Musings on Le Mans 2014

Today’s Austrian Grand Prix may not have been quite as explosive an affair as the one we witnessed at Montreal, but the result was another crucial one for the title challenge of Nico Rosberg. The German’s third win of the season ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton puts him 29 points clear in the drivers’ standings, with the pressure now well and truly on for Hamilton to respond on home turf at Silverstone in two weeks’ time.

But, despite the title of this blog, this post focuses on the events of the preceding weekend, during which the 82^nd running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans took place. It was a race that Toyota should have won, Porsche could have won and Audi – for the 13^th time in 16 attempts – did win.

It was a classic race of attrition, and the victorious trio of André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer would be the first ones to admit that their third triumph around the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe owed much to the superior reliability of their #2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro as well a fair dose of good fortune.

Not for the first time in recent history, Audi did not have the fastest car in the field at Le Mans – as evidenced by the German marque’s trio of turbodiesel machines lining up in fifth, sixth and seventh places on the starting grid behind all four of their petrol-powered adversaries in the LMP1-H class.

That plaudit belonged to Toyota, who, on the back of two WEC race victories from two at Silverstone and Spa, were understandably being billed as pre-race favourites. But, having the quickest car is no guarantee of success at Le Mans, much as Toyota themselves found out in the late 1990s with their ultra-fast but somewhat fragile GT-One contender.

And so it proved again around 14 hours into this year’s event, when the #7 TS040 Hybrid of Alexander Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima – which had started from pole position and led virtually the entire distance up to that point – ground to a halt along the Mulsanne Straight after a wiring loom melted having established a cushion of over two minutes out front.

With the sister car of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sebastien Buemi already out of the running for victory following a shunt along the Mulsanne in the torrential conditions that arrived in the second hour of the race (which also eliminated Marco Bonanomi’s #3 Audi on the spot), that was it as far as Toyota’s victory hopes were concerned.

The fact the #8 car, which ultimately finished in third place and five laps down on the #2 Audi, ran pretty much trouble-free  thereafter and thus could have won race without its early incident will come as scant consolation to Toyota, whose search for their elusive first Le Mans victory goes on for at least one more year.

If Toyota are to finally break their Le Mans duck, they would be well-advised to enter three cars in 2015, thus maximising the chances of at least one car getting through the whole race unscathed. Audi lost a car at the same time of the #8 Toyota’s accident, but the Ingolstadt marque still had two chances left to win, while Toyota had just one – which was ultimately squandered.

The #2 Audi assumed control of proceedings after the demise of the #7 Toyota, but a 23-minute stint in the pits to replace a turbocharger around two hours later saw Lotterer, Fässler and Tréluyer relinquish the lead to the sister #1 car of Tom Kristensen, Marc Gené and Lucas Di Grassi.

It seemed at this stage that the trio were on course for a fairytale victory; the ultimate comeback after the #1 car was decimated in a terrifying accident at the Porsche Curves during first qualifying on Wednesday which saw Loïc Duval hospitalised. Indeed, Gené, originally scheduled to drive for the Jota team in LMP2, was a last minute call-up to Audi to replace the Frenchman.

Not only that, it would have been the 10^th Le Mans victory for Kristensen, as well as the first ever win for a Brazilian driver – but it was not to be, as the #1 machine suffered a more or less identical problem to that of the #2 with less than four hours to go, demoting it to an eventual second place at the finish, three laps down.

It was at this stage when the #20 Porsche took the lead, but the car shared by Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and F1 convert Mark Webber was suffering from a handling imbalance that was allowing Lotterer in the #2 Audi to close the one minute advantage that Porsche held with three hours to go by around five seconds a lap.

Still, without that issue, it’s not inconceivable that Porsche could have taken their first outright Le Mans win since they last fought for overall honours back in 1998. Second place, which would have been a remarkable comeback result, was certainly assured before an engine problem that eventually forced Webber to retire the #20 car with less than three hours to run manifested itself.

The #14 car of Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani was never in contention, losing time in the first hour of the race in the pits solving a fuel pressure problem and suffering from brake problems en route to an eventual 11^th place finish overall, 31 laps down on the #2 Audi.

Nonetheless, Porsche’s return has to be regarded as a qualified success in spite of the lofty expectations with which some observers saddled the team, with the 919 Hybrid showing some handy pace in qualifying trim (lining up second and fourth on the grid) even if reliability clearly proved an issue. 

Indeed, many are already regarding Porsche as hot favourites to triumph in 2015, though the pressure that comes with such a tag will only make chasing a 17^th outright Le Mans victory that much tougher.

The all-new Rebellion R-One finished a commendable fourth place in only its second race outing, but was massively off the pace of the hybrid-powered factory machines, the #12 car of Nick Heidfeld, Nico Prost and Mathias Beche ending up 19 laps adrift of the winners in spite of enjoying a relatively trouble-free run.

Such a result has to throw into question the point of the LMP1-L class (L stands for light), ostensibly designed to allow private teams such as Rebellion Racing, who cannot afford to develop complex hybrid systems, to at least be in a position to pick up the pieces when the works-entered cars run into trouble – as they all did to varying extents.

What’s more, seeing Heidfeld, Prost and Beche stood alone on during the LMP1-L podium ceremony was an odd sight to behold. The only other entry in the class, the #13 Rebellion, was an early casualty after engine trouble, although a third entry in the form of the Lotus-backed Kodewa team was due to compete before withdrawing due to delays in completing their new chassis.

The LMP2 class was a rather more keenly contested affair, class honours ultimately going to the #38 Jota-run Zytek of Simon Dolan, Harry Tincknell and Oliver Turvey (a late replacement for the Audi-bound Gené) after the pace-setting #35 OAK Racing Ligier developed a spark plug problem late in the race which cost it straight line speed.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the exceptional trio comprised of GT Academy graduates Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy as well as Alex Brundle, who would have been fitting class winners; instead, the trio had to be content with finishing fifth in class, but all three can take solace in the fact that they established themselves as endurance racing stars in the making.

In fact, the LMP2 class right now is full of bright young talents who have found their paths on the single-seater racing ladder blocked: Tincknell, who showed some impressive pace on his first visit to Le Mans; Jon Lancaster, another debutant to catch the eye behind the wheel of the #34 Race Performance Oreca; and Oliver Webb, who co-piloted the #36 Signatech Alpine to third in class, to name a few.

It’s good to see that the secondary prototype class is enjoying such strength in depth at the moment, with plenty of ELMS entries bolstering the meagre contingent of WEC cars. And, with Zytek, Dome and HPD in the processing of developing new cars to join the new-for-2014 Ligier, the class looks to set to continue providing a gripping sub-plot to the main event at Le Mans for years to come.

The GTE classes had their fair share of drama too, with the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella taking a comfortable victory in the Pro division after the challenge of its closest rival, the #97 Aston Martin of Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Bruno Senna, faltered late in the race with a power steering failure.

The British marque could however celebrate victory in the Am class with victory for the all-Danish #95 crew of Nicki Thiim, David Heinemeier Hansson and Kristian Poulsen – a fitting tribute to the late Allan Simonsen, who was tragically killed at the start of last year’s event in a crash at Tertre Rouge driving for the team.

The future at the moment is looking very bright for Le Mans, as well as sports car racing more generally. Porsche’s return meant that the 2014 race saw three manufacturers in true contention for the overall win for the first time since 1999 (the petrol-powered Aston Martins of 2009-11 couldn't touch their diesel-propelled rivals for pace), and that number looks set to swell in the coming years.

Nissan have already confirmed their comeback to the LMP1 class next year, following on from their ‘Garage 56’ entry this year – which, while failing to complete more than five laps during the race, succeeded in its primary aim of completing a lap of La Sarthe under pure electric power – and are bullish about their prospects with their GT-R LM NISMO contender, which begins testing this autumn.

Then there’s Ferrari. Fernando Alonso, present at Le Mans to wave the tricolore to officially start the race, gave the strongest hint yet that the Scuderia have set their sights upon an LMP1 assault. Rumour has it BMW are also weighing up whether to have another crack at the endurance classic and attempting to give marketplace rivals Audi and Porsche a run for their money.

The beauty of the LMP1 regulations as they currently stand is that they allow each and every manufacturer to approach the category in any way they see fit. Audi, Toyota and Porsche all use completely different engine configurations and methods for deploying their hybrid power, and Nissan claim that they are going to employ a new approach on at least one of those counts next year.

