. The decision has spilt everyone who loves Formula One and has left fans wondering if driver decisions are now not based on racing talent but on the promise of substantial amounts of money that they can bring with them. So is Lotus’s decision on Maldonado based on talent or money? Firstly, you could argue that the decision that Lotus made is on talent. Eric Boullier has stated to the media that:‘It is clear that Maldonado has the pace and potential, demonstrated by the 2010 GP 2 Series title success and strong races throughout his career at Williams. We are convinced that we will be able to provide the correct environment to enable him to flourish regularly.’ And I can see Boullier’s point for signing him. It is not easy for any young driver to secure a drive within the sport .And for Maldonado to secure a drive after his success in GP2 series in 2010 with Williams; a team with a rich history of success in the sport seemed to highlight how he impressed them. Throughout his career at Williams, when Maldonado has been on form, he has been on form. Maldonado has won a Grand Prix for Williams last year at the Spanish Grand Prix with great style and did impress everybody in the paddock. However, I believe this year Maldonado has not shown the promise from the Spanish Grand Prix last year. Maldonado has not been able to consistently gain points due to Williams car not being on the pace this year but successfully managed to score a point this season for them in a hard season for himself and Williams. xxv
However, I was still shocked that Lotus had signed Maldonado for his ‘talent’ for next year despite only scoring one point this season for Williams and having one race win under his belt when there are other drivers out there such as Hulkenberg who have out performed him regularly and showed their natural racing talent and speed on a consistent basis being overlooked by the Lotus team. This now brings me onto the subject that Maldonado was signed by the Lotus team for the money that he brings with him... It would be silly not to pretend that Lotus was highly influenced also by the £30 million a year that Maldonado brings with him from his sponsors PDVSA. Throughout the season, Lotus have been in talks with the US- Middle Eastern consortium Quantum Motorsports investing within the team and taking over 25% of the Lotus team. Throughout the latter part of the season, it appeared on the surface that despite a agreement taking place between the team and company and also interviews with the boss of the company Monsieur Ijaz (promising that the funds were in place to help the team and also help them secure the signing of Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber), the deal looked to be signed after sorting out terms and conditions legally. Despite their promises, the deal between Quantum Motorsports and Lotus has not been secured. The news of the deal between Quantum and Lotus did not surprise anyone in the paddock. Rumours were rife about the deal from the start which stemmed from research about the background of Monsieur Ijaz and his past ventures. This is also alongside the amount of times both parties announced to the media that the deal would be finalised and then both parties failing to meet the deadlines they had set themselves. This then left the team with limited options. After failing to secure the deal with Quantum, Lotus realised that they could not sign their preferred driver Hulkenberg and Hulkenberg only has limited personal backing to bring to the team. The only viable option that Lotus had on the table was either to bring in a ‘pay’ driver such as Maldonado who brings substantial government backing who would help with their cash flow problems and would be able to race in the sport next year. As you would expect, many fans (like myself) were in disbelief that a talent like Hulkenberg had been overlooked by Lotus and decided to sign up Maldonado. I do understand why the team signed Maldonado. Lotus are a great racing team who secured fourth place in the Constructors Championship this year and have produced a car this year that has tried to challenge the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing.
