2013 and beyond

Red Bull Racing-Renault

Sebastian Vettel has a contract until 2014 with a performance clause, and Mark Webber who is on a yearly contract has a driver’s seat in 2013. With the v6 engines set to come into use from 2014, the performance predictability of which is unknown to all teams, the 2013 season could start off where it left off in 2012. With Adrian Newey’s technological know-how and Sebastian Vettel’s talent, 2013 could follow the 2012 track all over again.

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso has a contract until 2016 and Felipe Massa has been confirmed as his teammate for the next year. The bulk of the scoring was by Fernando Alonso this year, and if Ferrari has to go for a constructor’s title, their number two needs to up his game, right from the word go, in Albert Park.

McLaren-Mercedes

McLaren has had some great racing drivers such as James Hunt, Gilles Villeneuve, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen. By signing Sergio Perez, they have taken a bit of a gamble. But he is extremely gifted and has the potential to be a champion. His pairing with the inch-perfect Jenson Button would be just what the doctor ordered. Just like this year, the next will be long and hard and as McLaren fans, we have high hopes. Fingers crossed.

Lotus-Renault

A performance clause ties Kimi Raikkonen to the team for next year. There were rumours he was to go to Ferrari, but thankfully they were just rumours. Ferrari doesn’t deserves Kimi’s services. His no-nonsense approach to racing fits well with Lotus and if he goes somewhere after 2013, Red Bull Racing is where we hope he does. Kimi Raikkonen partnering Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull would make a dream team. An Adrian Newey-designed car with two of the fastest drivers in the world — you can’t beat that.

Mercedes

The best engineers, the best designers, the best pit crews and the best bosses come from the UK. Guess where Ross Brown comes from! Brawn GP turned Mercedes, owned by Mercedes and run by Brawn, Fry and Co, hasn’t had the greatest of the last three years. With just one win in China in 2012, they seem to be going the BMW way. However — and this is a big one — Lewis Hamilton joins the team next year, partnering Nico Rosberg. There is something special about the kid. With his immense talent, the team has great potential. Not as soon as 2013 but surely in 2014, they will be carrying 
trophies home.

Sauber-Ferrari

Sauber has yet to confirm a replacement for Sergio Perez, or even confirm if Kamui Kobayashi will be driving for them next season. There are rumours that Nico Hulkenberg of Force India will be Sergio Perez’s replacement. 2012 has been a year of mixed results, with podium finishes for both the drivers. If they can sort their drivers line-up soon, the next season will continue forward from the successes of this year.

Force India-Mercedes

Paul di Resta is likely to stay put, and there are chances of Adrian Sutil making a comeback. The team’s reserve driver, Frenchman Jules Bianchi, could also graduate to a race seat. The team has had better seasons this year compared to 2011, with both the drivers finishing in points regularly. The 2013 season depends heavily on its choice of drivers and the development of the car.

Williams-Renault

Opinions vary. For us, Williams is in Formula One just for their love of racing at the highest level. Few tough seasons with the Cosworth engine and particularly the last one in 2011 saw them finish the lowest they ever have been since they entered the sport. But hard work, sweat and tears paid off with a brilliant win by Pastor Maldonado who led from the front and won the Spanish Grand Prix — the result of a revival of a great partnership between Renault and Williams that took the Williams to the top in the nineties. Pastor Maldonado is expected to stay put with Bruno Senna’s seat likely to be taken up by its third driver, the reserve, Valtteri Bottas. Will Williams surprise us by promoting its development driver Susie Wolff to a full-time race seat? Keep an eye on Fridays on a racing weekend for starters.

STR-Ferrari

They have done reasonably well in the second half of the season and with its current driver line-up of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo, any changes for next year are unlikely. The team would probably climb up a place or two in next year’s championship.

Marussia-Cosworth

Timo Glock looks to retain his drive for the next season. There is a possibility of Charles Pic being replaced by the team’s reserve driver, Max Chilton.

Caterham-Renault

Heikki Kovalainen will likely retain his seat. There’s a question on funding next season for Vitaly Petrov, who might be replaced by the teams Dutch reserve driver, Giedo van der Garde.

HRT-Cosworth

This team is likely to retain its current drivers, Pedro de la Rosa and the lone Indian driver in F1, Narain Karthikeyan. Expect an announcement of any changes during winter.

The three teams, Marussia, Caterham and HRT, are doing the best they can with the resources available to them. Hopefully in 2014, with the new engines in place, most teams will be equally placed, offering an opportunity to the teams at the bottom to cause some serious worries to the ones at the top.