F1 Mid-season Driver Ratings 2014

With the F1 fraternity enjoying the last week of its summer break before returning to action at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend, it's time to reveal my mid-season driver ratings in what has so far been a spectacular season of racing:

Lewis Hamilton (GB, Mercedes) 2nd in Championship, 5 wins, 4 poles, 191pts              
Rating: A-

Had this post been written just after the Spanish Grand Prix, where Hamilton took a fourth successive win after another tight battle with Nico Rosberg, it would be hard to award the Briton anything other than full marks. But, since that infamous qualifying session in Monaco, it's the German who has gained the upper hand between the two Mercedes team-mates.

One particularly illuminating stat is that every time Hamilton hasn't been on pole, he has been outqualified by Rosberg - a poor reflection on a driver whose single lap pace is often regarded as his strongest suit. Admittedly, car troubles at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring have played their part, but then again so have crucial errors at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone.

Hamilton was fortunate that gearbox failure for Rosberg at Silverstone allowed him to claw back precious ground in the championship, but his recovery drives at the following two races were both masterclasses in damage limitation. Beating his title adversary at Hungary despite his pitlane start in particular will have given the 2008 champion a vital psychological boost going into the latter half of the year.

Nico Rosberg (D, Mercedes) 1st in Championship, 4 wins, 6 poles, 202 pts
Rating: A 

After the Spanish Grand Prix, where Rosberg was beaten by Hamilton for a fourth time in succession, many were beginning to question whether the destiny of the title was already decided; whether the German could possibly mount a fight-back from such a position of weakness. But, since then, Rosberg has lived up to the title favourite billing with which many observers had assigned him pre-season.

Whatever your thoughts on the events of qualifying at Monaco, it was Rosberg who had set the quicker first run in Q3 - going on to outqualify Hamilton in the next three races. The points leader was also unfortunate to lose potential victories in both Canada and Britain to mechanical woes, while the timing of the safety car in Hungary was also unfortunate, though that doesn't fully excuse Rosberg from ultimately finishing behind his team-mate.

It's unlikely that Rosberg is going to have a better opportunity to win the title than the one he has this season, and so far he has proven he has both the speed and the mental fortitude to get the job done. Unreliability has had a part in tilting the scales in Nico's favour, but his sheer consistency and coolness in the face of adversity have played an equally important role.

Sebastian Vettel (D, Red Bull) 6th in Championship, 2 podiums, 88pts
Rating: B 

A combination of Mercedes supremacy and the loss of the exhaust-blown diffuser meant that Vettel was always going to be in for a harder time in 2014 than he had become accustomed to in his championship years. But, few could have predicted the struggle the four-time champion has endured in his bid to get on top of the new regulations, as well as his ultra-quick new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

Indeed, on just one occasion when both Red Bull cars have finished has Vettel beaten Ricciardo, on home turf at Hockenheim, where the latter lost time avoiding the Massa-Magnussen collision, while the German has been soundly beaten in qualifying 7-4. That's not to say that Vettel has driven poorly, but he has clearly failed to extract the most from the RB10 this year.

Daniel Ricciardo (AU, Red Bull) 3rd in Championship, 2 wins, 131pts
Rating: A+ 

The only man not blessed with a Mercedes to have tasted victory this season, Ricciardo has started to deliver on the promise shown in his junior career and his two years at Toro Rosso, becoming a bona fide part of the sport's elite crop of drivers. In fact, he's been the revelation of the season, making his far more illustrious team-mate Vettel look rather average by comparison.

Finishing second in front of his home fans prior to his disqualification at Melbourne set the tone for a season that has been full of great drives, Ricciardo shaking off his previous reputation of being a strong qualifier but a mediocre racer. Both of his wins in Canada and Hungary may have owed something to good fortune, but on each occasion the Aussie made the most of the golden opportunity presented to him.

Fernando Alonso (E, Ferrari) 4th in Championship, 2 podiums, 115pts
Rating: A+

Despite the enormous frustration of Ferrari being yet again unable to provide him with a title contending car in 2014, Alonso has done nothing to dissuade his supporters of their view that he remains the best driver in the business. Indeed, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen has finished inside the top six just once, the Spaniard has managed to finish in at least that position at every race bar one - at Bahrain, where he sarcastically celebrated a ninth place finish at a track where the F14 T's deficiencies were ruthlessly exposed.

The highlight undoubtedly came in Hungary, where a gamble on tyre strategy very nearly yielded the unlikeliest of victories. It was nevertheless refreshing to see Alonso back in the spotlight having finished a superb second, after so many races where similar heroics have gone rather unnoticed amid a backdrop of Mercedes domination.

Kimi Raikkonen (FIN, Ferrari) 12th in Championship, 27pts
Rating: D

Unquestionably the disappointment of the season, Raikkonen has for much of 2014 seemed a shadow of his former self, struggling to adapt to the handling characteristics of this year's new breed of machinery. Beating Alonso was always going to be a tall order, but nobody was expecting the Finn to be trounced quite so soundly by the two-time champion heading into the season.

The statistics in this regard speak for themselves: just twice this season has Raikkonen out-qualified Alonso in 11 races, while the Finn hasn't finished ahead once. The fact he was denied a likely podium by a collision with backmarker Max Chilton at Monaco - the one circuit where Raikkonen looked to truly have the measure of Alonso - just about summed up his year so far. Will it be his last in the sport? 

Jenson Button (GB, McLaren) 8th in Championship, 1 podium, 60pts
Rating: B+ 

Casual observers would be forgiven for thinking that, considering all the speculation surrounding his future, Button has suffered a rather mediocre season thus far. But, the reality is that the Brit has performed consistently well given the limitations of his machinery, responding positively to the threat of new team-mate Kevin Magnussen after the shock of being beaten first time out at Melbourne.

The qualifying battle between the pair stands at 6-5 in Button's favour, fourth places at Montreal and Silverstone ranking as the 34-year-old's best performances of the season. But, while he has had the measure of Magnussen at the vast majority of races this year, anything less would have been considered disastrous - you still can't help but wonder whether Button is the right man to lead McLaren going forward. 

Kevin Magnussen (DK, McLaren) 10th in Championship, 1 podium, 37pts
Rating: B

Hopes were already high for Magnussen when he arrived as the sport's new kid on the block at Melbourne, and after a phenomenal drive to second at the curtain-raiser, comparisons with Hamilton, the last rookie McLaren took a chance on, were being bandied about with eyebrow-raising frequency. That pressure might explain why Magnussen's subsequent performances were slightly more fraught, notwithstanding his machinery's competitive slump.

That he has the speed to challenge team-mate Button isn't in doubt; but his inexperience at stringing together complete race weekends had been evident. More recently however, Magnussen has begun to mature into a more consistent performer, his seventh place finish at Austria standing out as his most impressive post-Australia result. Expect him to give \Button a harder time from now until the end of the year.

Felipe Massa (BR, Williams) 9th in Championship, 1 pole, 40pts
Rating: B-

If Massa knew deep down during his time at Ferrari that matching the standard set by Alonso would be nigh-on impossible, he must have arrived at Williams this season confident of putting upstart team-mate Valtteri Bottas in his place. But, far from stamping his authority over the far less experienced Finn, the veteran Brazilian has been outscored by a ratio of two-to-one and outqualified 7-4.

True enough, plenty of points have gone begging thanks to incidents that weren't his fault and team blunders early in the year, but Massa hasn't made enough of the pace of the Williams when things have gone his way - Austria, where he took pole but lost out to Bottas to come home fourth, being a prime example. His self-inflicted retirement at Hockenheim was also inexcusable for a driver of Massa's experience.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN, Williams) 5th in Championship, 3 podiums, 95pts
Rating: A 

If Ricciardo has been the stand-out young driver of 2014 so far, then Bottas has to come a close second, spearheading this year's Williams renaissance and convincingly shading stablemate Massa. The only major error the Finn has made all season was at Melbourne, where he threw away a likely second place, but he has atoned for that more recently with three consecutive podium visits.

The first of these came at Austria, Bottas beating polesitting teammate Massa in a straight fight to clinch the final podium spot behind the two Mercedes. His charge from 14th on the grid to second at Silverstone was one of the drives of the season, while holding off Hamilton to repeat the result two weeks later at Hockenheim was another measured performance by a driver who seems destined for big things.

Nico Hulkenberg (D, Force India), 7th in Championship, 69pts
Rating: B+ 

Returning to Force India after a season at Sauber, Hulkenberg has proven solid rather than spectacular this year so far. Where team-mate Sergio Perez took the team's most eye-catching result with third at Bahrain, Hulkenberg hasn't finished higher than fifth - though he has done so on four occasions, scoring the lion's share of Force India's constructors' points as a result.

The German has also outqualified his younger team-mate 9-2, and, prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, he shared the honour with Alonso of being the only driver to have scored points in every race. His ill-judged overtaking move on Perez nonetheless left the Ferrari driver in a class of one in that respect, but that has been the sole blot on an otherwise very neat copybook.

Sergio Perez (MEX, Force India), 11th in Championship, 1 podium, 29pts
Rating: B-

While Perez was massively unlucky to join McLaren last season at the team's lowest ebb in over 30 years, the Mexican has equally proved fortunate to have arrived at Force India just as the Silverstone-based team has got itself in a position to fight for its best ever constructors' finish. Indeed, a superb podium finish at Bahrain by Perez immediately bettered his best finish of fifth achieved last season.

But, since then, things have been decidedly up-and-down for the 24-year-old. He cost himself potential strong finishes at both Monaco and Canada, where, in hindsight, Perez should have been more circumspect defending from Massa given his car's brake problems. A storming drive to sixth at Austria followed, but Perez needs to find more consistency if he's ever to put himself back in contention for a top-line drive.

The Rest

It would be fair to say that Jean-Eric Vergne (B) faced an impossible task this season this season having missed out on the promotion to Red Bull to Ricciardo, but it's one he has performed admirably in spite of Toro Rosso's poor reliability, picking up four points finishes and out-qualifying his team-mate 6-5.