That makes it a far more attractive prospect for prospective new entrants than, say, F1, where the regulations are much more restrictive. Even if a manufacturer isn’t winning, they can at least enjoy the R&D benefits of a trying out a particular technology on the race track that has direct relevance to how they wish to evolve their road cars, making it a far easier task to keep the board happy.

The increasing popularity of the race among the manufacturers was reflected by the number of spectators present. The ACO claimed 263,300 made the trip to Le Mans this year, up by 18,000 from the previous year’s figure, no doubt boosted by the presence of Porsche and Webber – which will have made some that were hitherto on the fence choose to finally make the pilgrimage.

Were Ferrari and Alonso to join the party, it’s more than possible that figure could begin to nudge towards the 300,000 mark, which would give Bernie Ecclestone and the F1 fraternity some real food for thought. It seems endurance racing is on the brink of another golden age to rival any other seen throughout its history so far.

The Top 10 Drivers of 2013

Now the 2013 season has come to a close, it's time to cast our eyes back over the events of the past eight months and pick out the ten most outstanding Formula One drivers of the year.

The 2013 season may have been dominated by a certain German driver behind the wheel of a blue and purple car, but many other drivers have caught the eye at various stages throughout the year. It was extremely difficult to pick an order, especially for the lower half, but after much careful consideration, this is the list I have come up with:

10. Jenson Button 
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 9th in Championship (0 wins, 0 poles, 73pts) - Down 5

With Hamilton moving on from what was a highly competitive McLaren at the back end of 2012 to Mercedes for the 2013 season, Button would have had every reason to be feeling confident back in March. But, it didn't take long before it became obvious that the Woking outfit's design gamble was not going to pay dividends, Button becoming increasingly resigned to scrapping for the minor positions. A solid drive to fifth place in China stood as the Briton's best result until the end of the season at Brazil, where Button stormed his way from 14th on the grid to take fourth, making amends for a string of poor results in the preceding three races.

Whilst Button is hardly renowned for being a one-lap specialist, he will have been disappointed at losing out to teammate Perez in the qualifying stakes, and perhaps, considering his world champion status, that there wasn't more daylight between he and the Mexican in terms of race pace. That said, Button was the more consistent across the course of the year of the two McLaren drivers; the fact he failed to score only five times all year in a car often flirting with the fringes of the top 10 is certainly no mean feat. If the team are able to bounce back in 2014, there's still time for Button to add to his tally of 15 race victories yet.

9. Daniel Ricciardo
Scuderia Toro Rosso, 14th in Championship (0 wins, 0 poles, 20pts) - New Entry

Webber's advancing years meant that there was an awful lot at stake in 2013 for Ricciardo and his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, both of whom stood a strong chance of promotion to Red Bull if they managed establish superiority over the other at Toro Rosso. Though there was one stage at which it appeared the latter may have been starting to get the better of Ricciardo, the gregarious Aussie upped the ante at precisely the right time, booking his seat at Red Bull with a series of convincing qualifying and race performances as Vergne faded into anonymity in the latter half of the year.

Indeed, Ricciardo was out-qualified by Vergne only four times all year, and made seven appearances in the points versus just three for the Frenchman - including a pair of superb seventh place finishes at China and Italy. However, street circuits proved something of an Achilles' heel for the 24-year-old, retiring from both Monaco (where he was thoroughly eclipsed by Vergne before being rear-ended by Grosjean) and Singapore, whilst poor starts, like his fellow countryman Webber, also occasionally served to undo his hard work during qualifying. These are weaknesses he'll have to eradicate to have any hope of matching up to Vettel at Red Bull next season.

8. Mark Webber
Infiniti Red Bull Racing, 3rd in Championship (0 wins, 2 poles, 199pts) - Down 2

Regrettably for Webber, his final season in F1 has inevitably been defined by events at Malaysia, where Vettel ignored the instruction issued by Red Bull to remain behind his teammate, instead snatching away what most perceived to be Webber's rightful victory. Even more disappointing was the fact that the Australian thereafter failed to register a win all year, whilst his German teammate proceeded to sweep all before him. Two late pole positions demonstrated the one-lap pace was still there, but Webber's apparent inability to adapt his driving style to the demands of the modern breed of Coanda effect-assisted cars proved his undoing.

Nevertheless, there were some fine drivers by Webber over the course of the year, such as at Silverstone, where he lost out on what would have been a fitting retribution for "Multi 21" by the narrowest of a margins to Rosberg. The Red Bull driver was also plagued by bad luck throughout the year, most notably at India, where an alternator problem denied him what would have been a straightforward second place; without such misfortune, he would probably have clinched the runner-up spot in the championship his machinery warranted. Webber's final year in F1 hasn't been his best by a long shot, but nonetheless marks a solid end to a distinguished career at the highest level.

7. Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber F1 Team, 10th in Championship (0 wins, 0 poles, 51pts) - Up 1

During the first half of the season, prior to Pirelli's decision to make its tyres more durable after the fiasco that was the British Grand Prix, it looked as if Hulkenberg had made the wrong decision to jump ship from Force India to Sauber, having racked up only half a dozen points by that stage versus 36 for his former teammate Paul Di Resta. But, as the Force India suffered a competitive nosedive in the advent of the revised tyres, Sauber's improving fortunes allowed Hulkenberg to really begin to shine and cement his reputation as a star of the future.

Monza, where Hulkenberg made full use of the Sauber's strong straight-line speed to qualify a superb third, was the start of this late season flourish, more than doubling his points tally for the year at a stroke by finishing in fifth. After that, the mild-mannered German was never out of the points, save for two occasions when he was not at fault; his drive to fourth at Korea, where he held off the advances of Hamilton for a significant chunk of the race, stood out in particular. Hulkenberg may have been unfortunate to lose out on a seat at the cash-strapped Lotus team for next season, but, with Mercedes engines, it could be that Force India, where he is set to return in 2014, could turn out to be a better bet regardless.

6. Nico Rosberg
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, 6th in Championship (2 wins, 3 poles, 171pts) - Re-Entry

It may have been the first time that Rosberg has been out-scored by a teammate in F1 since his maiden season in 2006, but it's also been the first time the German has been partnered with a teammate as well regarded as Hamilton. And, few would have anticipated back in March that Rosberg would end the season quite so close to the former champion in the drivers' standings, with just 18 points separating the pair when the dust settled on the season. Out-qualifying Hamilton, regarded by some as the best qualifier in the business, eight times over the course of the year, including taking a hat-trick of pole positions, is another achievement by Rosberg that few would have foreseen.

Whilst Rosberg was able to rack up two race victories at Monaco and Silverstone this year to Hamilton's sole triumph at Hungary, it's worth remembering that the second of those wins was somewhat fortuitous, the 28-year-old benefiting from a puncture for Hamilton and a gearbox failure for Vettel. And, whilst Rosberg's only non-appearances in the points can be pinned on mechanical maladies of one sort or another, there were perhaps a couple too many occasions where he was simply out-raced by Hamilton - a man he will have to overcome more regularly to put himself in genuine contention for the title next year, as some have tipped him to.

5. Kimi Raikkonen
Lotus F1 Team, 5th in Championship (1 win, 0 poles, 183pts) - Down 1

It's fair to say that Raikkonen's second season of his comeback for Lotus peaked rather too soon - at the very first race, where he took a convincing victory at Melbourne, in fact. The car was undoubtedly capable of more, remaining competitive even after the mid-season revision of the Pirelli tyres, and there were quite a few subsequent near misses for "The Iceman" in his quest to add to his Australian win. Indeed, Raikkonen featured on the second step of the podium more often than anyone else all year, with Bahrain and Hungary standing out as occasions where a lacklustre qualifying performances held the Finn back.

As the second half of the year progressed, and the severity of Lotus's financial woes became clear, Raikkonen's performances appeared to decline accordingly as teammate Grosjean increasingly took over from Kimi as the team's "go-to guy". From Spa onwards, he was out-done by the Franco-Swiss at every race (the Safety Car played an instrumental role in allowing Raikkonen to beat Grosjean at Korea), but perhaps his motivation to perform was flagging once his move to Ferrari for next season was sealed. If this was the case, he'll need to show a far sterner resolve if he's going to get on terms with Alonso at the political hot-house that is the Scuderia.

4. Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, 4th in Championship (1 win, 5 poles, 189pts) - Down 2

Considering McLaren's woes this season, it didn't take long for Hamilton to convince the doubters that his move to Mercedes was the right one. Up to the summer break, with the sole exception of an inexplicably poor showing in Spain, the Brit was a constant presence in the top five, and was unfortunate to lose a potential victory at Silverstone to tyre failure. A first win with his new employers finally came with an imperious drive in the sweltering heat of Hungary, after which many observers believed Hamilton may have been on the cusp of launching some kind of title challenge.

This was not to be however, and Hamilton losing out to Vettel along the Kemmel Straight at Spa on the first lap perfectly symbolised the point at which the hopes of everyone else were dashed. Hamilton was not quite as convincing from the next race at Monza onwards - though how much of this was down to cracks in the former champion's chassis, which weren't spotted until after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, isn't clear. But, five pole positions and as many trips to the podium certainly constitutes a record Hamilton can look back upon with satisfaction as he readies himself for what ought to be his best shot at the title since he made history back in 2008.

3. Romain Grosjean
Lotus F1 Team, 7th in Championship (0 wins, 0 poles, 132pts) - New Entry

From "first-lap nutcase" to one of the undoubted class acts of the season,  the last 12 months have seen quite a turnaround for Grosjean. Warned that his drive may be at risk following a dismal weekend at Monaco, where he briefly reverted to type after taking out Ricciardo mid-race, you can't give the Frenchman enough credit for the way he knuckled down and found a way to cut out the errors that had so far held back his career. Whether it was down to the change in mentality that comes with being a father, or simply overcoming a set-up hurdle in optimising his brake balance, something undoubtedly clicked for Grosjean in the summer.

Germany, where a Safety Car cost him a very realistic shot at a maiden victory, proved the springboard to a phenomenal second half of the year during which Grosjean was often Vettel's strongest adversary, and as Raikkonen progressively went off the boil as speculation over his future intensified, the man from Geneva was always in the podium mix once the second flyaway leg of the calendar got underway. Leading the first stint at Suzuka and his defence of second from a hard-charging Webber at Austin were both feats worthy of the champion-in-waiting status that some pundits have now begun to attribute to Grosjean; only time will tell if he can live up to this new tag.

2. Fernando Alonso
Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd in Championship (2 wins, 0 poles, 242pts) - Down 1

If there was a nagging feeling that, perhaps, the wrong person came out on top of last year's championship battle, Alonso's heroics behind the wheel of a largely recalcitrant Ferrari have done nothing to alter a perception which exists among many F1 fans that the two-time champion remains the cream of the crop. Five podiums, including two convincing victories in the first eight races before Pirelli revamped their tyres, laid what appeared to be a solid foundation for another title tilt, even if numerous points went begging for reasons both within and outside of Alonso's control. In the second half of the year however, with Ferrari one of the worst affected teams by the tyre changes, Alonso's performances became all the more impressive.

In particular, three successive second place finishes at Spa, Monza and Singapore kept the title fight alive longer than otherwise would have been the case, and, though the Spaniard was out-qualified by Massa eight times, there was only one occasion all year, India, where Alonso failed to finish ahead of his team-mate, excluding his retirement at Malaysia. In fact, the Brazilian was the only driver among the top five teams to score less than half of his teammate's points, reflecting the overwhelming degree to which Alonso was able to out-perform his car once again. Ferrari owe their star driver nothing less than the near-perfection he has delivered for the past four seasons in 2014.

1. Sebastian Vettel
Infiniti Red Bull Racing, World Champion (13 wins, 9 poles, 397pts) - Up 2

Even if Vettel's record-matching achievements this year have failed to convince you that he is the best driver in the field, this year proved beyond doubt that he is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to getting the most out of the modern breed of Formula One car. Save for when he didn't run in Q3 at China, the German was never out of the top three in qualifying, and was rarely off the podium in races - only missing out after a gearbox failure robbed him of victory at Silverstone and during two of the early season tyre wear bonanzas at China and Spain (incidentally, both races Alonso won). And, unlike the case for all of his rivals, there wasn't a single event all year you could describe as an "off-race" for the irrepressible Vettel.

His actions at Malaysia, whilst perhaps questionable from a standpoint of sporting ethics, unveiled the same ruthless streak and sheer determination to win that have elevated Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher to such legendary status, and now that Vettel has sealed a fourth title on the trot, it seems hard to believe that he won't be held in similar esteem by the time he decides to hang up his helmet in eight or 10 years' time. The only solace for the 26-year-old's competitors is the promise of a major shuffle in the competitive order that's likely to come with next year's regulation changes - but if Vettel remains on top, then expect the few remaining records he is yet to clinch to tumble sooner or later.

Honourable Mentions

Sergio Perez's season may look fairly lacklustre on paper, but the decision on the part of McLaren to drop him after a single season is extremely harsh. Though errors were certainly more common for the Mexican than for his vastly more experienced teammate Button, Perez was a broad match for the Brit's pace during the races - his drive to fifth place at India and to sixth at Brazil standing out as particular highlights - and out-qualified Button more often than not. Kevin Magnussen has a tough job on his hands if he is to avoid the same fate as Perez, particularly as McLaren continue to court Alonso for 2015.

Valtteri Bottas did a fine job carving out a reputation for himself in his debut season at the wheel of a dreadful Williams car, often shading teammate Pastor Maldonado, whose frustration with the team at failing to build on the progress of 2012 led to far too many cases of over-driving by the fiery Venezuelan. Meanwhile, Bottas kept his head, and when the opportunities to impress came along, namely at Canada in qualifying and at Austin in the race, he seized them perfectly. Ironically, it will be his new teammate Felipe Massa who will have to prove himself against Bottas next year, not vice versa.

Jules Bianchi was the other outstanding rookie of the year, his 13th place at the Malaysian Grand Prix proving sufficient for Marussia to overhaul arch-rivals Caterham in the constructors' standings in the final reckoning. Despite having far less time to acclimatise himself to the car during pre-season testing, Bianchi was rarely troubled by fellow debutant and teammate Max Chilton in both qualifying and the races, and, despite the limitations of the Marussia, successfully translated the potential he has shown in the junior formulae into some solid promise for a bright future in F1. It's just a shame that he won't be able to ply his trade with a more competitive car next year.

To see my list from last season, click here.

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. 

Brazilian Grand Prix 2013 - Preview

This weekend's race at the legendary Interlagos circuit in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo will bring down the curtain on what has been a memorable, if not always thrilling season of Grand Prix racing.

After a string of fairly tame races in which Sebastian Vettel has utterly crushed his adversaries, Formula One fans will be looking to Interlagos, which has a history of throwing up unpredictable results, to provide a sorely needed dramatic finale to the 2013 season.

Many a title has been decided at Interlagos - not least of all last year, when Vettel fought his way through the pack to secure the points needed for his third title crown after an early spin. Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso also know what it's like to win titles in Brazil, as does Felipe Massa - even if it was only for 30 seconds for the undoubted home crowd hero at that unforgettable finale five years ago.

The track itself is a far cry from the series of 'Tilkedromes' F1 has visited in recent months, featuring fast, flowing corners and myriad overtaking opportunities. Despite having been shortened from eight to 4.3 kilometres, Interlagos remains one of the most physically demanding circuits for the drivers; its bumpy nature and high altitude also make it one of the more testing races on the calendar for the cars.

Pirelli have opted for the same tyre allocation seen a week ago in Texas - the medium and hard compounds - as well as some experimental rubber for next year to be used in practice. However, the weather forecast firmly suggests that the intermediate and wet tyres will be getting a fair bit of mileage this weekend, and a long overdue first wet race of the year would certainly do much to spice up the action.

After all, it's probably only the weather that will be able to stand between Vettel and a ninth consecutive win that would see him match Alberto Ascari's 60-year-old record and Michael Schumacher's benchmark of 13 wins in a season, set in 2004. Vettel was just untouchable at Austin, and although the Interlagos circuit is quite a different kettle of fish, the Red Bull's degree of superiority over the rest will undoubtedly tell in dry conditions.

In the wet, however, all bets would be off - and there is no shortage of drivers who will have their eye on the top step of the podium should the heavens open on Sunday morning. Chief among them will be a certain Mark Webber, who will be participating in his 215th and final Grand Prix on Sunday.

His career started with a fairytale result at Melbourne in 2002, when he finished an improbable fifth place for Minardi in a race of extreme attrition, so why can't it end with a fairytale victory too? A 10th and final victory would be a fitting tribute to the career to perhaps the most popular man in the paddock in recent years - his honesty, dry sense of humour and integrity will be sorely missed.

