MILTON KEYNES, UK – Following yesterday's Season Review Part One, we're taking a look back at all the action from after the mid-season break, where championships were won and records were broken.
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Belgian Grand Prix, August 23-25
The thing about historic events is that they don't usually seem that historic until later. So it was at Spa when Seb took the first of his nine victories on the bounce. Qualifying in the rain mixed up the grid, but still Mercedes were able to grab an eighth pole in nine races. Seb and Mark were right up there though, in second and third. Mark bogged down at the start, and spent his race scrapping to get back up to the front. Seb, on the other hand, made a great start, grabbed the lead on the Kemmel straight and never looked back. Elsewhere, the paddock joggers organized another of their big runs and had most of the paddock pounding up and down Spa's slice of the Ardennes. Our favorite picture: Mark on his bike (as usual) going against the flow (ditto) shouting encouragement to Jessica Michibata, Jenson Button's better half.
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Italian Grand Prix, September 6-8
Monza isn't a track expected to particularly suit us, but a double-podium finish confounded that assessment. Mark's last F1 race in Europe was celebrated with a party at the Energy Station, with most of Mark's peers and rivals in attendance, as well as many of the paddock's great and good. On the grid we had Maxi Jazz and Kasabian's Serge Pizzorno pose for photos, while the name most in the news was that of Daniel Ricciardo, confirmed (after months of gossip) as Mark's successor. "I'm fairly sure all the fuss will die down soon," predicted Dan rather unconvincingly after being mobbed by reporters at Monza like he'd never been mobbed before.
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Singapore Grand Prix, September 20-22
Seb's third win in a row but arguably the first time it really looked like he might go to the end of the year undefeated. He sparkled in Singapore with a margin of victory at the finish of over a half a minute, and that having been able to coast through the latter stages of the race. It was his third career grand chelem of pole, fastest lap and victory having led every lap. Mark, meanwhile, suffered an engine blow-up at the death and came back to the pits riding on the sidepod of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari – which earned him a visit to the stewards' office. He still had time to give Daniel a few pointers though.
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Korean Grand Prix, October 4-6
Having recorded a third grand chelem in Singapore, Seb bagged a fourth two weeks later in Korea, putting him in good company with Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Nigel Mansell – which, as a racing driver, is definitely a club you want to be in. Mark's race, however, finished early – his car slammed into by Adrian Sutil after a safety car period.
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Japanese Grand Prix, October 11-13
Suzuka! Just a brilliant, brilliant place to hold a grand prix. The track is superb, the fans are amazing, and the atmosphere is at a constant fever pitch. It certainly brings out the best in Seb, who took his fourth win at the figure-eight circuit. He also has four poles – but this year had to defer to Mark who put in a great lap for the 12th pole position of his F1 career. That was the high point of Mark's weekend; after a difficult start, he had to fight hard to recover second position by the end of the race. It had been Renault's 209th pole position, a new F1 record and Remi Taffin, Renault's head of trackside operations, collected the constructors' trophy. We had Red Bull Street Style 2012 champion Tokura doing amazing things with a football outside the garage, but the fans in the grandstand opposite reserved their loudest applause for the crew packing down after the race. As usual everybody went out into the pit lane to bow – and Seb remembered to bring along the trophy.
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Indian Grand Prix, October 25-27
Three Indian GPs, three Vettel poles, three Vettel wins – though this year with added donuts and the highly unusual sight of Seb ditching the car on the start-finish straight and bowing down before it. He had just won his fourth drivers' world championship though. And, despite the fact that an alternator failure prevented Mark making it a 1-2, the team had done enough to win a fourth consecutive constructors' title also. While the outside world may only be interested in the drivers' title, in the paddock, the constructors' is what really counts. After a lightning-quick pack down (even Seb was shifting freight boxes) there may have been a little celebration and it may have included quite a few Jaegerbombs. Fortunately, no documentary evidence survives.
