2013 Season

Driver changes

Lewis Hamilton moves from McLaren to Mercedes on a three-year contract, ending a fourteen-year association with the Woking team. Hamilton said the idea of taking a struggling team and building it up held more appeal than “cruising around with a great team.” With Hamilton arriving, Michael Schumacher departs — his three-year Mercedes return yielded disappointing results, and he retires from Formula One for the second time.

Sergio Pérez joins McLaren to replace Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg leaves Force India for Sauber despite having originally signed a multi-year deal; he is joined at Sauber by rookie Esteban Gutiérrez, who spent 2011–12 as the team’s test and reserve driver while racing in GP2. Adrian Sutil returns to Force India in Hülkenberg’s vacated seat after one season away from the grid.

Valtteri Bottas is promoted to a full-time Williams seat alongside Pastor Maldonado, replacing Bruno Senna. Bottas — the 2011 GP3 Series champion — appeared in fifteen Williams free practice sessions during 2012. Charles Pic moves from Marussia to Caterham, joining Giedo van der Garde, who was promoted from Caterham’s test and GP2 programme after Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov both lost their seats. Kovalainen’s departure was attributed to a breakdown in the team relationship; Petrov’s to a lack of sponsorship.

At Marussia, Timo Glock departed under “tough economic conditions.” His replacement Luiz Razia had his contract terminated twenty-three days after signing, after his sponsors missed payments to the team; he was replaced by Jules Bianchi, the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series champion and 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 runner-up. Max Chilton, who spent 2012 with the Marussia-backed Carlin GP2 team, fills the other seat.

Kamui Kobayashi, despite staging a public fundraising campaign, was unable to secure a 2013 seat after Lotus retained Romain Grosjean.

Team changes

HRT F1 withdrew from the championship after owner Thesan Capital failed to find a buyer before the 30 November 2012 entry-fee deadline. The team entered liquidation; despite bids to purchase and revive it under a new name, its assets were ultimately sold to recycling firm Teo Martín. With HRT gone, eleven teams and twenty-two cars contest the season.

Calendar

Nineteen rounds are on the calendar — one fewer than the twenty originally planned. The Grand Prix of America, to have been held on a new Hermann Tilke-designed street circuit in New Jersey back-to-back with the Canadian Grand Prix in June, was removed after organisers failed to obtain the required permits from state and federal government departments. A replacement European venue was not found.

The European Grand Prix is dropped, the first season without one since 1998; the Valencia Street Circuit permanently closed on 12 March 2013. The German Grand Prix rotates to the Nürburgring. The Russian Grand Prix, contracted to debut at the Sochi Autodrom around the 2014 Winter Olympics site, is delayed to 2014 after construction was not completed in time.

Regulation changes

With HRT absent, qualifying is adjusted: six cars (down from seven) are eliminated in each of Q1 and Q2, while Q3 remains unchanged at ten drivers. The FIA restricts DRS use during free practice and qualifying to designated zones only, ending the previous open use. Two DRS activation zones are planned at every circuit where feasible.

The force majeure exemption is removed from scrutineering rules. From 2013, stewards measure residual fuel in any car stopped on circuit and assess penalties on the difference from the required minimum — ending the previous exemption for cars unable to return under their own power. The curfew is extended from six to eight hours before the first session of each day, and teams are limited to two exceptions per season, down from four.

Entry fees are restructured: a $500,000 base fee plus $5,000 per point scored in 2012, with the reigning constructors’ champion paying $6,000 per point. Red Bull, with 460 points, faces an entry fee of $3.26 million.

The double-DRS system — pioneered by Mercedes and adapted by Lotus, routing internal channels to stall the front wing when the rear DRS opened — is banned. Stepped noses may be covered with a cosmetic “modesty panel” without aerodynamic gain. Minimum car weight rises from 640 kg to 642 kg to account for the heavier 2013 Pirelli tyre specification. Front wing flexibility testing is overhauled with a tighter 10 mm tolerance under a 100 kg load.

Regulation changes now require only a 51% majority (six teams) rather than the previous 70% threshold. A new Strategy Working Group — including the FIA, Formula One Management, team representatives, an engine supplier, and event promoters — replaces the former Technical and Sporting Working Groups.

Final season for V8s

This is the last year for the 2.4-litre V8 engine introduced in 2006, and for naturally aspirated engines, which have been mandatory in Formula One since 1989. A 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 hybrid formula takes over from 2014. It is also Cosworth’s final season as an engine supplier.

This is the final year of the constructors’-based car numbering system in use since 1996. From 2014, each driver chooses a permanent career number between 2 and 99.