Underperforming drivers 2013

[RS]

There seem to be some bigger discrepancies in driver performance compared to their team mates throughout the grid than we have become used to in recent years, perhaps as teams are desperate for money in the current economic climate.

Three who I would pick out as disappointing so far are:

- Gutierrez
- van de Garde
- Perez

I am sure Perez has a lot of potential for the future still but I was expecting more. I agree with Martin Brundle, I would have liked to have seen Hulkenberg in that seat.

[henners88]

Its a difficult one to call so early, three races in IMO. I think we'll have more evidence to gage this by the British GP. I think if one driver is under immense pressure right now its Perez. He has big shoes to fill at McLaren and has not adapted as well as they had hoped. Its still early days but his target should realistically be a 4th place at least in the next 5 races.

[AndyL]

Its a difficult one to call so early, three races in IMO. I think we'll have more evidence to gage this by the British GP. I think if one driver is under immense pressure right now its Perez. He has big shoes to fill at McLaren and has not adapted as well as they had hoped. Its still early days but his target should realistically be a 4th place at least in the next 5 races.

That's really going to depend on whether McLaren get their car together though isn't it. I kind of feel for Perez, he's found himself in a difficult situation. If he had stepped into a well sorted car, say an evolved MP4-27, he might have scored a few respectable finishes and as long as he was somewhere near his more experienced teammate, he probably would have drawn little negative comment. But instead he's found himself in a weak car with problems that no-one in the team seems to fully understand, and on top of that this year's tyres make it more difficult than ever to get meaningful information out of testing and practice. It's going to be an uphill battle for him until McLaren figure out their car.

[henners88]

I agree the burden is largely on McLaren for getting the car sorted. Unfortunately for Perez there are those in the team who feel he could do better, but then again that could be pushing the pressure off themselves. It was clear from the day Lewis announced his move that McLaren was deeply annoyed by the situation and I think they signed Perez in haste when you consider their expectations. They expected Sergio to hold the qualifying magic Button often lacks and combine that with a car they are struggling to understand and you have expectation and pressure. You can see why Lewis was keen for a change. Good luck to Sergio, I really hope he finds his groove.

[DexDexter]

Gutierrez
Van der Garde
Chilton

What do those 3 have in common? It's the green thing.

[Garry Walker]

Perez.

[faster69]

no doubt perez. i'm surprised by grosjean too, though kimi's getting the new parts.

[Koz]

Sauber made a very bad decision signing him. Both for Gutierrez and the team.
He's not ready for F1, I don't think even he believes he is ready.

After a few bad performances he might get the sack, and what happens next?
Career over before it even has a chance to start, IMO.

[msratings]

I agree it is too early to tell but I have to say Gutierrez and Chilton don't look to be a patch on their more experienced team mates... but it is early days would like to see Chilton catch up with Bianchi in terms of pace by the end of the season

[jens]

In my view the biggest underperformer is Grosjean. He has been shockingly slow in two races so far this season. In China he even looked like catching Räikkönen in the first stint, but after that completely collapsed.

At least Pérez has an excuse of being new to the team and not perhaps having a very good car either. For a new man it is always more challenging to find his comfort zone in a difficult car with a narrow setup window. And let's be honest - I wouldn't have expected him to beat Button in his first McLaren season anyway. So it is a logical start and he can only get closer during the rest of the season.

Then also Massa. There is a lot of talk, how the Brazilian has refound his mojo and has outqualified Alonso twice, but alas his race pace still leaves a lot desired. Sadly unlike the other two he is already so experienced and well-fitted into the team that you wouldn't expect him to improve any more anyway...

Maldonado has to be mentioned as well. Spun out in two races and got outraced by Bottas in China. Pastor is considered to be a quick driver, but looks like he doesn't feel particularly comfortable in this uncompetitive car, so not much left of his speed that described his 2012 - obviously in a much better car though.

Gutiérrez, van der Garde, Chilton? Nah, I don't think they were expected to perform at a particularly high level anyway, so I don't think they are "underperforming". They are more likely somewhere, where they are supposed to be. :p :

--

May I also add an "overperforming" driver, who has settled in better than I would have thought. Sutil comes to mind. He has come back like he has never been away and settled straight into his usual solid self.

Bianchi as well. It was visible already in feeder series that he can be fast, but despite lack of winter testing he has adapted really well in F1 and is leaving Chilton a long way behind.

[truefan72]

There seem to be some bigger discrepancies in driver performance compared to their team mates throughout the grid than we have become used to in recent years, perhaps as teams are desperate for money in the current economic climate.

