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Analysis: Formula 1 2013's winners and losers

With the 2013 Formula 1 season at its halfway point, AUTOSPORT has delved into the statistics from the first 10 races to see how drivers' and teams' form has soared or plummeted during the campaign so far

It is no surprise to see Mercedes high up among the improvers given its transformation this season, but Red Bull's relative gains and even progress from the beleaguered Felipe Massa occurred comparatively under the radar.

McLaren is inevitably prominent among the 'losers', yet it is Fernando Alonso's downturn that has the biggest championship repercussions.

Here is the full list of comparative data, with 2013-2012 difference listed first and 2013/12 tallies in brackets.

First 10 races:

Driver     Points (13/12) Qual av (13/12)   Race av (13/12)
Vettel     +62 (172/110)  +2   (2.7/4.7)    +2.1 (4.1/6.2)
Massa      +38 (61/23)    +2.8 (8.6/11.4)   +1.9 (9.8/11.7)
Raikkonen  +36 (134/98)   +2.3 (6.4/8.7)    +1.6 (4.2/5.8)
Hamilton   +32 (124/92)   +3.1 (2.6/5.7)    +3.7 (4.5/8.2)
di Resta   +9 (36/27)     -1.8 (13.5/11.7)  +0.6 (10.2/10.8)
Vergne     +9 (13/4)      +4.3 (13.2/17.5)  -0.5 (14.4/13.9)
Ricciardo  +9 (11/2)      +3.2 (10.0/13.2)  -0.2 (13.6/13.4)
Rosberg    +8 (84/76)     +3.1 (4.0/7.1)    -1.6 (9.3/7.7)
Grosjean   -12 (49/61)    -2   (9.2/7.2)    +1.4 (10.8/12.4)
Hulkenberg -12 (7/19)     +0.2 (11.8/11.6)  -1.6 (13/11.4)
Webber     -15 (105/120)  -0.6 (6.9/6.3)    -1.2 (6/4.8)
Alonso     -21 (133/154)  +0.8 (5.3/6.1)    -1.9 (5.5/3.6)
Maldonado  -28 (1/29)     -4.3 (15.8/11.5)  -0.7 (15.1/14.4)
Button     -29 (39/68)    -2.8 (10.4/7.6)   +0.3 (9.3/9.6)
Perez      -29 (18/47)    +2.7 (11.0/13.7)  -0.7 (11/10.3)
Pic        n/a            -1.6 (19.7/21.3)  +2.5 (16.7/19.2)

Team         Points (13/12)  Qual av (13/12)   Race av (13/12)
Mercedes     +103 (208/105)  +3.9 (3.3/7.2)    +4.3 (6.9/11.2)
Red Bull     +47 (277/230)   +0.7 (4.8/5.5)    +0.4 (5.1/5.5)
Lotus        +33 (183/150)   +0.2 (7.8/8)      +1.7 (7.5/9.2)
Toro Rosso   +18 (24/6)      +3.8 (11.6/15.4)  -0.3 (14/13.7)
Ferrari      +17 (194/177)   +1.8 (7/8.8)      = (7.7/7.7)
Force India  +13 (59/46)     -0.1 (11.8/11.7)  -0.7 (11.7/11)
Williams     -46 (1/47)      -2.4 (15.3/12.9)  -0.6 (14.7/14.1)
Sauber       -73 (7/80)      -2 (14.5/12.5)    -3.1 (14.4/11.3)
McLaren      -103 (57/160)   -4 (10.7/6.7)     -1.3 (10.2/8.9)
Caterham     n/a             -1.6 (19.9/18.3)  +0.1 (17.4/17.5)
Marussia     n/a             +1.2 (20/21.2)    +1.7 (17.2/18.9)

WINNER: Mercedes

Ross Brawn's team's attentions were turned to 2013 long before last year's summer break, and despite winter turbulence and tyre dramas, that strategy has paid off. McLaren's slump also allowed Mercedes a clearer shot at the podium.

LOSER: Fernando Alonso

Despite a Ferrari that, until recent races, was clearly an improvement on the 2012 car, Alonso's score has dropped year-on-year, as has his finishing average.

Whereas in 2012, he tigered to every available point, this season opportunities have been squandered in several races, and Mercedes has got between Alonso and Red Bull more often than McLaren did in early-2012.

WINNER: Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull

The RB9's pure speed advantage (certainly in race trim) has not seemed any bigger than a year ago, but this time Red Bull has avoided the mini-downturn it suffered while wrestling with tyres and the diffuser rule change last year. There are also fewer frontrunning rivals to capitalise on any off days.

LOSER: McLaren

The shock of early-2013. Major misjudgements in the car concept mean the team that ended 2012 as the benchmark is over 100 points down this year.

WINNER: Felipe Massa

A surprise statistic given that the pressure on his Ferrari seat has barely relented year-on-year. Yet both his qualifying pace and ability to gather points have clearly improved.

Given the continuing disparity with Alonso, though, his 2013 improvement mainly underlines just how abject his start to 2012 was.

LOSER: Williams

A winner in early 2012 but this year it took 10 races to even scrape a point. Last season Williams's form fluctuated; this year its car is simply off the pace.

Pastor Maldonado's tendency to try to over-drive amid the car's shortcomings has not helped, though recent changes should ease that.

WINNER: Lotus

The team still struggles in qualifying and flies in the races, Romain Grosjean still either shunts or stars. But the key change is that last year both the revitalised team and returnee driver Kimi Raikkonen needed a few races to find their feet, while in 2013 they were immediate winners.

LOSER: Sauber

Alongside a less effective aerodynamic package, Sauber has been unable to find the magic affinity that it and particularly Sergio Perez did when the 2012 Pirellis were most quirky.

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton

Few would have bet at the start of the season that Hamilton's mid-year statistics at Mercedes would be so much better than his first half of 2012 tally with McLaren.

Despite his tyre woes and complaints about the car, Hamilton has churned out results more consistently this year, in a car at least as competitive as his previous mount.

LOSER: Sergio Perez

While Perez has far from crumpled under the pressure of joining McLaren, the difficult car package means he has had scant opportunity to repeat his underdog heroics of 2012.

WINNER: Toro Rosso

A fundamental rethink of the team's mechanical design concept has transformed Toro Rosso's competitiveness, with aero improvements still to come.

While its average results are actually a little worse, last year's consistent mediocrity has been replaced by peaks and troughs, the former very fruitful.

This week's AUTOSPORT magazine - on sale in shops and online from Thursday August 15 - features Gary Anderson and Edd Straw's analysis of whose package has improved from 2012 and who has slipped backwards

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