Vergne's only problem is that his team-mate is Daniil Kvyat (B+), who became the sport's youngest ever points-scorer at Melbourne and has belied his inexperience with his consistent pace since. The Russian is already shaping up nicely as Red Bull's next star to slot alongside Ricciardo when Vettel decides to leave, leaving Vergne in a rather tricky situation.

Romain Grosjean (B)  has had to endure a trying season with Lotus after his heroics in the second half of 2013, squeezing just eight points out of what has been the worst car to come out of Enstone in more than a decade. Qualifying fifth at Spain was a particular highlight for the Frenchman, who has done more than enough to warrant better machinery for next year.

Indeed, Grosjean has hammered team-mate Pastor Maldonado (E), who despite now being in his fourth season in F1 continues to make errors that would be barely excusable for a novice. Worse still, he's been outqualified 10-1 by Grosjean - and qualifying is meant to be the Venezuelan's forté. He must be breathing a sigh of relief that his PDVSA backing has bought him at least one more season with Lotus.

Adrian Sutil (C) is hardly one to outperform the machinery at his disposal, so it shouldn't come as any real surprise that he's yet to get on the scoreboard in this year's dismal Sauber, a pair of 11th places standing as the German's best results. Whether he keeps his seat for next year will largely depend on money, though this year has arguably proved that the 31-year-old is past his sell-by date at this level.

The fate of Esteban Gutierrez (D) will also be determined primarily by what cash is available, but on merit the young Mexican has done little to suggest he deserves a third season at Sauber. He has outqualified Sutil 6-5, but his race performances have largely been scrappy, with his mistake at Monaco costing the Hinwil-based team its only realistic shot at points this season so far.

Jules Bianchi (A-) on the other hand was superb at Monaco, his reward being the first two points of his career and Marussia's existence. The Frenchman, who has also made two Q2 visits in the least three races, has predictably had the measure of team-mate Max Chilton (C-) and is surely set for greener pastures next year while the Brit's F1 career looks to be heading nowhere fast.

It's been a difficult return to the sport for Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi (C+), who has done about as well as could be expected, even making Q2 in Melbourne, but is nonetheless far from certain to see out the year. Marcus Ericsson (D) meanwhile has been singularly unspectacular, never qualifying higher than 20th; the Swede needs to do more relative to his team-mate if he ever wants to shake off his 'pay driver' tag.

Brazilian Grand Prix 2013 - Report

If Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix can be summarised in one word, it would be 'anti-climax'. The combination of an 'old-school' venue and the threat of rain seemed to offer the greatest prospect of a winner other than the all-conquering Sebastian Vettel for quite some time, but, in the event, nobody else was strong enough to deny the quadruple world champion an incredible 13th race victory of the season and a ninth in succession.

It's been the story of the entire year. As late as July's Hungarian Grand Prix, the last time somebody other than Vettel won a race, the majority of pundits (including myself) were still predicting a close title battle. But, just as the rain failed to fall on Sunday, at the right time at least, Red Bull's rivals have failed to make a contest of the latter half of the year and thus have left the way clear for Vettel to equal the historic achievements of Michael Schumacher and Alberto Ascari.

At least the first few laps of the grand finale were entertaining as Nico Rosberg, who shared the front row with pole-sitter Vettel, managed to vault into the lead at the first corner. Meanwhile, the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton managed to move up into third place ahead of a fast-starting Fernando Alonso, who found his path blocked by an uncharacteristically tardy Vettel.

Rosberg's reign at the front of the field was to be short-lived, however, as Vettel managed to get a far better exit from the final corner on the first lap and had already edged ahead of his compatriot by the time the pair had crossed the start/finish line. Rosberg was forced to concede the position as they headed into the Senna 'S', and, by the time Vettel completed the second lap, he was already 1.4 seconds clear.

After another lap, Rosberg had dropped a further 1.2 seconds to Vettel and now had Alonso, who dispatched Hamilton at the same point at which Vettel grabbed the lead, looming large in his mirrors. By this stage, Mark Webber had already relieved Hamilton of fourth place with a bold manoeuvre around the outside of the Ferradura corner.

Rosberg, whose car was ostensibly set up for the wet of qualifying rather than the dry conditions prevailing on Sunday, then began to quickly fall backwards - Alonso charged past the ailing Mercedes driver into second place at the Descida do Lago corner on lap four, followed by Webber at the start of lap seven, Hamilton on lap 11 and Felipe Massa on lap 15.

Once clear of Rosberg, Webber wasted no time whatsoever cruising towards Alonso, who had no answer to the pace of the Australian and found himself demoted to third place at the start of lap 13. At the first round of pit-stops, however, Alonso managed to get second place back, forcing the Red Bull driver to repeat his earlier pass on lap 26 before pulling away and securing another Red Bull one-two.

By this stage, Vettel had already made his first stop and was a little over 10 seconds clear of his teammate. With no rain forthcoming, that was essentially it as far as the battle for the lead was concerned, although a slow second stop for Vettel, caused by the Red Bull mechanics not having his tyres ready when he arrived at his pit box, did erode his advantage to a degree.

Team principal Christian Horner later explained that the mix-up was due to Vettel stopping earlier than planned to cover himself in the event of an appearance by the Safety Car. This was a genuine concern after a rather strange collision between Lewis Hamilton and a lapped Valtteri Bottas on lap 47 at the Descida do Lago corner, the pair clashing under braking as the latter tried to un-lap himself.

The net result was instant retirement for Bottas and a puncture for Hamilton, who had been running comfortably in fourth place. The Briton managed to return to the pits with relatively little damage, but was later handed a drive-through penalty for being deemed to have caused the incident, costing him even more time and dropping him outside of the points.

Another man to experience the wrath of the stewards was Felipe Massa, who had been battling Hamilton hard for fourth during the second stint prior to serving a drive-through penalty on lap 34. The Brazilian had repeatedly crossed a white line at the final, flat-out corner marking the pit-lane entry, something which the drivers had reportedly been warned against doing prior to the race. 

Without the penalty, Massa would have stood on the podium at his home Grand Prix as Alonso admitted after the race that he would have pulled over to let his teammate taste the champagne for the final time as a Ferrari driver had he been in a position to do so. What's more, Ferrari would have snatched the runner-up spot in the constructors' standings, but in the event Mercedes hung on by six points.

These mishaps allowed Jenson Button to come through and take an unlikely fourth place, a superb effort from an unpromising grid slot of 14th. The McLaren driver had already climbed up to seventh by the time of his first pit-stop, at which stage he was able to leapfrog a struggling Rosberg before capitalising on the misfortunes of Hamilton and Massa to secure McLaren's best finishing position of what has proven to be an embarrassingly poor season for the Woking-based team.

Rosberg wasn't far behind the Brit at the finish in fifth place, ahead of Sergio Perez, who came home an excellent sixth place in his last outing for McLaren. The Mexican had started all the way down in 19th after a shunt in qualifying, but made up no fewer than 13 positions during the race in another drive that leads one to question whether McLaren were right to drop him for next year.

An irate Massa was next up in seventh place after his penalty, ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who had a fairly uneventful run to eighth place, and a recovering Hamilton. Daniel Ricciardo took the final point of the season in his final race with Toro Rosso before stepping up to join Vettel at Red Bull, staving off a marauding pack consisting of Paul Di Resta, in what may be his last F1 race, Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil.

In a decidedly sub-par showing, Heikki Kovalainen finished only 14th in his second appearance for Lotus as a stand-in for the absent Kimi Raikkonen. The fact Kovalainen failed to make any contribution whatsoever to the Enstone-based team's points tally must be a bitter pill to swallow for Lotus reserve Davide Valsecchi, who was spurned precisely because the team wanted an experienced hand to help them in the crucial battle for constructors' points.

Ultimately, any hopes of Lotus overhauling Ferrari or even Mercedes in the constructors' standings went up in smoke along with Romain Grosjean's engine at the end of the third lap, a disappointing end to what has been an extraordinary season for the Frenchman.

Further back, Pastor Maldonado spun after making contact with Jean-Eric Vergne in the closing stages, the Frenchman taking 15th place ahead of the Venezuelan in his final outing for Williams before a widely anticipated move to Lotus. Rounding off the finishers were Jules Bianchi, Giedo van der Garde and Max Chilton, who holds the distinction of being the only driver to finish every single race this year, whilst Charles Pic, who suffered a late suspension failure, was the only other retirement of the race.

Without the assistance of the weather, neither Pic nor van der Garde had any realistic hope of taking the pivotal 13th place that would have seen Caterham surpass rivals Marussia, who are set to receive a welcome cash bonus for finishing in the top 10 constructors' standings for the first time in their history thanks to Bianchi's 13th place finish all the way back in Malaysia.

Sunday's race was undoubtedly a race of 'lasts': it was the last race for Webber as an F1 driver before he moves on to Porsche's endurance racing programme; for Massa as a Ferrari driver before he joins Williams; for Vodafone as a major sponsor, for Cosworth as an engine supplier (again), and, of course, for the current breed of 2.4 litre normally aspirated V8 engines.

The end of the V8 era that commenced back in 2006 also marks the close of an era where aerodynamic efficiency has been the main determinant of a team's competitiveness. Next year, engine performance, much as it was during the V10 era, will be a far more significant differentiating factor - not even Adrian Newey's design genius will rescue Red Bull if Renault's power-train isn't up to scratch.

Unreliability, which has played very little part in F1 in recent years, could influence proceedings far more often next year, too, whilst the fact next year's cars are said to be tougher to drive could also help to shake things up. In short, 2014 is very much a step into the unknown, and a shuffling of the competitive order would come as a huge breath of fresh air to the many fans who have grown weary of Vettel re-writing the record books this year. 

United States Grand Prix 2013 - Preview

This weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Formula One’s second visit to the state-of-the-art Circuit of the Americas facility, marks the penultimate round of this year’s championship.

Though the widespread consensus is that the inaugural trip to the Texan city of Austin last year was a success, the F1 fraternity is under no illusions that cracking the US market is anything other than a long-term project. The commercial benefits of doing so are obvious, but the acid test will be whether the same enthusiasm for the sport we saw in 2012 exists five or 10 years down the line.

