Formula 1 stands at the end of an era

The 2013 Formula 1 World Championship calendar is barreling towards its start. But 2013 will also be the end of a long era. The era of eight-cylinder engines , which will be replaced next season by engines that are much smaller, more ecological, but also quieter.

Monoposts and pilots

Red Bull

Where else to start a guide to the new season than with the champion of the last season. Austrian Red Bull sovereignly dominated the Constructors' Cup and also the Drivers' Cup, which, however, was not so clear-cut. For the new year, the stable has prepared several novelties – primarily, it is the change of the official name from Red Bull Racing to Infiniti Red Bull Racing , which also entails a change in the color scheme of the model, which bears large logos of the Japanese manufacturer on the sides.

RB9 , as the official name of the new single -seater sounds, does not differ much from last year's RB8 at first glance. As the only team from the top of the starting field, Red Bull kept the deficit on the nose, but compared to last year, it does not have an opening at the front. The latter has moved to the rear and is directed from the nose to the rider. Otherwise, technically, the RB9 uses many components from last year's single -seater, which is finally confirmed by the team management. However, considering the technical advance from last year and the almost identical rules, it is not such a surprise.

The RB9 is powered by an eight-cylinder Renault engine with a volume of 2.4 liters . The stable does not state the performance, the maximum revolutions of the engine are limited to 18,000. Of course, the KERS and DRS systems as well as a seven-speed gearbox are included.

The riding pair has not changed compared to last year. The reigning champion Sebastian Vettel from Germany will start as starting number one, with Australian Mark Webber covering his back.

Ferrari

Last year, the Italian team was definitely thinking about more than second place in the Constructors' and Drivers' Cups. But the fact is that Fernando Alonso was definitely the best driver last year and if it weren't for two unlucky crashes, he probably would have won the driver's title. In order to prevent a similar situation from happening again, Alonso and his team-mate are to be helped by a single-seater with the designation F138 .

Definitely the biggest innovation compared to last year's version is the covering of the gap on the nose. This makes the formula look much more elegant. The rest is again more of an evolution of last year's formula , as Ferrari developed it until the last race. It is especially noticeable on the front wing. On the contrary, the rear wing and also the sidewalls underwent a big change.

The drive is provided by a self-produced eight-cylinder engine with a volume of 2.4 liters . Ferrari keeps more detailed specifications to itself. Power transmission is handled by the longitudinally located seven-speed semi-automatic Quick Shift sequential gearbox and, of course, the KERS system or DRS.

Despite all the speculation, the same pair of pilots as last year will sit behind the wheel. The first place will be the Spanish Fernando Alonso , the second place will be the Brazilian Felipe Massa , who improved significantly at the end of last year.

McLaren

Last year, the British team paid the price for the unreliability of the single-seater, and sometimes even for Lewis Hamilton's excessive rashness. He parted ways with the team after last season, and the question is whether it is for good. In any case, the new year should mean another attack on the championship title .

The monopost MP4-28 will offer several changes compared to last year in the opening race in Australia. The most striking is the completely new rear wing and the lifting of the nose, which, like last year, no longer has the proverbial shortfall. As with Ferrari, McLaren installed new sidewalls and also modified the space around the rear suspension.

The drive is provided by an eight-cylinder engine from Mercedes , supplemented by KERS from the same manufacturer. Mercedes stated that the power that the pilot gets with his KERS is 60 kW . There is also a DRS system. The gearbox is a classic seven-speed.

The driving pair consists of a regular in the colors of the British team, Jenson Button , who will be joined by the Mexican Sergio Pérez after the departure of Lewis Hamilton. After his premier engagement at Sauber, he will immediately try out one of the leading teams.

Lotus

The biggest excitement last year was provided by the Lotus stable , which, however, has perhaps only a name in common with the famous car company after last year's lineup at its head. Despite the financial problems, Kimi Raikkonen managed to win a beautiful third place among the drivers , and it is therefore not surprising that this year the stable is aiming even higher.