Equally fitting would be for Romain Grosjean to take the first win of his career, which would be the icing on the cake of what has been a superb latter half of the season for the Frenchman. This time a year ago, Grosjean's future was looking decidedly uncertain, but after some tremendous performances, most notably his flawless run to second place a week ago, he is rightly being hailed as a likely future world champion.

Fernando Alonso won't have a prayer of winning the race without the help of the weather gods, but if the rain does indeed arrive he'll be eager to erase the memories of a fairly dismal run of form, equally laying down a marker for incoming teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis Hamilton meanwhile, having won only the one race at Hungary to Nico Rosberg's two, will be determined to deploy his wet weather skills to even the score at Mercedes.

Not only that, but positions in both the drivers' and constructors' tables are still up for grabs. Just six points separate Hamilton and Webber in the battle for third place behind Vettel and Alonso, who is now safe in second, whilst the runner-up spot in the constructors' - and all the cash that comes with it - is still just about within reach for Ferrari, who lie 15 points adrift of Mercedes, as well as Lotus, who are a further 18 points down.

Looking further down the order, there are several men in the midfield fighting for their careers as the driver market continues to take shape. With the Quantum money still not forthcoming at Lotus, it appears the well-heeled Pastor Maldonado is destined for the vacant seat alongside Grosjean at Enstone next season instead of Nico Hulkenberg, who is now believed to be closing on a deal to return to Force India.

With Adrian Sutil dropping a particularly unsubtle hint that he has already signed a fresh deal to remain at Force India next season, that could leave Paul Di Resta in the cold. The Scot has been linked with an IndyCar drive, particularly as cousin and four-time series champion Dario Franchitti has recently been forced to retire from injury, but nonetheless insists his main focus is on remaining in F1.

If Force India do indeed plump for an all-German line up of Hulkenberg and Sutil, that will leave little option for Sergio Perez, who was recently dumped by McLaren in favour of newcomer Kevin Magnussen, but to return to Sauber. His team-mate, depending on all sorts of financial complexities, would either be fellow Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, who looks to have done enough to warrant a second year subject to funding, or Russian novice Sergey Sirotkin - though paddock gossip suggests this deal may have now fallen through.

Brazil is also the last chance for Caterham to wrest back 10th place in the constructors' from arch-rivals Marussia, just as they did this time last year in a drama-filled wet finale at Interlagos. To do so, either Charles Pic or Giedo van der Garde must finish in 13th place, which would be virtually impossible without some major assistance from the weather.

Were either to manage the feat, however, it would do their chances of staying with the team next year no end of good, particularly as Heikki Kovalainen continues to advertise his services at the wheel of the second Lotus this weekend. Over at Marussia, the signs are pointing to an unchanged line-up now that, Magnussen, who had been thought of as a potential replacement for Max Chilton, has been given the nod at McLaren.

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

Race Predictions
1. Grosjean, 2. Alonso, 3. Hamilton, 4. Hulkenberg, 5. Massa, 6. Kovalainen, 7. Button, 8. Sutil, 9. Bottas, 10. Vergne

After weeks of boring predictions, I've decided that, this weekend, rain is going to wreak carnage, hence my rather left-field prediction. After both Red Bulls collide with each other whilst dicing for the lead, Grosjean will come through to take a popular first win, with Alonso and Hamilton joining the Frenchman on the podium. Hulkenberg will star once again, just missing out on his first podium finish, with Massa coming home fifth in his final outing for Ferrari.

Kovalainen will bank a very handy 8 points for Lotus to go with Grosjean's bumper haul of 25, with Jenson Button rounding off a miserable season with an steady run to seventh. The remaining points finishers will be made up of Sutil, Bottas and Vergne, with numerous other casualties during the race including Rosberg, Perez, Maldonado, Di Resta and Gutierrez. Well, I can hope, can't I?

United States Grand Prix 2013 - Report

After taking an eighth successive Grand Prix victory at Austin yesterday, Sebastian Vettel uttered some very poignant words to his team via his in-car radio.

Just before doing his now customary celebration of a post-race doughnut, Vettel appeared to get somewhat emotional on the team radio after taking the chequered flag, saying: "We have to remember these days; we have to enjoy them while they last."

Those words indicate that the 26-year-old is not taking any of his phenomenal recent success for granted. For him, every victory is to be savoured, as if it could well be his last; his lack of complacency is incredible for somebody who has become so used to standing atop the podium.

A winning margin of just over six seconds may seem meagre by his recent standards, but Vettel was just as in control of proceedings at the Circuit of the Americas he had been at Abu Dhabi, where he won by a crushing 30 seconds, two weeks earlier. With just about every team aiming for a one-stop strategy, tyre preservation limited the rate at which Vettel was at liberty to gallop into the distance.

Vettel managed to eke 27 laps out of the set of medium tyres on which he qualified on pole position on Saturday and escaped from nearest pursuer Romain Grosjean to the tune of eight seconds during the first stint. The Frenchman, from third on the grid, surged around the outside of front row starter Mark Webber at the first corner, but was powerless to keep Vettel in check.

Lewis Hamilton, from fifth on the grid, also managed to jump Webber at the start, but it soon became clear that the Brit was holding up the second Red Bull. Webber seized third position back from Hamilton with a bold outside pass at turn 12 and proceeded to catch up with second place man Grosjean.

The Lotus driver however was in no mood to relinquish what would be his best finish of the season, having been denied the runner-up spot behind Vettel at Germany, Japan and Korea. Webber piled on the pressure on Grosjean after his one and only pit-stop on lap 28, Grosjean coming in the following lap, but after several laps of frustration he decided to drop back to cool his tyres.

With around 10 laps remaining, Webber renewed his assault on Grosjean in a bid to snatch Red Bull's third one-two finish in four races, but some sublime defending by Grosjean meant that Webber would have to be content with third place in his penultimate race as an F1 driver.

It was the latest in a long line of impressive drives by Grosjean, who has scored more points than anyone in the last five races besides Vettel. Lotus team principal Eric Boullier was full of praise for his charge after the race, and on recent evidence it's difficult to argue with his claim that Grosjean is now among the sport's top three or four drivers.

Hamilton was never in the frame for a podium finish after being demoted by Webber, but a new chassis for this weekend undoubtedly came as a boost after two lacklustre showings at India and Abu Dhabi. The Brit came under some pressure from Fernando Alonso in the closing stages, but hung on to claim fourth place and consolidate second in the constructors' standings for Mercedes.

Alonso had his best qualifying effort for some time with sixth on the grid, but lost time behind Sergio Perez, who vaulted ahead at the first corner, during the first stint. The Spaniard managed to leapfrog the McLaren driver at the pit-stops, before catching up with Nico Hulkenberg, who had started fourth but dropped behind Hamilton at the start, late in the race.

The inevitable pass came on lap 45 at the first corner, but after Alonso dropped back from the tail of Hamilton, Hulkenberg closed in once more on the two-time champion. At the start of the final lap, Hulkenberg made an opportunistic lunge on Alonso at the first corner, but the move failed to come off and he had to settle for sixth place.

In seventh was Perez after an assured performance from the Mexican which will inevitably raise the question of whether McLaren were somewhat rash in their decision to drop him for next year in favour of rookie Kevin Magnussen. Behind him came Williams driver Valterri Bottas, who was one of the stars of the weekend after qualifying and finishing in the top ten to score the first F1 points of his career.

Rounding out the top ten were two drivers who, on this occasion, were out-classed by their teammates - Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button. Both surprisingly failed to make it into Q3, starting 12th and 15th respectively (the latter after a three place grid penalty for overtaking under red flags during a practice session), but succeeded in battling their way up to ninth and tenth places.

Button however only secured the final points-paying position on the penultimate lap of the race as he passed Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner, the Australian coming home 11th. The sister Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne finished 12th on the road, but was docked 20 seconds for causing a late collision with Esteban Gutierrez, dropping the Frenchman to 16th.

That handed 12th place to Felipe Massa, one of the few drivers to make two pit-stops during the race; the Brazilian was another driver to qualify outside of the top ten and appeared rather out of sorts for much of the race. Next up at the finish was Gutierrez, and Lotus substitute Heikki Kovalainen, who had an eventful time in his first race since last year's season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix.

