F1 2013/14 season: Contenders for 3rd place in Drivers' standings

As the 2013 Formula One season draws to a close with only four races remaining, the Drivers’ Championship is just a race win, or to be more statistically accurate, a fifth place finish away from the very familiar hands of Sebastian Vettel.

However, the race is still on for the third best driver, and there is stiff competition.

Below is the points table at end of the Japanese GP followed by a look at the contenders for the 3rd place in the Drivers’ tally.

	Driver	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red-Bull	297
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	207
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	177
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	161
5	Mark Webber	Red-Bull	148

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen remains the best contender for a third position though a second place cannot be ruled out for the Flying Finn

The ever consistent point finisher, armed with the remarkable ability to move up the grid no matter how far he starts, Kimi Raikkonen is a serious contender for the third place.

The Iceman has rarely missed a point scoring opportunity(except when he had a retirement in Monza) and would be looking to salvage a third place though with his abilities a second place ahead of Alonso is not a distant possibility.

The Finnish driver would not only be looking to end the season on a high with Lotus (the constructor that brought him back to Formula One) but also gain a psychological advantage over his future teammate and rival Alonso heading into the 2014 season.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton lost his second place to Kimi Raikkonen and finished with no points in Japan

Lewis Hamilton seems to be the man missing all the action. He is currently fourth in the standings with Raikkonen cruising past him in Korea.

He lost the third place in the Championship to Raikkonen last year driving for Mclaren, and it seems that will be the case for the second year in succession unless the Brit is able to pull out something magical in the remaining four races.

Though he won the US GP last year his performance was below par in the remaining three (India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil). The season hasn’t been the best for him with a single win in Hungary, and four third place finishes to his name.

Mark Webber

Mark Webber’s second place in Japan pushes him into contention for a third place in the drivers standing

The soon to retire Aussie was in sublime touch in Japan finishing second after two disappointing finishes (Singapore and Korea) in what could have been podium and well deserved point garnering opportunities.

He could have won in Japan had Red-Bull gone in for a strategy similar to that of Vettel and could have challenged him if it wasn’t for Romain Grosjean , who defended well, letting him through just 2 laps before the Chequered Flag .

But Webber with his true grit and determination would want to finish his last season on a high and though he is 31 points adrift Raikkonen for a third place in the table, a couple of podium finishes could see him reach tantalizingly close to the Finnish driver.

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso could slip to third place in the points table if he fails to finish in the points

Though the Spaniard, currently placed second in the table and most likely to retain it, has a 30 point cushion over Kimi Raikkonen, with the unpredictability component of his own car and that of his opponents, he could see himself being bumped down to the third place having missed the podiums in Korea and Japan.

The wins have been really hard to come by for Alonso (two so far this season)and with Vettel taking the honours in every race during the second-half of the season he had to be content with second and lower place finishes.

Though the remaining circuits somewhat suit the Ferrari setup, Alonso can’t be complacent to say the least with his future teammate Raikkonen catching up on him.