Three who I would pick out as disappointing so far are:

- Gutierrez
- van de Garde
- Perez

I am sure Perez has a lot of potential for the future still but I was expecting more. I agree with Martin Brundle, I would have liked to have seen Hulkenberg in that seat.

you are spot on! :up:

- Gutierrez - simply not ready for an F1 seat. a year of Friday practices like bottas would have helped him. Sauber would have had a better lineup with Hulkenberg and Kobayashi. It is no accident that these teams who got rid of solid drivers are struggling....speaking off

- van de Garde - simply not fast enough, or good enough. Yes I know the machine sucks, but he has made like 10x as man mistakes as pic. And usally has something to say in the interviews how it isn't his fault. Looks like Kovy is getting ready to replace him.

- Perez - simply a disappointing and my previous thoughts about him seem to be holding true. yes he was on fire in Malaysia, and did well in Canada and Monza, but disappeared the rest of the year with a competitive car. In fact, even with those 3 performances, Kobayshi was probably the better driver, throughout the year. He has simply not acclimated to the mclaren in what should be a better car than the sauber. I always thought that hulkenberg should have gotten that seat. But Ron Dennis got caught up with the Perez fairy tale and made a rash decision as well as quickly trying to prove that they had moved on from Hamilton. In many ways trying to usurp the Hamilton Mercedes move coverage.

Finally we come to
- DiResta - who has been under-performing for 2 years now. I hope Force India don't do the same mistake as Toyota did in having a potentially race winning car undermined by solid but not great drivers. the 2013 Force India is easily the 4th or 5th best car depending on the track. Sutil is doing the car justice but sadly, suffering from a string of bad luck and incidents. DiResta just never seems to get the most out of the car. If Hulkenberg had shown just a fraction more patience and passed Hamilton in the DRS zone, we would be talking about Force India's maiden victory. I'd let DiResta finish out the year, then snap up webber for a year, or Bianchi, and then have a 3rd driver waiting in the wings like razia, etc.

[truefan72]

Its a difficult one to call so early, three races in IMO. I think we'll have more evidence to gage this by the British GP. I think if one driver is under immense pressure right now its Perez. He has big shoes to fill at McLaren and has not adapted as well as they had hoped. Its still early days but his target should realistically be a 4th place at least in the next 5 races.

lol,. fair enough but I'm calling it early
3 races in varied conditions and situations are a good barometer

perez, guiterrez and Geido
jury still out on DiResta

I mean..what else do we have to talk about ;)

[truefan72]

That's really going to depend on whether McLaren get their car together though isn't it. I kind of feel for Perez, he's found himself in a difficult situation. If he had stepped into a well sorted car, say an evolved MP4-27, he might have scored a few respectable finishes and as long as he was somewhere near his more experienced teammate, he probably would have drawn little negative comment. But instead he's found himself in a weak car with problems that no-one in the team seems to fully understand, and on top of that this year's tyres make it more difficult than ever to get meaningful information out of testing and practice. It's going to be an uphill battle for him until McLaren figure out their car.

so is it fair to say that the Sauber and not perez was easy on the tires?
and will it also be fair to say that, despite those well argued points, that perez has still made his fair share of mistakes?
I hope for his and mclaren's sake that both he and the car get sorted out. but his comments, body language and overall attitude as compared tot he usual dire Button is troubleing

[truefan72]

Sauber made a very bad decision signing him. Both for Gutierrez and the team.
He's not ready for F1, I don't think even he believes he is ready.

After a few bad performances he might get the sack, and what happens next?
Career over before it even has a chance to start, IMO.

I know,
he simply wasn't ready and useless he has a major turnaround, this will damage his very, very young career.
I think the fault squarely falls no Sauber. No driver will say no to an F1 seat. What they saw that made them think he was ready is beyond me.
Especially with a new car. At least retain one driver with a baseline of the previous car. even as a 3rd driver. Maybe Caterham are on to something :)

[truefan72]

I agree it is too early to tell but I have to say Gutierrez and Chilton don't look to be a patch on their more experienced team mates... but it is early days would like to see Chilton catch up with Bianchi in terms of pace by the end of the season

the only reason I don't include chilton in this list is because I expected him to not do too well in the first place. So IMO he performing as expected.

[truefan72]

In my view the biggest underperformer is Grosjean. He has been shockingly slow in two races so far this season. In China he even looked like catching Räikkönen in the first stint, but after that completely collapsed.

something is going on with grosjean. and I'm a little concerned that last year has him mentally rattled. Also the team has not helped by so much as telling him that he could be replaced anytime, as well as quite obviously treating him as a distant #2 in both setup, strategy and parts. I am a Grosjean fan and think that his aggressiveness and style were 2 of his best traits. I hope he finds it again, because I think he and Hulkenberg will be the next wave of top tier drivers.

[Koz]

Perez is a case of way too much confidence, the poor fellow started believing his own hype.
Happened as soon as he signed for McLaren - a knee jerk reaction which isn't paying off well.

If he doesn't get a good result in the next few races, he might not recover from the slump - if it is one.