The weekend got off to an auspicious start for the 32-year-old as he made the Q3 cut and qualified a respectable eighth, but things went downhill thereafter. Kovalainen made a poor start, dropping to 12th at the end of the first lap, before clawing back some of the lost ground with an earlier pit stop. He slumped back to 14th at the finish line, however, after having to make a second stop for a fresh nose due to an unspecified problem that was costing him downforce.

Paul Di Resta had a difficult race, having to stop twice en route to a subdued 15th place, though he fared better than teammate Adrian Sutil, who became the first (and only) casualty of the race after first lap contact with Pastor Maldonado put the German, who was unequivocal about who was to blame,  in the barriers.

Maldonado, who accused his Williams team of sabotaging his car after qualifying down in 17th, had to pit soon after to replace his damaged nose when shown the black-and-orange flag. The Venezuelan finished where he started, a lap down, ahead of the four 'Class B' cars, who were led home on this occasion by Marussia's Jules Bianchi.

Unfortunately, the second ever F1 race at the Circuit of the Americas was not a terribly exciting affair. The race day attendance reportedly was over 110,000, a robust figure by any standards, but that comes after a thrilling contest between Vettel and Hamilton last year. What's more, some 40 percent of the fans were Mexican, no doubt encouraged to make the trip across the border by the presence of Messrs Perez and Gutierrez.

The lack of action can mostly be put down to the conservative tyre choice made by Pirelli - not because it allowed the drivers to go flat out, but because it meant that the drivers were managing their rubber virtually throughout to achieve the holy grail of a one-stop strategy. Whilst there were a few good battles for position, in most cases the driver that made the pass simply drove into the distance.

There seems to be a fear in the paddock that next year's new technical regulations will create more scenarios like we saw at Austin, as the drivers will be forced to manage their engines throughout. Let's hope, then, that the teams and governing body are able to find a solution to ensure that races of the kind seen yesterday do not become the norm.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2013 - Report

Since Sebastian Vettel took his fourth title last weekend at India, there's been plenty of debate as to just where the 26-year-old stands relative to the other greats of Formula One. Following another crushing victory at Abu Dhabi - his seventh in a row and 11th of the year in total - one particular statistic helps to shed some light on this debate.

Now with 36 wins to his name behind the wheel of a Red Bull, Vettel has won more races with the Milton Keynes-based team than the legendary Ayrton Senna did at McLaren. That makes the Vettel-Red Bull partnership the second most successful of all-time, second only to the mighty Schumacher-Ferrari axis that produced an incredible 72 wins.

Just like during the height of the Schumacher era, Vettel's domination has not made for scintillating viewing, and Abu Dhabi must rank as one of the dullest races of the year. Whilst Singapore at least saw a great deal of intrigue in the final dozen or so laps as differing tyre strategies converged, at Abu Dhabi the first four finishers were in no real doubt from the halfway stage onwards.

As for the identity of the winner, that was more or less decided at the first corner as pole-sitter Mark Webber bogged down as the lights went out and allowed Vettel into an early lead at the first corner, Nico Rosberg also sweeping around the outside of the Aussie to grab second.

Vettel promptly proceeded to escape the rest of the field at his usual terrifying rate - by lap five, the gap to Rosberg was as many seconds. By lap 10, when Rosberg made his first pit-stop, the Red Bull driver's advantage stood at 11 seconds, and by lap 20, Vettel's lead had swelled to an unassailable 23 seconds.

Not only this, but Vettel was able to preserve his tyres far more effectively than his pursuers, dispensing of his option tyres a full four laps later than Rosberg. He duly re-joined the circuit still in the lead of the race as a result; any victory ambitions Vettel's rivals may have harboured had by now vanished just as surely as the sun did beneath the horizon at mid-distance.

Attention turned to the battle for second, as Webber, who pitted two laps sooner than Rosberg, began to reel in the Mercedes driver during the second stint. The inevitable pass came on lap 20 at turn 11, one of many DRS-assisted overtaking manoeuvres seen throughout the race.

Despite his earlier first stop, Webber also made his prime tyres last longer than Rosberg, thus ending any realistic hope the Mercedes had of preventing Red Bull from taking a second one-two in the space of three races. Indeed, in the closing stages, Rosberg had a charging Romain Grosjean to contend with.

Grosjean had passed the sister Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton at the start to take fourth, but was unable to remain in touch with Rosberg and Webber ahead. The Lotus driver did nonetheless show a handy turn of pace at the end of the race, but simply ran out of laps in which to catch Rosberg. Grosjean thus had to be content with fourth whilst the German secured a second straight podium finish.

It was a wretched evening for Hamilton, whose race was ruined during the second stint as he became stuck behind the yet-to-stop Esteban Gutierrez for some 10 laps. Once the Mexican pitted, Hamilton had lost touch with the top four and was among the first drivers to pit for a second time.

This put him behind the one-stopping Paul Di Resta, and by the time Hamilton had caught the Force India driver, he had seemingly run out of grip with which to challenge his fellow Briton. This allowed Fernando Alonso, equipped with relatively new option tyres, to close rapidly and pass both Hamilton and Di Resta in the final few laps to claim fifth place.

Ferrari initially appeared to be attempting to get both its cars home with just one pit-stop as both Alonso and Massa went for long first stints on their option tyres, pitting on laps 16 and 18 respectively, but as the second stint wore on it became clear that a second visit to the pits was needed.

At this stage, Massa was holding up Alonso, who had started three places lower than his teammate in 10th, and was in no mood to yield to the Spaniard. This prompted Ferrari to bring in the Brazilian earlier than anticipated for medium tyres, preventing him from challenging the option-shod Alonso and consigning him to eighth place behind Di Resta and Hamilton.

The point-scorers were completed by McLaren's Sergio Perez, who enjoyed a trouble-free run to ninth position, and the second Force India of Adrian Sutil, who at one stage was under scrutiny from the stewards for exceeding track limits.

During a battle with Pastor Maldonado, Sutil was forced off the road by the Williams driver and cut the chicane at turn 11/12, gaining an sizeable advantage in the process. Maldonado meanwhile veered back towards the apex of the corner despite running wide, losing a position to Perez. Sutil escaped without penalty.

Alonso also was under investigation for passing Jean-Eric Vergne by leaving the track at the fast sweeping turn 4 as he exited the pit-lane, but was cleared of any wrongdoing by the stewards after the race.

Maldonado eventually came home 11th, missing out on doubling the Williams team's points haul for the year by one position, ahead of Jenson Button who endured another miserable outing. The McLaren driver made contact with Di Resta at the start, which necessitated an early pit-stop for a new front wing; Button never really looked like hauling himself back into points-scoring contention thereafter.

13th place went to Gutierrez, who finished one place ahead of Sauber teammate Nico Hulkenberg who was denied another points finish when he received a drive-through penalty for an unsafe pit-stop release. Next up was Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams, whose unusual strategy allowed him to run in the top 10 before a late second stop dropped him down to 15th at the chequered flag.

Both Toro Rosso drivers had a race to forget, finishing down in 16th and 17th. Daniel Ricciardo had started a creditable ninth but plummeted to 16th after a dreadful start and was never in the hunt for points from then on. Vergne meanwhile attempted to pull off a one-stop strategy which he was forced to abandon after 'falling off the cliff' in the closing stages.

The four 'Class B' cars rounded off the list of finishers, Giedo van der Garde making up for his recent first-lap collisions with a fairly decisive 'win' over Caterham teammate Charles Pic. The Dutchman even survived a collision with Kimi Raikkonen, who had to start from the back after being thrown out of qualifying for a technical infringement, at the the first corner.

The Finn wasn't so fortunate however, and was forced to park his Lotus there and then. For a while, it seemed that may have been the last F1 fans would see of Raikkonen this year amid claims that he hasn't been paid by Lotus all season, but an agreement has now been reached that will see the 'Iceman' complete the final two Grands Prix of the year.

There are no such tensions in the Red Bull camp, whose relationship with Vettel looks as healthy as ever. But, rumours are abound that the team's star designer Adrian Newey could be lured away from the sport and towards yacht racing in the not-too-distant future; such a move coming to fruition would certainly come as a blow to Red Bull.

But, losing Newey would not have as large an impact as next year's sweeping rule changes will have. Whilst the Milton Keynes team are hardly likely to suffer the same dramatic fall from grace Ferrari experienced in 2005, there's a strong chance we'll see a shake-up in the competitive order.

