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Your best and worst memories of 2013

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  • #133984

    What were the best and worst moments of the 2013 F1 season?

    Share your memories of on-track- or off-track highlights and lowlights of the last season – a pick of the best and most popular submissions will appear in a future article:

    #246008
    David-A
    Participant

    Best –
    Red Bulls fighting for the lead in Malaysia- probably the most exciting on track action between teammates seen in years.
    Tense German GP- Vettel’s first home win at last, and one of his most gritty, holding off the faster Lotuses. Grosjean put in a mega performance that really showed he had turned the corner in his development.
    Hamilton’s first Mercedes win- The cherry on top of his first half of the season on his best track. Really vindicated his move, especially as Mclaren went into turmoil.
    Vettel’s crushing Singapore win- Just a stunning performance. His ability to find the grip and performance earlier than anyone else in qualifying was amazing, the rate at which he left the field behind on Sunday, even better.
    Donuts- We love donuts!
    Vettel’s record breaking 9 in a row- 60 year old record gone, thanks to Vettel and Red Bull. No longer are F1 Fanatics forced to explain that Ascari didn’t enter the Indy 500 when explaining who won the most consecutive races.
    Webber’s helmet off- Cool to see on his final race.

    Worst –
    Maria de Villota’s death- tragedy.
    The Multi-21 moaners- Mind boggling number of people who wanted to see a parade in Malaysia.
    Exploding tyres at Silverstone- The final few laps were entertaining in that race, but the lack of safety was a farce.
    Podium booing- Self-explanatory
    Hulkenberg not getting a top ride- Should have happened by now, but the teams keep overlooking him, despite the performances.
    The downfall of Mclaren- Sad to see such a great team slide so far, really letting down Button and young Perez.
    Championship battle petering out mid-season- As well as Vettel drove, there obviously wasn’t going to be excitement for the championship battle, like in 2010 and 2012.

    #246009
    Diceman
    Participant

    Best:
    Marussia’s celebrations in Brazil.

    Worst:
    The Death of María de Villota.

    #246011
    Saurabh
    Participant

    Best : Vettel becoming the 2013 World Champion in front of us :)
    Kimi winning the Australian GP
    Worst : Kimi out of Monaco GP after so many consecutive finishes.
    Vettel not following team orders in Malaysia

    #246012
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    I can only think of worst…

    #246013
    Lucas Wilson
    Participant

    As the the wise philosopher, Keith Collantanious , 3rd century BC, said ‘pirelli are thou doomed to the lake of fire and brimstone’

    #246014
    Hamilfan
    Participant

    Best moments
    1)Mercedes surprise everyone in qualifying in the initial few races and towards the middle of the season.
    2)The Malaysian GP fight was awesome . Though the politics behind them were bad , the actual duel was great to see .
    3)Grosjean taking podium after podium at the end of the season. Good for the lad as he silenced all his critics , me being one of them.
    4)Hamilton’s first Mercedes win and the last ditch surprise result at the Spa qualifying .
    5)Rosberg’s gritty defensive driving was a pleasure to watch even when his tyres were melting like cheese. If at all there has to be an award for the grittiest driver of 2013 , it has to be him . He defended to his fullest extent possible.

    Worst moments :

    1) De Villota’s death was a shocking thing to wake up to .
    2)The season was about unsafe tyres , tyre saving , tyre politics , tyre testing , tyre changes . I got tired.
    3)the slow coasting around to conserve tyres brought about the activity of “mid race snooze”.
    4)Politics in Malaysian GP . Felt very sorry for Rosberg and Webber that day .
    5)The sad state of F1’s finances worsened to the effect of a ‘world champion material’ likely to be overlooked and a crash kid who moans of sabotage to be seriously considered for a top drive .
    5) Kimi Raikkonen not to drive for RBR in 2014 and Ross Brawn leaving Mercedes.

    #246015
    Girts
    Participant

    + The wet Belgian GP qualifying session was a real thriller, even without “Pole Di Resta”.
    + “Multi 21” helped turn Malaysian GP into one of the best races of the season as Vettel ignored team orders and beautifully passed his team mate to take one of his best wins.
    + Hamilton’s first victory for Mercedes felt very special, particularly after all the doubts over his decision to leave McLaren.
    + The return of the Finn – even though Kovalainen’s short Lotus stint wasn’t a success, it was still nice to have him back.
    + The Korean GP was a really good race. A brilliant drive by Hulkenberg, good battles all over the field and several incidents (Massa’s spin, Webber’s car on fire, “Fire truck deployed”) made it a very enjoyable morning.
    + The 2013/14 silly season has been one of the most exciting in the history of the sport.
    + The new series on F1 Fanatic ‘Team radio transcripts’ makes for a fascinating read and reveal the true face of the sport.

