2012 was one of the most competitive seasons in F1 history, with six different teams winning races over the course of the season and there having been seven different drivers win the first seven races.
With relatively stable technical regulations, hopes are high for an even more competitive season in 2013. Red Bull will undoubtedly still be in content; but Lotus, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren have all shown race winning potential during winter testing.
The MoneySupermarket black box car insurance team has therefore run a survey which was voted on by online motorsport experts and journalists, including thelotusforums.com, to find out who is favourite to win the 2013 F1 World Championship.
Fernando Alonso came within 3 points of a third driver’s championship in 2012, but he is the outright favourite for the title in 2013 according to 55.3% of participants. Only 26.3% of the votes went to Sebastian Vettel despite Red Bull being favourites for the constructor’s championship. Kimi Raikkonen meanwhile is 4th favourite after his impressive comeback season in 2012.
Lotus are also 4th favourites for the constructors championship. The real weak link in the teams performance in 2012 was the inconsistency of Romain Grosjean who all too often found himself getting involved in on-track altercations. However, he has been tipped by 35.9% of respondents, including thelotusforums.com, to be the most improved driver of 2013.
Winter testing has shown that the new Lotus Renault E21 undoubtedly has the pace to challenge for the title, but there are question marks over its reliability with the Enstone team completing fewer winter testing miles than any over team over the three tests. Kimi Raikkonen was the worst affected by this.