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As you would expect, many fans (like myself) were in disbelief that a talent like Hulkenberg had been overlooked by Lotus and decided to sign up Maldonado. I do understand why the team signed Maldonado. Lotus are a great racing team who secured fourth place in the Constructors Championship this year and have produced a car this year that has tried to challenge the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing. But Lotus has experienced financial problems throughout the year. Kimi Raikkonen left the team two races early to have back surgery before rejoining Ferrari for the 2014 season. However, Raikkonen had not been paid by the team throughout the year and is owed £17 million Euros plus it is rumoured up to £50,000 Euros per point he has scored for them which may have influenced his decision. It could be seen that signing Maldonado for next season would not only be Raikkonen’s replacement but also would help the team with their troubles and still be on the grid for 2014. Of course the signing of Maldonado was not going to be very popular. Over the last few races Maldonado has presented himself in a fashion that has personally disgusted me. When he announced that he was leaving Williams, I really was not shocked in the slightest, I even understood why Maldonado would leave after the year he had with the team. However, the weekend of the United States Grand Prix, Maldonado showed himself in the wrong light. Publically, he ridiculed the Williams team by stating that he had deliberately sabotaged his car and thereby ruining his weekend. I think I can safely say that many fans and people in the paddock where in shock with Maldonado’s behaviour. How could he do that to a team who had given him a chance to get into Formula One in the first place and also a team whose core philosophy is to race? What would Williams have gained from doing this to Maldonado? Towards the end of the weekend, Maldonado changed his perspective and apologised to the Williams team for his comments. Sadly, I believe it was too late for him to redeem himself. The damage had already been done. After this, Maldonado publically stated to the media that his future in the sport was ‘imminent’ and would be decided soon. I think we all knew what was going to happen, even though it sent shockwaves into the sport on Friday when the deal was announced. Lotus will have a challenge to try and nurture Maldonado’s ‘talent’ next year. If his behaviour with the Williams team is anything to go by, Lotus should treat Maldonado with caution. I think it won’t be too long before we hear another outburst from his mouth.
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However, I do believe that Lotus choosing Maldonado and his sponsorship money for 2014 instead of the talented Hulkenberg has left every Formula One fan wondering if teams now base decisions on money rather than talent. And it would be hard to disagree with this assumption. I remember days of old that drivers got into Formula One based on their natural racing talent and were rewarded into drives with top teams such as Lotus when they proved themselves in the sport. And Hulkenberg has proved himself throughout his career so far. Hulkenberg claimed William’s first Pole Position in 2009 in Brazil; he has drove some brilliant qualifying laps (especially this year in Italy) and has secured several fourth place finishes for Force India and Sauber (his best finishes in the sport to date). I really do believe that Hulkenberg is the real deal and is a talent for the future who will continue to grow in the future and is a better bet for Lotus than Maldonado. For me Friday as highlighted once again the change of direction from teams once again about their choice of drivers. The days of old have now been replaced by teams now choosing the drivers who bring significant backing or sponsorship that can contribute to their budgets to keep themselves racing in the current economic climate. It has been proven with the case of Lotus and Maldonado. Lotus choosing to go the ‘pay’ route with Maldonado who I believe despite the team saying he has been signed on his ‘talent’ has been influenced by money. Yes, if the deal with Quantum had been finalised, who knows if Hulkenberg would have even been signed by the team despite their promises to the media?
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Despite this, I firmly believe that Maldonado is does not have the ‘talent’ in the first place. I will not take away his win at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012, the fact that Williams did not have the car this year to be competitive and his behaviour after announcing that he was leaving Williams, Maldonado has not proven himself within the sport. He depends on his money to land himself a drive and he knows that this is all it will take nowadays. In my eyes, he is not worthy of the drive with Lotus next season and never will be, even if he does well with the team. Meanwhile a pure, natural racing talent such as Hulkenberg has once again missed the opportunity that rightly deserved to be his. Hulkenberg has a proven track record within the sport and shown time and time again that he should be within a top team within the pinnacle of motorsport without the backing behind him. And it is because of this that Hulkenberg has been denied the opportunity to show and develop his racing talent further with a team that could have used this to their advantage. Instead, Hulkenberg again finds himself in the prospect of trying to stay within the sport within the midfield either with Sauber or his old team Force India and thereby starting his quest again to be considered by the top teams of the sport for the future. And I believe it’s only going to be a matter of time before his question with Hulkenberg is going to be raised again, but next time I am hoping ( as I am sure most Formula One fans are) Hulkenberg is given the opportunity and I have no doubt he will thrive from it. By Sarah Jones You can follow me on Twitter at @jonesy_laaa. I also regularly blog about the sport on www.mclarenf1messiah.wordpress.com.
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F1 WORDSEARCH Can you ďŹ nd all 11 F1 teams in this wordsearch?
