The 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship featured 11 teams and 23 drivers competing across 19 Grands Prix. The season began with the Australian Grand Prix on 17 March 2013 and concluded with the Brazilian Grand Prix on 24 November 2013, with drivers and teams battling for the World Drivers’ Championship and World Constructors’ Championship titles.
Season
The season marked the final year of the 2.4-litre V8 engine era, which had been introduced in 2006. It was also the final season to feature naturally aspirated engines, which had been mandatory in Formula One since 1989. Beginning in 2014, the sport would undergo a major technical transformation with the introduction of 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid V6 power units, signalling the start of Formula One’s modern hybrid era.
The championship was dominated by Sebastian Vettel, who successfully defended his title and secured his fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship. Vettel clinched the title with four races remaining in the season, underlining the strength of both the driver and his Red Bull Racing team. With the victory, Vettel became only the third driver in F1 history to win four consecutive championships, joining the achievements of Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
Vettel’s campaign was one of the most dominant performances in the sport’s history. He ultimately won the championship by 155 points, which at the time was the largest margin ever recorded in Formula One. That record would later be surpassed a decade later by Max Verstappen. Vettel’s success in 2013 was widely recognised beyond motorsport, earning him the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year, making him only the second racing driver ever to receive the honour.
During the season, Vettel equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of thirteen race victories in a single season, and he finished the year with an extraordinary run of nine consecutive wins, the longest winning streak in Formula One history at the time. Despite his dominance, the 2013 title would ultimately prove to be the final championship of Vettel’s career, with the German driver remaining on four titles until his retirement from Formula One in 2022.
Behind Vettel in the standings, Fernando Alonso finished second in the Drivers’ Championship for Ferrari, marking the third time in four seasons that he had ended the year as runner-up. The season also represented the last time Alonso would win a race or finish on the championship podium for nearly a decade. Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber finished third in the championship, helping Red Bull Racing successfully defend its Constructors’ Championship at the same race where Vettel secured his drivers’ title.
The 2013 season was also Webber’s final year in Formula One. After twelve seasons in the sport and nine Grand Prix victories, the Australian driver announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the championship.
The year also marked the final use of the traditional car numbering system that had been in place since 1996, where numbers were largely determined by the previous season’s Constructors’ Championship standings. Beginning in 2014, Formula One introduced a new system allowing drivers to select a permanent race number between 2 and 99, which they could retain for the duration of their Formula One careers.
2013 F1 Entries drivers and teams
| Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | No. | Race drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault | Red Bull Racing-Renault | RB9 | Renault RS27-2013 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | All |
| 2 | Mark Webber | All | ||||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | F138 | Ferrari Type 056 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | All |
| 4 | Felipe Massa | All | ||||
| Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | McLaren-Mercedes | MP4-28 | Mercedes FO 108F | 5 | Jenson Button | All |
| 6 | Sergio Pérez | All | ||||
| Lotus F1 Team | Lotus-Renault | E21 | Renault RS27-2013 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | 1–17 |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 18–19 | |||||
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | All | ||||
| Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | F1 W04 | Mercedes FO 108F | 9 | Nico Rosberg | All |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton | All | ||||
| Sauber F1 Team | Sauber-Ferrari | C32 | Ferrari Type 056 | 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | All |
| 12 | Esteban Gutiérrez | All | ||||
| Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India-Mercedes | VJM06 | Mercedes FO 108F | 14 | Paul di Resta | All |
| 15 | Adrian Sutil | All | ||||
| Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | FW35 | Renault RS27-2013 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | All |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | All | ||||
| Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | STR8 | Ferrari Type 056 | 18 | Jean-Éric Vergne | All |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | All | ||||
| Caterham F1 Team | Caterham-Renault | CT03 | Renault RS27-2013 | 20 | Charles Pic | All |
| 21 | Giedo van der Garde | All | ||||
| Marussia F1 Team | Marussia-Cosworth | MR02 | Cosworth CA2013 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | All |
| 23 | Max Chilton | All |
2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar
2013 Formula 1 Race Results
2013 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Red Bull Racing Renault | 397 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Ferrari | 242 |
| 3 | Mark Webber | AUS | Red Bull Racing Renault | 199 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes | 189 |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Lotus Renault | 183 |
| 6 | Nico Rosberg | GER | Mercedes | 171 |
| 7 | Romain Grosjean | FRA | Lotus Renault | 132 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | BRA | Ferrari | 112 |
| 9 | Jenson Button | GBR | McLaren Mercedes | 73 |
| 10 | Nico Hülkenberg | GER | Sauber Ferrari | 51 |
| 11 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | McLaren Mercedes | 49 |
| 12 | Paul di Resta | GBR | Force India Mercedes | 48 |
| 13 | Adrian Sutil | GER | Force India Mercedes | 29 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | STR Ferrari | 20 |
| 15 | Jean-Eric Vergne | FRA | STR Ferrari | 13 |
| 16 | Esteban Gutierrez | MEX | Sauber Ferrari | 6 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Williams Renault | 4 |
| 18 | Pastor Maldonado | VEN | Williams Renault | 1 |
| 19 | Jules Bianchi | FRA | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
| 20 | Charles Pic | FRA | Caterham Renault | 0 |
| 21 | Heikki Kovalainen | FIN | Lotus Renault | 0 |
| 22 | Giedo van der Garde | NED | Caterham Renault | 0 |
| 23 | Max Chilton | GBR | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Renault | 596 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 360 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 354 |
| 4 | Lotus Renault | 315 |
| 5 | McLaren Mercedes | 122 |
| 6 | Force India Mercedes | 77 |
| 7 | Sauber Ferrari | 57 |
| 8 | STR Ferrari | 33 |
| 9 | Williams Renault | 5 |
| 10 | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
| 11 | Caterham Renault | 0 |
