2014 - half-time overview

[jens]

So half of 2014 has basically passed and perhaps it is time for a review. As in 2009, but to a slightly lesser extent, the season has seen some pretty drastic changes in the pecking order with some teams moving way up or down through the field. Also driver performances have shifted with some of the champions struggling and some of the young guns unexpectedly moving well up to the front - obviously helped by very good cars, but nonetheless.

Your top6 drivers of the season so far?
Your 6 least impressive/worst drivers of the season so far?
Best/most interesting race so far?
Worst race so far?
How well do you like the new rules by now?
Biggest shock/surprise of the season for you?
Who will win the Drivers' title in the end? Who will finish 3rd?


Some questions regarding future.
Is 2014 the sign for the future period? Like 2009 marked the rise of Red Bull to the top and the likes of Ferrari and McLaren losing ground and not winning championships any more. Those two legendary teams won no titles in 09-13 though they won it all in 07-08. It could get pretty boring if Mercedes-Benz dominates for many years to come. Hamilton and Rosberg would be happy to have repeated shots at titles, while others wouldn't be that happy.

Some more specific questions.
Does 2014 mark the return of Williams? 2012 they also had a very good car, but that was a false dawn. Can Williams remain a consistent force for years to come?

How many more years does it take for Ferrari or McLaren to finally start winning anything? Remember, Ferrari had a 21-year Drivers Championship drought in 79-00. Both Ferrari and McLaren started out badly for the 2009 regulations. They have done it again for 2014. How much longer will the agony last? Though the Williams example shows it can be possible to come out of it, but it could take a long time.

Is the Red Bull era finally over? They won it all in 2010-2013. Now they have an inferior power unit and while the chassis is still good, Newey is about to move aside from F1 activities soon.

[Big Ben]

Half-time? and I'm yet to watch a full race. All this watching the tires, watching the engine, watching the fuel BS it's a turn off for me. Add to that the DRS, the ugly noses, engine freeze, double points and... well I think I might just pass on the second half too. My interest in F1 can be easily satisfied by a few articles I can read online.

[rjbetty]

A belated reply to this.

TOP 6 DRIVERS
The first few are easy, the next few are very hard to separate.

1.Lewis Hamilton - Maybe I'm just biased. On pure pace he gets it. Much has gone wrong for him this season compared to his team-mate, but he's lost his rag a few times too. Season fell apart when Rosberg underhandedly got into his head in Monaco. Moral champ imo.

2.Fernando Alonso - What more could you possibly ask? What? I still feel he's lost a tiny amount of performance from his peak, which is why he's only an extremely close 2nd.

3.Nico Rosberg - Will win the WDC I think, since it's determined by who has the most points. Rosberg can afford to finish 2nd behind Hamilton a lot and bank the pts, and still be regarded as the better driver. Yet if Lewis just once settles for a 2nd behind Nico, he is decryed as the worst driver overall!! Huh?! This is one reason I feel why Lewis doesn't have as much pts, he's not really "allowed" to go the consistent route. Nico has still done a top job though, very much Lauda 84 like, though still with very good speed. Makes you re-evaluate the 43yr old Schumacher in 2012 doesn't it?

4.Daniel Ricciardo - Still hard to quantify how good he actually is. All the evidence is though he's at least a match for Vettel, issues or not. Let's no get too excited yet, since Webber also matched and beat Vettel when EBD wasn't a factor.

5 and 6.Now it gets tougher. Nico Hulkenberg probably 5th. Vettel in there somewhere as without problems he is still at a pretty high level - not so tough without your exhaust blown diffuser though are we? It's telling that Alonso or Hamilton never seemed as ordinary when driving inferior/unsuited cars, but anyway... Bottas definitely up there, but in truth, Massa was slightly quicker up till recently. Bottas has a ton more pts though, and no it's not all down to luck. He has enough capacity to bring the car home too and not get involved in crashes a lot of the time. Too many times that's happened to Felipe to just be bad luck.

Other mentions go to Button who's still at a pretty good level, Grosjean, Perez, and maybe Massa.



