Driver-by-driver 2013 season review
From Sebastian Vettel to Max Chilton, we dissect and rate how the 22-man class of 2013 fared during the season just gone
Thursday 28 November 2013 10:58, UK
Fernando Alonso
Championship position - 2nd; Points - 242; Best result - 1st (x2)
It was another impressive season for Alonso, even though Ferrari once again failed to deliver the car the Spaniard needed to challenge Sebastian Vettel for the title - his comment of wanting "someone else's car" for his birthday sums up the Scuderia's recent offerings. He dominated the intra-team battle, finishing with over twice as many points as Felipe Massa, proving how much more he was extracting from the F138. Moves such as the overtakes on Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap in Barcelona on his way to victory also underlined that Alonso had lost none of his natural racing ability. An area where the 32-year-old needs to improve, however, is qualifying having been beaten eight times by Massa this season and failing to make it onto the front two rows of the grid between Bahrain and Brazil. WE
2013 rating: 8/10 Felipe Massa
Championship position - 8th; Points - 112; Best result - 3rd
Two highlights of Massa's season instantly stand out: third place in Spain, accounting for his only visit to the podium, and the news that he will still be on the grid in 2014 with Williams. Ultimately, it's the lowlight - confirmation that he would be departing Ferrari - that offered the most succinct assessment of a year in which Massa didn't do nearly enough to retain his seat or make a conspicuous impact. It began brightly enough, with the Brazilian ahead of Alonso on the grid in Australia and Malaysia, but thereafter it fizzled out in downbeat fashion. Tellingly, there were few complaints at Ferrari's decision to jettison their popular stalwart in September. Yet there's still life in the old dog: the threat of F1 redundancy appeared to galvanize Massa and, even if the results didn't follow on race day, the Brazilian did enough as he regularly out-qualified Alonso in the final throes of the campaign to indicate Williams were right to offer the veteran a 2014 lifeline. A new year, a new challenge and a new team may be just what Felipe requires. We'll soon see. PG
Rating: 6/10 Jenson Button
Championship position - 9th; Points - 73; Best result - 4th
Having outlasted Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, this was supposed to be the year when Jenson Button had his best chance of challenging for a second title. In the end a fourth-place finish at Interlagos was cause for celebration and said all you needed to know about McLaren's fall from grace in 2013. There was little more Jenson himself could have done in a car which was one of the worst in the team's history. Inevitably, given the nature of the underperforming, initially very inconsistent, MP4-28, there were some low-key weekends through the year but still a decent number when Button, usually on a different tyre strategy to try and compensate for his car's outright lack of pace, produced some very impressive drives - his run to fifth in China, sixth in Germany and that surge from 14th to fourth in Brazil last weekend chief among them. Although not his specialty, one uncomfortable statistic from the year that may linger is the fact that the Briton lost what will prove his one qualifying head-to-head with Sergio Perez, whose general level of performance was deemed insufficient for a contract renewal. McLaren's bold
Championship position - 2nd; Points - 242; Best result - 1st (x2)
It was another impressive season for Alonso, even though Ferrari once again failed to deliver the car the Spaniard needed to challenge Sebastian Vettel for the title - his comment of wanting "someone else's car" for his birthday sums up the Scuderia's recent offerings. He dominated the intra-team battle, finishing with over twice as many points as Felipe Massa, proving how much more he was extracting from the F138. Moves such as the overtakes on Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap in Barcelona on his way to victory also underlined that Alonso had lost none of his natural racing ability. An area where the 32-year-old needs to improve, however, is qualifying having been beaten eight times by Massa this season and failing to make it onto the front two rows of the grid between Bahrain and Brazil. WE
2013 rating: 8/10 Felipe Massa
Championship position - 8th; Points - 112; Best result - 3rd
Two highlights of Massa's season instantly stand out: third place in Spain, accounting for his only visit to the podium, and the news that he will still be on the grid in 2014 with Williams. Ultimately, it's the lowlight - confirmation that he would be departing Ferrari - that offered the most succinct assessment of a year in which Massa didn't do nearly enough to retain his seat or make a conspicuous impact. It began brightly enough, with the Brazilian ahead of Alonso on the grid in Australia and Malaysia, but thereafter it fizzled out in downbeat fashion. Tellingly, there were few complaints at Ferrari's decision to jettison their popular stalwart in September. Yet there's still life in the old dog: the threat of F1 redundancy appeared to galvanize Massa and, even if the results didn't follow on race day, the Brazilian did enough as he regularly out-qualified Alonso in the final throes of the campaign to indicate Williams were right to offer the veteran a 2014 lifeline. A new year, a new challenge and a new team may be just what Felipe requires. We'll soon see. PG
Rating: 6/10 Jenson Button
Championship position - 9th; Points - 73; Best result - 4th
Having outlasted Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, this was supposed to be the year when Jenson Button had his best chance of challenging for a second title. In the end a fourth-place finish at Interlagos was cause for celebration and said all you needed to know about McLaren's fall from grace in 2013. There was little more Jenson himself could have done in a car which was one of the worst in the team's history. Inevitably, given the nature of the underperforming, initially very inconsistent, MP4-28, there were some low-key weekends through the year but still a decent number when Button, usually on a different tyre strategy to try and compensate for his car's outright lack of pace, produced some very impressive drives - his run to fifth in China, sixth in Germany and that surge from 14th to fourth in Brazil last weekend chief among them. Although not his specialty, one uncomfortable statistic from the year that may linger is the fact that the Briton lost what will prove his one qualifying head-to-head with Sergio Perez, whose general level of performance was deemed insufficient for a contract renewal. McLaren's bold