The monopost with the designation E21 will also offer several changes compared to last year. However, we will have to wait for some until the first race. However, what we don't have to wait for is the new shape of the sidewalls, which should lead the air above the floor to the starter area. Judging by the first images, E21 will retain the nose step that some other teams have. In terms of appearance, E21 has a new color .

The drive is provided by a Renault RS27 engine with a volume of 2.4 liters and a power exceeding 750 hp . The KERS system also comes from the French brand and will give the driver an extra 60 kW of power. Power transmission is handled by a semi-automatic Quickshift transmission with seven gears.

Just like last year, the riding pair consists of "Iceman" from Finland Kimi Raikkonen and Frenchman Romain Grosjean , who should avoid unnecessary mistakes from last year in the new year.

Mercedes

The German car company's three-year tenure in Formula 1 is rated by the lay and professional public as a disappointment. Unfortunately, the engagement of Michael Schumacher, who remained relatively short of expectations, did not help the success. Lewis Hamilton replaced him for this season.

However, the team expects a rapid improvement only from next season with new engines and rules. If that didn't help either, we would probably lose another stable in the starting field. However, the new Mercedes W04 is still here and will line up in Australia with a revised nose, which still has a shortcoming, and mainly with Coanda exhausts, which caused great problems for the stable last season. The rendering of some rear components is also new.

The drive is provided by the eight-cylinder FO 108Z of our own production with a volume of 2.4 liters. Maximum revolutions are limited to 18,000 and of course KERS and DRS will be available. A seven-speed gearbox takes care of power transmission.

The riding pair has changed compared to last year, as I already mentioned. Michael Schumacher was replaced by Briton Lewis Hamilton , who will be joined by German Nico Rosberg .

Sauber

The small Swiss team, led until the middle of last season by Peter Sauber, was able to pleasantly surprise. Mainly thanks to Sergio Pérez, she pushed her way to the podium several times, but none of the riders has yet tasted the highest one. Sauber would like to change that this year, but it will certainly be more difficult than before .

The first big visible change for the new season is the dark gray coloring , which replaced the earlier light ones. Other changes are not only visual but also technical. Sauber installed new semi-Coanda exhausts, narrower sidewalls and the nose of the monopost was also changed. However, according to the team, the basic advantages of last year's single-seater, such as tire friendliness or excellent aerodynamics, should not go away with the changes.

The Sauber C32 is powered by the eight-cylinder Ferrari 056. The KERS system and seven-speed carbon gearbox also come from the same company.

The riding pair has completely changed compared to last year. Sergio Pérez, who left for McLaren, was replaced by last year's Force India pilot Nic Hülkenberg , the popular Japanese Kobayashi was replaced by Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez .

Force India

The Indian stable had relatively uneven performances last year. In Brazil, it looked like a podium for a long time, but in the end it was only a top five finish. Whether it was the fault of the single-seater or the drivers in some cases, we probably won't know, but the financial problems of the owner of the stable , Vijay Mallya, could also have played a role.

Despite the financial crisis, the team presented its single-seater VJM06 , but according to the team, it is rather an evolution of last year's single-seater VJM05. The suspension should be new, which will improve the car's sensitivity to tires, visually the biggest change is the removal of the gap on the nose.

As in previous seasons, the Mercedes eight-cylinder with a volume of 2.4 liters will take care of the drive. The KERS system should also come from the same manufacturer. The gearbox is seven-speed.

The driving pair for the new season will be formed by the Scotsman Paul di Resta , who drove for Force India already last year, and the German Adrian Sutil , who is returning to Formula 1 after a one-year break, will be his partner.

Williams

The traditional British stable is not exactly living a fairy tale in recent seasons . Despite this, Pastor Maldonado managed to take a sensational win in Spain last year, but that was all for Williams. This year, the stable until recently led by Frank Williams would definitely like to fix it.

