IT IS the halfway point in F1 2011, so it’s time for me to assess how some of the drivers have done in the first ten races;
Sebastian Vettel (1st in the world championship, 216 points – BEST FINISH: 1st on six occasions
This season, there can be no doubt that Sebastian Vettel tops the class. Six victories, seven pole positions and over 70 per cent of laps led so far have shown that he has destroyed the opposition on a regular basis so far. His win in Turkey, considering he missed all of Friday, due to a practice crash showed how awesome he is at the front of the field. Sunday’s performance at the Nurburgring was below par, but everyone has a bad weekend during any Grand Prix season. Sebastian probably needs to still shake off the tag of struggling to race in the pack, but great strategy, sensational one lap ability and a reliable car means it will take a miracle for him to be denied a second championship.
GRADE: A+ (An almost flawless campaign so far, he deserves to be where he is)
Lewis Hamilton (3rd in the world championship, 134 points – BEST FINISH: 1st in China, Germany)
Lewis Hamilton has had an inconsistent season so far and for his talents, some of his results have been very disappointing. Considering where McLaren looked in winter testing, third at halfway point is not bad, but Lewis wants more and at times, has overdriven the car. Run-ins with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado in Monaco; team-mate Jenson Button in Canada, it has either been silly mistakes or masterful drives in 2011 and nothing in-between. His comments about the race stewards in Monaco didn’t go down very well either and his relationship with McLaren might be permanently damaged after ‘that’ meeting with Christian Horner in Canada. Nevertheless, the victories in China and Germany showed us why we love Lewis; for his natural aggression and the ability to outperform the machinery he has at his disposal.
GRADE: A- (Calm it down Lewis, you have shown what you are capable of)
Mark Webber (2nd in the world championship, 139 points – BEST FINISH: 2nd in Turkey)
Mark Webber is under pressure this season, especially as he is now definitely playing second fiddle in the Red Bull camp. At times, he has shown his hard-charging determination and his fightback from 18th on the grid to a podium finish in China is testimony to that. He has consistently finished on the podium of late, but no wins in nearly a year tells its own story. Sometimes, he can just disappear into thin air, as the races in Australia and Spain would highlight. Considering he is in the best equipment, Mark should have won races by now, so although there is consistency, the extra edge is missing at the moment. He knows he has it, but the question is, can he deliver it before the season’s end.
GRADE: B+ (Gradual improvements during the year – but needs to start winning soon)
Felipe Massa (6th in the world championship, 62 points – BEST FINISH: 5th in Malaysia)
Felipe Massa had a lacklustre start to the season, with a terrible opening weekend in Melbourne. He only just made Q3 and finished an entire minute behind team-mate Fernando Alonso. His performance in Turkey was erratic too, especially on a circuit where he has ruled before and the Spanish Grand Prix weekend was an unmitigated disaster. However, he is a reliable foil for Fernando and on occasion, such as China and Canada, can outperform his ace team-mate. The results haven’t quite been upto scratch, and that will need work in the second half of the season, especially as Fernando will need his help if he stands any remote chance of a shock comeback.
GRADE: B- (Shown flashes of the old Felipe, but not enough to prove he can win races again)
Vitaly Petrov (9th in the world championship, 32 points – BEST FINISH: 3rd in Australia)
The season couldn’t have started any better for Vitaly, as he secured a popular podium finish in the Australian Grand Prix. Since then, he has struggled to deliver high-profile results, but that is down to the Renault’s lack of development rather than the driver failing to live upto standards. Fifth in Canada and eighth in Turkey were days when Petrov made the most of a day when others struggled. Valencia and Silverstone aside, he has threatened points on every weekend and with a better car and more support from a higher scoring team-mate, would achieve far more than his points tally suggests.
GRADE: B+ (A pleasant surprise so far – totally written off those critics he had last term)
Fernando Alonso (4th in the world championship, 130 points – BEST FINISH: 1st in Britain)
Personally, I think Fernando is driving the best he has ever done in his career. Time and again, he has dragged even more than what the Ferrari is capable of. Not once has he shown his general frustrations this season, even after being lapped in Barcelona having led the first 20 laps of his home event. His success at Silverstone was fully deserved and second place finishes in Monaco and at the Nurburgring show the fire is still well and truly burning brightly. Alonso will win another title, especially now he is tied down long-term to Ferrari, but Vettel’s sheer pace means that the wait will have to go on a bit longer.
GRADE: A (With better machinery, he would have given Vettel a run all season)
Nick Heidfeld (8th in the world championship, 34 points – BEST FINISH: 3rd in Malaysia)
Things didn’t start well for Robert Kubica’s replacement, as major KERS problems left him down in 13th in Australia. It looked much better after a brilliant Malaysia weekend, which saw Nick in the top six, run second in the first stint and end up on the podium. However, he has failed to deliver on that promise. He has shown a real lack of pace in qualifying and it has really hurt race efforts. Despite being a consistent point’s finisher, he hasn’t set the world alight. With Kubica recovering well, plus the likes of Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean pushing hard, Nick might as well begin looking around for other motorsport employment next season.
GRADE: C+ (A lacklustre campaign from Mr. Reliable, must do better!)
