The OFFICIAL 2013 Formula 1 thread!

[Jand3rson]

Did anyone see the Countdown to F1 show on NBC Sports yesterday? Good little teaser, got me really excited for next weekend!

[Alex Mc]

Last year was Mclarens year. They ought to have won judging by pure pace. However they threw out a shit ton of points through stupidity, hamilton maldanado accident for example, reliabilty, and very poor execution. Things that never happened under the denis era. Mcmerc always do a good job of development as does redbull. The engine mapping ban will bring rbr back to the field. And they didnt walk away with the title last year. This year its anyones championship. It will be interesting to see when teams completly abonden their 2013 development in favor of the 2014 chassis. Last year teams never gave up on development because like Alex said it was beneficial as this year is merely an evolution. I dont think the second half will be as tight this year but here is to hoping it will be.

McL had a great car last year, but, especially in the modern era of extreme reliability, having a fast car is only one variable in the title charge package. Moreover, HAM's willingness to scrap has led to more than a few DNFs.. though we all know MAL was a disaster in the first half of 2012 (save the Spanish GP win)

And this goes back to what we're saying about ALO's brilliant first half to last season; the Ferrari was a top 4 or 5 car in Melbourne, but the combination of effective strategy and ALO's intelligence produced a string of points finishes that allowed him to have a successful season. Montezemlo, and of course ALO, weren't happy with P2 in the championship, but it was a good result put in context of the season.

[naplesE30]

Last year was Mclarens year. They ought to have won judging by pure pace. However they threw out a shit ton of points through stupidity, hamilton maldanado accident for example, reliabilty, and very poor execution. Things that never happened under the denis era. Mcmerc always do a good job of development as does redbull. The engine mapping ban will bring rbr back to the field. And they didnt walk away with the title last year. This year its anyones championship. It will be interesting to see when teams completly abonden their 2013 development in favor of the 2014 chassis. Last year teams never gave up on development because like Alex said it was beneficial as this year is merely an evolution. I dont think the second half will be as tight this year but here is to hoping it will be.

[Alex Mc]

Alonso had three wins in first ten rounds with a car nobody thought impressive.. Vettel took 4 in a row across Asia starting in Singapore. Alonso's luck makes no difference when the RBRs run up the scoreboard!

Who do we like before the Australian weekend starts?

[ELVA164]

Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, Alonso got some HUGE breaks over the course of the year.

[Alex Mc]

The chassis was fairly flawed to begin with though. McLaren really had the best chassis at the start of the season by far, but fell off HARD after that. I give Alonso a lot of credit for getting where he did, but I don't think I'd make the Jim Clark comparison just yet... I'm hoping they get a better hold on things for this coming season. 7 winners in 7 races wasn't too bad though!

That's what I mean, they captured huge point hauls on a run up until about Spa I guess. Put differently, had it not been for Good luck, Alonso would have no season at all.

[ELVA164]

I don't think you can call it bad luck; ferrari had an epic start to the season but they ultimately lost the development race to red bull.

The chassis was fairly flawed to begin with though. McLaren really had the best chassis at the start of the season by far, but fell off HARD after that. I give Alonso a lot of credit for getting where he did, but I don't think I'd make the Jim Clark comparison just yet... I'm hoping they get a better hold on things for this coming season. 7 winners in 7 races wasn't too bad though!

[Alex Mc]

Had it not been for bad luck Alonso would be the champion. Hopefully his team gives him the car he deserves and we get to see a season of great racing. Could be a classic year...like Senna vs Schuey, Kimi vs Schuey, Prost vs Senna or Hill, Stewart, Gurney, Brabham vs Clark

I don't think you can call it bad luck; ferrari had an epic start to the season but they ultimately lost the development race to red bull.

[dback]

Go Alonso

Had it not been for bad luck Alonso would be the champion. Hopefully his team gives him the car he deserves and we get to see a season of great racing. Could be a classic year...like Senna vs Schuey, Kimi vs Schuey, Prost vs Senna or Hill, Stewart, Gurney, Brabham vs Clark

[Hick]

Some NBC air dates/time.

http://m.nbcsports.com/content/nbc-sports-group-f1-coverage-2013

[Alex Mc]

As a long time member of R3V and fan of F1 I suppose I'll jump on this thread for the 2013 season!

