Formula 1 facts 2013

Formula One is about to start and we want you to be informed about everything so we gathered all the information you need to know about this season. Drivers, Cars, Helmets and the Circuits. The first race is this weekend in Australia and we want you to catch up with the news.

Drivers

In 2013 Formula One is welcoming five new drivers to the sport. There have also been some interesting moves in the top teams and we are yet to discover if they were good ones. Adrian Sutil has returned after a lawsuit put him out of last season, but one thing is for sure Alonso will be eager to conquer the title that Vettel stunningly took from his hands, after making an incredible comeback on the last race of the season.

Last year we had eight different race winner will there be more this year?

Sebastian Vettel

After conquering the third consecutive title with Red Bull Sebastian Vettel starts the 2013 season looking for a fourth one, which would give him the title of the youngest driver to ever win four consecutive titles. Last year competition went until the last race of the year and with small changes in F1 rules competition should be even closer this year. The question is... can Vettel do it?

Mark Webber

At the age of 36, Aussie driver Mark Webber still hasn't given up and is here to fight for the title and also for the team's best result possible. Vettel may be Red Bull's number one driver, but Webber is still an important piece of the mechanism that also gave three titles to the team. In his best form he is capable of extra-terrestrial driving and he is here to state that age hasn't caught him yet.

Fernando Alonso

Last year he was very close to the title and for some laps he even was title position, but Vettel robbed it from his hands. This year Alonso has come back for revenge and he is eager to win one more world title. For the last seasons Ferrari has failed to create the best car setting of the bunch and only with a lot of heart and soul put into his driving has Alonso managed to be on the title run. Will 2013 be the Spaniard's year?

Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa ended the 2012 season with solid performances, which secured him his spot at Ferrari. The Brazilian driver surely wants to improve his form and become a contender to the title. Pressure will definitely be on his side to improve on last year's 7th position overall.

Jenson Button

Without Hamilton as a team-mate Jenson Button now has a free way to become the number one driver for McLaren. The 2009 World Champion will want to be a front-runner and continue his quest to prove that he wasn't just a lucky champion with Brawn GP.

Sergio Perez

Mexican driver Sergio Perez made the biggest move in Formula 1 for the 2013 season. Moving from Sauber to McLaren is a bigger step than he would ever dream of after his debut in the sport just two seasons ago. The question is to know wether he can handle the pressure or not.

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen cameback to Formula One last season in great shape by finishing third in the overall standings. Now the Iceman wants even more and he is counting on his team to give him a good enough car to fight for the title. His consistency and maturity were key factors for his performance. Can he go a step further?

Romain Grosjean

From consistency to absolute non-consistency. Romain Grosjean was probably one of the most controversial driver of 2012. His agressive driving put him and several other drivers out of many races and he was responsible for the biggest crash of the season which gave him a one-race suspension. When focused he seemed unstoppable. Has he learn from his mistakes?

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg hasn't had the oportunity to show his true driving habilities thanks to a low investment in the first seasons from Mercedes. Now with a more mature project and willing to go to the next level, maybe the German will get more times on the podium and, who knows, increase his number of victories.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton made a very bold move by changing from McLaren to Mercedes for 2013. The British driver know it will be difficult to win races in 2013 but he knows the project of Mercedes is continue improving. He will definitely have to patient, but we all know how Hamilton likes to win. Will he get frustrated?

Nico Hulkenberg

Promising German driver Nico Hulkenberg moved from Force India to Sauber in 2013. The team is having a completely new lineup but is focused in improving the sixth position in las tyear's constructor's championship. Sergio Perez moved from Sauber to McLaren, can Hulkenberg be the next driver to jump to a bigger team?

Esteban Gutierrez

Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez is one of the five rookies in Formula One. He has been testing with Sauber since 2009, when the team was still linked to BMW and now he gets the chance to prove himself. Last year he was third in GP2 Series, making him the the first GP3 graduate to finish in the top 3 of the series.

Paul Di Resta

Paul di Resta has been a very consistent driver since he got to Formula One and his sixth place in Bahrain and sevenths in Malaysia, Monaco and Valencia are the proof of it. His fourth place in Singapore was the real highlight in 2012 and together with his team he will be willing to improve on that.