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2013 SEASON REVIEW xxxii
Red Bull came into 2013 as favourites once again and delivered on that assumption. Thirteen wins, twenty four podiums in total and 596 points. Red Bull had no equal. Yet 2013 was more of a one man show rather than a team effort. Sebastian Vettel took all of the teams thirteen victories and propelled himself into the history books by winning his fourth consecutive world championship as well as becoming the only driver to win nine consecutive races, surpassing Alberto Ascari’s record of eight. Mark Webber’s last season in F1 was a slightly disappointing one. Failing to win a single race, Mark had to settle for just seven podium finishes. Despite some poor luck, he just never seemed to have the pace to actually win a race and there was really only one race where he came close which was at Silverstone. Nonetheless, Mark has had a magnificent career which hailed forty two podiums, nine of which wins. I for one will definitely miss him. Replacing him is Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo. Daniel has been linked with Red Bull since his HRT days and so it came as no surprise that he would be Webber’s successor. He has to impress quickly though if he is to remain with the team. The team will also have to manage this new line-up better as to avoid a repeat of the Vettel/Webber fall out. Red Bull, despite the new technical regulations, will still be favourites going into next year but the push for this year’s title will definitely have hurt development of the 2014 car. However, the team are no strangers to getting it right when there is a major change to the cars as 2009 demonstrated so don’t expect a massive drop in performance.
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Fernando Alonso’s victories in China and Spain indicated that he and Ferrari may have been championship contenders but once again, the Spaniard was let down by the team. Alonso has come close to winning two titles with the team but was let down both times due to a poor strategy call in 2010 and slowed car development in 2012. Fernando over achieved in a poor car. As well as two wins, he scored six other podium finishes and secured second in the drivers’ standings. His team-mate also had a poor season but in this case he only had himself to blame. Felipe had a resurgence in form late last year, claiming two podiums in Japan and Brazil and I expected him to challenge for wins this year. Sadly and disappointingly that did not happen. Felipe took one third place finish at Spain, with his best result after that being two fourth places. It’s no surprise then that Ferrari and Massa will part ways in 2014, the Brazilian moving onto pastures new at Williams. I think a new start for Massa could be just what he needs to bring back that pre 2009 success. As for Ferrari, they are stepping into uncharted territory in 2014. Kimi Raikonnen will return to the team alongside Alonso and I’m not sure that it will end well. Both drivers are not exactly going to be willing to play the number two driver game and as we’ve seen in the past, both drivers don’t like being outshone by their team-mates. 2014 is definitely going to be an interesting year for the Italian marque.
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The big news coming into 2013 was the announcement of 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton joining the team. Mercedes have struggled in recent years to prove themselves as genuine title contenders but were keen to alter this. A major management reshuffle and the signing of Paddy Lowe from McLaren proved that Mercedes were serious. For the most part, Hamilton’s first season with the Brackley based squad was a successful one with the Brit winning the Hungarian Grand Prix and finishing third at the Malaysian, Chinese and Belgian Grand Prix as well as claiming five pole positions. Lewis’s season fell away a little after Belgium with his best finish being a fourth at Austin. He did however beat his team-mate and help the team secure second in the constructors standings. Nico Rosberg improved on his one victory from last year, winning the Monaco and British Grand Prix and finishing second and third at the Indian and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Reliability issues cost him potential podium finishes and the cars harshness on its tyres hindered both drivers. Nico will need to up his game for next year if he is to stay with the team beyond 2014. Mercedes seem confident that next year will be their year and if history is anything to go by then a big technical change may be just what they need to become championship contenders.
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Lotus had a very mixed season. The teams’ relationship with their number one driver turned sour over the course of the season, with it emerging that Kimi hadn’t been paid a single euro this season. Raikonnen threatened a boycott of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but did race. This however was to be his last race with the team as he sat out the final two rounds to instead go and have surgery done on his back. Kimi scored eight podiums including a win at the season opening Australian Grand Prix and finished fifth in the drivers’ standings. His team-mate Romain Grosjean, the man dubbed the first lap nutcase of 2012, emerged as a truly world class driver. The start of the season was a little shaky for Romain. Clearly his confidence had taken a knock from the backlash he received for events from 2012 and this wasn’t helped by a crash with Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco. Romain kept his cool though. From Germany onwards, he was consistently scoring points and went on a run of three podium finishes in Korea, Japan and India. He took his best result of the season at Austin, finishing second after a very mature drive which also saw him finish just six seconds off of Vettel. His season came to an abrupt finish after an engine blow out at the end of the first lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Romain finished seventh in the drivers’ standing with 132 points and six podium finishes. If Lotus can build him a competitive car next season then I honestly think he will be a title contender. With Raikonnen sitting out the final two rounds, the team had to find a replacement. 2008 Hungarian Grand winner Heikki Kovalainen was chosen. Heikki showed good pace but was held back by car issues and failed to score any points. Two fourteenth place finishes though is not bad for a driver who has sat out most of the season and only drove in six FP1 sessions for Caterham. With Lotus struggling financially, the team had to go down the road of hiring a driver with a considerable bank balance. Pastor Maldonado will join the Enstone squad next year and this has not been received well by fans.