The circuit itself was also given rave reviews by drivers and fans alike. The flowing first sector, ultra-long back straight and technical final sector make it one of the most varied circuits on the calendar, as well as one of the most demanding on the cars, while the steep approach to the first corner makes the venue immediately recognisable, unlike some of the other ‘Tilkedromes’ on the F1 calendar.

Tyre wear is unlikely to be too great a concern as Pirelli have chosen to bring their two hardest tyre compounds, the medium and hard, whilst the presence of two DRS zones – one along the back straight and the other along the start/finish straight – should ensure overtaking doesn’t prove too difficult either.

This week has been a roller-coaster ride of driver market speculation and announcements for both this year and next. The most shocking news, revealed on Monday evening and confirmed by the team on Thursday, was that Kevin Magnussen will be making his F1 debut next season alongside Jenson Button at McLaren, with Sergio Perez being ditched after just a single season at Woking.

It’s been a difficult year for Perez, but I can’t help feel dispensing of his services after such little opportunity to show what he’s made of is a tad unfair. While he hasn’t beaten Button as regularly as he would have liked, the Mexican has turned in some rather impressive performances this year – most notably at India, where he battled his way up to fifth.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago for The Sideline Agenda on why I felt the beleaguered Perez should be given another season to prove his worth, but clearly McLaren believe Magnussen to be a better long-term prospect. With next year likely to be a transitional year for the team before they re-join forces with engine suppliers Honda in 2015, they clearly feel the time is right to give the Dane some mileage.

It will nevertheless be a baptism of fire for Magnussen, this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 champion and a member of McLaren’s young driver programme. With McLaren eyeing up Fernando Alonso for 2015, there’s every chance Magnussen could find himself out of favour this time next year if the results aren’t up to scratch. Proving himself at a lower team may have been a more sensible option, but you can hardly blame him for accepting the offer he’s been made.

Perez meanwhile stands a good chance of remaining on the grid for next season thanks to his Telmex backing; his options include a return to Sauber, Force India and Lotus, who are still yet to confirm who will be driving alongside Romain Grosjean next season. The fact that Kimi Raikkonen has opted to miss the final two races of the year to undergo back surgery is the latest twist in this long-running saga.

It had been thought, after the previous race at Abu Dhabi, that an agreement between Raikkonen and incoming investors Quantum Motorsports had been struck that would pay the Finn the salary he was owed and guarantee his attendance at the final two races. You could therefore infer that, as Raikkonen has opted to have surgery now rather than after the end of the season, the promised money never showed.

That in turn would suggest that the Quantum deal that would put Nico Hulkenberg in the second Lotus next year is still far from a foregone conclusion. In fact, the German turned down the opportunity to replace Raikkonen for the last two races as he felt that, without a guarantee of a 2014 race seat, leaving Sauber early was too big a risk to take.

Instead, Lotus have recruited Heikki Kovalainen as Raikkonen’s stand-in, though only after Michael Schumacher turned down an offer from the team to temporarily come out retirement. This means Kovalainen gets his first race outing since being dropped by Caterham, for whom he has done several Friday practice sessions this year, at the end of last season.

This comes a major snub for Lotus reserve Davide Valsecchi, who would have the chance to set the record straight about being the only GP2 champion (besides the recently crowned Fabio Leimer) to have never started an F1 race. Lotus justified their choice by saying they needed somebody experienced to help the team during a crucial battle for constructors’ points, but it does rather throw into question the point of bothering to have a reserve driver.

The other news from the week was the confirmation of what had already been suspected by the F1 paddock for some time – that Felipe Massa is going to Williams to replace Pastor Maldonado. It’s a move that makes sense for both parties: Williams has the biggest potential of the smaller teams to allow Massa to land some big results, whilst the Grove-based outfit need an experienced hand to help them claw their way back up the field next year.

Understandably, little attention has been paid in the build-up to this weekend’s race to what actually might happen on-track, but Sebastian Vettel has to be regarded as favourite to make it eight wins in a row. It’s also worth noting that Austin is one of the few circuits at which he has not yet won a race (Lewis Hamilton beat him in a straight contest last year), something the German will be eager to put right.

As for the fight for the remaining steps on the podium, expect Mark Webber to be right in the mix, as well as de facto Lotus number one Grosjean and one or both of the Mercedes drivers. Hamilton has been rather outgunned by teammate Nico Rosberg at the last two races, but it emerged yesterday that the Brit’s chassis had cracks in it, which undoubtedly will have hindered his performance. It will be interesting to see if he can regain the initiative with a fresh chassis this weekend.

Ferrari have failed to take a podium since Fernando Alonso finished a distant second to Vettel at Singapore, and the chances of them doing so this weekend appear slim unless several of their competitors hit trouble. The team’s main focus is likely to be on holding rivals Lotus at bay in the fight for third place in the constructors’ standings, though they remain within shouting distance of Mercedes, who currently hold second place.

In light of the recent deluge of driver market news, several men arrive at Austin with something of a point to prove, not least of all Perez at what is in essence his home race. Others under pressure include Perez’s countryman Esteban Gutierrez and both Force India drivers, with not one but two well-funded Latin Americans now linked to a drive at Silverstone next year.

Kovalainen meanwhile will be keen to take advantage of this rare opportunity in the limelight and put himself in contention for a full-time return to Caterham next year; both Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde will be feeling the heat if the Finn is able to exceed expectations this weekend and at the season finale at Interlagos a week later.

Qualifying Prediction

1. Vettel, 2. Webber, 3. Hamilton, 4. Grosjean, 5. Rosberg, 6. Massa, 7. Hulkenberg, 8. Alonso, 9. Kovalainen, 10. Perez

Race Prediction

1. Vettel, 2. Grosjean, 3. Webber, 4. Hamilton, 5. Alonso, 6. Hulkenberg, 7. Massa, 8. Kovalainen, 9. Perez, 10. Sutil

I know, I know, I’ve put Vettel for the win yet again – but can you really blame me? He has been doing rather a lot of winning lately, after all. Joining #DerFinger (as the Mercedes official Twitter account refers to him) on the podium will be Grosjean and Webber, with Hamilton having his best result for a while thanks to his new chassis but still missing out on his first visit to the rostrum since Spa. Alonso meanwhile will come home in fifth place, once again being out-qualified by teammate Massa but making up for it in the race, Hulkenberg separating the pair at the finish.

Kovalainen will give Lotus four valuable points for finishing a solid eighth in his first outing for Enstone since 2007, with the out-of-favour Perez and the dependable Sutil rounding out the point-scorers. No sign of Rosberg, who is due some bad luck after two consecutive podiums, while Button will have another first-lap altercation with one his competitors which will prevent him from scoring points.

Indian Grand Prix 2013 - Report

Sealing a fourth consecutive title this weekend at India was never going to be a particularly tall order for Sebastian Vettel given the enormous 90 point advantage he possessed heading into the weekend.

In order for the title chase to have continued to Abu Dhabi, two things had to happen. Firstly, Fernando Alonso, Vettel's only remaining theoretical rival, had to finish in the top two, which he hasn't even looked close to doing at the last two races.

Secondly, Vettel himself had to finish outside the top five, which he hasn't done all year barring the one race at Silverstone where he retired from the lead with gearbox trouble.

Nevertheless, Vettel was in absolutely no mood to play the percentages. He hadn't celebrated a title victory with a race win since that surreal evening at Abu Dhabi three years ago and clearly wanted to make that right this weekend. Taking pole position by a mammoth seven tenths of a second on Saturday was the first step towards achieving this.

The second step was working out the optimum strategy on a weekend where the option tyre was expected to fall apart in just a handful of laps, potentially handing those who qualified on primes - including a certain Mark Webber - a tactical advantage.

Having got away cleanly from pole position, Red Bull defied expectation by bringing in Vettel at the end of the second lap of the race. This decision initially seemed rather left-field, even an unnecessary risk, but it soon transpired to be a tactical masterstroke.

Though Vettel re-joined the track down in 17th, he was in relatively clean air with all those that also started on options, who made up the vast majority of the cars ahead, due to pit within a few laps.

What's more, Webber had made a relatively poor start, dropping from fourth on the grid to sixth and crucially losing time behind slower rivals and thus squandering his advantage.

Webber moved into first place at the end of lap eight as interim leader Felipe Massa - who had passed the Red Bull as well as both Mercedes drivers in a storming first few corners - dived for the pits.

By this stage, Vettel was already back up into sixth place, which became third by lap 13 after passes on the yet-to-stop cars of Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo.

Just 14 seconds now separated Webber and Vettel - nowhere near enough for the Australian to remain in the lead after a pit-stop. The race was therefore already in the bag for the champion-elect even at this early stage.

Having passed another driver yet to make their first stop, Sergio Perez, on lap 21, Vettel was now up into second place and less than 12 seconds adrift of Webber. The Australian finally made his first stop on lap 28, opting for a short second stint on option tyres, Vettel consequently re-taking the lead.

Both Red Bull drivers made their second stops on consecutive laps - Vettel from the lead for a fresh set of prime tyres on lap 31 and then Webber the following lap for another set of primes after his brief flirtation with the options. The German now held an advantage of 12 seconds over his teammate.

A second Red Bull one-two in a row was however derailed by an alternator failure for the perennially unlucky Webber, who was forced to park his stricken car on lap 40.

This immediately caused concern on the pit-wall that Vettel's car may not go the distance, but in the event the 26-year-old was able to reel off the remaining 20 laps without drama.

A tenth victory of the season, and a sixth in a row were plenty sufficient to guarantee Vettel a richly-deserved fourth championship crown that puts him level with the legendary Alain Prost and only three away from compatriot Michael Schumacher - whose record of seven titles now seems far from untouchable.

The battle for the remaining podium places behind Vettel was an intriguing one, with various drivers on differing tyre strategies crossing paths as the race approached its climax.

At the point at which Webber was forced to retire, Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus was running in second place but seemingly on the verge of making a second pit-stop having previously pitted on lap seven.

But, as the lap counter ticked down, it became clear that Lotus were aiming to try and get the 'Iceman' to the end of the race without making any further stops.

Just behind was Sutil, who had started on medium tyres and hadn't pitted all race. When he finally pitted to make the mandatory switch to options on lap 41, Nico Rosberg, who had started the race alongside Vettel on the front row, moved up to third behind Raikkonen.