6 WORST DRIVERS
22.Ericsson - Slow and crashy.
21.Chilton - Much improved but I still think maybe 20 or so other drivers are doing better.
20.Gutierrez - Outqualified Sutil a lot, though I very much feel his much lighter weight gives an unfair advantage - around 4 tenths maybe!
19.Maldonado - Has had terrible fortune, but still is basically fast, and he should be able to put a good weekend together sooner or later.
18.Sutil - Just not impressive, but massively held back by being heavy. Same is true for Hulkenberg though...
17.Kobayashi - Done ok, but I still don't see all the hype to fast-track him into a top team. Needs a standout performance - the kind you'd expect if he's really that good.



THE NEW RULES
Yes I like them! I haven't been hearing much about the noses and noises recently which is telling. I love the sound, gave me shivers in my spine hearing it the first time. Really futuristic and exciting and tells me "the future of F1 has arrived!"

I like how Joe Saward is excited about the new F1, especially since he's a bit older, so you might have expected someone from his generation to be more stuck in the mud, a fuddy duddy. I agree it's crazy how the new F1 revolution hasn't been promoted at all.

I personally am fascinated that the technology exists to harvest energy and store it to be used later. To me, that is astounding and akin to turning metal into gold. Ok that's going a bit too far, but I still fin this stuff amazing.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Your reviews are normally good but your bitchiness about Vettel gets a bit tiresome. Surely not even you can be that bitter...



5 and 6.Now it gets tougher. Nico Hulkenberg probably 5th. Vettel in there somewhere as without problems he is still at a pretty high level - not so tough without your exhaust blown diffuser though are we? It's telling that Alonso or Hamilton never seemed as ordinary when driving inferior/unsuited cars, but anyway...


Rewatch the 2011 season and you'll see Hamilton at his most ordinary, he was quite hopeless that year. And even Alonso had his phases. He was quite ordinary in 2012 from Monza onwards and was even beaten by Massa occasionally or had to be kept ahead by way of team order (Austin). Watch last years Monaco GP - Alonso was shockingly invisible.
Vettels "ordinariness" comes more from the fact that Danny is much better than expected and that he had only 4 out 10 troublefree weekends so far (Malysia, Barcelona, Canada, Hungary). And in Canada his race was ruined by the team. In Hungary it was ruined by the SC and later himself by overdoing it in his attempt to catch up the time the SC had put into him. So if you claim mitigating circumstances for Lewis because everything goes against him, what should Vettel say? 8 out of 10 races were ruined by the team, mechanical failures, and the safety car in HUN. With that sort of bad luck, even Webber might start to pity him soon.

[rjbetty]

Your reviews are normally good but your bitchiness about Vettel gets a bit tiresome. Surely not even you can be that bitter...

Oh come on I was just ribbing when I said he wasn't so tough now. I think I've given Vettel plenty of praise in the past.




Rewatch the 2011 season and you'll see Hamilton at his most ordinary, he was quite hopeless that year.

Hamilton might have had a meltdown over 2011 but he was still easily quicker than Jenson who was having his best year. Qualifying went 13-6 iirc. He didn't come too far behind in pts even though he threw a ton away with the Massa clashes. And those clashes can't all be Lewis' fault: Look at this season and who's the one being involved in clashes in almost half the races (blaming the other driver each time)? If 2011 was Hamilton at his worst, Lord have mercy when he's at his best.


And even Alonso had his phases. He was quite ordinary in 2012 from Monza onwards and was even beaten by Massa occasionally or had to be kept ahead by way of team order (Austin). Watch last years Monaco GP - Alonso was shockingly invisible.

Alonso has slogged tirelessly for the past 4 years relentlessly and "outdriven" his machinery to almost a title in 2012 with a resilience I suspect someone like Vettel can only dream of. Fernando has suffered relatively great hardship compared to the ease of the Red Bull machine. He achieved this by driving his guts out looking to better days ahead, which never came as things only got worse. I for one do not blame him at all for finally, finally starting to show the first signs of tiredness and strain., which I believe is the cause of these showings where he appeared to wilt somewhat.