Rubens Barrichello (16th in the world championship, 4 points – BEST FINISH: 9th in Monaco)
He has started over 300 races, but perhaps the time has come for Rubens Barrichello to hang up his helmet and make a gracious exit from the sport he still truly loves. The 2011 Williams is not a good car and his frustrations at times this season have shown, especially as the car has been unreliable too. It might not be his decision either, especially if Williams continue to require money from drivers for the seats. Pastor Maldonado has embarrassed him in qualifying too frequently and although he bought home valuable points in Monaco and Canada, the spark seems to have gone.
GRADE: D (Going out with a whimper, don’t make the same mistake as many others Rubens!)
Michael Schumacher (10th in the world championship, 32 points – BEST FINISH: 4th in Canada)
After a shambolic season opener in Melbourne, Michael has shown flashes of the man we love best. His drive in Canada reminded us of the glory days and he was desperately unlucky not to get a rostrum. Like the Williams, he has been severely limited by his machinery this season, but the scrapes he has had with Jaime Alguesuari in Melbourne, Vitaly Petrov in Turkey and Kamur Kobayashi at Silverstone suggest that his judgement is not the same as it was. He needs more days like Montreal if he doesn’t want to get the label of the ‘worst comeback’ ever!
GRADE: C- (Willing to improve the car, must start beating Rosberg on a regular basis)
Kamur Kobayashi (11th in the world championship, 27 points – BEST FINISH: 5th in Monaco)
Kamur Kobayashi is the hottest and greatest racing driver to have ever come out of Japan. His thrilling attitude towards overtaking has meant that there is never a dull moment when he is around. Sauber have given him a much better chassis this season and Kamur is starting to produce a string of strong, consistent results. His enthusiasm for the sport can’t be questioned, especially considering the tough times his country has faced following the devastating tsunami only weeks before the season’s beginning. Only his qualifying needs to be worked on, but a shrewd team leader he is turning out to be.
GRADE: B- (Great season so far, with few errors of judgement)
Paul di Resta (17th in the world championship, 2 points – BEST FINISH: 10th in Australia)
The ability to beat your team-mate on a regular basis makes you a hot property and that certainly is what Paul di Resta is. He has left Adrian Sutil trailing in his wake at Force India this season and only Valencia and Nurburgring was he significantly outpaced by the German. However, Paul needs to cut down on the clumsy manoeuvres he is making in races. He missed out on point’s opportunities in Monaco and Canada by attempting almost impossible overtakes. With Mercedes chasing after his services long-term, Paul has earnt his right to stay in F1 for the long-term.
GRADE: C+ (Shows great potential, but needs to stay out of trouble more often)
Jarno Trulli (19th in the world championship, 0 points – BEST FINISH: 13th in Australia and Monaco)
Jarno Trulli was dropped from the Team Lotus squad for last weekend’s race and is not hard to see why. The Italian has been smashed by his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and continues to complain about the lack of power steering available to his disposal. Lotus has a new system for him this weekend, so there can now be no excuses.
GRADE: E (Time to move over for the younger generation)
Sebastian Buemi (15th in the world championship, 8 points – BEST FINISH: 8th in Australia)
Until Nurburgring, Sebastian Buemi had put in a very good showing in all the races this season. The Toro Rosso has struggled again this season, but is more firmly in the midfield and four point’s finishes show that Buemi is no slouch in the car. He has had the measure of Jaime Alguesuari for most of the season and can surely look forward to another season at Toro Rosso next year.
GRADE: C+ (Significant improvements on last year’s horror show)
Adrian Sutil (12th in the world championship, 18 points – BEST FINISH: 6th in Germany)
Having been outpaced for large periods this season by Paul di Resta, Adrian has to make massive improvements in the second half of the season. He threw away points in Canada with some clumsy mistakes and when he has finished races, the team’s strategy has often cost him points. Nevertheless, he did well to bag some useful points in both Monaco and last Sunday in Germany and although his stock has dropped, the quality on his day is still there. Considering criminal charges for a nightclub incident in China hang over him, Adrian is doing well to get on with the job in hand.
GRADE: C- (More needed, especially on a Saturday afternoon)
Jenson Button (5th in the world championship, 109 points – BEST FINISH: 1st in Canada)
Bad luck has got in the way of Jenson Button in the last few races and that’s a shame, because he has a very good season so far. Surprisingly, he hasn’t quite managed to get the best out of the new Pirelli tyres, but he won in such brilliant fashion in Canada against all the odds. He should have won Monaco too and a flying second place in Malaysia proves just why Button is world champion quality. Saturday’s have been a struggle though and it has just given him far too much to do on too many occasions.
GRADE: B+ (Outstanding on Sundays, too average on Saturdays)
Sergio Perez (14th in the world championship, 8 points – BEST FINISH: 7th in Britain)
Although his first campaign will sadly be remembered for the horrific qualifying crash in Monaco, Sergio Perez has proven that Mexico has Got Talent! Perez’s ability to keep his Pirelli tyres durable has seriously impressed me. He lost a stunning seventh place in Melbourne to a technical infringement, but has made up for it with strong points results in Spain and at Silverstone. Sergio is the rookie of the year so far.
GRADE: B- (Able to handle the pressure of Grand Prix racing extremely well)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (20th in the world championship, 0 points – BEST FINISH: 13th in Canada)
Tonio has got on with it this season, considering he has a pig of a car to drive. He has more than matched the Virgin cars this term and although his best years have gone, it’s good to see him outperforming his equipment. It’s such a shame it took too long to deliver.
GRADE: C (A good effort in rubbish machinery)
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