Next up was Romain Grosjean, up to fourth from 17th on the grid having made his sole stop on lap 13, erstwhile leader Massa, who dropped back behind Rosberg at the second phase of pit-stops, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Perez, who by now had come into the pits for a second time.

All of these drivers were catching Raikkonen, who would evidently struggle to go the distance on his severely worn tyres. Rosberg was able to close down a 10 second deficit to the Finn in as many laps, making the inevitable pass on lap 52 at turn 4 and going to claim a well-earned second place, his first podium finish since his Silverstone victory.

After another couple of laps, Grosjean had caught up to his struggling teammate, but Raikkonen seemed reluctant to let the Frenchman by. The pair almost made contact as Grosjean attempted a move around the outside at turn 4 on lap 56, Raikkonen finally conceding the position at the end of that lap following a somewhat blunt radio message from Alan Permane.

While Grosjean made it a hat-trick of podium finishes with third, Massa swiftly made his way past his former Ferrari teammate Raikkonen to take a creditable fourth place.

Perez then killed two birds with one stone as he slipstreamed his way past both Hamilton, who was also struggling with rear tyre wear, and Raikkonen to move into fifth - the best finish of his McLaren career so far and equal to the team's best result of the year.

Hamilton came home sixth in a disappointing outing for the Brit that saw him outclassed by teammate Rosberg, with Raikkonen making a late pit-stop and having to settle for seventh. Completing the points-scorers were Paul Di Resta, his Force India teammate Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso.

The latter was forced to defend in the closing stages from Alonso, who suffered a nightmare race. Poised for a good result starting on prime tyres, the Ferrari driver made contact first with Webber and then Jenson Button on the first lap, which caused the Spaniard to pit for a change of front wing.

Alonso never really recovered from this setback, struggling to an eventual 11th place finish with a damaged car. Behind him finished Pastor Maldonado's Williams, Jean-Eric Vergne in the second Toro Rosso and Button, who similarly failed to claw back much ground after the first lap contact with Alonso, which gave him a puncture, in a dismal afternoon.

Next up were Esteban Gutierrez, who was brought back to earth with a drive-through penalty for jumping the start after his breakthrough first points finish at Suzuka, Valtteri Bottas and the Marussia duo of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi.

Nico Hulkenberg was a late retirement with brake failure having been on course for eighth place, whilst Giedo van der Garde was eliminated after first corner contact with Chilton and teammate Pic, who retired some laps later with a hydraulic failure.

After the race, it was refreshing to see Vettel receive the adulation he deserves from the passionate Indian crowd after several unsavoury episodes of booing earlier in the year. Despite continued doubts from some quarters, Vettel has quite simply done a sterling job of maximising the machinery at his disposal this season - he can't be blamed for doing what every driver in the field ultimately aims to do.

As brilliant as it would be to see his talents given a more stern test by inferior machinery or a teammate of the calibre of Alonso or Hamilton, all we can do is watch and admire for the time being as he continues to reel off the victories. Whether Vettel can be considered an all-time great is no longer in doubt; time will only tell his place among the sport's other legends.

Singapore Grand Prix 2013 - Preview

This weekend's Singapore Grand Prix commences the 'third act' of the Formula One season, with a series of seven flyaway races held in the space of just ten weekends rounding off the year.

Singapore may be one of the calendar's newer fixtures, having held its first Grand Prix in 2008, but it has already established itself as a staple venue by virtue of being the sport's only night race, the cars glistening under the floodlights as they negotiate the twisty Marina Bay street circuit.

The drivers and team personnel also have the additional challenge of trying to keep themselves in tune with European time, so as to not be tired for the start of the race at 8pm local time. This means getting up and having breakfast around midday, lunch at dinnertime, and an evening meal well into the early hours of the morning before going to bed.

To make matters harder, the race itself is the longest of the year in terms of duration. In five editions of the race, the scheduled 61 laps have never been completed in less than an hour and 56 minutes, whilst an extended Safety Car period last year meant that the race had to be cut short after reaching the two hour time limit. Indeed, there has yet to be a Singapore Grand Prix without a Safety Car period, potentially making pit-stop timings crucial to success (just ask Renault, who proved exactly that back in 2008).

That said, unlike other street venues such as Monaco, overtaking is far from impossible at Singapore, particularly with the help of DRS. The original zone, located on the long straight at Raffles Boulevard on the approach to Memorial corner (turn 7), is supplemented this year by another along the start/finish straight, though it seems unlikely that the relatively short latter zone will generate much passing.

The unpopular 'Singapore Sling' chicane (turn 10) has also been smoothed into a single-apex left hander for safety reasons; it is estimated that this modification will save drivers around a second per lap.

The medium and super-soft tyres will be in action this weekend, the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix that two non-consecutive compounds will have been used. But, weather forecasts suggest a possibility of rain this weekend - an unprecedented occurrence at Singapore. It would be fascinating to see how the race organisers would respond to the tricky combination of a wet track and 1500 floodlights beaming down on it.

The big news since the last race at Monza is, of course, that Kimi Raikkonen has been signed to drive alongside Fernando Alonso at Ferrari for next season. Since the announcement was made last week, there has been no shortage of high-profile figures questioning the logic of the Scuderia of placing "two roosters in the same hen-house."

Michael Schumacher has described an Alonso-Raikkonen pairing as "explosive", whilst Alain Prost has questioned whether Stefano Domenicali will be up to the challenge of managing the pair. Jacques Villeneuve, always one to call a spade a spade, believes Ferrari's decision makes them "completely insane," while Rene Arnoux has cast doubt on Alonso's ability to cope with a teammate as rapid as Raikkonen.

Whilst I have to admit that signing Nico Hulkenberg would have probably been a wiser decision, those that believe that Maranello will tear themselves apart, much like McLaren did in 2007, are wide of the mark. For one thing, Alonso is a far more mature and sensitive driver today than he was six years ago, and will be all too aware that a unified team is a successful one.

What's more, the trouble with Alonso at McLaren was that he was arriving at a new team expecting to be able to mould it around him. Conversely, the Spaniard has already firmly established himself in the team's affections, and an apolitical driver like Raikkonen is hardly likely to change that. Though Alonso won't have the benefit of a subservient number two like Massa, having a more competitive teammate would better serve his own interests - as long as he can beat him.

As for Massa, I've already written about his options for next season, but if reports that Lotus are closing on a deal to sign Hulkenberg are to be believed, then that could make Sauber the most likely destination for the Brazilian in 2014.

Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, needn't concern himself with such trivial matters as the team for which he'll be driving next season. The winner of the last two Grands Prix at Singapore will be focusing purely on making it a hat-trick this weekend, and given Red Bull's pace in recent races, you would have to be a brave person indeed to bet against the German doing just that.

Mercedes may not have performed especially well at the last two races, but the fact that the Brackley outfit were able to lock out the front row and subsequently take victory at Monaco must give Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg more optimism of challenging for the win than usual. The track layout isn't too dissimilar to that of Hungary, where Hamilton dominated proceedings, though temperatures will be much lower.

Alonso has nothing to lose now, 53 points adrift of Vettel in the title chase, and it seems likely that Ferrari will switch their full attention to next year's challenge after this weekend. That said, Singapore tends to be one of the more unpredictable races of the year, so perhaps the team will be willing to throw caution to the wind somewhat in a bid to get their man his first win since the Spanish Grand Prix all those months ago.

Then again, just three points separate Ferrari and Mercedes in the battle for second in the constructors' standings behind runaway leaders Red Bull, who have a commanding lead of 104 points. With millions of pounds of prize money at stake, securing the position will now be the main goal for both Ferrari and Mercedes, now that Alonso and Hamilton are both out of realistic contention for the drivers' title.

Further down the pecking order, Singapore is likely to be a key event in determining the outcome of the Caterham-Marussia battle for tenth in the constructors' table. Last year, Timo Glock's exceptional drive to twelfth place was enough to put the Banbury-based team ahead of its rivals, only for Vitaly Petrov to reverse the tide for Caterham at the very last race of the year at a rain-soaked Interlagos.

Singapore tends to have a higher attrition rate than most, making it a golden opportunity for F1's lesser celebrated teams to bag a big result. Hulkenberg managed to drag his reluctant Sauber to fifth at Monza two weeks ago - can Force India, Toro Rosso or even Williams match that achievement this weekend?

Qualifying Prediction
1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Webber, 4. Alonso, 5. Rosberg, 6. Raikkonen, 7. Grosjean, 8. Massa, 9. Di Resta, 10. Maldonado

Race Prediction
1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Webber, 5. Raikkonen, 6. Massa, 7. Button, 8. Di Resta, 9. Maldonado, 10. Sutil

Accuse me of being unadventurous if you will, but I just can't see past a seventh Vettel victory of the year. His dominance at Spa and Monza suggests that there are essentially no tracks where the Red Bull won't be in contention, and, barring a gearbox failure similar to Hamilton's last year, he will prove unstoppable once more this weekend and take another stride towards retaining his title.

Hamilton will start and finish second, keeping a faster Alonso frustrated in the closing stages. Webber meanwhile will come out on top of an entertaining duel with Raikkonen, with Massa having a solid but unspectacular run to sixth ahead of Button. Di Resta will bring home a solid haul of points at a track he has performed well at in the past, with Maldonado also translating his street circuit prowess into two more precious points for Williams ahead of Sutil.

No sign of Grosjean or Rosberg - they will prove the highest profile casualties of the grueling 61 lap race.

What next for Felipe Massa?

It’s easy to overlook the fact that, had events at Interlagos five years ago unfolded just slightly differently, the career of a Formula One champion would now be in a state of limbo.

Though the announcement on Wednesday that Kimi Raikkonen will re-join Ferrari next season alongside Fernando Alonso leaves Felipe Massa facing an uncertain future, that isn't to say the Brazilian's time as a top Grand Prix driver is up.

Massa’s struggles since Alonso joined him at Ferrari at the start of 2010 have been well documented. It’s fair to say that the Scuderia have been more tolerant of his lacklustre form than most teams would have been, given Felipe's status as "one of the family."