Vettels "ordinariness" comes more from the fact that Danny is much better than expected and that he had only 4 out 10 troublefree weekends so far (Malysia, Barcelona, Canada, Hungary). And in Canada his race was ruined by the team. In Hungary it was ruined by the SC and later himself by overdoing it in his attempt to catch up the time the SC had put into him.

I meant that Seb has seemed more ordinary and mortal compared to last year, not that he is ordinary. I agree that Dan has done better than expected as he didn't seem able to produce that srt of performance consistently at Toro Rosso. I think I acknowledged that Vettel hasn't had the rub of the green this year.

Interestingly, as I like Hamilton, I feel that he too has had the same amount of genuinely trouble-free weekends in 2014, and those were the 4 he won on the bounce. In a way, it could be argued that Seb is still outrageously lucky to finally get his "bad year" in a year when it doesn't matter anyway, while Hamilton is getting his higher than usual misfortune in the one crucial season.


So if you claim mitigating circumstances for Lewis because everything goes against him, what should Vettel say? 8 out of 10 races were ruined by the team, mechanical failures, and the safety car in HUN. With that sort of bad luck, even Webber might start to pity him soon.

Ok that's fair. I don't deny Lewis messed up at Austria and Silverstone qualy (where unlike a certain driver he didn't benefit from those mistakes), but pretty much everywhere else Lewis has suffered pretty close to the same as Seb maybe, despite having a better car. Inidentally, Lewis must be the only driver who would be blamed so much for the brake failure in Canada. I don't really see many others being treated so harshly.

I know that Seb has issues that prevented him getting better results, but I feel like most he still needs to prove he's clearly the best driver in the world.

[Doc Austin]

I am especially disappointed with Vettel. If the car really sucked that would explain things completely, but the remaining mystery would be why Ricciardo has been so good with it. I would love to see Vettel run off a string of wins, but he's just too lost right now. Maybe the summer break will really help him out.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Fernando has suffered relatively great hardship compared to the ease of the Red Bull machine.

See, that's where people get it wrong, IMHO. The RB of yesterday was NOT an easy machine. Just ask Mark Webber. It required a counter-intuitive driving style that Vettel spent five years perfecting. And now he pays a very high price for that, as after 'unlearning' natural instincts to lift in a corner, but press the loud pedal instead, he has to 'relearn' the normal way. His four titles come at a price and the price is that he now finds himself being a master at a driving style that doesn't work anymore with this years cars. He has to re-learn the conventional way. And that he does was visible over the season. He was good at Barcelona 15->5, Canada which he would have won if it wasn't for the team suddenly forgetting how to read a GPS display, Malysia and Hungary until he binned it by being too agressive.

[Malbec]

I am especially disappointed with Vettel. If the car really sucked that would explain things completely, but the remaining mystery would be why Ricciardo has been so good with it. I would love to see Vettel run off a string of wins, but he's just too lost right now. Maybe the summer break will really help him out.

As am I. Had his downswing been for the first few races while he got his head around the new cars then I'd have understood but he still isn't really on Riccardo's pace after half a season. For his paycheque I'd want him nailing the new regs pretty quickly. To put it bluntly I don't think Alonso would ever find himself in the same situation, he'd sort himself out sharpish.

For similar reasons Kimi has disappointed. The pace frequently simply isn't there. Alonso's preseason putdowns that Massa was a quicker teammate seem more like statements of fact rather than mind games, that isn't something I was expecting. Again I expect his paycheque to be quite significant and he isn't performing to the level his salary would suggest.

[Malbec]

17.Kobayashi - Done ok, but I still don't see all the hype to fast-track him into a top team. Needs a standout performance - the kind you'd expect if he's really that good.

Bizarre choice.