The new single-seater FW35 will help in this effort. As in the case of some competitors, here too it is rather an evolution of last year's FW34 type (although it has 80% new parts ). However, Williams has done a lot of work on the rear in the exhaust area. The FW35 thus received the so-called Coanda exhausts, which should help improve aerodynamics. In addition to these, the FW35 has a completely new nose, which is higher than the previous single-seater. Williams also managed to lighten the car overall and improve the balance.

The drive is provided by an eight-cylinder engine from Renault with the designation RS27 . The KERS system was developed by the stable itself. The DRS also received modifications, but it was a little behind compared to other systems. In addition to the engine, a seven-speed gearbox of our own production is also new.

And who will ride in the new single seater? The number one pilot will be Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado , who drove that memorable victory last year. His back will be the Finnish hope Valtteri Bottas , who will replace the Brazilian Bruno Senna.

Toro Rosso

The red bull with an Italian name, aka the sister team of the championship team Red Bull, hopes that this season will be better than last year. The team set itself the goal of sixth place among constructors (ninth last year), which means beating at least three competitors.

The new single-seater STR8 should help in this effort. The development was overseen by the former technical chief of Sauber, James Key , who ordered the cancellation of the short nose and completely new sidewalls. Coanda exhausts and new brake ducts, which the team took from last year's Williams FW34, should also help.

The single-seater is powered (unlike the Red Bull) by an atmospheric eight-cylinder Ferrari 056 . The KERS system also comes from the same source. DRS and a seven-speed gearbox are standard.

The Australian Daniel Ricciardo and the Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne will once again sit in the junior Red Bull, as Toro Rosso is also sometimes called. However, only time will tell if they will do better than last year.

Caterham

The "best" of the new teams was also Caterham last year, which jumped over rival Marussia in the overall standings only in the last race. Last year's goal, to get at least some point, seemed very ambitious and ultimately unachievable. So will the new season help?

In any case, the CT03 monopost looks pretty good, because the green body in combination with the black wheels of the monopost looks good. However, whether it will be enough is a question. Even Caterham himself confirmed that it is more of an evolution of last year's single-seater CT01 and the stable is concentrating on the year 2014. In any case, the novelty has new sidewalls, a diffuser, an engine cover or a completely lowered chassis.

The CT03 will be powered by a Renault engine codenamed RS27 . The KERS system, which the team is deploying for the second time in its short history, also comes from the same manufacturer.

A new driver pair consisting of Charles Pic from France and Giedo van der Garde from Holland will take care of piloting the single-seater. The team thus got rid of two experienced pilots, Heikki Kovalainen and Vitalije Petrov.

Marussia

The last team in this year's list is the Russian Marussia . Even before the last race, she was reaching for tenth place in the Constructors' Cup and therefore extra money, but in Brazil the joy of the team was ruined by Caterham.

Perhaps thanks to this, Marussia will enter the season with even more determination than so far. The single-seater with the designation MR02 was the first single-seater in the history of the stable to be developed in a wind tunnel, which could play a role. Marussia also, following the example of other teams, installed Coanda exhausts and modified the nose of the monopost.

The drive will be provided by the eight-cylinder Cosworth CA2013K , which will complement the KERS system originating from Williams and the Xtrac gearbox. For the sake of interest, I will add that the KERS system will be given to a Marussia team car for the very first time.

A completely new riding pair will also sit behind the wheel, consisting of Max Chilton from England and Jules Bianchi from France. There was no room left for the experienced Tim Glock because of the money.

Tracks

Even this season, interesting battles can be expected directly on the tracks. And where will you go this year? The calendar looks very similar to last year's , but you would be looking in vain for the European GP in Valencia . Originally, another race was supposed to replace this big prize, but in the end, big Bernie did not agree with any of the interested parties, and for this year there will be only nineteen races on the calendar.

Source: Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Mercedes, Sauber, Force India, Williams, Toro Rosso, Caterham, Marussia , f1fanatic.co.uk