And if Vettel can still win races in such domineering style as he did at Abu Dhabi behind the wheel of a car that's not the class of the field, nobody will be able to dispute his status as one of the greatest ever.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2013 - Preview

Sebastian Vettel may have wrapped up his fourth successive world title with three races to spare, but there's still plenty at stake for teams and drivers alike as this year's Formula One campaign nears its conclusion.

This weekend's race takes place at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, yet another of Hermann Tilke's creations. Though it's fair to say that the track layout has hardly inspired the drivers, its spectacular backdrop, eclipsed only by Monaco, and unique status as a 'twilight' Grand Prix lends the place a certain aura absent from the majority of the sport's Eastern venues.

Not only that, Abu Dhabi has thrown up some memorable races in its relatively brief history since it hosted its first Grand Prix back in 2009. Chief among those is that unforgettable evening that saw Vettel clinch his first title - which seems far longer ago than three years - and last year's first post-comeback race win for a certain Kimi Raikkonen.

The circuit itself demands strong top speed, featuring two mammoth straights, and good traction out of the many slow and medium-speed corners the drivers are faced with. Two DRS zones along the aforementioned straights make overtaking straightforward at Abu Dhabi, whilst the medium and soft compound tyres seen at India will be making their return with wear expected to be less of an issue this weekend given the lower temperatures of an evening race.

Sebastian Vettel may now have put the championship out of reach of his rivals, but anybody hoping that this means the German will lift his foot from the throttle pedal will be severely disappointed. The Red Bull driver is an aficionado for statistics, and will match two important records if he's able to win the remaining three races of the year.

The first would be to match his compatriot Michael Schumacher's amazing record of winning 13 Grands Prix in a season. Admittedly, the Ferrari driver had one less race during the 2004 season in which to achieve this, but matching it would nonetheless be symbolic of Vettel's relentless ascendancy in the F1 record books.

The second would be to match a far older record, that of Alberto Ascari's nine successive Grand Prix victories set back in 1953. Vettel currently stands on six wins on the trot, enough to put him joint third in the list alongside the great Jim Clark and one behind Schumacher, who won seven in a row in 2004.

Given how dominant the Red Bull has become in this latter half of the season, you'd have to be brave indeed to bet against Vettel winning the final three races and matching both of the above.

On the evidence of the Indian Grand Prix, the man most likely to stop Vettel is his own teammate Mark Webber, who is still in search of that elusive first victory of the year. Qualifying fourth on prime tyres at India seemed to put Webber in a strong position to challenge for honours, but a poor start compromised his strategy before alternator failure denied him what would have been second place.

Seeing the Australian stand atop an F1 podium one more time before he switches to endurance racing would surely be something nearly every fan would love to see, but you get the feeling Vettel would have to hit some kind of misfortune between now and the chequered flag at Interlagos in order for it to happen.

As for the rest, chasing victory is hardly likely to be on their minds, with the battle for second in the constructors' standings paramount.

Following a strong second place for Nico Rosberg and sixth for Lewis Hamilton at India, Mercedes have surpassed Ferrari and look to have a good chance of consolidating their position this weekend despite the distraction of speculation over team principal Ross Brawn's future. Hamilton tends to go well at Abu Dhabi, having won in 2011 and retiring from the lead in both 2009 and 2012, whilst the character of the circuit ought to suit the Silver Arrows better than most venues.

Ferrari meanwhile are on the back foot after a bruising race for Fernando Alonso at India, Felipe Massa's fourth place preventing them from losing too much ground to Mercedes. Given that the team have not looked like finishing on the podium in the last three races, the Scuderia will need a hefty dose of luck to get them back ahead of their rivals at Brackley this weekend.

Lotus have also had their fair share of the headlines in recent days as the team's relationship with the outgoing Raikkonen deteriorated following events at India, where the Finn was sworn at for not letting faster teammate Romain Grosjean by. Having missed the media day on Thursday, Raikkonen did turn up on Friday to compete in practice, but his presence at the final two Grands Prix is hardly guaranteed.

Grosjean, who topped first practice this morning, will doubtless be eyeing up a fourth straight podium finish after somehow pulling third place out of the bag at India having started way down in 17th (the largest position gain for any driver all year), whilst Raikkonen will be looking to put another disappointing weekend behind him and get himself back on terms with the ascending star that is his teammate.

Sergio Perez did much to silence his critics with a fine drive to fifth at India, and given that McLaren are now comfortable top-ten contenders, the Mexican will be aiming for another decent haul of points to try and secure his drive at the Woking-based team for next year.

Someone else whose future is still undecided is Nico Hulkenberg, who is still without a drive for next year despite the miraculous run of form he has enjoyed since Monza. The latest reports suggest that, with the investment funds from the Quantum Motorsports group not forthcoming, 'Hulk' could be set to lose out to Pastor Maldonado in his bid to bag a Lotus drive.

The rest of the driver market looks to be on hold until Lotus finally reach a decision over who will partner Grosjean next season, with Force India, Sauber and Williams as well as Caterham and Marussia all ostensibly waiting to see who will be available before finalising their respective line-ups.

The latest rumours point towards Max Chilton potentially moving to Force India alongside Adrian Sutil, with Formula Renault 3.5 champion Kevin Magnussen slotting in the Brit's place at Marussia. This would leave Paul Di Resta in the cold, meaning the Scot has to prove to his team that his talent is sufficient to outweigh the lure of Chilton's cash.

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

Race Prediction
1. Vettel, 2. Webber, 3. Grosjean, 4. Hamilton, 5. Rosberg, 6. Alonso, 7. Hulkenberg, 8. Perez, 9. Button, 10. Sutil

Another prediction, another Vettel victory - don't give me that look! Webber will be a (not so) close second, with Grosjean making another appearance on the podium and replicating the top three of Suzuka. Hamilton will be in the mix but ultimately unable to fend off the Lotus, Rosberg making it two Mercedes cars in the top five.

Alonso will manage no more than sixth, Ferrari losing further ground in the battle with Mercedes, with Hulkenberg taking the result he ought to have at India before he was sidelined by mechanical failure. Perez will beat teammate Button once more, the ever-dependable Adrian Sutil rounding out the points-scorers in tenth place.

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.

Japanese Grand Prix 2013 - Report

Yesterday's Japanese Grand Prix was perhaps the best demonstration we've seen this year of precisely why Sebastian Vettel is firmly on course for a fourth successive Formula One title.

The difference between the champion-elect's run of victories from Spa to Korea and his latest victory at the Suzuka circuit is that, on this occasion, instead of leading the way from the beginning, Vettel was forced to come from behind in order to snatch the silverware.

Almost from the outset, the race was a three-horse race between Vettel, his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, the Australian taking pole position on his final trip to Suzuka as an F1 driver (aided by KERS problems for Vettel, it should be added), and Romain Grosjean, who, from fourth on the grid, jumped the pair of them heading into the first corner.

The second half of this season has seen Grosjean emerge as a credible candidate to lead the Lotus team into its post-Raikkonen era, and as the Frenchman seized the lead at the first corner, it seemed Grosjean could well be headed for the first win for a Frenchman in F1 since Olivier Panis stood atop the Monaco podium in 1996.

Another driver to make a good start was Lewis Hamilton, who started third. But, the Brit's race was to prove an exceptionally brief one - his Mercedes suffered an instantaneous puncture as his right-rear wheel made contact with the end-plate of Vettel's front wing as Hamilton tried to sweep across the reigning champion's bows.

Hamilton managed to coax his car back to the pit-lane, but the damage done to the floor and rear suspension in the process was sufficient to warrant his retirement a few laps later. Interestingly, had Hamilton successfully demoted Vettel to fourth place, it could have totally changed the complexion of the race.

As it was however, Vettel clung on to third place behind Grosjean and Webber, with Nico Rosberg running fourth in the sole remaining Mercedes ahead of Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and an ever-impressive Nico Hulkenberg.

Such was the pace advantage of the Red Bulls and Lotuses - something Mercedes believes is in large part thanks to clever engine mapping by Renault - that Grosjean, Webber and Vettel were able to escape the following pack at a rate of around a second per lap, Rosberg 10 seconds down on Vettel after as many laps.

The leading trio on the other hand were separated by little more than four seconds by the time Webber made his first pit-stop at the end of lap 11, swapping his options for a fresh set of primes. Grosjean followed suit the following lap, but crucially Vettel was able to stretch his opening stint to 14 laps before pitting.

Though Vettel resumed in third place behind Grosjean and Webber, the fact he had nursed his rubber more effectively up to this stage laid a rock-solid foundation on which he would build his ultimately irresistible challenge for victory.