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McLaren had, undoubtedly, one of their worst seasons in its fifty years. This was amplified by the team having the quickest car on the grid in 2012 and it was expected for them to be a serious threat in 2013. Yet McLaren chose to build a completely different car as they claimed there was more development potential for it. As well as a new car they had a new driver. I was excited at the prospect of Sergio Perez joining McLaren as he showed that he had the potential to win races during his time at Sauber. Despite a poor car, Checo was rather lacklustre. His best result was a fifth at India but was beaten 13/7 by his team-mate. He did however beat Jenson 10/9 in qualifying. Checo also showed that, at times, he struggled with wheel to wheel combat. Bahrain and Monaco showed this after small contact with his team-mate and contact with Raikonnen which left Perez with damaged front brakes. 2013 was meant to be Jenson Button’s year. Lewis had left, leaving him definitive team leader which should’ve meant that he dictated the path of development. Unfortunately, he had to contend with an awful car. Yet Jenson wrung the neck of his MP4-28 and only failed to finish outside the points on five occasions, the highlight being a competitive fourth at Brazil. Of course this was small consolation for a season which yielded no podiums. In 2014, McLaren will introduce a new driver to the grid. Twenty One year old Formula Renault 3.5 champion and McLaren young driver Kevin Magnussen will make his debut with the Woking based team next year. Magnussen is highly rated amongst the team and has shown his talent at Young Driver Tests. After seeing what happened to Perez this year, Kevin will know that he has to impress.
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2013 started off very well for Force India, their car clearly well suited to ultra-sensitive Pirelli tyres. At one stage they were looking good to finish ahead of McLaren in the constructors championship. But, like a number of teams, the change of tyre structure set the team back. Paul Di Resta was top dog at the Silverstone based team, finishing twelfth overall with forty eight points. Seven points’ finishes from the first eight races was the highlight of the season for the Scot as the second half of the season saw him claim only two more points finishes at India and Abu Dhabi. Five retirements in a row from Hungary to Korea, although maybe not the sole cause, would have had a part to play in his sacking from the team for next year. A shame but a driver that definitely needs to find a bit more speed. Team-mate Adrian Sutil had a mixed return season. He did show that he deserved a second chance with some great drives early season, most notably Australia where he led for several laps. He encountered some bad luck with a dodgy wheel nut ruining his race in Malaysia and the Sauber of Esteban Gutierez launching over the top of him in China. Sutil will remain on the grid next year, this time with Sauber and it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on at a different team. Force India will have a revised line up for next year. Nico Hulkenberg will return to the team after a year away at Sauber. Nico impressed at Force India last year and will be looking to continue that. With the new rules next year, Force India could be one of the midfield teams who break into the top group of teams so Hulk could be in a very good position.
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Sauber had their best season ever as an independent team in 2012, scoring four podium finishes at Malaysia, Canada, Italy and Japan. With the immensely talented Nico Hulkenberg on board, on paper 2013 should’ve been even better for the Swiss team. Sadly this was not the case. Hulkenberg achieved more than what the car could achieve, finishing in the points on ten occasions and brilliantly putting his C32 third on the grid at Monza. The highlight of his season was his superb drive at the Korean Grand Prix where he held his nerve to finish fourth whilst being put under immense pressure from the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Hulk finished tenth in the drivers’ standings despite not starting the first race of the season due to a fuel feed issues. Sauber introduced Mexican GP2 driver Esteban Guierez to the grid. Esteban had a tough debut season but did end up top rookie with six points after finishing seventh at Japan. The second half of the season showed that Gutierez was talented and I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be at Sauber next year.
