2013 F1 Season
19 races · Red Bull RB9
The 2013 season closed Red Bull's era of dominance with Sebastian Vettel's most emphatic display. After a competitive start, the German and the RB9 found a level of form simply out of reach for the rest.
Vettel strung together the final nine races of the year consecutively, an unprecedented streak in the modern era, and posted thirteen wins to claim his fourth straight world title aged just 26, firmly entering the debate of the all-time greats.
The year also produced the "Multi-21" controversy in Singapore, when Vettel disobeyed the team order to hold position and passed team-mate Mark Webber to steal the win, straining an already broken relationship. It would be the last title before the arrival of the hybrid era.
Drivers’ Champion
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull RB9
Constructors’ Champion
Red Bull Racing
19 races
Ver en españolKey moment
«Singapore 2013: Vettel ignores "Multi-21" and passes Webber, the most controversial moment of the year.»
The 2013 grid, car by car
The 11 teams that raced in 2013, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull | 99 | Sebastian Vettel · Mark Webber |
| 2 | Mercedes | 91 | Lewis Hamilton · Nico Rosberg |
| 3 | Ferrari | 90 | Fernando Alonso · Felipe Massa |
| 4 | Lotus | 88 | Kimi Räikkönen · Romain Grosjean |
| 5 | McLaren | 81 | Jenson Button · Sergio Perez |
| 6 | Force India | 78 | Adrian Sutil · Paul di Resta |
| 7 | Sauber | 76 | Nico Hulkenberg · Esteban Gutierrez |
| 8 | Toro Rosso | 73 | Daniel Ricciardo · Jean-Eric Vergne |
| 9 | Williams | 69 | Valtteri Bottas · Pastor Maldonado |
| 10 | Caterham | 63 | Giedo van der Garde · Charles Pic |
| 11 | Marussia | 63 | Jules Bianchi · Max Chilton |
How 2013 actually ended
The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Brazilian Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 397 | 13 | 16 | 9 |
| 2Fernando AlonsoFerrari | 242 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 3Mark WebberRed Bull | 199 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 4Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 189 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 5Kimi RäikkönenLotus F1 | 183 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| 6Nico RosbergMercedes | 171 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 7Romain GrosjeanLotus F1 | 132 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 8Felipe MassaFerrari | 112 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Vettel took it by 155 points, which at that distance stops being a fight and becomes a formality. 5 different drivers won across 19 races, and the champion could still afford to retire 1 time.
And was it the most dominant car of all? We measured it by putting the same driver in the best car of every season since 1988: what is the most dominant car in F1 history.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
2013, race by race
All 19 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.
5different drivers won: Vettel 13 · Alonso 2 · Rosberg 2 · Hamilton 1 · Räikkönen 1.
4different teams won: Red Bull 13 · Mercedes 3 · Ferrari 2 · Lotus F1 1.
4different drivers took pole: Vettel 9 · Hamilton 5 · Rosberg 3 · Webber 2.
8different drivers stood on the podium.
4one-twos for a single team: Red Bull 4.
10 of 19races were won from pole position.
0first-ever wins: every winner had won before.
From 7ththe win from furthest back: Kimi Räikkönen, Australian Grand Prix.
25 years, 264 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Sebastian Vettel, Malaysian Grand Prix.
85%of starts reached the flag (354 of 417).
15 of 22cars finished the Monaco Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.
3hat tricks (pole, win and fastest lap). Most fastest laps: Vettel 7 · Webber 5 · Alonso 2.
| # | Grand Prix | Winner | Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Kimi RäikkönenLotus F1 | 7th |
| 2 | Malaysian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 3 | Chinese Grand Prix | Fernando AlonsoFerrari | 3rd |
| 4 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 2nd |
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix | Fernando AlonsoFerrari | 5th |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 1st |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 8 | British Grand Prix | Nico RosbergMercedes | 2nd |
| 9 | German Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 2nd |
| 10 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Lewis HamiltonMercedes | 1st |
| 11 | Belgian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 2nd |
| 12 | Italian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 13 | Singapore Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 14 | Korean Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 2nd |
| 16 | Indian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 17 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 2nd |
| 18 | United States Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
| 19 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Sebastian VettelRed Bull | 1st |
Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Fastest lap is the race fastest lap.
What if 2013 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2013 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 19-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Vettelreal championRed Bull | P1 | 100% |
| Mark WebberRed Bull | P2.7 | 0% |
| Fernando AlonsoFerrari | P2.7 | 0% |
| Lewis HamiltonMercedes | P3.7 | 0% |
| Nico RosbergMercedes | P5.3 | 0% |
| Kimi RäikkönenLotus | P5.7 | 0% |
Sebastian Vettel wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Mark Webber manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2013 championship-winning car?
Build your own hypothesisHypotheses from 2013
Drivers of 2013
Keep reading
What we have measured about 2013 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
- 8 min readWhat does a weak second driver cost? 1,200 seasons with the seat swappedMassa next to Alonso, Pérez next to Verstappen: we re-ran four real seasons changing only who sits in the second car. Ferrari 2010 goes from winnin…
- 8 min readSeven transfers that never happened, actually run: four would have changed nothingWe genuinely placed each driver in the car he never drove, against that year’s real grid. Alonso in Vettel’s Red Bull wins exactly what Vettel won:…
- 9 min readWhat is the most dominant car in F1 history? 37 seasons measured with the same driverThe 2023 Red Bull RB19, and not narrowly: with an average driver it still wins nine races in ten. We sat the same driver in the best car of every s…