Conversely, Webber was struggling with tyre wear, and as such was forced to switch to a theoretically slower three-stop strategy. There have been some who suggested after the race that this decision was a deliberate act of conspiracy on the part of Red Bull, but, with Vettel already so close to the title, what would the team have gained in hobbling Webber's bid for a first win of the season?

Webber made his second trip to the pits on lap 25, and it was at this stage that Lotus arguably sacrificed any slim chance Grosjean had of taking his first win. The Enstone team seemed not to realise that they were in fact racing Vettel, rather than Webber, for victory, and as such brought in Grosjean on lap 29 - far too early to give their driver any chance of holding off Vettel in the final stint.

Aided by his longer first stint, Vettel was able to go all the way until lap 37 before his second stop, after which he re-joined the track right behind Grosjean. With the black-and-gold machine's tyres already eight laps old by this stage, it took just three laps for Vettel to close down the two second advantage of Grosjean.

The inevitable pass for second place - Webber having re-taken the lead after Grosjean and Vettel's respective second stops - came at the first corner on lap 41, the Frenchman simply unable to respond to his rival's superior pace with his more used rubber.

One lap later, Webber came in for his third stop, and within a matter of laps was sat right on Grosjean's gearbox. An issue with his DRS prevented him from clearing Grosjean anywhere near as quickly as Vettel could, having to wait all the way until the first corner of the penultimate lap to do so. By this stage, Vettel had established an unassailable lead of nine seconds.

This meant there was no stopping Vettel taking a ninth win of the season - the 35th of his astonishing career - and extending his championship lead to a mammoth 90 points. With 100 now left to play for, the odds strongly favour Vettel sealing his fourth straight title crown in two weeks time at India - he needs just a fifth place finish, regardless of what any other driver achieves.

Behind Webber and Grosjean, Alonso made his way up to fourth place to keep himself in mathematical (if not actual) title contention. This involved a customary good start from a poor grid slot of eighth, followed by passes on teammate Massa during the second stint and Hulkenberg, who had jumped ahead in the first round of pit-stops, in the closing stages.

Hulkenberg was also demoted by Raikkonen with two laps to go, the Finn's race following a broadly similar trajectory to that of Alonso after starting one place behind the Ferrari driver on the grid. Sixth place for Hulkenberg marks the fourth top ten result in a row for the Sauber driver, who, if the paddock rumours are to be believed, has now signed a deal to join Lotus next season.

Coming home seventh was Esteban Gutierrez, who made a great start to climb immediately up to ninth and thereafter put in an assured performance behind the wheel of the second Sauber. It has taken a while for the Mexican to find his feet in F1, but since the summer break, Gutierrez has shown a marked upturn in form. Whether this will be enough to keep him in his seat for next season is an entirely different matter, however.

Having run in fourth early on, Rosberg ended up in eighth place after a drive-through penalty picked up at the first round of pit-stops as his Mercedes pit-crew released him into the path of Sergio Perez's McLaren. Rosberg was able to claw back some ground thereafter, but was unable to find a way by Gutierrez, behind whom he was stuck for the last half a dozen laps.

Another driver to pick up a drive-through penalty, albeit for pit-lane speeding, was Massa, who was forced to be content with a solitary point for tenth place; one position ahead of the Brazilian was McLaren's Jenson Button, who endured a fairly anonymous race en route to ninth.

Button's teammate Perez on the other hand had a far more eventful afternoon. Having run a creditable eighth early on, he lost time in the pits as a result of the near miss with Rosberg before becoming embroiled in an on-track skirmish with the German. Perez sustained a puncture in a clumsy attempt to defend his position from Rosberg at the Casio Triangle, dropping him to 15th at the chequered flag.

Eleventh place fell to Paul Di Resta in another tough race for Force India, who will now be looking over their shoulder at Sauber in the constructors' standings. Adrian Sutil meanwhile had to start from the very back of the grid following a penalty for a gearbox change, making his way up to 14th place by the finish.

Separating the two Force Indias were the Toro Rosso pair, Jean-Eric Vergne leading Daniel Ricciardo on this occasion. The latter started the race on the hard compound tyre, running as high as fourth before his first stop - holding up a pack of faster cars in the process. Any chance of Ricciardo scoring points nonetheless was blown out the water when he picked up a drive-through penalty for passing Di Resta by leaving the circuit.

Pastor Maldonado finished 16th, one place behind Perez, after a fairly brutal move on Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas at the Casio Triangle on the very last lap of the race. Rounding out the finishers were Charles Pic and Max Chilton, their respective teammates Giedo van der Garde and Jules Bianchi becoming early casualties after tangling at the very first corner of the race.

It's one thing to start a race from pole and simply sprint away into the distance, but it's quite another to have to read a race to perfection in order to come from behind and grab the upper hand over your competitors, which is precisely what Vettel did at Suzuka - if his performance doesn't make the naysayers who claim that he cannot race think otherwise, it's doubtful anything the soon-to-be quadruple champion does will.

Japanese Grand Prix 2013 - Preview

Following a crushing streak of dominance since Formula One action resumed after the summer break, this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka marks the first occasion that Sebastian Vettel has the chance of closing out his fourth successive title.

By far the oldest and the most loved of the Asian flyaway rounds, Suzuka has been a fixture on the F1 calendar since 1987 - with the exception of a brief, two-year hiatus, when the rival Fuji Speedway took over the mantle. What's more, the fact that the owners of the venue, Honda, are making their return in 2015 as an engine supplier to McLaren should ensure the circuit remains on the calendar even after its recently extended deal expires after 2018.

The fact that Suzuka has always fallen near (or, for many years, at) the end of the season has lent itself to frequently hosting the title-deciding race, most recently with Vettel's second championship two years ago. It also rarely throws up a surprise winner; the last time a driver won there without finishing first or second in that year's championship was 2003, with Rubens Barrichello benefiting from his Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher's problems in qualifying and the early part of the race.

The track itself is among the longest and most demanding of the year. Driver and car are put through a rigourous test lap after lap, the flowing first sector in particular notable for showing up those cars whose front-end grip is lacking. Suzuka is also one of the more narrow circuits, with 'old school' gravel run-offs still present at many corners which leave very little margin for error.

The tyre allocation for the weekend consists of the medium and hard compounds, the latter last seen at Monza, while the single DRS zone (Suzuka being the only track besides Monaco to feature only one) can be found, as per last year, along the main start/finish straight on the approach to 'First Curve'.

Vettel's championship lead over Fernando Alonso stands at 77 points, which he will have to increase to 100 in order to seal the title this weekend. In order for this to happen, Vettel has to win the race, with Alonso finishing no better than ninth. Given that the Spaniard has finished at least eighth at every race this year, with the exception of his Malaysia retirement, this looks to be something of a tall ask.

On recent form however, it's more than likely Vettel would be able to put the title beyond the reach of his rivals at India in two weeks' time - all he has to do is ensure that his points lead is at least 75 by then, which, unless anything out of the ordinary occurs, is a virtual certainty.

Suzuka has been kind to Vettel in the past, the Red Bull driver having won three of the last four races at the Japanese circuit, and given that the track could have been designed specifically to flatter the Red Bull, it's difficult to look anywhere else for the race victory this weekend. Were Vettel indeed to notch up a fifth win in a row, he would be only the sixth driver to do so in history after Alberto Ascari, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Nigel Mansell and, of course, Michael Schumacher.

As for the contenders for the remaining podium spots, Mark Webber must surely be among them, if only for the simple reason that he is driving the same Suzuka-friendly car as Vettel. It's easy to forget that the Australian was firmly on course to finish fourth in Singapore before his car gave out, whilst a podium position would have been a strong probability had he been able to start the Korean race from third rather than 13th.

The new long wheelbase E21 had about as successful a debut race as Lotus could have hoped for, even if the Safety Car was instrumental in catapulting Kimi Raikkonen into podium contention. Romain Grosjean's strong showing at Korea may have been slightly overshadowed by Nico Hulkenberg's heroics one place behind, but the Frenchman has unquestionably come along considerably since he was branded a "first lap nutcase" by Webber a year ago.

Ferrari was woefully off the pace at Korea, Alonso unable to finish higher than sixth place, and given the team are no longer updating this year's car, it could prove a challenge for the Scuderia to hang on to second place in the constructors' standings from their rivals at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows showed a handy turn of pace at Korea, particularly over one lap, meaning that neither Lewis Hamilton nor Nico Rosberg can be ruled out of a top-three result this weekend.