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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, November 1-3
We had a partial solar eclipse at the circuit, but nothing was taking the limelight off Seb, who equaled Michael Schumacher's seven consecutive wins in the same season. Mark had again taken pole position, but Seb got in front by the first corner. It had been speculated that, with both championships decided, the team might ease off a little. Certainly at Yas the atmosphere was a bit more relaxed than usual, but if anything that just made the event go even smoother. It was our 15th 1-2 finish and 99th and 100th podium. We had Muse's Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard in the garage too – usually guests find F1 cars rather loud when they're fired up in a concrete box, but judging from Muse's thunderous set on Saturday night they probably can't hear anything anyway.
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United States Grand Prix, November 15-17
When F1 first went to the Circuit of the Americas in 2012, no one really knew what to expect – though it's probably fair to say that an excellent circuit, an understated and well-organized facility and a huge, vociferous crowd were not what most people were seeing in the crystal ball. For 2013 it was different: We went to Austin expecting a great weekend and got precisely that. It's a wonderful place for F1. Seb's eighth straight victory set a new record, Mark had a mind-bending 1.923s pit stop, and the team enjoyed another double-podium finish. In fact the most difficult thing of the weekend was getting everyone into position for the official end-of-year photo. The phrases herding cats springs to mind.
Brazilian Grand Prix, November 22-24
And finally, on to Interlagos, the last port of call in a memorable year. Commentators were arguing that there was nothing left to fight for, but in F1 there's always another milestone to reach. For the team, it was the opportunity to take a 13th win of the year, surpassing 2011's 12 victories. For Seb, it was a chance to equal Alberto Ascari's nine consecutive F1 victories, and for Mark there was an opportunity to sign-off from F1 in style at a track where he's been consistently awesome. All of those were achieved. After an apocalyptically wet Saturday, the rain stayed away for the race, allowing the team to take another 1-2 finish. Seb wrote himself another record, and Mark finished his F1 career with another fastest lap before removing his helmet to take the applause of the crowd. We also had another – rather less formal – team photo before packing down and getting the party started.
And that was 2013. The celebrations lasted the length of time it took to get home and get to work on next year's car. It's certainly the end of an era for F1, but everyone here is keen for it not to be the end of an era for INFINITI Red Bull Racing. In the next few weeks, we'll be launching the RB10, going to Spain and Bahrain to test, and then on to Australia and Albert Park for the start of the 2014 Formula One World Championship. On the one hand it'd be nice to take time and reflect on what we've achieved in 2013. On the other, the new season can't come around soon enough.
About INFINITI
INFINITI Motor Company Ltd. is headquartered in Hong Kong with sales operations in approximately 50 countries. The INFINITI brand was launched in 1989. Its range of premium automobiles is currently built in manufacturing facilities in Japan and the United States. Production in China and Europe will start soon along with the expansion of the brand's portfolio.
As the Title Partner and Vehicle Performance Partner of INFINITI Red Bull Racing, INFINITI has a far-reaching technical collaboration with the Formula One team, and Sebastian Vettel, its four-time World Champion driver, serves as INFINITI's Director of Performance.
More information about INFINITI, its Total Ownership Experience® and its industry leading technologies can be found at www.infiniti.com. For the latest news on INFINITI, visit INFINITINews.com, "like" INFINITI on Facebook or follow the brand on Twitter @INFINITIUSA. For interesting content on INFINITI in Formula One visit: www.infiniti-gp.com, www.youtube.com/INFINITIGP or follow on Twitter @INFINITIGP.
About INFINITI in Formula One
INFINITI, the premium automotive brand, starts the 2013 season as Title Partner and Vehicle Performance Partner of INFINITI Red Bull Racing. With a deepened technical collaboration across people, process and technologies, an 'open door' approach is enabling both sides to access a pool of innovation, new technologies and R&D resources in the shared pursuit of precision and performance.
Since the partnership's inception in 2011 it has already seen the launch of the INFINITI FX Vettel Edition and product development input from Sebastian Vettel and test driver Sebastien Buemi for the all-new INFINITI Q50 premium sports saloon. INFINITI continues to be the most visible automotive brand in Formula One, and the deepened partnership will ensure closer alignment on an increasing number of future team collaborations.
For interesting content on INFINITI in Formula One visit: www.infiniti-gp.com, www.youtube.com/INFINITIGP or follow on Twitter @INFINITIGP.
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