FIA Formula One Championship ~ 2013

[StanleyB]

The FIA has a very short memory. Senna lost his life after a previous change to the specifications of the cars that was designed to make F1 more exciting. This time the likes of Alonso were lucky not to have been impaled by a piece from the exploding tyre. But luck only lasts that long.

[MartinT]

What a fab way to win a race. Hamilton was perfect in both qualy and the race this weekend. It's good to see Mercedes start to haul in Red Bull in terms of the car's performance, but sad to see Ferrari drop off the pace. I suspect that only Lotus can challenge Red Bull and Vettel now, although Mercedes may continue their performance gains. The second half of the season is going to be very interesting indeed.

[pjdowns]

Totally agree Martin. Being a fan of Lewis Hamilton it was great to see him do so well in his new team...

Can't wait to see the rest of the season (although I rarely watch the entire race these days!)

[Tim]

Its very refreshing to see Lewis in a much happier place - the move from McLaren was a very good thing for him methinks.

[RobbieGong]

Well chuffed for Lewis Hamilton, love da guy !

[pjdowns]

Its very refreshing to see Lewis in a much happier place - the move from McLaren was a very good thing for him methinks.

Totally agree Tim and I was originally one of the people who thought it was a stupid move!

Seems his move was more sensible than I'd thought. Look at McLaren now!

[synsei]

An excellent race punctuated by good drives from Hamilton, Raikkonen, Vettel, Webber, Grosjean and Button. Maldonado should also be congratulated for earning Williams first point this season. I thought Grosjean was a tad unlucky to serve a drive through penalty for his move on Massa, but the rules are the rules. As for his wheel clash with Jenson, I put that down to a racing incident.

Although I've admired Hamilton's gumption in the past his propensity to whine when things went wrong would grate with me. He has matured a lot over the past year however and now seems to be far more reflective and 'chilled'. It would appear that he is very comfortable at Mercedes, a lot more so than when he was with McLaren. Perhaps this was due to the pressure which was being applied on him by the media because of his 'Chosen One' status within the team. Added to that, the loss of his mentor, Ron Dennis, affected him deeply methinks. In Ross Brawn I believe Lewis has recaptured some of that relationship.

[synsei]

And so the Red Bull machine rules the roost for yet another season. Rumblings from the depths suggest that all may not be kosher with this years be-wheeled and highly aerodynamic energy drinks can, but I'm not sure whether it is just sour grapes or a genuine concern born of previous Red Bull misdemeanors. Whichever it is, Sebastian Vettel made the most of it and he is to be congratulated for winning his fourth drivers title. He has joined a very exclusive club.

Good drives by Rosberg and Grosjean saw them finish the Indian GP second and third respectively. Lotus deserve respect for their brave one stop tyre strategy which helped Grosjean recover from his seventeenth position on the grid to yet again finish on the podium. After a somewhat shaky start to his F1 career which saw his spacial awareness on track being questioned by some after various bumps with other drivers, the affable french driver has worked hard to address the issue and now seems to be in total control and focused on progressing to the top of the heap, often beating his more experienced team mate Kimi Raikkonen in the process.

[pjdowns]

The season has been a little dull but then if you have Adrian Newey in your camp then you are likely to walk away with the championship...

Just seen on the news that Ross Brawn is leaving Mercedes so I wonder if that will have an effect on Lewis Hamilton over the coming months / year... I still think he has much more to give...

I suppose whilst the F1 was a little dull, at least that Alonso chap didn't win... haha... shame!... let's see how he copes with Kimi Raikkonen as his team mate next year... I think we'll be in for some interesting races

Paul.

[MartinT]

I just can't warm to Vettel any more than I ever could to Schumacher. He has done little wrong and been very consistent, so kudos to him the season. Newey is the powerhouse behind Red Bull, though. Any team with him as designer is going to do well, provided he is well funded, and he is.

There are some good things to look forward to next season: new engines, Alonso/Raikonnen as team-mates and hopefully a step-up in performance from Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus. It would be nice to see Williams rise above the bottom ranks, too.