Almost always out qualifies his teammate and outpaces him in races though that is to be expected due to his experience. Ericsson is showing few signs of closing the gap though. He is behind in points mainly out of reliability issues. Your obsession with Kobayashi is frankly bizarre, I think he is doing the best anyone could in the same situation with a woefully underfunded team running a car that hasn't been updated since preseason. The fact that he is able to hang onto Bianchi's coattails for a while in races is impressive, but I presume you expect him to win races in the same car.

I do agree with the rest of your bottom six but I put it to you that Kimi's performance this season is woeful and certainly worse than Kobayashi's.

[Malbec]

Some questions regarding future.
Is 2014 the sign for the future period? Like 2009 marked the rise of Red Bull to the top and the likes of Ferrari and McLaren losing ground and not winning championships any more. Those two legendary teams won no titles in 09-13 though they won it all in 07-08. It could get pretty boring if Mercedes-Benz dominates for many years to come. Hamilton and Rosberg would be happy to have repeated shots at titles, while others wouldn't be that happy.

Some more specific questions.
Does 2014 mark the return of Williams? 2012 they also had a very good car, but that was a false dawn. Can Williams remain a consistent force for years to come?

How many more years does it take for Ferrari or McLaren to finally start winning anything? Remember, Ferrari had a 21-year Drivers Championship drought in 79-00. Both Ferrari and McLaren started out badly for the 2009 regulations. They have done it again for 2014. How much longer will the agony last? Though the Williams example shows it can be possible to come out of it, but it could take a long time.

Is the Red Bull era finally over? They won it all in 2010-2013. Now they have an inferior power unit and while the chassis is still good, Newey is about to move aside from F1 activities soon.

The regs changes have shaken things up a bit but next year and onwards things will settle down and performance will mainly be a product of funding x good management. I expect Renault to be much stronger next year, hopefully Ferrari too. The best funded and run teams i.e. Mercedes and RBR will rise to the top while the less well funded teams will form a clear tier below like Williams (though that depends on whether they can improve their sponsorship status) and McLaren. I expect Ferrari to be in this tier too despite their budget due to continued poor management.

It will be interesting to see where FI and Lotus end up, also whether Sauber can recover. Also how good will the Honda be? I hope that the amount of money Honda are pumping into the team this year will allow McLaren to recover for next season but who knows...

[dj_bytedisaster]

As am I. Had his downswing been for the first few races while he got his head around the new cars then I'd have understood but he still isn't really on Riccardo's pace after half a season. For his paycheque I'd want him nailing the new regs pretty quickly. To put it bluntly I don't think Alonso would ever find himself in the same situation, he'd sort himself out sharpish.

Sorry, the man isn't David Copperfield. In Australia his car blew. In Malaysia he stood on the podium. In Bahrain and China his chassis was cracked. In Barcelona he went from 15 to 5th while Danny Ric started 4th and stayed there. What do you want him to do? Walk over the water? In Canada he was enroute to win, but the team mucked up and danny inherited the win, then his car blew some more until Hungarywhere he was 3rd and fucked over by the SC. The only mistake he's done all season was the spin in HUN when he tried too hard to make up the time he lost by being screwed over with the 1st SC.

[Koz]

Was it ever confirmed that the chassis was cracked or was it just suspected?

[dj_bytedisaster]

Was it ever confirmed that the chassis was cracked or was it just suspected?

Well, the team built him a new one after china. I would hazard a guess they didn't do so out of boredom. It was RB themselves who announced that the chassis had a crack.

[Rollo]

Your top6 drivers of the season so far?
Using a reiterative calculation to eliminate the car benefit:
70.300 Valtteri Bottas
63.102 Fernando Alonso
46.644 Daniel Ricciardo
37.449 Nico Rosberg
35.200 Nico Hülkenberg
34.020 Lewis Hamilton
31.968 Jenson Button
15.238 Sebastian Vettel
09.864 Kevin Magnussen
07.375 Sergio Pérez
05.920 Felipe Massa
00.570 Kimi Räikkönen

How well do you like the new rules by now?
DRS and ERS are gimmicky. Pushing buttons to pass is dumb.
New engines though? I think that that's a good idea as that's where road cars need to go.

Biggest shock/surprise of the season for you?
Williams - though Mercedes power helps.