Thoughts on 2013:

I don't expect a lot of shuffling of the competitive hierarchy this year; the rules are essentially unchanged with a few exceptions (DRS during Quali and new Pirellis being the noteables) and most teams' chassis are evolutions of what was run in 2012. Lotus does seem to have picked up some pace with their coanda exhaust but you don't see a lot of changes in the cars otherwise. A few new things like the RB floor design and the so-called "Monkey Seat" wings are new, also most teams running the half-shafts internally on the rear wishbones. The Pirelli rubber will be the X factor this year as they have, again, revised compounds... essentially moving everything down a notch (stickier): last year's medium is this year's hard. This will mean accelerated degradation across the board and it will put even more pressure on teams to produce long-run speed and not just single-lap numbers. This is an area where Lotus excelled last year and hopefully can capitalize on in 2013 as I'm a Kimster supporter. BUT...

RBR is still the team to beat and any talk of Seabass having "lost it" is utter bollocks; the man is a back-to-back-to-back world champion that produced yet another amazing run in the back half of 2012 to take the title for a third time. He scored points in his first ever outing in a Williams/BMW back in, what, 2007? Won a race in a Toro Rosso in the rain at Fuji. And how about that outside move on Alonso through Curve Grande at Monza last year? Then again, haters gonna hate.

Personally, Kimi Raikkonen has been my favorite driver since he was annointed by Mika Hakkinen back in the day. I'm also a huge fan of Mark Webber.

Ok, that's my 2 cents.. time to GET IT ON!

[jldhakad1990]

bmw

the bmw is the first car which participated in in formula 1 racing car..........
...........
classified website

[ELVA164]

When is BMW going back to F1? I miss seeing the roundel.

Probably the year after Jaguar does.

[woc]

Im with Massa, I know he's not Senna and will never be, but even after a the incident almost leaving him blind, he overcame that and kept on driving and trying his best, even if Ferrari does not let him win, because you have to understand the real bitch of F1 is Alonso.
Vettel is the best driver, he's clearly a master and so young too, Hamilton is another talented fella, and Haikonnen will surprise you on some races. When is BMW going back to F1? I miss seeing the roundel.

[ELVA164]

Vettel is a bitch.. sorry, he is. I think he's a good driver but he's had the best car out there. Hamilton's a bitch... interesting to see what he'll do but not getting any hopes up, Merc just doesn't seem to have the R&D later in the season to keep competitive. No matter what my boy is Jenson, not a popular vote but he's my jam. And of course have my eye on Lotus... I like the drivers and hope Kimi does well, who doesn't like Kimi?!

Ferrari? Pffshh.

Vettel I think has gotten too comfortable on top. If you watch some of his footage from his pre-F1 days, he was an extremely canny driver and able to make a car do what he wants. I'm sure he still has that ability, but he seems to get...flustered easily now when things don't go well. I agree about Hamilton. I hope he shuts up this year and gets back to driving. I wouldn't count Mercedes out; even if their car this season isn't as competitive as "it should be," I have a real good feeling that will change come 2014. There are a lot of staff changes going on in F1 also that are going to benefit Mercedes. Jenson is an unusual guy...it seems like he really can't use a car that isn't set up just the way he likes it. Just look at Spa: he performed unbelievably because the car was how he likes it. Many of the other races he wasn't close to Hamilton's pace. And I dunno if it's just me or not, but Alonso just doesn't sit right with me. Unbelievable driver, but not my favorite guy.

I read an interview with him in the Feb issue of F1 Racing magazine. I can't remember the exact wording but he is working on a return to Formula 1. The injury has left him with restricted movement in his wrist and forearm. He doesn't have enough room in the cockpit of an F1 to move his shoulder to compensate for the lack of rotation in his arm at the moment. He is working on it and it is getting better with increased movement each month. I wouldn't rule a return out. I hope he makes a come back, he was/ is one of my favourite drivers.

Good news, excited to hear more about it!