Adrian Sutil

Sutil did not race in 2012 following an accusation by Genii Capital, which runs the Lotus team, owner Eric Lux that Sutil broke a champagne glass and stabbed Lux in the neck in a nightclub after the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix. But his back now and very excited to be back on F1. Sutil raced for Force India from 2008 to 2011. His best year with the team was in 2011 when he was ninth in the drivers' championship.

Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado got his maiden win last year, but Williams failed to be consistent throughout the season. For 2013 he will definitely try to taste sweet flavor of victory once again. But can Williams give him a car that can manage it?

Valtteri Bottas

The next rookie on the list is Valtteri Bottas. The Finn driver grabs a seat in F1 after three years as test driver for Williams. He won the the GP3 Series title back in 2011 one of the trial championships of Formula One. He will definitely want to grab this opportunity and make the best out of it.

Jean-Eric Vergne

After a disappointing start to his F1 career, because of a disappointing Toro Rosso car, French driver Jean-Eric Vergne will want to improve on his 2012 performance. Still he managed eighth places in Malaysia, Belgium, Korea and Brazil which lift him above team mate Ricciardo in the final standings.

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo wasn't bad last year, but it wasn't great either, mostly because of an uncompetitive Toro Rosso STR7. Still his best run is a trio of point-scoring finishes in Singapore, Japan and Korea where he managed to compete with faster cars. Last year he finished ninth in the overall standings but his aspirations should be higher for this season.

Charles Pic

Charles Pic moves from Marussia to Caterham after a very positive first season in Formula One. Despite the difficulties of making an impression at the back of the grid he was able to overcome his more experienced team mate Timo Glock.

Giedo van der Garde

Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde is another newcomer to sport in 2013. He will compete for Caterham after running with the team last year in GP2 Series, where he finished fourth. He gets his shot in F1 after a season as Caterham's F1 reserve and making free practice appearances at six Grands Prix.

Jules Bianchi

After narrowly missing out on race seat with Force India, Jules Bianchi lands a last-minute, pre-season deal to make his competitive F1 debut with Marussia. Last season he was a reserve driver for Force India F1 team and finished second overall in Formula Renault 3.5 series, with three wins, eight podiums, five poles and seven fastest laps.

Max Chilton

Max Chilton is the last rookie of the 2013 season. Last year he competed for Carlin in GP2 finishing fourth in the points with two wins, four podiums, two pole positions and one fastest lap. He also tested for Marussia and became the team's official reserve driver.

More on autoviva

Michael Schumacher turns 300

1 comment

Michael Schumacher running his 300th Grand Prix in Spa

1 comment

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Cars

2013 hasn't been a year for many changes in the cars, with very little changes to rules of the sport. However we have to thank the All-Mighty Gods of F1 Design as most of the teams took out the stepped nose design which received several criticism last season. Little changes, means that competition will be even harder and that the cars will even more closer to each other. Let's meet the 2013 F1 Cars...

Red Bull RB9

Red Bull revealed its 2013 Formula 1 car, which it is calls the RB9. The team is hoping to take its fourth consecutive Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships. The name simply indicates that it is the ninth Red Bull Formula 1 car since the team was formed in 2005.

Ferrari F138

Ferrari has revealed its F138 Formula 1 car, and it is the first car that we have seen this year with significant changes over last year. Ferrari straightened out last year's crooked, stepped nose and has also changed the bodywork at the rear of the car. The name for the latest Ferrari comes from combining the year 2013 with its V8 engine. Ferrari admits it is mostly an evolution of last year's car.

McLaren MP4-28

McLaren had its drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez unveil the 2013 MP4-28 at its headquarters. The MP4-28 looks almost identical to last year's MP4-27. It is exactly the same color scheme and although it looks similar to last year, McLaren assures it is completely different to last year under the skin.

Lotus E21

Lotus was the first team to reveal its 2013 Formula 1 chassis, called the E21, and the biggest surprise is how little change there is. As expected with few changes in the rules, the look of the car has not changed much. One slight surprise is that the team kept the stepped nose that brought some controversy when the 2012 Formula 1 cars were revealed.