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2013 was an average year for STR. Eighth place was not the improvement they were hoping for. Daniel Ricciardo beat Jean-Eric Vergne this season however but more importantly for the Aussie, he secured the second seat at Red Bull for 2014. Seven points’ finishes to his team-mates three showed that he deserved the seat but now needs to deliver. Vergne wasn’t as impressive in his second season and his confidence will not have been given a boost by being overlooked for the Red Bull seat. Vergne needs to improve or his days in F1 may be numbered. With the announcement of nineteen year old GP3 champion Daniil Kvyat stepping up with STR next year, many have raised the question on whether he is ready or not. Daniil is the veteran of over 150 car races and impressed hugely at his two FP1 outings. Red Bull have been notorious for dropping young drivers from their development programme and ruining their F1 careers i.e. Jaime Algesuari so Daniil needs to impress straight away.
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Williams took a step closer to returning to the front of the grid after Pastor Maldonado’s shock Spanish Grand Prix win but took a dramatic step backwards, only finishing the season with five points. It’s evident though that Williams are determined to rectify this. Next year they will switch to Mercedes power and announced earlier this month that they made three significant technical signings. Add that to the signing of Felipe Massa and Williams may just stage a comeback. The star of their season, Valtteri Bottas, will remain with the team next year. Bottas had a difficult debut season, thanks largely to the car, but put in a couple of very strong performances. During qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix he judged the changeable conditions perfectly and put his FW35 third on the grid. At Austin he drove a very strong race to finish eighth. His team-mate faired much worse. Pastor only managed a tenth place at Hungary and began slandering the team. At Austin he claimed the team sabotaged his car after he finished Q1 1.5 seconds adrift of his team-mate. I imagine both will be glad their partnership has ended.
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Marussia finally did it. They managed to secure tenth place in the constructors’ championship. The team got off to a tricky start to the season as Timo Glock ended his contract with the team and Luiz Razia was dropped due to a payment dispute. Eventually, the team secured their line-up of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton. Jules had a very good debut season, finishing thirteenth in Malaysia and consistently out performing his team-mate. Jules’ link to Ferrari has been massive for the team as they will be powered by Ferrari engines next year. Max Chilton was the only driver to finish every single race this season. He lacked speed but in his defence he is the most inexperienced guy on the grid, having only completed one FP1 session prior to the start of the season. He has consistency, so if he improves his speed it could be a very interesting scrap between the pair.
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Caterham had a terrible season by their standards. They had failed to improve on their 2012 car and had to call in the services of the driver they sacked, Heikki Kovalainen, to do some development driving during six FP1 sessions. They failed to improve on three fourteenth place finishes at Malaysia, Hungary and Korea. Giedo Van Der Garde impressed on his debut season, managing to get into Q2 on two occasions at Monaco and Belgium. I was most interested to see how Charles Pic got on as he was the first driver to switch from one of the young teams to another. Pic had a reasonable season, hindered by a difficult car. Despite this he didn’t exactly propel the team forward which is what I expected to happen. 2014 could prove to be Caterham’s most difficult season though. With no prize money awarded to teams finishing eleventh and with the extreme costs of the new power units, there is a strong possibility that if they fail to find a well-funded driver then we may lose Caterham from the grid.
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he 2013 season was full of some rather memorable moments but there is one in particular that will remain with me for a long time. Sebastian Vettel’s celebrations as he won his fourth world title were simply spectacular. His doughnuts on the pit straight followed by a bow to his magnificent RB9 were wonderful to watch. Sadly these celebrations were ruined by the FIA after they fined him 25000 euros. 2013 was not without controversy. The biggest being the tyres. Pirelli had used a new structure for the tyres, replacing the Kevlar belt with a steel one. Aimed at keeping tyres intact as so bits of rubber were not deposited over the track in the event of a puncture. Ironically, this safety feature turned out to be rather dangerous. Tyres began to delaminate due to the new bonding process not working with the steel belt. The situation with the tyres came to a terrifying conclusion at the British Grand Prix when the left rear tyres of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Pérez blew out. Subsequently the tyres were changed for the German Grand Prix. But were Pirelli really at fault? Well no. Pirelli had been tasked by the FIA to make high wearing tyres and there is only so many things you can actually do with a tyre to make it unpredictable. Also, Pirelli aren’t allowed to test with current cars meaning any data gathered using an appropriate car is more or less irrelevant.
