Same major cast. This might become a standard beginning for all our digests about the queen of motor sports. Sebastian Vettel secured victory in both final F1 rounds. Even after winning the World Champion title for the fourth time three Grand Prix before the end of the season, he was tough with his competitors during the races held in Abu Dhabi, USA and Brazil and managed to win the rest of the season as well. Brazilian round of 2013 World Championship was not just the end of another season. It became the end of eight-cylinder V engine era in the main Formula championship. It’s the last series season for Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber.
Mark had announced this decision in the middle of the season and so it did not come as a surprise. His team fellows organised a real “demob” for a Red Bull Racing pilot in Brazil. Mark was so much moved by his colleagues’ support that even shed a few tears.
Nevertheless the race was not neglected. Mark Webber qualified on pole for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But he did not manage to keep hold of his advantage letting Vettel and Rosberg pass him. However, pit strategy and tire choice eventually led to the following results: Vettel — Webber — Rosberg.
Only Red Bull, Lotus and Sauber were able to bring their full teams to the USA. As a result, the gap between them and smaller teams was tremendous. Heikki Kovalainen replaced Kimi Räikkönen, who had just undergone a back surgery before that race. The first row of the starting grid had habitual blue-yellow-red colours. Both Red Bull Racing pilots started from the front row. First was Sebastian Vettel, who managed to snatch pole position from his teammate with the last seconds of qualifying; Mark Webber was second. Next row was taken by Grosjean and Hülkenberg, and Hamilton and Alonso occupied the third row.
Unlike previous Grand Prix, Pirelli — Wold Championship tire suppliers — brought hard compound tires to the United States. Such rubber heats up more slowly but also the wear-out of Hard and Medium compounds is lower. Adrian Sutil crashed his race car after a collision with Pastor Maldonado on lap one and the peloton had to line up after the safety car right after the start. Eventually, Vettel secured another victory once again, having started from lap 5. Second place was taken by Romain Grosjean. Mark Webber finished third.
And finally the Brazilian carnival. It was rather gloomy outside. On Friday and Saturday the track was washed with rain. As a result, it was impossible to predict potential tire wear if the weather changed, as it actually did. So the teams had to adjust their strategy along the race, and though it was moderately cold outside (around 20°C) but the track remained dry. Some of the regular Formula 1 viewers were joking that it seemed like Red Bull Racing team had finally decided to give a leaving gift to Mark Webber by adjusting his car properly and even having a pit hitch for Vettel when the team was waiting for Mark and the tires for Seb were not ready. And again “the Bulls” had a double victory. As usually, Vettel was first and his leaving teammate came second. Fernando Alonso finished third.
Listed below are the final World Championship standings for the 2013 Formula 1 season:
1. Sebastian Vettel, 397
2. Fernando Alonso, 242
3. Mark Webber, 199
World Constructors' Championship:
1. Red Bull Racing, 596
2. Mercedes AMG, 360
3. Scuderia Ferrari, 354
Farewell to 2013 season. Farewell to Mark. Farewell to V8. Around 100 days to sign new contracts, conduct tests and... as a popular TV host Vladimir Pozner usually says: “Stay tuned”.
Photos: f1fanatic.co.uk