Who will win the Drivers' title in the end? Who will finish 3rd?
Most likely Rosberg, Hamilton second and Alonso's consistency to bring him in 3rd.

Aside:
Using the old 10-6-4-3-2-1 system:
73 Nico Rosberg
70 Lewis Hamilton
39 Daniel Ricciardo
26 Fernando Alonso
20 Valtteri Bottas
19 Sebastian Vettel
12 Jenson Button
10 Nico Hülkenberg
6 Kevin Magnussen
5 Felipe Massa
5 Sergio Pérez
1 Kimi Räikkönen

[anfield5]

For me the top 6 drivers are
1. Daniel Ricciardo - by far my number 1. He should have been learning from Vettel, instead he is dominating him, and Vettel is a very good driver. Sure he is trailing Rosberg and Hamilton, but he has won twice in a car with an engine that is way short of the Mercs.
2. Fred - as usual he is hauling his red pig around near the front of the queue, just look at where Kimi is and you can see how damn good Fred is.
3. Nico Rosberg - Winning, consistent and seemingly level headed in his approach, hasn't made many if any real errors.
4. Nico Hulkenberg - Similarly to Fred he is outperfoming his equipment.
5. Jules Bianchi - Has scored points for Marussia, is outperfoming better funded, better equipped teams on occasion.

* Didn't include Hamilton, his whinging and complaining and attitude get right up my nose, can't consider a plonker like this as a top driver - sorry Ham Fans, but his performance in Monaco when he turned his back on the podium because Nico beat him was pathetic.

Most unimpressive drivers.

1. Kimi - just look at his performances this season, nothing short of awful. He needs to stop moaning about everything and get his head down
2. Maldonado - still a loose cannon and a danger to every living being on or near a race track
3. other drivers are all performing about as well as can be expected.

[Koz]

Well, the team built him a new one after china. I would hazard a guess they didn't do so out of boredom. It was RB themselves who announced that the chassis had a crack.


Vettel said the decision to revert to the winter testing chassis is to eliminate a flaw as the potential cause of his recent struggles.

"We don't think that there was anything wrong with the old chassis but nevertheless we decided to change," he explained.

"It's more a sanity check rather than a real problem with the other chassis. It's just to try everything we can and basically reset and start again."

Hum.

[steveaki13]

Your top6 drivers of the season so far?
6. Jenson Button - I have gone for a slightly left field selection in the top 6. JB has 60 points, only 9 behind Hulkenberg and considering the tank of a car Mclaren have produced, I think he has done OK to pick up 60 points. If not for silly Mclaren strategy in Hungary he may have added 4 or 6 more.

5. Nico Hulkenberg - He has actually had some bad luck. However he has done a decent job again and scored a lot of points, despite not being at his absolute best.

4. Nico Rosberg - I know Mercedes have a ridiculously fast car, but I have been impressed by his composure and speed to match Lewis all the way. I thought pre season Hamilton might win the title easily once he got going, but Nico has proven he may have more tools in his driving to win this title.

3. Valterri Bottas - Williams have had a very good car. However he has been consistent and un flustered by all the pressure in races. Finally looks the kind of driver we were told he was.

2. Daniel Ricciardo - Regardless of Vettel's issues and not even considering that, I think Daniel has been great. His refusal to be passed by Alonso in Germany and fighting spirit has been a pleasure to watch.

1. Fernando Alonso - I have been amazed at how well Alonso has done and he just about gets my vote at around half way. The Ferrari is 4th/5th best car.

Your 6 least impressive/worst drivers of the season so far?
17. Kimi Raikkonen - Would have been about 20th if not for finally showing a glimpse in Hungary. I really want Kimi to do well, but really his season has been poor.

18. Esteban Gutierrez - Despite an average Sauber I feel he has not been as good as he could be.

19. Max Chilton - I thought he was going to have a decent season in 2014, but he has been average at best.

20. Adrian Sutil - He is in a poor Sauber, but he has dropped the car to many times this season. The only way a Sauber will score points is to stay on track. To many times he has crashed or spun. Although Sauber is a terrible car.