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The Multi 21 incident of Malaysia was undoubtedly the low point of an otherwise spectacular year for Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel was told not to pass team-mate Mark Webber but ignored that order and passed him anyway to take victory. The pair haven’t exactly had the best of relationships and this certainly did nothing to aid that. This incident should’ve prompted the FIA to actually think about banning team orders again. It was made legal in 2011 after the Ferrari team orders scandal of the German Grand Prix in 2010 and since then has, for me, ruined a lot of races. Ferrari are notorious for using them on Felipe Massa and it just isn’t what racing is about. The way I see it is, if you think you’re faster than your team-mate then use your speed to pass him. And that is it for the 2013 season. I have enjoyed immensely writing for F1 Fans Mag and I hope you have enjoyed my opinion columns. I hope to bring you more in what promises to be an enthralling 2014 season.
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Thanks to everybody who tweeted us (@F1FansMag) sharing your views on the retiring Mark Webber and what you will miss about him
@jonesy_laaa : Best moment was his win in 2009. But also his statement about Grosjean as a 1 lap nut case and Vettel after Malaysia
@Gerard0602 : Best moments.. not bad for a No.2 driver, Monaco 2012 win, 5th place in 1st race! sad moments. Throw up in his helmet :(
@bouncebckbltrx : Throwing up & swallowing it back, then swearing on live TV after he got taken out by Vettel in the 2007 Japanese gp!!
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End of the ‘Aussie Grit’ Era It was announced on 27th June 2013 (prior to the British Grand Prix weekend) Mark Webber confirmed the news that he was leaving the red Bull team at the end of the season to race at Le Mans for Porsche. The decision to announce his retirement out of Formula One so early into the 2013 season was to give Red Bull Racing plenty of time to find his replacement. Later on into the season, Red Bull announced that fellow Australian Daniel Riccardo would be joining the team to partner Sebastian Vettel for the 2014 season, taking over Felipe’s seat. With Webber’s Formula One career coming to an end, it’s appropriate to look back on his career with the sport he has loyally served. Since making his debut in Formula One in 2002 at the Australian Grand Prix and scoring his first World Championship sports, the F1 paddock and the fans have only seen glimpses of the promise and the peak he showed in 2010 when for a short time he was fighting to be World Champion of the sport. Personally, I believe the peak in performance he showed in 2010 (especially by winning dominantly in four races and finishing second in another four races Malaysia, Belgium, Japan and Brazil allowed Webber to mature and nurture his talent to briefly become after his win in Monaco to become the first Australian driver since Alan Jones in 1981 to lead and then challenge for the Driver’s Championship. In 2010, Webber won dominantly in Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary, securing stunning Pole Positions in Malaysia, Spain and Monaco and finishing second in Malaysia, Belgium, Japan and Brazil. Webber was driving on a complete different level to what I had seen before. After Monaco, Webber and his confidence in my view was unbeatable yet challenged for the rest of the year. At the European Grand Prix, Webber crashed into the back of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus which sent his car flying through the air, collecting a track advertising board and landing upside down. Luckily Mark was not hurt, but had to retire from the race.