Williams FW35

The most radical change to the FW35 over last year’s car is the nose. The team not only flattened out the nose, they also cut it off. The nose ends abruptly in a diagonal cut, and the front wing extends past the nose. It is the only car on the grid to experiment with such a design.

Mercedes-Benz W04

The W04 has three major changes for the new season but only two of them really affect the car - a new nose, Blackberry sponsorship and Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes made some changes to the car compared to last year. It has a new, conical nose that smooths the front end. It also has a new five-element front wing and a second-generation Coanda exhaust. It retains a pushrod front suspension and pullrod rear suspension.

Sauber C32

Sauber's new C32 Formula 1 chassis with a new look and whole new livery. Compared to other teams, the changes to the car are extensive. Sauber says that the C32 has not changed much over last year's C31. The two biggest changes are a slightly smoothed nose and a new grey and silver livery. The side air intakes are narrower than last year and the rear was changed to improve airflow to the radiators.

Force India VJM06

On the outside, the car is nearly identical to the previous car with the exception of a non-stepped nose. The suspension has been changed to adapt to last year's tires. The rear suspension is higher to give more airflow under the wishbones. The team says that that VJM006 is a continued evolution of last year's car. It took the best of the changes that it had developed to last year's car plus its winter developments to create the 2013 car.

Toro Rosso SRT8

The SRT8 car is the first designed by Toro Rosso's new chief designer Luca Furbatto. The major change for the new car is an improvement to the weight distribution, which Furbatto says was a problem with the STR7 from the start. Furbatto redesigned the rear to be slimmer and more compact. The STR8 has a new gearbox design, hydraulics and rear suspension.

Caterham CT03

Caterham's CT03 is the first car to come out of Caterham's Leafield Technical Centre. The first thing most people will notice when they see the CT03 is that Caterham chose not to cover up the stepped nose from last season. Lotus made the same decision, but most of the teams covered the stepped nose. Technical director Mark Smith says that the car is an evolution on the CT01.

MaRussia MR02

Marussia's new car is the MR02, which is calls a comprehensive upgrade to last year's MR01. The MR02 is the first from the team to be designed with a combination of computer fluid dynamics (CFD) and the wind tunnel. Previously, the team did not have access to a wind tunnel, which meant all of the parts had to be evaluated in the computer. It rented McLaren's wind tunnel to develop its parts.

More on autoviva

Michael Schumacher turns 300

1 comment

Michael Schumacher running his 300th Grand Prix in Spa

1 comment

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Helmets

Every year there is a lot of curiosity around the helmets that drivers will wear on the cockpit. It is also very important as it will be through them that spectators and fans will be able to identify the drivers during the races. There are drivers that opt for the most simple designs but there also drivers to use all their creativity to come up with a memorable helmet design.

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel celebrates three consecutive driver and constructor championships this year. His helmet carries the purple and blue livery of the car and has more Infiniti sponsorship than previously. It has smaller red bulls on it and a blue and black top.

Mark Webber

Webber's helmet is very similar to Vettel's. The team is carrying more visible sponsorship from Infiniti this year, as Infiniti tries to increase its visibility in Europe. Webber's helmet still has Renault sponsorship as well. It has larger red bulls rising up the side and a yellow top to differentiate it from Vettel. 

Fernando Alonso

Alonso has a blue, yellow and orange helmet for this season. The top of which almost looks like his old Renault helmet, and the sides carry a heavily stylized Spanish flag. It also has sponsorship from Weichai Power - Ferrari's newest sponsor. 

Felipe Massa

Massa's helmet carries the colors of the flag of his native Brazil, but it is even more stylized than Alonso's Spanish flag. It will make it very easy to know which Ferrari is on track with the very different helmets. Massa's helmet carries the same sponsorship of Weichai Power, Kaspersky, Hublot and Santander. 