21. Marcus Ericcson - Fairly average season so far, crashes a lot and is quite slow. Having said that he got an 11th place in Monaco.

22. Pastor Maldonado - A terrible car, but Grosjean has 8 points. Maldonado is slower, he makes poor decision and crashes a lot. Worse driver IMO taking car & experience into account.

Others/Rest
7. Sebastian Vettel - Done a decent job when his cars been running, but despite DJ's protests I still feel he has been outperformed by Daniel considering experience.

8. Lewis Hamilton - Done a decent job, but IMO has made too many mistakes, while Rosberg has been consistant. Lewis is still just faster overall, but can't get ahead. His last few races he has been unlucky and come back well. However compared to my expectation of him, he has slightly disappointed.

9. Danni Kyvat - I seem to remember quite a lot of dismissive comments about him when he was announced, but I think he has done a good job in an average car.

10. Kevin Magnussen - For a first year rookie in a poor car, he has done OK. Outqualified Jenson a lot and scored some solid points in that car.

11. Felipe Massa - He has done an OK job when driving cleanly, but has had some unlucky car issues and no matters who's fault, been involved in to many incidents

12. Romain Grosjean - I think in that Lotus with a crashy team mate Romain has done well. He has always been ahead and scored some points.

13. Jules Bianchi - Done a fine job in Monaco to score points for Marussia. Until then had actually not looked as good as last season, but has now put Chilton back in his place.

14. Jean Eric Vergne - Feel slightly sorry for JEV, he maybe should be a bit higher, but struggling to fit everyone in.

15. Sergio Perez - He has clearly had some bad luck, but generally he has gone under the radar and not impressed much in a decent Force India car.

16. Kamui Kobayashi - Despite being bottom of the standings, I think he has done OK. I mean he was jumped by everyone getting high positions in Monaco and so I feel is a bit unlucky.

Best/most interesting race so far?
My most enjoyable race was Hungary, just absolutely crackers battling throughout the field and a 3 to 4 car battle for the win. And not knowing who could win 3 laps from home between 3 drivers was great.

That after Bahrain which I thought was a great race too.

worst race so far?
hmmm...... Probably Spain. That was Mercedes in formation winning by a minute over a midfield with little happening.

How well do you like the new rules by now?

I like the new rules and have done since the season start. I am not worried about the noise after seeing the cars live. They are loud, just not deafening. The teams and cars now seem to be pushing the new technology more and thus is causing worse reliability. Overall decent rules, shame that Mercedes were so far ahead

Biggest shock/surprise of the season for you?
People will probably all go for a shock thats happened. I am going to lay a wild surprise in the making.
Look at the WDC standings and see despite all Mercedes dominance, they have begun too have more failures. I mean Lewis can't get a front start at the moment, Nico retired in Britain and Lewis in Canada.

1.Nico Rosberg 202
2.Lewis Hamilton 191
3.Daniel Ricciardo 131

Its way out their, but Daniel if he wins another race or two through Merc issues and Mercedes keep faultering, could keep Mercedes honest at least for 2nd in the WDC.

A wild one I know, but hey lets be optimistic

Who will win the Drivers' title in the end? Who will finish 3rd?

Having said all that, I still believe Merc will finish 1-2.

I reckon
Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo

[henners88]

My top 6 drivers are:
1. Hamilton - Driven well in a dominant car that has been plagued with unreliability on his side of the garage. We've seen him twice score a podium from the back and some excellent defending against his team mate, once on worn tyres in Bahrain and I have to say Lewis has been thrilling to watch.

2. Rosberg- He's impressed me this year and has shown consistency when at the front. He's not far off the pace of his team mate and has maximised situation's where he's had a clear lead.

3. Alonso - He's driven a difficult Ferrari which we are getting used to seeing now, very well indeed. I've enjoyed watched his on track battle, most notably Silverstone and I think once again he has shown why he is the most complete driver on the grid. Ferrari will be very lucky to hang on to him as I think he is wasted in inferior machinery.