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However, it was not meant to be for him. Webber suffered a small fracture in his right shoulder from a result of a mountain bike accident. Despite this, Webber did extremely well to lead the championship until the Korean Grand Prix when he did not complete the race. Webber still could have won the title, if in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi Mark won the race and Alonso finished no higher than third. However, Vettel won the race and the title and the Constructors for Red Bull. This was where Webber’s chances of becoming the 2010 Formula One World Champion were lost. Ever since the 2010 season, where Mark and his talent were at his peak, Mark has never been able to recover this part of his talent again. I am not disputing that Mark is not talented, because he is. For him to come back from not securing the World Championship in 2010 and still challenge and race competitively since takes determination, talent and skill. Webber showed this with a fifth place finish at the Australian Grand Prix in 2011, beating Vettel to Pole at Silverstone and finally winning the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the end of the year, Webber was third in the Driver’s Championship and was rewarded with a DHL Fastest Lap Award for the first time in his career and to stay at Red Bull in 2012. Over the last two years, Mark has a dip of form (especially in Qualifying) but consistently scoring points for the team on a regular basis. Webber’s career looked strong in first half of 2012 but he put in some truly amazing drives that allowed him to keep his Red Bull seat until end of this season. This season Mark has had an amazing early start to the season. Mark managed to out-perform his team mate in Malaysia despite Vettel winning the race after strict instructions by Red Bull not to do so but has only been able to outperform or his Red Bull team mate in qualifying this year (his brilliant Pole Position in Abu Dhabi which equalled Sir Jack Braham’s record for an Australian driver) but despite this, Mark decided to hang up his gloves to drive for Porsche and also in Le Mans for 2014. xlviii
Since Mark joined the sport, he has been loyal and humble servant to the sport and the teams he has served throughout his career. At times, the Red Bull team especially when team required Mark to help them out with Vettel, Mark did respect and honoured the wishes made from the team to Sebastian Vettel firstly when Mark was his team mate (despite Turkey in 2010 and Brazil 2012) which will have also impacted on him. For example, at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Mark was dominantly on his way to winning the Grand Prix which would have been his first win since the 2012 British Grand Prix. However, Sebastian Vettel on Team Radio asked his team ‘to get Mark out of the way, with the team replying to him that ‘it was silly and not to do anything stupid’. But Vettel pushed his way past Mark, very nearly taking both Mark and himself off the track As a racing driver, I am sure it would have pained Mark to have lost the race this year and would have every right to show Vettel and the Red Bull team a piece of his mind by not following their own ‘Multi 21’ policy ingrained within the team. But he did not and Mark did it for the good of the Red Bull team, for his career, for the sport he adores and his own piece of mind. This to me showed to me not just how great Webber is as a racing driver who is committed to the sport he loves but also has a person and this only made the Formula One paddock and more so the fans take Mark into their hearts even more and gain more respect for the Australian driver. However, the Red Bull team did give him his first shot at a fighting competitively for wins and podiums within the sport, gave him first win in 2009 at the German Grand Prix, gave him the best chance to win
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World Champion in 2010 and ultimately become a Red Bull driver for six years of his eleven years of his Formula One career.
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Not many drivers achieve the aim of becoming a Formula One driver, never mind a driver for Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and Red Bull Racing. Webber did. Not many drivers get eleven consecutive years in the pinnacle of the fastest sport in the world. Felipe Massa did. Not many drivers get the chance to fight for the World Championship. Webber did. Mark Webber should be remembered as the driver that let his racing talent shine brightly since his arrival in 2002, in the same year and was runner up in the Championship (apart from Sebastian Vettel winning the title in 2010) and loyally obeying and taking decisions for the Red Bull team in particular (Malaysia again!) without question throughout his career. Throughout his eleven year career, Mark has been a long term member of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association committed to making sure that safety in Formula One is paramount. His ‘Aussie Grit’ and determination to achieve the best results he can possibly can (especially after Malaysia this year) will be sorely missed by the paddock and has endeared Formula One fans alike to take him to their hearts with his straight talking and honesty that has refreshed the world of Formula One. When he finishes his last race in the sport after the Brazilian Grand Prix, Mark Webber should finally be remembered as old school racer who has the respect and admiration of the Formula one world who has achieved 9 Grand Prix Wins, 13 Pole Positions, 18 Fastest Laps and 41 Podiums that he achieved within his eleven years in the sport. And that is what Mark Webber should be proud of when he leaves the Red Bull team and retires from Formula One as a whole at the end of the year and it can be never taken from him. By Sarah Jones You can follow me on Twitter at @jonesy_laaa. I also regularly blog about the sport on www.mclarenf1messiah.wordpress.com.
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