    – The death of Maria de Villota was shocking and sad news.
    – There was no need for team orders at Mercedes in Malaysia.
    – Tyre blowouts might have made for an exciting British GP but they were dangerous and ultimately lead to return to the 2012 construction, which significantly changed the competitive balance. Pirelli should have avoided that.
    – I missed diversity and unpredictability. All podiums were taken by just four teams and there was only one winner in the second half of the season.
    – The combination of DRS and fragile tyres often spoiled the party as the attacking driver could easily pass the (un)defending driver, who had to nurse tyres.
    – Money still rules the F1 world. Teams struggle to survive and some good drivers struggle to get / keep the race seats that they deserve.

    #246016
    Noah
    Participant

    Best of 2013:
    – Webber’s sub-2second pit stop
    – Raikkonen and Vettel’s fight to the line in Germany
    – The wet qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix
    – Grosjean driving from 17th on the grid in India to a podium finish
    – Grosjean’s start at Suzuka

    Worst of 2013:
    – Webber’s loose wheel taking out the camera-man in Germany
    – Sutil ramming Webber and consequently setting his car on fire in Korea
    – Grosjean’s technical failure in Singapore
    – Force India’s pit stops in Malaysia

    #246017
    Imre
    Participant

    Best: Massa staying in F1 for 2014.

    Worst: Predictable second half of the season.

    #246018
    cjpdk
    Participant

    Best –
    Vettel’s on-track celebrations in India and the donuts thereafter.
    Also him breaking the 9-in-a-row record (one that stood for 60 years no less).
    Grosjean’s brilliant performances towards the end of the season, vindicating the support he received from Lotus.
    Red Bull’s end of career celebrations for Webber, particularly him taking his helmet off.

    Worst –
    Money, money, ****ing money. Hulk is out of a job, Gutierrez isn’t. Sauber, a team that have been in F1 since 1993, nearly went bankrupt (btw what happened to their deal with Chelsea FC?). Williams, Caterham and Marussia are dumping grounds for drivers with more cash than racecraft (hopefully Massa can change that). How the hell has this mess happened to F1? And no team is willing to try and change it cos they all think they’ll lose out in any kind of money-saving deal. Greedy *censored*

    #246019
    Deej92
    Participant

    Best: Hamilton’s first win for Mercedes in Hungary.

    Worst: The booing of Vettel.

    #246020
    Slr
    Participant

    Best:
    – Perez taking on and beating Button in Bahrain, shame about Button’s post race comments though
    – Vettel’s doughnuts
    – Rosberg’s brilliant drive in Monaco
    – The final 20 laps or so of Singapore

    Worst:
    – De Villota’s tragic death
    – The Malaysian GP podium was just ridiculous with Vettel and Hamilton saying their team mates deserved to finish ahead of them, even though Vettel was lying and I wouldn’t be surprised if the same applied to Hamilton.
    – The way the championship played out with Vettel dominating after what looked like being another close championship battle early in the season.

    #246021
    Nixon
    Participant

    Best:
    rosberg in monaco, best race performance of the season?
    webber taking off helmet
    some starts from grosjean and alonso
    hulkenberg racing with the top teams

    Worst:
    boring second half races
    De Villota’s death
    poor tyres by pirelli, just the tyres in general.
    webber leaving

    #246022
    andae23
    Participant

    Best:
    – Vettel’s and Alonso’s phenomenal victories at their home Grands Prix.
    – Bottas’ third place in qualifying for the Canadian GP and Hulk’s third place in qualifying for the Italian GP.
    – Vettel’s celebration after the Indian GP.
    – Vettel’s nine victories in a row.
    – Mark Webber driving without helmet at his last GP.
    – The respect shown by the Mercedes drivers at the Malaysian GP.

    Worst:
    – The lack of respect within Red Bull Racing at the Malaysian GP.
    – The tyre explosions, with the British GP as its climax. I was disgusted by the FIA’s lack of responsibility by not showing the red flag and the reaction of some F1 fans who seemed to enjoy seeing drivers take lethal risks they shouldn’t be taking in this day and age.
    – The aggression from some Raikkonen ‘fans’ towards Lotus on social media following the Indian GP.
    – Uncertainty over Nico Hulkenberg’s future.
    – Deaths of Maria de Villota, Sean Edwards, Allan Simonsen and Andrea Mame. (and probably a few more that I have missed)
    – Tyre management and DRS in general.

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