2012 Sebring Champion: 'Tyres could ruin 2013 season'.

Source: Telegraph

Mclaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh insists the team will find a balance between risk-taking and reliability for the 2013 season.

The Woking-based team produced arguably the quickest car over the course of the 2012 season but poor decision making as well as an awful reliability record saw them drop to third in the Manufacturers' Championship.

"You have to constantly develop the car over the course of the season - and we've given ourselves a platform to do that."

More worryingly, mechanical failure put a halt to former driver, Lewis Hamiltons' title bid and may have played a role in his decision to leave for Mercedes.

Whitmarsh said: "We've taken some risks in changing the car from last year."

"We finished 2012 with the quickest car and it would have been very easy to continue to develop that car and make it quicker still."

Mclaren will be looking to stop Sebastian Vettel and his RedBull team winning their forth consecutive title, in order to do so, drivers' Jenson Button and Sergio Perez will have to hit the ground running.

The 8-time Constructor Champions' also aim to fix some early bugs to the car spotted in pre-season testing, Whitmarsh said: "You can never be as confident as you'd like to be with a new car," he said. "If it's stable and reliable, typically you want to push it further, make it quicker, lighter and more aerodynamic."

"We've been working hard with Mercedes-Benz on some of the issues we saw last year, and we've been working internally as well.

"We are constantly vigilant but we must not become so obsessed by the pursuit of reliability that we don't change the car to improve it."

Mclaren will be hoping to provide both of their drivers with a competitive car and this week, news that Jenson Button is willing to stay with the team until he retires has boosted team morale.

The Mclaren team principal added: "The beauty is that there are quite big areas of this year's regulations which are completely not applicable going forward so I would hope we will get him involved in some of those challenges."

Jenson Button and Sergio Perez

5. Jenson Button

Source: Fanpop

Jenson Button will be Mclarens' lead driver for the 2013 season following the departure of Lewis Hamilton.

The 2009 World Champion was often the victim of poor reliability last term, suffering from everything from fumbled pit-stops to alternator failure.

Admittedly, Button hopes team principal, Martin Whitmarsh can give him a competitive car this year, he said:

"We'll be working extremely hard during pre-season to ensure we go to the first race with bulletproof reliability."

"Operationally, too, I think we've learned and developed from last year and that will help us run a much smoother and stronger campaign."

"We were extremely strong throughout the whole of the 2012 season but, for one reason or another, we couldn't quite pull it all together to challenge for the championships."

"That's something we want to address for 2013. I've seen just how closely everybody has been working together on this car and I think we've got the basis for a very strong season."

6. Sergio Perez

Source: PlanteF1

23 year-old Perez, makes the switch from Sauber for the 2013 season with pressure firmly on him.

The Mexican has show flair during his first two seasons in the sport but, at times struggled to maintain consistency. This erratic form has led many to believe he lacks the experience to drive for a front-running team like Mclaren.

The new Mclaren man accepted he faces a difficult season:

"Yes, definitely, the pressure is always there, especially when you are with McLaren, no? The whole world is watching you and you have to deliver in not so much time. They wait for you but yes, the pressure is always there."

"I expect to have a very tough start to the season. It's not going to be an easy one, but its all about consistency, it's all about the nineteen races. It will take me some time to adapt to the team and to the car."

"To so many things, I have to adapt, but I'm sure we're going in the right direction and I think I can do a good job. Yes, I'm very happy to start the season."



 

2013 F1 season preview

9 days until the wait is finally over.

                                                      Source: polepositionsimulators.co.uk

By Ben Kelbrick

The third and final pre-season test at circuit de catalunya has now drawn to a close and all eyes are turned to FP1 at Melbourne on March 15. With relatively minimal rule changes, the cars have been described as 'evolutions' to their predecessors so, RedBull once again are favourites for the title.

Although legalities remain similar to last year, the driver line-up has had several changes. We bid farewell to seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, the most decorated driver in F1 is joined in retirement by the man who has entered the most races, 40-year old former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

21 year-old Brit, Max Chilton makes the step up from GP2 to Marussia Racing. He is joined by Jules Bianchhi who impressed at last seasons young drivers' test. Although, he becomes the third proposed driver to partner Chilton this year following a chaotic closed season for the Oxford-based team.

 Former Sauber man Sergio Perez joins Jenson Button at Mclaren. The Mexican will be looking to re-kindle the early form of last year that caught the eye of the Woking-based team.

Sauber will start the 2013 campaign with an all new line up with lead driver Nico Hulkenberg being joined by rookie Esteban Gutierrez.

Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil returns to Force India following a one-year absence and Valtteri Bottas fills the vacant slot at Williams.

Arguably the most anticipated move was Lewis Hamilton, leaving Mclaren after working with the team for six years. Ross Brawn will be looking to further improve on last years disappointing season and fans will relish the chance to see how well Lewis can perform in, I daresay a likely weaker car than the Mclaren.

                                             Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Source: formula-one.speedtv.com
Following the three tests the usual suspects have impressed although, it has been difficult to gauge any real performance between them.

Sebastian Vettel described this years testing as 'less conclusive than ever,' so surely, we should expect another exciting year.

The German triple World Champion is said to be disappointed with the final few days of testing though, blaming the influence of the tyres for the lack of data received from his new RB9 challenger.

                                                Pirelli 2013 tyre range. Source: F1.com

"We just have to look after ourselves, we didn't tick all the boxesthat we would have liked to and the last two days were not as good as we would have expected," said Vettel.

"But there's still a little bit of time left before the season starts."

Vettel was unable to answer the specific areas that Red Bull needed to improve, "It's extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact areas because the tyres were not consistent enough."

"If you sum up the whole three tests, we were all limited to what the tyres could do."

"It was extremely difficult to read some set-up changes and find a good direction with the car because the tyres were simply not good enough."

                                                        2012 runner-up Fernando Alonso. Source : binaryapi.ap
                                                                                        


His Closest competitor last year, Ferraris' Fernando Alonso seemed optimistic about his chances this season following his initial reaction to the F138

"Last year we had a very difficult winter, we were completely lost, we didn't know what the car was doing. And with that car we fought for the title until the last race in Brazil."

"We now have a car that is responding well to what we change, and that is doing what we expect."

"We know we are maybe not the quickest yet, but the potential of the car is there."

                                                         New Mercedes man Lewis Hamilton. Source: DailyMail

Lewis Hamilton has remained coy on his hoped for the year and was initially adamant that he wouldn't challenge for the title, despite impressing in early pre-season testing.

Although, the blistering pace shown by both Hamilton and team-mate Rosberg at the final test in Barcelona has led to many people feeling they are more competitive than they claim.

When asked if he tought he could challenge for the title Hamilton replied, “It’s not ‘no chance’ and not definitely ‘we will’.”

"There is everything to play for still. We won’t know until the first race but don’t be surprised if we get to the first race and we are not at the front. We are going in the right direction, though.”

                                                        Mclarens Jenson Button. Source: therichest.org
Mclaren have experienced an up and down pre-season with undoubtedly quick single lap pace but reliability has hindered them.

"In terms of laps completed and the testing I have achieved, I think we're behind on that," added Button. "It's not been perfect and we know we've got a lot of work to do in terms of spending more time out on the circuit and understanding the car.

Speaking ahead of the final test Button said:

"So I am really looking forward to a good test next week in Barcelona as I don't feel that we have been able to do enough to really understand the car and where we are with the car. We've got to sort out our own issues and get the best out of the car that we have."