Massa leaving the team is likely to benefit both parties. While Ferrari now have a driver that can stretch Alonso further and allow the team to mount a more credible challenge for constructors' honours, Massa has a chance to revitalise a career that clearly was heading nowhere.

At only 32 years of age, Massa is hardly past it. The talent that saw him come so agonisingly close to title glory in 2008 is still there, even if his terrible accident at Hungary the following year may have deprived of him of that final percent of raw speed he once possessed.

As Massa’s compatriot Rubens Barrichello can demonstrate, there can be life after Ferrari. Few would have foreseen that, having left the Prancing Horse (voluntarily, it should be added) at the end of 2005, 'Rubinho' would go on to make a further seven podium appearances, including two wins. That's not a bad return for somebody who never got anywhere near winning a world championship.

As such, it's not totally unrealistic to think that Massa, armed with sufficiently competitive machinery, couldn't go on to rack up quite a few more wins even if he's highly unlikely to get a better shot at the title than the one he had five years ago.

Raikkonen's departure from Lotus leaves an obvious vacancy, by far the most attractive of the remaining seats (technically, McLaren are yet to take up their option on Jenson Button, but that seems a formality). While Massa isn't the only contender, with Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado also thought to be under consideration, he would make a good fit for a team that still burns with ambition.

The Enstone-based team, which has raced under the Toleman, Benetton, Renault and Lotus guises throughout its history, is no stranger to winning titles. It took back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 with Michael Schumacher, and did so again with Alonso in 2005 and 2006. 

The team may be going through a financial rough patch at the moment, but, with adequate investment and the right person in the cockpit, there's no reason why they can't challenge for more titles in the future. 

While there's a very good argument for Lotus to take a punt on the talented Hulkenberg (indeed, I would have preferred Ferrari to give the German the nod over Raikkonen), Massa would fit the bill if the team were looking for a more like-for-like replacement for the departed Raikkonen, particularly when you consider that the quick but inconsistent Romain Grosjean is likely to remain in the second car.

Still, should Lotus turn Massa down, there are a couple of other options open to him. One is to return to Sauber, where he began his career back in 2002, who could find themselves in a position to move back up the grid in a couple of years' time with the help of Russian funds that will be flowing to Hinwil in exchange for granting the Formula Renault 3.5 driver Sergey Sirotkin a race seat next year.

Esteban Gutierrez's seat with Sauber appears in doubt with the Mexican's chief backer Telmex rumoured to be unveiled as McLaren's new title sponsor in December. This would potentially create a gap for Massa to slot into, who would be the perfect foil to the inexperienced Sirotkin. Such a move would probably depend on Ferrari being willing to pay Massa's salary however, perhaps by way of a reduced engine supply fee.

It also depends on Massa being willing to drive for a team whose rightful place is in the midfield, but as last year proved Sauber are capable of punching considerably above their weight in the right circumstances. And, he would be well placed to benefit should a car manufacturer or other major corporation propel the Swiss outfit back towards the front of the grid much as BMW did several years ago.

The other team that may realistically consider Massa is Williams. While Valtteri Bottas is unlikely to be going anywhere soon, Maldonado heading to Lotus next season is not as distant a prospect as it may sound, given the Venezuelan's Grand Prix winner status and his enormous PDVSA backing.

Williams is a team that has unquestionably underperformed in recent years. Had Maldonado not made as many mistakes last season, and if the team had fielded a second driver who was equally quick as him in place of Bruno Senna, they ought to have come sixth, or even fifth, in the constructors' standings rather than the eighth place they ultimately mustered.

A return to the glory days of the 1990s is of course unrealistic with their current financial resources, but, given that Williams employs 520 people, making it the fifth largest team on the grid in terms of personnel, nipping at the heels of the established top teams is what they ought to aim for.

A switch to Mercedes power next year as well as the recent recruitment of former Benetton/Renault Technical Director Pat Symonds are reasons for Williams fans to be optimistic that the team can come to do just that in the not-too-distant future.

As 2012 proves however, any renaissance will be dependent upon having a suitably strong driver in the cockpit to exploit the machinery to its fullest - and that's where Massa comes in. With the team fully behind him, and with relatively little expectation weighing him down, Felipe would be in a far better position to perform at his optimum with Williams than he has been in recent times at Ferrari.

With five or so years potentially left in him at the highest level, trying to add to his win tally of 11 in any of the above three scenarios would surely prove more attractive to Massa than trying to break into another category such as IndyCar.

Barrichello showed last year just how hard trying to forge a career Stateside is after a lengthy spell in F1, and there's little reason to suspect Massa would fare any better without a seat with one of the series' top teams. Brazilian Stock Cars hasn't exactly proved a particularly happy hunting ground for F1 alumni, either.

Massa still has much to offer F1; in the right environment, the talent that flourished so brightly in 2008 could well come to the fore once again. In many ways, though, taking him on would represent more of a gamble than recruiting a well-financed young gun, and it would be an almighty shame if no teams were prepared to make that gamble next season.

Italian Grand Prix 2013 - Report

Following his sixth win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix, it's fair to say that - barring the most extraordinary of circumstances - Sebastian Vettel being crowned Formula One champion for a fourth time in succession is now a mere matter of time.

Monza, the track on the calendar at which downforce matters least, was the last chance for Vettel's rivals to claw back any meaningful ground on the German before the Asian flyaway races. They failed, with Vettel's lead extending to 53 points after a commanding victory, and now it's hard to see how he can be stopped.

Not even the most vociferous cheers from the tifosi were enough to allow Fernando Alonso any chance of reaching the top step of the podium. By the time the Spaniard took second place from a compliant Felipe Massa at the start of lap eight, Vettel, who streaked away from pole position untroubled, was already the better part of five seconds down the road.

The Red Bull driver proceeded to stretch his advantage, which had grown to ten seconds by half-distance. With the expected rain failing to materialise, by this stage Vettel's 32nd career victory was never in doubt. His final winning margin of five and half seconds doesn't do justice to the extent to which the champion-elect dominated the race.

Alonso was thus forced to be content with the runner-up spot, with the second Red Bull of Mark Webber right on his tail in the closing stages but unable to pass. Having started alongside Vettel on the front row, the Aussie slipped behind the fast-starting Massa on the run to the first corner, before being demoted another place by Alonso at the Roggia chicane on the third lap.

Webber was nonetheless able to re-pass Massa during the pit-stop phase to take the final step on the podium at his last ever Grand Prix in Europe. Massa meanwhile brought the second Ferrari home in fourth, but whether that result will be enough to keep the Brazilian in contention to remain at the Scuderia next season is another matter.

Conversely, Nico Hulkenberg's storming drive to fifth place will have done his chances of being promoted to a Ferrari seat no harm at all. The German stunned the paddock by qualifying his Sauber up in third place and, after falling behind the two Ferraris at the start, kept his namesake Nico Rosberg frustrated for the entire race.

Behind Rosberg finished Daniel Ricciardo, taking full advantage of the Toro Rosso's straight line speed to match his best ever F1 result with seventh, with Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton breathing down his neck at the finish.

Hamilton in particular had an eventful afternoon after floor damage during qualifying left him a lowly 12th on the grid. The Brit had been planning to do a long first stint on prime tyres, but made an early pit-stop on lap 13 after picking up a slow puncture whilst stuck behind the other Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne in the early stages.

By the time the remainder of the field had made their stops, Hamilton had risen to fifth, but fell back to 13th after making a second stop 15 laps from the finish. From there, on much fresher rubber than the cars around him, the Mercedes driver was able to fight his way up to ninth after a series of typically bold passing moves.

Among the cars Hamilton overtook were the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, who had to be content with tenth and twelfth places, and Kimi Raikkonen, who was forced to pit on the first lap for a fresh front wing after making contact with Perez.

Raikkonen was among the fastest cars on the circuit in clean air, climbing to fifth after the cars ahead pitted, but was unable to make the same incisive progress as Hamilton after his second stop at mid-distance. The Finn finished in eleventh, out of the points for a second straight race.

Esteban Gutierrez put in one of his better performances of his short career to finish thirteenth, ahead of the Williams cars of Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, though Adrian Sutil had been running one place ahead of the Mexican when Force India elected to retire the car one lap from home.

Things didn't go any better for Paul Di Resta, who became the first casualty of the race after misjudging his braking at the Roggia chicane on the first lap and slamming into the back of Grosjean's car, though the Frenchman continued unhindered.

The only other retirement was Vergne, who pulled over with transmission failure on lap 15 whilst running ninth.

With Vettel all but certain to clinch this year's title, it's a good time to reflect on the overwhelming success he and his Red Bull team have enjoyed over the past four seasons.

Barring the first half of 2009, when Brawn GP wrong-footed their rivals with their double diffuser, Red Bull have produced by far the most consistent package of the current rules cycle. That however shouldn't detract from the magnitude of Vettel's achievements, who has made the absolute best use of the tools at his disposal and seen off stiff opposition from the other side of the Red Bull garage.

Whilst it hasn't made for scintillating viewing on occasions, not least of all today, you can't help but feel a certain admiration for Vettel, regardless of whether or not you count yourself among the 26-year-old's fans. After all, you can't blame him for the inability of the other teams to match the amazing benchmark set by the boys at Milton Keynes.

Nevertheless, next year gives Red Bull's rivals a chance to rectify this situation, and perhaps Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus or Mercedes will emerge as the dominant force instead. But, whoever is doing the lion's share of the winning, we shouldn't begrudge them their success.

2013 Half-term report

With ten races down and nine to go in this year's Formula One title race, it's the perfect time to look back upon the first half of the 2013 season and how each of the 22 drivers have fared. Who have been the top performers and who has work to do retain their seat for next year?

Sebastian Vettel (D, Infiniti Red Bull Racing), 1st - 172pts                   A+
When choosing a stand-out driver of the first half of 2013, it's difficult to look beyond Vettel. Besides a rare gearbox problem at Silverstone which denied the reigning champion a likely victory, he has finished in the top four at every race, establishing a level of consistency unmatched by anybody else in the field. Furthermore, only once has he qualified outside the top three, something which has been key to his four victories at Malaysia, Bahrain, Canada and on home turf in Germany. The only real criticism one can make is the way he conducted himself en route to the first of those wins, but his fans will retort that the single-mindedness he demonstrated at Sepang is exactly why he is firmly on course to match Alain Prost's tally of four titles by November.