Jenson Button

The Union Jack colors are predominant in Jenson Button's helmet. But it's the Japanese lettering that calls our attention when looking at it. They are kanji-characters pronounced Ichi ban and mean "Number One". These characters have featured in Button's helmets since mid-2010. The same design is mirrored on the opposite side. It has Johnny Walker sponsorship.

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez is a new addition to the McLaren team. His helmet has a green and yellow gradient with his nickname "Checo" on either side. The rear shows "Perez" surrounded by Aztec symbols from his native Mexico. 

Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen gets quite an aggressive helmet for the season that is black, white and has red accents. It carries only a few sponsors - Renault, Lotus, Clear shampoo and a few more. The rear shows "Iceman" in a sharp, black font on a white background.

Romain Grosjean

Grosjean gets a simpler helmet than his teammate with black, orange and red stripes with a silver top. The side shows "RG Romain Grosjean." At the bottom rear of the helmet, Grosjean's helmet has a #8 billiard ball.  

Nico Rosberg

Rosberg keeps basically the same helmet as last season. He added more grey to his yellow 2012 helmet. The yellow shadows seem to have been inspired on the helmet's major sponsorship - Monster Energy. The major change is that "Nico" is now in a grey background instead of yellow.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton is a new addition to Mercedes. His helmet has the same color palette as last year but in a new design. It features stripes of blue, red, green and black on a yellow background. At the rear there is a cartoon image of Hamilton in racing garb scratching a record at a set of turntables stacked on speakers.

Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg has stuck with the same design as last year, but the new team has brought a new color scheme. Most of the design is black with two white stripes. Through the center there is a wide red stripe with some yellow accents around the visor.

Esteban Gutierrez

Gutierrez is a rookie to F1 and has quite a simple helmet. It is just yellow, intersecting lines over a blue background. There is simple NEC sponsorship on the side.

Paul Di Resta

Di Resta is another driver who is going with the same design as last year in a new color scheme. It is mostly red and blue with a white stripe above the visor. At the rear di Resta's native Scottish flag takes most of the design. 

Adrian Sutil

Sutil returns to Force India for this season. His helmet is orange and white with grey accents.

Pastor Maldonado

Maldonado takes the patriotic route again this season with the front of his helmet showing a stylized Venezuelan flag. The rest of the helmet is simple grey and white. 

Valtteri Bottas

Bottas has quite a simple helmet in dark blue and white. The surprising part about it are the significant number of sponsors up both sides of the helmet. 

Jean-Eric Vergne

Vergne sticks with the exact same design as last season. His helmet is a clear, sponsorship-dominated helmet. The colors of the energy drink monopolize the Frenchman's helmet design.

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo also sticks with the same design as last year. He has a small portion of his native Australian flag at the front of the helmet and a red bull on each side. 

Charles Pic

Pic has gone with a stylized version of his initials for his helmet this year. The "CP" initials are readable in yellow on the left side and mirrored on the right side. The rest of the helmet is decorated in gradient blue tendrils. 

Giedo van der Garde

Van der Garde might have the coolest helmet of anyone on the grid this season. The center is a simple black background with a white stripe, but the top and bottom are decorated in comic art showing an F1 car from the 60s from various angles. The rear shows the instruments and steering wheel; the car is on the side, and a tire with sound effects is on top.

Jules Bianchi

Bianchi apparently wants to match his car. The center of the helmet has an orange stripe that matches the car's livery. Above it is a grey stripe with the Marussia logo. The top and bottom of the helmet are black. 

Max Chilton

Chilton also goes the simple route. The whole helmet has a white background with sharp black stripes at the top and bottom with red pinstripes. The top center has the Marussia logo, and the bottom center has QNET sponsorship. 

More on autoviva

Michael Schumacher turns 300

1 comment

Michael Schumacher running his 300th Grand Prix in Spa

1 comment

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Circuits

This year there will be no new venues to the Formula One World Championship, as opposite to the last ones. The season will be 19 races, with locations all around the world, eight in Europe, six in Asia, two in both the Middle East and the Americas and one in Oceania. We start in March in Melbourne and go all the way until November in Brazil. So take a look at the calendar and start programming your weekends in advance.

Read as well Tom Mallet's preview of the season team by team