2013 Formula One season

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The 2013 Formula One season will be the 64th season of the FIA Formula One World Championship. 2013 will be the final year the series uses the current 2.4 litre V8 engine configuration, with a more environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged engine formula planned to be introduced in 2014.^[1] The 2013 season will see the addition of the Grand Prix of America to the series schedule, a race to be held at the Port Imperial Street Circuit in Weehawken, New Jersey.^[2]

Signed teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers are contracted to drive in the 2013 season, subject to ratification of a new Concorde Agreement. At the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone announced that the "majority" of teams competing in the 2012 season had agreed to compete in 2013, though he gave no indication of which teams—if any—were offering resistance to the new Concorde Agreement.^[3]

Team	Constructor	Engine	Tyre	Race Drivers	Test/Reserve Driver(s)
Caterham F1 Team[4][5]	Caterham-Renault	Renault	P	TBA	TBA
				TBA
Scuderia Ferrari[6]	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	Fernando Alonso[7]	Davide Rigon[8]
				TBA
Sahara Force India F1 Team[9]	Force India-Mercedes	Mercedes	P	TBA	TBA
				TBA
HRT F1 Team	HRT-Cosworth	Cosworth	P	Pedro de la Rosa[10]	TBA
				TBA
Lotus F1 Team[11]	Lotus-Renault	Renault	P	Kimi Räikkönen[12]	TBA
				TBA
Marussia F1 Team[4][5][13]	Marussia-Cosworth	Cosworth	P	Timo Glock[14]	TBA
				TBA
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren-Mercedes	Mercedes	P	Jenson Button[15]	TBA
				TBA
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	Nico Rosberg[16]	TBA
				TBA
Red Bull Racing	Red Bull-Renault	Renault	P	Sebastian Vettel[17]	TBA
				TBA
Sauber F1 Team	Sauber-Ferrari	Ferrari	P	TBA	TBA
				TBA
Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	Ferrari	P	TBA	TBA
				TBA
Williams F1	Williams-Renault	Renault[18]	P	TBA	TBA
				TBA

Team changes

• British engineering company Lola Cars, who previously attempted to join the Formula One grid in 2010,^[19] have stated their intention to enter the sport before the 2014 engine regulations are introduced, pending the availability of a thirteenth grid entry and finalising an engine partner.^[20]

List of planned races

The following seventeen races are currently contracted to appear on the 2013 race schedule. Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights holder through his Formula One Management and Formula One Administration companies, has previously said that he believes twenty races is the maximum that is viable.^[21] The number of races on the Formula One calendar is dictated by the Concorde Agreement, the arrangement between teams, the FIA and Formula One Management. At the time of Ecclestone's comments regarding the length of the series schedule, the then-current Concorde Agreement was set to expire at the end of the 2012 season. More than twenty races would be possible if the teams agreed to it.^[22]

Grands Prix contracted for 2013
Grand Prix	Circuit
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix[23]	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Grand Prix of America[2]	Port Imperial Street Circuit, New Jersey
Australian Grand Prix[24]	Albert Park, Melbourne
Bahrain Grand Prix[25]	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
Grande Prêmio do Brasil[26]	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
British Grand Prix[27]	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
Grand Prix du Canada[28]	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
Chinese Grand Prix[29]	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai
Großer Preis von Deutschland[30]	Nürburgring, Nürburg
Magyar Nagydíj[31]	Hungaroring, Budapest
Indian Grand Prix[32]	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida
Gran Premio d'Italia[33]	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
Korean Grand Prix[34]	Korean International Circuit, Yeongam
Malaysia Grand Prix[35]	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur
Grand Prix de Monaco[36]	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
Gran Premio de España [37]	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona[38]
United States Grand Prix[39]	Circuit of the Americas, Austin
Grands Prix contracted for 2012, but not currently contracted for 2013
Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps
Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka
Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore

The streets of New Jersey will play host to the Grand Prix of America in 2013. Seen here is the intersection of John F. Kennedy Boulevard East and 60th Street, at the top of the circuit.

Calendar changes

New and returning races

• The 2013 season will see the addition of the Grand Prix of America to the calendar.^[2] The race will take place on a new, Hermann Tilke-designed street circuit in New Jersey in June of that year,^[40] back-to-back with the Canadian Grand Prix.^[41]
• The Nürburgring is scheduled to return to the calendar to host the German Grand Prix, in keeping with the event-sharing agreement first established in 2008 with the Hockenheimring for the two circuits to host the Grand Prix in alternating years. The Nürburgring last hosted a Formula One Grand Prix in 2011.^[42]
• The Spanish Grand Prix will alternate between the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, while the European Grand Prix will be discontinued.^[38]

Proposed races

• In March 2012, Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced plans for a revivial of the Argentine Grand Prix, outlining details of a three-year contract starting in late 2013.^[43][44] The proposal would see the event take place on a street circuit in the city of Mar del Plata,^[45][46] with a proposed route running around the Base Naval de Mar del Plata and its breakwater.^[47] Bernie Ecclestone had previously floated the idea of Mar del Plata as a potential host venue for the renewed Argentine Grand Prix in May 2009.^[48]
• It has been reported^[49] that the French Grand Prix will return to the calendar after a four-year absence, with the race moving to the Circuit Paul Ricard. The proposal would see the race alternate with a second venue under a similar arrangement to the event-sharing arrangement utilised by circuits hosting the German Grand Prix.^[50] In April 2012, Bernie Ecclestone told reporters that the deal that would see the return of the French Grand Prix "is done" and that the race will utilise the "full version" of the circuit's one hundred and sixty-seven^[51] configurations.^[52] In May 2012, it was further reported that the election of François Hollande as President of France had put the future of the race in doubt,^[38] with sources claiming that Hollande's Socialist Party was lobbying to see the race return to the Circuit de Nevers in Magny-Cours.^[53] Bernie Ecclestone was further reported as being opposed to holding the race at Magny-Cours.^[54]

Changes

Rule changes

• Changes to the rules in 2012 resulted in the develoment of a "platypus" nose, with teams designing cars with a visible change in height along the nose assembly of the car.^[55] The design attracted criticism, with Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber labelling the cars "ugly"^[56] and Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali calling them "not that pretty".^[57] At the 2012 Australian Grand Prix, Charlie Whiting — the FIA technical delegate — announced that although the changes to the sporting regulations planned for the 2014 season would effectively remove the "platypus" effect, the sport's governing body is planning to phase the stepped nose out for 2013.^[58]

Other changes

• The Sixth Concorde Agreement — the contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA),^[59] the Formula One teams^[3] and the Formula One Administration^[3] which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money — which was first ratified by teams in 2009 expires at the end of 2012, necessitating the creation of the Seventh Concorde Agreement.^[3] As part of the renewed Agreement, the commercial rights to the sport were be floated on the Singapore Stock Exchange,^[60] though in June 2012, the planned floatation was delayed in the face of weak markets, uncertainty within Europe over the continent's economic future, and Facebook's disappointing IPO cited as reasons for the delay.^[61]

References