The best and worst of Formula 1 2013

One familiar driver and team may have run away with the 2013 World Championships, but as ever in F1, things were rarely dull either on or off the circuit...

Controversy of the year: The legality of Mercedes' 'private test' with Pirelli in the week after the Spanish GP; Runner-up: Multi-21. We'll never hear the last of it. Memorable moment of the year: "Multi-21, Seb, multi-21."; Runner-up: Sebastian Vettel's victory celebrations in India. Disappointment of the year: Williams' regression into distant backmarkers less than a year after returning to the winners' enclosure following an eight-year absence; Runner-up: The failure of the rest to offer Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel a genuine challenge after the summer break. Don't mistakenly blame Red Bull for being too fast, justifiably accuse the others of being far too slow. Quote of the year: "Multi-21, Seb, multi-21" - Mark Webber, March 24; Runner-up: "I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won" - Sebastian Vettel, April 11. Press conference of the year: Sebastian Vettel's 'no regrets' post-Malaysia media briefing at the Chinese GP; Runner-up: The ultra-tense Team Principals conference in Canada, two weeks after Mercedes' tyre test became public knowledge, in which an implacable Ross Brawn locked horns with Christian Horner and Paul Hembery declined to attend. Comeback of the year: Romain Grosjean's charge from 17th on the grid in India to third at the chequered flag; Runner-up: Jenson Button's recovery in Brazil to land McLaren's best result of the season. Alas, the fact that fourth place represented McLaren's best result spoke even louder. Innovation of the year: Thermal cam; Runner-up: A dry British GP weekend. Radio message of the year: "Kimi, get out of the ***king way" - Lotus Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane berates Raikkonen for holding up team-mate Romain Grosjean during the Indian GP; Runner-up: "And now I've just been overtaken by a Williams" - An exasperated Lewis Hamilton, midway through the Spanish GP, in the manner of a man who, moments after finding out his wife has walked out on him, loses his wallet as well. Worst decision of the year: McLaren's refusal to give up on the flawed MP4-28, a stubbornness which condemned the team to their worst season in living memory; Runner-up: The appointment of Heikki Kovalainen as Kimi Raikkonen's replacement with the Finn subsequently conceding he under-estimated the scale of the challenge before him, and the team's failure to respect the status of Davide Valsecchi rendered an unnecessary snub by Kovalainen's failure to score a point. Worst-timed driver announcement of the year: Red Bull confirming the identity of Mark Webber's successor at 8.30pm on a Monday night whilst half of the paddock - including the Team Principal - were attending the premiere of Rush; Runner-up: Toro Rosso naming Daniil Kvyat alongside Jean-Eric Vergne at 8.45pm on another Monday evening. At least Red Bull had the excuse of making their announcement on an Austrian television show... Briefest appearance of the year: David Ward, a high-publicity candidate for the role of FIA President all the way up until the actual election; Runner-up: Luis Razia, Marussia driver for all of two weeks in mid-February. Inevitability of the year: A victory for Sebastian Vettel; Runner-up: A bad start for Mark Webber off the line. Track interloper of the year: The fire truck in Korea, the only vehicle to lead Sebastian Vettel on race day; Runner-up: The pigeon in Monaco.