Kimi Raikkonen (FIN, Lotus F1 Team), 2nd - 134pts                             A
With Lotus once more punching well above its financial weight, Raikkonen has been able to put himself in genuine title contention this season after a highly promising comeback year in 2012. Things couldn't have started better at Melbourne as the "Iceman" took a well-deserved win, and despite not having revisited the top step of the podium since, Raikkonen has scored in every race (the only man to do so this year), having finished second on no fewer than five occasions. Qualifying however has been a weak point; the Finn's average grid position so far has been sixth, leaving himself slightly too much work to do on race day - hence only the one win so far. It's a statistic upon which Raikkonen will have to improve in order to keep Vettel in his sights.

Fernando Alonso (E, Scuderia Ferrari), 3rd - 133pts                              A
After a strong start to the season marked by two imperious victories at China and Spain, Alonso is now faced with the daunting task of closing a 39-point deficit to Vettel in the latter half of the year. With the exception of Monaco, it's hard to find much fault with the Spaniard's driving so far, and if not for the operational errors on the part of his Ferrari team at Malaysia and Bahrain, he would be right up with Vettel in the standings. The trouble is, whereas Alonso's machinery was capable of wins early in the campaign, Ferrari has slipped to fourth in the pecking order behind Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus in recent races. There's no doubt the man behind the wheel is capable of delivering - the onus is on the Scuderia to ensure he isn't left behind.

Lewis Hamilton (GB, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team), 4th - 124pts   A-
Few were expecting Hamilton's first year of his Mercedes adventure to be especially successful, but it's fair to say that the Briton picked a good juncture at which to make the switch from McLaren. Whilst it took him a few races to get used to his new surroundings, with new teammate Rosberg providing a sterner challenge than anyone had foreseen, Hamilton has now emerged as perhaps Vettel's biggest threat for the balance of the season. The disappointment of losing a potential home victory at Silverstone was soon made up for by a brilliantly aggressive drive at Hungary which saw the Brit take a superb first win for this new team. That victory could well turn out to be the start of a title charge that transforms this season into a memorable one indeed.

Mark Webber (AU, Infiniti Red Bull Racing), 5th - 105pts                    B-
Those fateful events at Malaysia - where Vettel ignored team orders to pinch what was, by rights, Webber's win - set the tone for what has so far been a slightly underwhelming season for the likeable Australian. There have been two subsequent trips to the podium for Webber, at Monaco and Silverstone, but with the exception of the latter, where Vettel lost a likely victory to gearbox failure, the 37-year old has failed to outscore his teammate at any race. What's more, he is the only driver on the grid besides Esteban Gutierrez to have been out-qualified by his teammate 10-0. His form looks to have taken a turn for the better since news of his impending departure from F1 broke; no doubt many will be willing Webber on to add to his win tally before the year is out.

Nico Rosberg (D, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team), 6th - 84pts     B+
For the first time in his career, Rosberg has been partnered with a gold standard teammate in Hamilton, and so far he has responded to the challenge positively. Any doubts over Rosberg's raw pace were extinguished when he took three pole positions in a row, the last of which propelled him to a memorable victory at Monaco, and he did well to resist the pressure of Webber during the closing stages at Silverstone even if his second win owed much to the problems of Hamilton and Vettel. In spite of some mechanical problems of his own however, Rosberg has more often than not been out-qualified and outraced by Hamilton so far - the German will have to lift his game if he is to keep up with his on-form teammate during the second half of the season.

Felipe Massa (BR, Scuderia Ferrari), 7th - 61pts                                 C
Having been fortunate enough to retain his drive at Ferrari for an eighth consecutive season, the pressure was immediately on Massa to prove that the Italian team hadn't made the wrong decision. Three top-six finishes in the first three races was an auspicious enough start, and third place at Spain seemingly marked a long-awaited return to form for the Brazilian. Since that point however, Massa has made an unacceptable amount of basic errors for a driver of his experience, missing qualifying at Monaco after a practice shunt, crashing during Q2 at Canada and spinning out early on during the race at the Nurburgring. He can ill-afford any more mistakes of that ilk with a series of young, talented hopefuls in lower teams eyeing up that prized Ferrari seat for 2014.

Romain Grosjean (F, Lotus F1 Team), 8th - 49pts                                 B-
Like last year, Grosjean continues to show a frustrating inability to translate his evident potential into hard results. The Franco-Swiss has not been able to provide quite the challenge to his teammate Raikkonen as he was able to last year, having only finished ahead of the Finn once and having out-qualified him twice in ten races. Additionally, his error-strewn weekend at Monaco combined with a dash of misfortune has left Grosjean with just 37% of his teammate's points, a lower proportion than Massa (who has 46% of Alonso's points). On the other hand, he could have won at Germany if not for the Safety Car and showed great pace at Bahrain and Hungary, meaning it's still too soon to write Grosjean off. But time is running out for him to deliver.

Jenson Button (GB, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes), 9th - 39pts         B+
Though things looked excellent on paper for Button this season, who would no longer have to share equal number one status with Hamilton and have the car optimised to his driving style, it didn't take long to establish that McLaren's revolutionary design philosophy would fail to pay dividends. Given the circumstances, Button has performed admirably, getting the most out of the car at the majority of the races this season, fifth place at China being the highlight so far. The gap in pace between he and new teammate Perez has nonetheless been fairly slender, which arguably reflects poorly on a driver considered by many to be in F1's elite crop. What's more, the challenge from his teammate is likely to only increase as time goes by.

Paul Di Resta (GB, Sahara Force India F1 Team), 10th - 36pts           B+
Going up against former teammate at Sutil was always going to be a thankless task for Di Resta - if he came out on top, it would have been expected; if he didn't, any chance of getting a top drive would be blown out of the water. So far, Di Resta has just about been the more impressive of the Force India drivers, but the 13-point gap between them can largely be explained by the bad luck that has plagued Sutil. That said, the Scot's drive to fourth place at Bahrain was excellent, whilst the fact the qualifying record between the pair stands at 6-4 in Di Resta's favour despite some strategic mishaps is also a positive. With the car seemingly not working well with the revised tyres however, standing out from the crowd will prove more of a challenge in the second half of the year.

Adrian Sutil (D, Sahara Force India F1 Team), 11th - 23pts                 B
After a year on the sidelines, Sutil wasted absolutely no time in re-establishing his F1 credentials, boldly announcing his comeback by briefly leading at Melbourne and bringing home his Force India in an assured seventh place. Since then, he has been largely a match for his highly rated teammate Di Resta in terms of race pace, if not during qualifying, and his less consistent points scoring has been for reasons largely out of the German's control. The highlight of Sutil's season so far has undoubtedly been his storming drive to fifth at Monaco, a reminder to the paddock that the mild-mannered 30-year old would more than likely be capable of winning a Grand Prix given the right car. He'll have to do more than just match Di Resta to ever get the chance, however.

Sergio Perez (MEX, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes), 12th - 18pts,     B
Though Perez's appointment to McLaren in place of Hamilton was greeted by scepticism in many quarters, the Mexican has done a very solid job thus far, with the Woking outfit's poor form having taken the pressure off him to an extent. He hasn't been able to squeeze quite as many points out of what has been a recalcitrant car as his veteran teammate Button, but he has given the Brit far closer run for his money than many thought possible, most notably at Bahrain where Perez finished a creditable sixth. The campaign hasn't been without its errors, his largely self-inflicted retirement Monaco sticking out as the low point, but the evidence so far suggests that Perez is maturing and will be capable of enjoying a successful career at McLaren in years to come.

Jean-Eric Vergne (F, Scuderia Toro Rosso), 13th - 13pts                     B-
2013 has seen Vergne make some solid progress in his journey towards becoming a top Grand Prix driver, even if he is yet to quite convince the bosses at Red Bull that he is a viable candidate to drive for the reigning champion team. Though the Frenchman's qualifying has largely remained lacklustre in comparison to Toro Rosso stablemate Ricciardo, he caught the eye with back-to-back points finishes at Monaco and Canada whilst his teammate struggled in the midfield. That Vergne was unable to build on this momentum at subsequent races perhaps shows why he may not be ready for the big leagues just yet, but the fact his Toro Rosso seat is seemingly safe for next year gives the 23-year-old a stable platform on which to continue building his career.

Daniel Ricciardo (AU, Scuderia Toro Rosso), 14th - 11pts                   B+
Despite the limitations of the Toro Rosso machinery at his disposal, Ricciardo's performances have thrust himself right into the frame for a promotion to Red Bull next year in place of his countryman Webber. His strongest suit has undoubtedly been his one-lap pace, which has seen him qualify inside the top ten on five of a possible ten occasions this season and out-qualify his teammate Vergne 7-3. Sundays haven't always been as straightforward, but the easy-going Aussie demonstrated real star quality with his drives to seventh at China and eighth at Silverstone. The fact that Ricciardo has upped his game, with four straight Q3 appearances, just as the pressure to perform has intensified shows that he is made of the right stuff to partner Vettel at Red Bull next season.

The Rest
It's been a bruising year for Sauber so far, with the talented Nico Hulkenberg (B) struggling to make much of an impact on the scoreboard; the German must be desperately hoping that an opening at either of Ferrari or Lotus appears for next season. Esteban Gutierrez (C-) meanwhile has hardly disgraced himself in his rookie year, but the young Mexican will have to up his game to avoid becoming a one-season wonder, particularly as Russian investment at the Sauber team threatens to render his Telmex backing moot. A flawless performance at Hungary prevents Pastor Maldonado (C-) from getting the lowest ranking of all the drivers, with his season up to that point having been largely overshadowed by that of his Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas (B+), who has been one of the season's more impressive debutants (qualifying third at Canada standing out as a particular highlight). The same goes for Marussia driver Jules Bianchi (B+), who has proven himself worthy of some more potent machinery for 2014 and has single-handedly kept his team ahead of rivals Caterham in the constructors standings. Max Chilton (C) has made very few errors despite his steep learning curve, but like Gutierrez really needs to begin showing what he is capable of if he is to prolong his F1 career beyond the end of the year. Charles Pic (B) has done a solid job of being team leader at Caterham given his limited experience, even if a promotion to the midfield doesn't seem likely any time soon, whilst Hungary has been the most impressive race to date for Giedo van der Garde (C+), who has shown flashes of pace during a somewhat erratic first season.