4. Ricciardo - The surprise of the season for many! He has shown consistency and lived up to his old RB testing hype from several years ago where he showed great speed. He has out performed his team mate more often than not and leading him by some margin in the points. Its a shame he can't take advantage of Red Bull's previous form because I think it would be even more of a squeaky bum time for Vettel.

5. Bottas - He's shown with a car that has finally come together that he is a great asset for Williams. He's out performed a much more experienced team mate and scored some impressive podiums.

6. Button - After a very difficult start of the year with the death of his father Jenson has got the job done in a very difficult car. He slips under the radar of most, but I feel he's been consistent and scored more points than drivers with more capable machinery.

The least impressive are:
1. Maldonado - a waste of a seat and showed in Bahrain he can't keep his red mist in check.
2. Perez - Wasted quite a few opportunities in a FI that isn't looking too bad in the hands of his team mate.
3. Massa - He's been fast, but made far too many mistakes and is being shown up by Bottas.
4. Raikkonen - Really should be doing better than he is and hopefully his motivation improves.
5. Sutil - Isn't really showing anything special and feel he has shown his best previously.
6 Ericsson - Inexperience shown on too many occasions.

Worst race: Australia as we were robbed of a great fight for the win.

New Rules: Still hate the sound of the engines and feel the magic has gone from there. I try not to enjoy many of the rules as they are manufactured from season to season to spice up the 'show'.

Biggest shock: Raikkonen not being as close to Alonso as expected and Ricciardo showing he is a match for Vettel.

I think based on performance without mechanical issues getting in the way the championship will end like this:

1st Hamilton - by a small margin
2nd Rosberg
3rd Ricciardo - holding off Alonso for the third spot.

[rjbetty]

Bizarre choice.

Your obsession with Kobayashi is frankly bizarre, I think he is doing the best anyone could in the same situation with a woefully underfunded team running a car that hasn't been updated since preseason.

I'm sorry you object to my opinion, but I'd say your obsession with Kobayashi is rather bizarre, since I certainly don't have one. Where do you rate him then? I actually wouldn't mind seeing him in a top car, it's just that there are many other drivers who I feel can do just as well or better.

I just try to be as objective as I can and don't feel some good overtaking maneouveres dos a world champion make.



but I presume you expect him to win races in the same car.

Nope. But I might reasonably expect if he was a top 4-5 or even top 10 driver to put in 1 or 2 performances a season. It's just that Kobayashi seems to be considered equal or better than drivers like Hulkenberg and Bottas when I'm not convinced that's the case. He's good but so are many others.

There's no hate in that, just an opinion. I said he's done alright.

I'd say the only vitriol has come from yourself sorry to say.




I do agree with the rest of your bottom six but I put it to you that Kimi's performance this season is woeful and certainly worse than Kobayashi's.

It might be, butI also think maybe Kimi is suffering from "no.2 syndrome" like when people didn't think much of Barrichello at Ferrari when over 2002 he probably did a better job than just about anyone else. Being a "no.2" makes drivers look worse than they are. I have Kimi well down in the midfield, but he may look worse than he is because of Alonso. Maybe Kamui should be ahead but this is just a rough assessment. Someone had to be 17th...

[Tazio]

7) Vettel, Seb has had some bad luck, and quite frankly didn't look good early but I think he has driven solidly.
6) Hulk, has had a good season so far with very good results although I think FI may be plateauing
4) Tie I will stick Nico R, and The Boss here, only because it is so hard to rate these freakin' guys driving a car so vastly superior t0 the comp'. Perhaps Lewis deserves to be a little higher, but not Nico IMO although he may well be the next WDC.
3) Bottas , the guy has really impressed, but in fairness should probably behind Da' Boss.
2) Danny Boy. Who'd've thunk it. The kid is having a great season, and is the real deal Don Steel IMO
1) Fred, beside having the coordination and talent, he really has it upstairs, something that JYS pointed out preseason when asked what he thought about the duel with Kimi. This guy is a real treasure, and ranks very high all time IMHO.

