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In Pictures: Formula One Part One

We are at the midway point of the 2013 Formula One season – so what is the state of play and who has celebrated on the podium so far?

Australia Formula One Grand Prix
The 2013 Formula One season started rather well for (***)Iceman(***) Kimi Raikkonen in Melbourne, Australia. Thanks to a two-stop strategy, the Lotus driver raced from seventh to - in his own words - one of his (***)easiest wins(***). That would have revved up a few of his rivals.
Published On 20 Aug 2013

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Sebastian Vettel
And one man Raikkonen(***)s comments would have riled more than most is Sebastian Vettel. The German three-time world champion got back to his winning ways and restored the hierarchy in Malaysia. And unsurprisingly it hasn(***)t been his only victory this season - but more about that later.
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There is one man who is usually hot on Vettel(***)s w-heels. After falling behind his main rival after two races, Spaniard Fernando Alonso launched his campaign to win the 2013 drivers(***) championships with victory in Shanghai, China. The Ferrari driver finished ahead of Kimi Raikonnen and Lewis Hamilton (R).
Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix passed with a little less controversy than recent years both on and off the track. Order was resumed with Vettel driving a superb race to take second win of the season, which gave him a 10 point lead over closest rival Kimi Raikkonen in the championship. It was still all to play for.
Alonso thrills home fans with Spanish GP win
It(***)s always nice when a driver wins his home race, and the first driver of 2013 to do so was Fernando Alonso at the Spanish Grand Prix. It was a great weekend for Ferrari with Felipe Massa claiming third place - and Raikkonen sandwiched between them. The win moved Alonso into third place in the overall standings.
Monaco Formula One Grand Prix
And getting in on the act was Nico Rosberg who also won his home grand prix (of sorts) at the Monaco Grand Prix. Of sorts, because Nico Rosberg is of course German, but spent his youth growing up and driving around the streets of Monte Carlo. It was an emotional win for the young Mercedes driver and only the second of his relatively short F1 career.
Guess who(***)s back, back again, Vettel(***)s back, tell your friends... Sebastian Vettel never leaves the top step of Formula One for long and so he proved at the Gilles Villeneuve racetrack in Montreal, Canada. Vettel(***)s first win in Canada stretched his lead to 36 points. The race was marred by the death of a track marshal following the removal of Esteban Gutierrez(***)s Sauber.
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F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Race
Mercedes is a German manufacturer but this felt like another home win. Silverstone became the track of tyre explosions as Nico Rosberg capitalised on the retirement of teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix. With the manufacturer(***)s main base just around the corner in Northamptonshire, plenty of workers were able to join in the celebrations.
AUTO-PRIX-F1-PODIUM
Another race, another home win - which was becoming a bit of a theme in 2013. And this meant the world to Sebastian Vettel who despite his 30 GP wins had never claimed victory in front of his home fans at Germany(***)s Nurburgring. But he has now! And he had also moved into a rather enviable position in the standings with four wins from nine races.
F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Race
And just before the mid-season break, Lewis Hamilton finally managed to get in on the action! It took the Brit 10 attempts but he finally claimed a 2013 victory for new team Mercedes. However, the victory was bitter-sweet for Hamilton who dedicated the win to ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger - who he said he had been thinking about all race. So what next for Hammy and co? We(***)ll soon find out...