To see my MotoGP half-term report, click here.

The Silly Season 2013

Though many paddock observers saw it coming, the recent announcement of Mark Webber's impending retirement from Formula One has inevitably intensified rumours over which drivers may be heading where next year, bringing an earlier than usual start to 'The Silly Season'.

Webber's departure for Porsche's endurance racing programme means there will be at least one top-line drive up for grabs. If Felipe Massa, who has been struggling for form in recent races, is ditched by Ferrari, there could be two vacancies among the top teams, which could prompt a major re-shuffle of the grid.

It appears that Kimi Raikkonen heads Red Bull's wish list of drivers who could partner Sebastian Vettel at the moment, with the Milton Keynes outfit apparently eager to have a proven and reliable points-gatherer at the helm of their second car.

However, questions have to be asked of whether it is really in the team's best interests to have someone as threatening to Vettel's de facto number one status as Raikkonen is likely to be. It's highly improbable, after all, that the Finn is going to be any more sympathetic to obeying team orders than Webber has been.

Besides, there's no guarantee Raikkonen would choose to forsake Lotus in favour of Red Bull. The "Iceman" is said to enjoy the atmosphere at Enstone, and would no doubt balk at the thought of the media commitments Red Bull would like to have him fulfil.

What's more, if Lotus can maintain the kind of form they showed at the Nurburgring, where both Raikkonen and teammate Romain Grosjean challenged for the win, the odds are that Kimi will opt to stay put.

Should Raikkonen indeed spurn Red Bull, that would, by the team's own admission, essentially leave them with a choice between Toro Rosso teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. It's fairly marginal, but the evidence so far leans towards the former despite the higher points haul of the latter during their time as teammates.

This can be explained by the fact that, while both Ricciardo and Vergne have had a roughly even amount of stand-out drives, it just so happens that, largely down to circumstances, Vergne has been able to finish slightly further up the points on those occasions.

Ricciardo's greater consistency, particularly in qualifying, is reflected in the fact that the Aussie has out-qualified Vergne in 22 of a possible 29 races, and can boast six Q3 appearances (including in each of the last three Grands Prix) against the Frenchman's two.

Either way, you have to question the point of Red Bull's links with Toro Rosso, as well as its young driver programme more broadly, if they pass up both Ricciardo and Vergne in favour of the man who will be the elder statesman of the F1 grid in 2014.

Should that be the case, there will be of course be a seat at Lotus that needs filling. While the team is bullish over its prospects of retaining Raikkonen, they would be well advised to consider who they may like to replace the Finn should they find themselves unable to convince him to stay.

Nico Hulkenberg is virtually certain to be on the market as a result of Sauber breaking his contract through non-payment, and would surely be an attractive prospect to Lotus if they were in need of a replacement for Raikkonen, though the German is likely to also be on Ferrari's radar.

A potential link-up with Ferrari was regarded to be the main motivation for what can now be considered perhaps an ill-judged move from Force India to Sauber, while, as has become traditional for this time of year, Massa is under pressure to retain his drive.

Conversely to last year, when the Brazilian raised his game after an abysmal start to the year, Massa's form has taken a dive at a critical phase of the season, with his early spin into retirement at the Nurburgring the latest in a sequence of costly errors during the last few races.

It's not too late for Massa to turn his situation around, as last year proved, but Ferrari ought to consider who they may like to replace Alonso as their number one driver in the longer term. Hulkenberg is one option to slot in alongside the Spaniard next year, and would probably be at least as competitive as Massa as well as considerably cheaper.

Another contender is Marussia's Jules Bianchi, who is a member of Ferrari's young driver academy and has already built a sound reputation for himself despite the inadequacy of the machinery at his disposal. Ferrari would nonetheless be a gigantic step up for the Frenchman, and a couple of seasons with a midfield team would do him no harm.

Should Massa be dispensed of by Ferrari, he could potentially find refuge at Lotus, although such a move would probably hinge upon Raikkonen moving to Red Bull - Romain Grosjean seems likely to retain his seat if he can maintain the kind of form that saw him finish on the podium at the Nurburgring, particularly when you consider his links to team principal Eric Boullier.

Even then, there's no guarantee Lotus would opt for Massa over a more exciting young talent like Hulkenberg or Paul Di Resta. That means, if he does lose his Ferrari seat, Felipe could find himself in the cold with both McLaren and Mercedes having their existing drivers under contract for next year.

Sauber, whose financial troubles have been the subject of much speculation recently, announced this morning that their immediate future has been guaranteed by an investment by a number of Russian companies, which inevitably will mean a Russian driver at the wheel of one of the Swiss cars.

It seems that man, as one may have assumed, will not be former Renault and Caterham driver Vitaly Petrov. Instead, the investors' preferred candidate is the 17-year-old Formula Renault 3.5 driver Sergey Sirotkin, who stands to become the youngest ever man to start an F1 race if he does indeed take to the grid in March.

It is however hard to see Sirotkin, who is currently only in his third full season of car racing, being able to handle the pressure of motorsport's pinnacle at such a tender age. It could transpire to be a terrible waste of potential for a driver whose results so far suggest that he has what it takes to become Russia's first Grand Prix winner.

Regardless, with Esteban Gutierrez unlikely to be dropped from the team unless his Mexican sponsorship money dries out, it would be Hulkenberg who would get the axe to make way for Sirotkin. If the German is unable to secure a drive at either Ferrari or Lotus, he would be left in a difficult position.

A vacancy at his former Force India team is only likely to appear if Di Resta is snapped up by a larger team, with both he and Adrian Sutil having performed well so far. Williams meanwhile are unlikely to drop either Valtteri Bottas, who has impressed this year, or Pastor Maldonado, whose Venezuelan state oil money is too valuable to lose.

Toro Rosso will be a closed shop for Hulkenberg as well, with Ricciardo and Vergne both likely to stay on for a third season if neither is promoted to a Red Bull drive, and Formula Renault 3.5 driver Antonio Felix da Costa first in line to step in to any vacancy that may open up at Faenza.

Caterham have Charles Pic under contract for next year, but Giedo van der Garde's drive could come under threat from one of a number of similarly well-financed drivers. One possibility is GP2 driver Felipe Nasr, who is fighting for the title this season in just his second year in the category. The Brazilian could also slot into a Marussia seat if Bianchi departs for pastures new.

Alas, the driver market will remain largely up the in air until two key decisions are made: one by Kimi Raikkonen, and the other by the upper management at Ferrari; careers could be made or broken in the next few months based upon what the outcomes of those decisions are.

F1 Stat Attack Part II: Most Points

Having previously looked at the all-time win list, it's time to examine the points-scoring record in the second of this three-part 'stat attack' series.

The all-time top ten points scorers, as of the Canadian Grand Prix, are as follows:

1. Michael Schumacher - 1566 points (1991-2012)
2. Fernando Alonso - 1460 points (2003-)
3. Sebastian Vettel - 1186 points (2007-)
4. Jenson Button - 1024 points (2000-)
5. Lewis Hamilton - 990 points (2007-)
6. Mark Webber - 917.5 points (2002-)
7. Kimi Raikkonen - 874 points (2001-)
8. Alain Prost - 798.5 points (1980-1993)
9. Felipe Massa - 753 points (2002-)
10. Rubens Barrichello - 658 points (1993-2011)

The extent to which this list is dominated by current F1 drivers should come as no surprise when you bear in mind that a win is now worth 25 points, rather than 8, 9 or 10 points as it was in the past. This change, made in time for the 2010 season, has allowed Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton to amass more points than Alain Prost managed in his entire career in just six years.

Additionally, Fernando Alonso is firmly on course to take the record for the highest career points total by the end of this season - the Ferrari driver is just 106 points - four wins and a seventh place finish - away from surpassing Michael Schumacher's tally of 1566, despite having taken just over a third as many victories as the German in his career.

In the short-term, the battle to set the new standard will thus likely be between Alonso and Vettel. Considering the former's advantage stands at just 274 points, easily attainable in two seasons driving for a top team, the odds strongly favour Vettel making his way to the top of the table not too long after, or perhaps even before, Alonso's retirement.

It's likely Hamilton will also be able to score the 576 points needed to surpass Schumacher, but his near-200 point deficit to Vettel will be difficult to address unless the Brit is able to replicate a Red Bull-style scenario for himself. As for the others in the top ten, 1566 points will probably remain out of reach even with the aid of the current system.

The overwhelming bias towards current drivers in the above list is why I have taken it upon myself to construct a 'normalised' points-scorers list, which reflects how the table would look if the 9-6-4-3-2-1 system, used from 1961 to 1990, had not been amended:

1. Michael Schumacher - 1244 points (1991-2012)
2. Alain Prost - 791.5 points (1980-1993)
3. Fernando Alonso - 681 points (2003-)
4. Ayrton Senna - 599 points (1984-1993)
5. Kimi Raikkonen - 511 points (2001-)
6. Rubens Barrichello - 493 points (1993-2010)
7. Nelson Piquet - 484.5 points (1979-1991)
8. Nigel Mansell - 467 points (1981-1994)
9. David Coulthard - 455 points (1994-2008)
10. Sebastian Vettel - 434 points (2007-)

This list much more closely resembles the all-time win list, albeit also featuring drivers more notable for being among the most experienced ever, such as Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard, at the expense of more celebrated drivers from previous eras. Just outside the top ten are Button (414) and Hamilton (408), with Massa (314) and Webber (292.5) in the lower reaches of the top twenty.

Under this system, Schumacher's record seems far more secure than it is in reality - in order for Alonso to make up the 563 point shortfall, he would have to match his normalised 2012 tally of 83 points a further seven times before the end of his career.

Vettel meanwhile would have to replicate his winning total of 88 points nine more times to overtake his compatriot, which seems a somewhat more realistic prospect given that the Red Bull driver is six years Alonso's junior.

