2013 F1F Formula One PS3 World Championship

The 2013 F1F Formula One PS3 World Championship will be the third season of the 'top tier' of the F1F Formula PS3 World Championship.

Team Changes
The lis of Teams for the 2013 season are: While Marussia and Caterham make their debut's in the series Red Bull and Force India are left out.
 * McLaren
 * Ferrari
 * Mercedes
 * Lotus
 * Sauber
 * Williams
 * Caterham
 * Marussia

Driver Changes
Reigning Champion Shane Butler returned to the team he started his Championship winning campaign with, Ferrari. Butler however soon announced he would not be able to participate until round 8 (Italy). As such Ferrari sought out a replacement driver for the first seven races. It has been confirmed the seat will be shared between Ashley Blakeley and Andrew Angus. Butler is joined at Ferrari by David Adeoye who leaves Red Bull after they leave the Championship.

Reigning Constructors Champions McLaren lose both Moussa Awada and John Brookfield as both drivers decide to take a sabbatical from the Championship. F2 runner-up Alfie Widger was their first signature and Theo Fa joins in his rookie season.

Lotus drivers Bradley Downton and Jamie Franklin announced they would be leaving the famous Black and Gold team to join Williams, meaning the former team were left to find two new drivers. George Angus joined from Force India and will be joined by American newcomer Jeffrey Ryals.

Sauber's season fell apart towards the end of last season and they looked for a brand new driver line-up who could produce some more consistent results. After sacking Luke Pickering they signed Oli Peacock to replace him. Téa Kirkham, F1F's only lady racer will partner him at the Swiss team.

As both Williams drivers announced they will not be returning, the team looked for replacements. They were the first team to announce their driver line-up as they confirmed ex-Lotus pair Bradley Downton and Jamie Franklin.

After withdrawing after just six races last season Mercedes return this year with a point to prove. Rookie's Kaz Armos and Sam Crawford make up the German squad's first real assault on the F1F F1 Championship.

Caterham mark their first season in the Championship with a strong line-up of the reigning F2 Champion Tom Robson and newcomer Harry Westwood. The latter impressed in the winter series with some strong pace, but did appear to be a bit reckless.

As Marussia enter their first season in the sport they bring with them two men from the other famous racing series, the Collantine Cup. Luke Pickering joins from Sauber while Ryan Tredrea will make his debut in the series.

Rules
The agreed rules between the drivers are as follows:
 * The championship will use the 2012 game. For the last few races the 2013 F1 game will be used.
 * Races can only be moved to a different date or time if everyone agrees. If the host cannot make it or is not online at the race time, then a substitute will host the race and it will go ahead as usual. No individual is bigger than the series. The current list of hosts in order is: bradley1314, jamiefranklinf1.
 * Race incidents will be looked into by the Championship Co-Ordinators Bradley Downton and Jamie Franklin. In the event one of them is involved, the other shall make the decision. If both of them are involved, the rest of the racers shall make a decision. They will both seek opinions from other drivers if deemed necessary. This includes revoking in-game penalties, crash penalties and other misdemeanours (such as using excessive run-offs). The list of penalties is as follows:
 * 10 Second Penalty
 * 20 Second Penalty
 * 30 Second Penalty
 * Qualifying Ban
 * If three or more Qualifying bans are gained the driver in question will be handed a race ban.
 * Race Ban
 * Race Disqualification
 * If three of more Race Disqualifications are gained the driver in question may be excluded from the Championship.
 * If you complete 90% of the race distance, even with a DNF, you get points. If not, you don’t.
 * Invites will be sent out at 9:50am GMT (10 minutes before event start). Drivers can join at any time between then and the 10:00am GMT start, but if a driver fails to enter the room within that time without notifying that they will be late, the race will begin and that driver will not be allowed to join the session.
 * As ever, there will be a chat room created for each Round of the Championship. The new season brings new rules regarding the chat room however, and they be this. You   MUST   join the chat room if you wish to race. After qualifying, there will be a 2 minute wait to allow drivers to make a toilet break, get a drink or do whatever else is required to prepare for the race. During this time, no one is to select ‘Go to Race’ on the menu screen. I, (or whoever is the nominated host for that particular round) will ask you all to confirm that you are ready to proceed before beginning the countdown to the start of the race. You shall confirm you are ready to race via the chat room and therefore if you are not in the chat room, you cannot respond quickly and therefore will not be invited to race.
 * As a side note guys. I only want people here who are serious about joining for the whole season, not just doing a few races and then disappearing off the face of the planet (or F1 Fanatic in this case). In some cases, like Asanator and Brooksy007, I know they struggle to make each race, but they always comment that they won’t be racing and keep us updated. This is what I want.

Disconnections

 * Qualifying will not be restarted under any circumstances for anyone who disconnects. If anyone does disconnect from Qualifying, no matter how many or how few people, a new lobby will be set up for a race only to allow the person(s) the chance to take part in the race. Racers will use the first lap to get into the Qualifying order and will begin racing exiting the final corner on the first lap, there will be no exceptions. If anyone fails to comply they will be disqualified and given a race ban. Anyone who is given a blocking or any other kind of penalty on this lap must provide video or photographic (a picture of the Race Details page once the race has finished and we are back in the Lobby) evidence to have it overturned. If anyone picks up damage during this lap it is unfortunate but there is nothing that can be done
 * If there is a mass disconnection (a third or more of the field) before 75% distance, the race can be restarted as though there was a red flag. We will start another race in a new lobby (with the distance set to roughly how long the race had left to run), and on Lap 1, we all get ourselves into the race order at the red flag point, with the leader acting as the Safety Car – so going at a slow pace. Then, on Lap 2, we continue racing. If anyone can't make it (time-wise or is having trouble connecting), then the race will be ended and points awarded for however far the race has progressed, ie, half points for under 75%, full points for over. If anyone fails to comply to getting into the correct order, they will disqualified and given a race ban.

Absences

 * Drivers that fail to attend races without giving prior warning will be given a warning that – if not heeded – may   result in their seat being offered to a reserve. If it’s not possible to attend a race and you notify the others in   advance, you will not be penalised.

===Forum Behaviour ===
 * §   The philosophy hasn’t changed since last season: if you have a grievance about something that happens on track involving another competitor, do NOT make angry, accusatory, childish comments in this thread. We do not accept or put up with that sort of thing in this series. That is your one and only warning. If you have an issue with someone else, first of all remember that this is a video game and if you’re really that upset by it, you should maybe reconsider your life priorities. Secondly, if you wish, contact the person with whom you have a grievance in private, either through F1F PM, PSN or another private channel.



Calendar
All races will start at 10am UK Time on a Sunday.