[Bezza]

It is hard to say after only three races, but there is a distinct lack of quality in some of the drivers at the moment. Its hard to tell whether this is early season rustiness, or something worse.

Underperforming drivers:

Gutierrez - a massive step backwards, prove to errors and slow
Grosjean - looks miles off Raikkonen, although he finished ahead of him in Malaysia. They need two solid drivers to have a chance of both titles.
Maldonado - probably trying too hard in a slow car, the Williams has reverted to 2011 style.

Too early to tell:

Bottas - 11th in Malaysia was quietly impressive, but I think I expected more considering the hype
Chilton - hasn't made any errors really, can't complain, but slower than Bianchi
Perez - the car has been poor, Button has been quicker but he is a very good driver. We'll see if it works out.

Overperforming:

Bianchi - future champion, he looks awesome in the Marussia. I expect him in a good seat for 2014, or even Ferrari by 2015.
Hulkenberg - should be in a better car, outdriving the Sauber at the moment
Sutil - putting di Resta in his place after returning to the team, looking forward to seeing this battle throughout the year.

[wedge]

Undoubtedly it is Chico. If he really a great driver that was hyped/expected then he hasn't shown it. I feel he should be giving JB a hard time by now because they really great drivers have little in the way of excuse - they extract the maximum straight out of the box.

Hulk needs to be in a top team with a proven team mate to see how he really matches up.

Bottas looking good as he is already giving some grief Mad Dog.

Bianchi - I'm impressed. Marussia were touted as being better than Caterham and he has proven it. Chilton can't live with him - stereotypical pay-driver/F1 reject.

[jens]

Bianchi - future champion, he looks awesome in the Marussia. I expect him in a good seat for 2014, or even Ferrari by 2015.


I guess I have watched F1 long enough to feel I can't consider anyone a future champion before at least a couple of seasons under his belt. This is because I have seen so many drivers starting off well in their F1 careers. Among one of the last examples both Buemi and Kobayashi had impressive races in their first few F1 outings. Didn't mount to titles.

Obviously Bianchi is fast, has some qualities, is "competitive" in F1 terms. But I take some time before deciding whether he is more than just decent.

[steveaki13]

I agree largely with the above.

The real underperformers are:

Grosjean - I thought he would have been on Kimis tail, but it appears he is maybe to worried about his incidents last year and maybe he has lost that spark.

Perez - As said he really hasn't shown much to prove he deserved this drive over Hulkenberg and the likes. He has been behind Jenson and appears to be generally struggling.

Maldonado - The car is a real dog, but he hasn't really looked like team leader and Bottas has outperformed him at times.

As expected:
Bottas - As said above he is doing a decent job but the car is terrible.

Chilton - I think Max was expected to struggle and certainly to be behind Bianchi. So really he is working hard and not making the mistakes the Caterham drivers are.

Overperforming:

Bianchi - He really has caught everyones attention and in doing a sort of Alonso in a Minardi job.

[jens]

Grosjean - I thought he would have been on Kimis tail, but it appears he is maybe to worried about his incidents last year and maybe he has lost that spark.


I can't relate Grosjean's problems to "cautiousness", because last year he had mostly problems at the start of the race. But this is just one part of the big game - where is he during the rest of the weekend? Because he is slower in qualifying (which has nothing to do with those incidents) and in race pace too compared to last year.

Like with Pérez, he probably has a fundamental issue in adapting to the car - something, which probably will be healed during the season. Rumours are that Grosjean has a problem with chassis. Reminds me Vettel from mid-2010, when he had a couple of underwhelming races after which his chassis was changed and he became more competitive again. So we will see.

[steveaki13]

I hope so Jens.

Because Romain was so good in terms of pace last season it just seems strange to see him struggling so far behind Kimi.

Fingers crossed he can improve in Bahrain.

[yodasarmpit]

Finally we come to
- DiResta - who has been under-performing for 2 years now. I hope Force India don't do the same mistake as Toyota did in having a potentially race winning car undermined by solid but not great drivers. the 2013 Force India is easily the 4th or 5th best car depending on the track. Sutil is doing the car justice but sadly, suffering from a string of bad luck and incidents. DiResta just never seems to get the most out of the car. If Hulkenberg had shown just a fraction more patience and passed Hamilton in the DRS zone, we would be talking about Force India's maiden victory. I'd let DiResta finish out the year, then snap up webber for a year, or Bianchi, and then have a 3rd driver waiting in the wings like razia, etc.

Paul certainly under performed in the second half of last season, but the same cannot be said for his maiden season or the first 3 races this year.

Sutil looked good in the second race due to a tyre choice which put him in a false position. When the tyres failed he fell back to where you'd expect him to be.

I would say, though, that Paul needs to up his game this year or he might never get the seat he, desires.

[shaakir11]

I think that all three drivers can do better, but there minds are not on the road, it is on money. They basically having competition under each other.