When you consider that points are only awarded down to sixth place, rather than tenth, under the above system, it should come as no surprise that the points tallies of the remaining current drivers would suffer badly.

Under the actual system, Nico Rosberg, with 456.5 points to his name, is up to 15th place in the all-time points scorers list ahead of such illustrious names as Mika Hakkinen and Niki Lauda. Normalise that figure, and the Mercedes driver drops all the way down to 104 points and just 63rd place in the list behind the likes of Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld.

Likewise, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez would be outside of the top 100 with just 24 and 18 points respectively, while Adrian Sutil (12), Pastor Maldonado (11), Nico Hulkenberg (9) and Paul Di Resta (8) would be well among the sport's also-rans. Jean-Eric Vergne would have only just scored his maiden point at Canada with sixth place, whilst Daniel Ricciardo would be yet to score having never finished higher than seventh.

So, while 'normalisation' makes the top of the scorers list seem more palatable, it undoubtedly does rather a disservice to those drivers yet to taste major success. After all, the change from awarding points from sixth to tenth place reflects the increasing number of finishers in modern-day F1.

During the 1992 season, just 49% of the starters on average made it to the finish line; ten years later (the final year of awarding points down to just sixth place), improvements in mechanical reliability had increased that figure to 59%. Last year, in the era of near-perfect reliability, the finishing percentage rate was a rather hefty 81%.

That means that it is now extremely difficult for midfield drivers to finish in the top six compared to ten or twenty years ago. This season, the top six drivers have been made up almost entirely of the Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus drivers, with the other teams having been shut out of the top six in all but a small handful of cases.

Near-perfect reliability has also made it much harder for new teams to score points, even with only having to finish in tenth position as opposed to sixth in order to do so. A team like Caterham would probably have had little trouble scoring numerous points twenty years ago, much as Jordan did in their maiden season in 1991, but have yet failed to do so in almost three and a half years of trying.

On that basis, you could make the case for extending the points system down to twelfth or even fifteenth place based on the current average number of finishers - not since the 2010 Australian Grand Prix have there been fewer than fifteen classified finishers in a race.

That of course would do nothing to address the overwhelming bias towards current drivers at the sharp end of the all-time list, but as the paltry 'normalised' scores of the likes of Perez and Di Resta prove, it would be impossible to ever produce a list that would truly reflect the merits of each driver on it. In that respect, alas, we can but continue to speculate...

2013 Spanish Grand Prix - Report

Fernando Alonso took a comfortable second win of the season in front of his devoted home fans at the Spanish Grand Prix. Making his way from fifth on the grid to third at the start of the race, Alonso took advantage of his Ferrari's scintillating race pace to take the lead shortly after his first pit-stop, and was never seriously challenged thereafter.

Kimi Raikkonen put up a valiant fight to finish second, but the Lotus car's superior tyre preservation wasn't enough to overhaul Alonso on this occasion. Felipe Massa put in a strong drive to make it two Ferraris on the podium in third ahead of points leader Sebastian Vettel, while pole-sitter Nico Rosberg came home sixth as the Mercedes drivers once again struggled with tyre wear throughout.

Mercedes were undoubtedly the team to beat on Saturday, with Rosberg posting two times quick enough for pole and Lewis Hamilton slotting in just behind his teammate to give the Silver Arrows their first front-row lockout of the year. Vettel would line up in third place from Raikkonen, Alonso and Romain Grosjean; Massa set the sixth fastest time but was demoted three places for impeding Mark Webber, who started seventh.

As the lights went out on Sunday, Rosberg maintained his advantage whilst Hamilton lost out to Vettel as the pack reached the first turn. The Brit then dropped behind Alonso, who audaciously passed the Mercedes driver around the outside of turn 3, having already taken Raikkonen on the exit of the previous corner, to the delight of the crowd.

That meant, at the end of the first lap, Rosberg led compatriot Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen and a fast-starting Sergio Perez, who fell prey to Massa at the start of the second lap. Adrian Sutil had also made a superb getaway to sit eighth after starting 13th, with Grosjean and the second Force India of Paul Di Resta and Webber in his wake.

After a few laps, the top half-dozen cars began to split into two groups of three as Hamilton began to struggle with tyre wear. Raikkonen made his way ahead of the Mercedes at turn 10 on the seventh lap, with Massa doing likewise the following lap. By this stage, Webber had already made his first pit-stop, and by the end of lap 9, Massa, Alonso and Hamilton had also switched from medium compound to hard tyres.

The remaining front-runners all pitted at the end of lap 10, and the earlier stop allowed Alonso to jump Vettel for a net second place. Likewise, Massa had moved up ahead of Raikkonen into a net fourth place, whilst Webber climbed five places to a net sixth by being the first of all to pit. A slow first stop meanwhile had seen Hamilton drop to ninth.

Though not suffering as badly as his teammate, it was clear Rosberg lacked the race pace to get away from Alonso, and it seemed a mere matter of time before the home favourite surged ahead. With the help of the DRS along the main straight, Alonso got the job done at the start of lap 13, and took the lead of the race when Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez finally made his first pit-stop at the end of the lap.

By this stage, Rosberg had already fallen behind Vettel (at the turn 7-8 chicane) and Massa (in the second DRS zone before turn 10) and would drop a further position to Raikkonen at the start of lap 15. In the meantime, Alonso was stretching his legs at the head of the field, and had established a lead of over four seconds over Vettel by lap 19.

As the second round of pit-stops loomed, it was Massa who headed for the pit-lane first at the end of lap 20, swiftly followed by Webber. The following lap saw race leader Alonso dive for the pits, handing the lead to Vettel, who stayed until the end of lap 24. Kimi Raikkonen, the only driver among the leaders to opt for medium tyres for his second stint, then led proceedings until he made his second stop two laps later, again for a set of options.

This gave the impression that the Finn would try to make it home with just three stops instead of the conventional four as he was now around 16 seconds down on Alonso, who re-took the lead following Raikkonen's stop. The two-time champion enjoyed a seven second buffer over teammate Massa, who had successfully undercut Vettel to take second place and make it, for the time being at least, a Maranello one-two.

Alonso continued to grow his lead, which stood at 11 seconds by lap 32. Raikkonen meanwhile had caught Vettel and was now being held up the German, costing him valuable time in relation to the Ferraris. Having been repelled at turn 10 the previous lap, the Lotus driver finally found a way past at the start of lap 33, but any chance of victory appeared slim given that he was now 19 seconds away from the race lead.

The Ferrari drivers pitted on lap 36, both Alonso and Massa switching to the medium tyre for their fourth stint. Vettel came in for what would be his penultimate stop three laps later, also opting for the medium.
Raikkonen was now back in the lead, but all too briefly as Alonso breezed past with the help of DRS and fresher rubber at the start of lap 39.

With both drivers having one more stop to make, the identity of the race winner was in no doubt whatsoever by this stage; arguably it hadn't been since Alonso began to sprint into the distance during the second stint.
To further emphasise Alonso's speed, he had established a cushion of ten seconds by the time Raikkonen stopped for the final time, making the mandatory switch to the hard compound, on lap 45.

The 'Iceman' retained third ahead of Vettel despite the reigning champion's pace on new tyres, and when Alonso and Massa made their fourth stops on laps 49 and 51 respectively, Raikkonen moved up to second.
There was, however, no way at this late stage that he was going to be able to challenge Alonso, who enjoyed an untroubled run to the chequered flag.

With his second win at the Catalunya circuit, Alonso surpasses Nigel Mansell's win total with a 32nd career victory - only Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher have more.

Raikkonen cruised home to an unchallenged second place, reducing Vettel's points lead from ten to four, while Massa took his first trip to the podium of 2013 with a strong drive to third. Vettel came home in fourth, and Webber rounded out the top five with Red Bull lacking sufficient race pace to take the fight to Ferrari or Lotus.

Having dropped behind Webber at the second pit-stop phase, Rosberg held on to finish sixth, narrowly ahead of Di Resta, who put in another quietly assured performance for Force India with seventh. More bad luck however befell teammate Sutil despite his great start - any chance of points for the German were extinguished by an excruciatingly long first pit-stop as the wheelnut issues which plagued the team in Malaysia returned.

Eighth place went to Jenson Button, who raced well on a three-stop strategy after starting a lowly 14th, but was disappointed by McLaren's updates failing to work as hoped. Finishing just behind in ninth was teammate Perez, who was somewhat more circumspect during battle than he was in Bahrain and ultimately was unable to find a way past his teammate, whom he nevertheless out-qualified for the first time on Saturday.

The final point of the afternoon went the way of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Toro Rosso showing some very solid pace all weekend. Teammate Jean-Eric Vergne was unlucky to be ruled out of contention with damage caused by a puncture, which may in turn have been due to a collision with Nico Hulkenberg in the pits. The Sauber driver continued, but a penalty for causing the shunt saw the 'Hulk' finish down in fifteenth.

It was a good race for the other side of the Sauber garage though, with Gutierrez setting the fastest lap of the race whilst chasing Ricciardo all the way home for tenth. After a shaky start to the year, the Mexican's performance was highly impressive considering a three place penalty for impeding Raikkonen in qualifying left him 19th on the grid.

Twelfth place went to Lewis Hamilton, who spent the entire race going backwards from his grid position of second. His slow first stop dropped him to ninth place, but Mercedes' perennial tyre wear troubles meant Hamilton was unable to re-gain any of the lost ground. Indeed, he was never really in the frame for points, losing further positions and only just holding on from a recovering Sutil at the end of the race.

At the scene of his maiden F1 victory a year ago, Pastor Maldonado could do no better than fourteenth after an early drive-through penalty for pit-lane speeding. Valtteri Bottas brought the sister Williams home in sixteenth behind Hulkenberg, demonstrating lucidly that Williams are still the least competitive midfield team by some distance despite updates having been introduced to turn their situation around.

Caterham on the other hand appear to have pulled ahead of their arch-rivals Marussia with their latest upgrades, Charles Pic winning the 'Class B' battle in 17th place and Giedo van der Garde looking in good shape until a detached left-rear wheel ended his challenge. Completing the finishers were the Marussia duo Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton, with Romain Grosjean the only other driver to retire with his Lotus suffering from rear suspension failure early on whilst running in ninth.