Hulkenberg will no doubt be buoyed by memories of Kamui Kobayashi's sensational third place finish for Sauber at Suzuka last year as he seeks to impress potential employers (i.e. Lotus) for next season, while Sergio Perez will be anxious to avoid a repeat of his self-inflicted retirement at the Japanese venue last year with his McLaren future still not entirely secure.

Another driver who needs a strong result is Paul Di Resta. Force India look to be spoiled for choice as far as drivers are concerned in 2014, with Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and McLaren junior Kevin Magnussen all potential options, in addition to the two incumbents, depending on what Lotus decide. With this in mind, Di Resta needs a strong result in Japan to banish memories of the last three races as decision time looms ever closer.

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

Race Prediction
1. Vettel, 2. Webber, 3. Grosjean, 4. Hamilton, 5. Alonso, 6. Rosberg, 7. Button, 8. Hulkenberg, 9. Ricciardo, 10. Perez

It will be a fifth successive win for Vettel, but not quite a fourth successive title - thanks to Alonso's fifth place, the German's inevitable coronation will have to be delayed for two weeks. Webber will finally have a clean weekend after his recent mishaps to make it the first Red Bull one-two since Malaysia, with Grosjean making it two podium appearances in a row thanks to the superior race pace of his Lotus in comparison with Hamilton's Mercedes.

Rosberg will bring home the second Brackley-built car in sixth, just behind Alonso, with Jenson Button enjoying a steady run to seventh place. The ever-impressive Hulkenberg will make it four points-scoring races on the bounce with eighth place, followed by Daniel Ricciardo - who will take the ninth place finish he deserved in Korea - and Perez. Having been the major beneficiary of the Safety Car last time out, Raikkonen is my pick to experience some misfortune on Sunday, along with Massa.

Korean Grand Prix 2013 - Report

After the display of utter brilliance that was Singapore, Sebastian Vettel went about imposing himself on the rest of the field in a slightly more subtle manner at Korea.

Instead of galloping away at a vast rate of knots, Vettel seemed to be playing the percentages far more this weekend. Perhaps this was because of the fragility of the Pirelli tyres, which returned to being a major talking point of the weekend after several races out of the spotlight.

There was more criticism leveled at the Italian rubber after Sergio Perez suffered a tyre blowout not dissimilar to those seen at Silverstone, most notably from Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. Regrettably, Pirelli's response to these comments was a rather petulant one, with Paul Hembery suggesting that Alonso take advice from a certain soon-to-be four-time world champion on tyre preservation.

Looking after the tyres appeared to be the main issue for Lewis Hamilton, the only man who looked to have the pace to really take the fight to Vettel. The Mercedes driver missed out on pole position by just two tenths of a second and dropped behind Romain Grosjean's Lotus at the start of the race while Vettel made a clean getaway to lead the pack.

Whilst the Franco-Swiss wasn't left behind by Vettel in the same way Nico Rosberg was two weeks ago, it soon became clear that Grosjean could not provide any real challenge to the runaway championship leader, who after quickly opening a lead of around three seconds appeared to back off and hold his ground.

Behind, on the first lap, Massa's spin on the apex of turn three shuffled the order as some drivers had to take significant evasive action to avoid the stricken Ferrari. Rosberg maintained fourth place behind his teammate, but Alonso, who had started fifth, fell behind the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg thanks to Massa's error. 

With virtually the entire field starting on option tyres, the first phase of pit-stops commenced in earnest on lap nine, when Hamilton and Alonso both pitted for primes. Grosjean, Rosberg and Hulkenberg all followed suit the next lap, with Vettel making his first stop at the end of lap 11.

The Red Bull driver managed to extend his lead over Grosjean to around six seconds during the second stint, during which Hamilton struggled badly with tyre wear and consequently began to fall away from Grosjean and towards teammate Rosberg. 

In the meantime, Hulkenberg now had a queue forming in his wake consisting of Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Webber, who had made progress from his lowly starting position of 13th (courtesy of a ten-place grid penalty he picked up for his actions during the slowing-down lap at Singapore) since the start.

Haemorrhaging time relative to the leaders, Raikkonen opted to make his second stop relatively early, on lap 25, in a bid to jump his rivals. This decision proved to be a tactical masterstroke, as, just six laps later, the Safety Car was deployed in response to Perez's exploding front-right tyre, which was no doubt aided by a particularly nasty lock-up a couple of corners beforehand. 

The perennially unlucky Webber, running just behind the McLaren driver at the time having made his second stop, ran over the ensuing debris and was forced to pit for a third time, though this soon proved inconsequential.

Vettel and Grosjean both headed to the pits at the end of lap 31 for fresh primes, resuming first and second, but Raikkonen, having been released into clean air after his stop, leapt up from seventh to third. This demoted Hamilton to fourth, ahead of Hulkenberg, Alonso, Jenson Button and Rosberg, who lost ground after a lengthy pit-stop to replace a broken nose section.

Rosberg was fortunate not to have more damage done to his car as, along the lengthy back straight on lap 28, whilst he was coming up to overtake Hamilton, the German's nose section suddenly drooped. This caused the front wing to drag along the tarmac, creating a spectacular shower of sparks for the better part of a lap.

It didn't take long for the Safety Car to re-emerge after the race restarted on lap 37, as Adrian Sutil misjudged his braking for turn three and clouted the side of Webber's car. Whilst the Force India was able to continue, the impact burst the Red Bull's oil radiator, causing car #2 to burst into flames for the second time in as many races.

Force India ultimately chose to retire Sutil with a few laps remaining, any chance of scoring points having gone up in smoke along with Webber's car when the German picked up a drive-through penalty for pit-lane speeding, rounding off a dismal afternoon for the team during which Paul Di Resta retired with yet another driving error. The Scot held his hands up to his mistake on this occasion, but his F1 career could be in grave danger if he suffers any more slips like this in the remaining races.

Between the Safety Car periods, Raikkonen set about challenging Grosjean for second place. The Finn was able to dive underneath his Lotus teammate at the first corner on lap 38, but, once the race got back underway in earnest, Vettel quickly began to pull clear.

Indeed, there was nothing Raikkonen could do to prevent Vettel from reeling off the remaining laps and sealing his 34th career victory in typically dominant style. His championship lead now stands at 77 points, meaning the German has a chance of wrapping things up next time out at Japan if his closest rival Alonso fails to score at least three points.

Raikkonen and Grosjean held on for second and third places, the third time this season that the Lotus duo have completed the podium behind Vettel. After being passed, Grosjean closed in on his teammate in the closing laps, and admitted to being disappointed that the team didn't order Raikkonen aside. Still, it was another assured drive from Grosjean, who now looks to be well-placed to lead Lotus next year in Kimi's absence.

With any luck, lining up alongside Grosjean in 2014 will be Hulkenberg, who was undoubtedly driver of the race in fourth place. The Sauber driver moved ahead of the ailing Hamilton just after the first restart with a decisive pass at the unlikely location of turn 15, and held on thereafter to match his best finish in F1.

Hulkenberg's traction out of the first corner and impressive top speed were enough to keep Hamilton frustrated, meaning the Englishman was forced to be content with fifth place ahead of Alonso, Rosberg and Button, who fell behind the second Mercedes with two laps remaining.

Daniel Ricciardo was on course to finish a fine ninth place, but suffered brake problems just two laps from home and was obliged to park his Toro Rosso. The same problem also halted the progress of team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne, though the Frenchman was never in the frame for a points finish.

That meant that the points finishers were completed by Massa and Perez, both of whom did well to recover from their earlier dramas. Just missing out on his first points finish in 11th, following another Q3 appearance on Saturday, was Esteban Gutierrez in the second Sauber, whose inexperience showed during a wheel-to-wheel battle with his fellow Latin Americans late in the race.

Next home were the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado, who were off the pace as ever even if the latter was able to drag his car as high as ninth place in the opening laps thanks to a scintillating start. Charles Pic came home in 14th, just one place shy of the magic 13th position that would see his Caterham team re-take tenth in the constructors' standings ahead of Marussia.

It was certainly an eventful, if not hugely exciting race at Korea, yet one which many paddock insiders expect to be the last. Should this transpire to be the case, the Yeongam circuit will be remembered predominantly for Vettel's sheer brilliance at the venue - hardly a trait which is likely to mean that it is missed by the vast majority of F1 fans.