[longisland]

Top 6 drivers
The drivers I picked are not necessary the best drivers; rather based on their performance against their teammate & other drivers with the equipment provided.

1) Daniel Ricciardo
2 wins from the quicker Mercs & outperformed his more illustrious teammate.
2) Valtteri Bottas
Quick out of the block especially in qualifying. Equally quick in race day & more importantly, outperforming his more experienced teammate.
3) Jules Bianchi
Score the very first points for the team by merit rather than attrition or luck. Plow his way through the field & scored points despite of the penalty.
4) Daniel Kvyat
Rookie of the year in my book. Head & shoulder with is more experienced teammate, constantly challenging Q3. I rated him higher than Magnussen because Kvyat has less mistakes on track.
5) Fernando Alonso
It's difficult to replicate the 2011 performance but Fred's last few races reminds everyone why he is touted as the most complete driver despite driving a relatively poor car. I'd wished he was less political & whinny.

6) There's no sixth driver on the list because the rest of the pack performed as expected or below par of the car given.

Top 3 teams

1) Mercedes
Fastest car on the grid but till has chink in the armor with reliability issues. The team is doing a decent job on track but there's room for improvement. IMHO, the team my need to discuss with FIA certain radio transmission needs to be kept private, especially on the team orders.
2) Williams
The most improved team with the 2nd fastest car on grid & going strong. It's been a while since Williams are among the front runners; they've made some questionable or conservative calls that may have cost them chances to challenge for the win.
3) Marussia
The smallest team beating bigger brother Sauber & also Caterham to score it's first constructor's point.

Under Par Drivers

1) Kimi Raikkonen
Raikkonen's performance is appalling by his high standard. He can't seemed to get into the rhythm as he did in Lotus last season.
2) Pastor Maldonado
It's a given Pastor's on the list. The biggest mistake was to switch from Williams to Lotus. The rest is history.
3) Estaban Gutierrez
The car's a donkey but Estaban were involved in too many crashes or collisions.
4) Felipe Massa
Massa has been involved in several huge shunts this season. Unfortunately, it takes 2 to have a collision. Even though Massa was unfortunately to be collected by Kimi, but had he not started from the back, he would have avoided the crash. The crashes Magnussen & Perez were 50/50; Button would have avoided both IMO.

Under Par Teams

1) Renault
The biggest under achiever is Renault. All Renault teams suffered as a result of the power unit.
2) Mclaren
It's shocking & disappointing to see Mclaren is currently the worst Mercedes powered team on the grid.
Regulations

I'm fine with the revised qualifying time slots & the penalties; dislike DRS, ERS & the V6 but understand they are necessary evil. Do not agree with the double points.
The other regulation I strongly disagreed with is the fuel cap. Formula 1 is supposed to be all about performance. Drivers shouldn't be coasting in certain stretch to save fuel. This is the first year of the new power train so the teams should be allowed to carry more fuel. The fuel may then be reduced in the following seasons with the development of the hybrid system.
Another issue is the mid season change of the regulation; last year the tires were changed & this season we saw the linked brakes were banned having spent a fortune developing over a year.

[Tazio]

The drivers I picked are not necessary the best drivers; rather based on their performance against their teammate & other drivers with the equipment provided. If this was really true you would have Fred as #1 hands down, :dozey:


5) Fernando Alonso
It's difficult to replicate the 2011 performance but Fred's last few races reminds everyone why he is touted as the most complete driver despite driving a relatively poor car. I'd wished he was less political & whinny. Translation; I can't handle the fact that Fred is the best all around pilot in the field, and don't understand that he is really just painfully honest in his comments about the team and his chances. He is very professional about how he conducts himself and I haven't heard any whining from him in years.


4) Daniel Kvyat
Rookie of the year in my book. Head & shoulder with is more experienced teammate, constantly challenging Q3. I rated him higher than Magnussen because Kvyat has less mistakes on track.

JEV has scored almost twice as many points as DK so this is a bit specious. The races are run on Sunday, scoreboard baby. I do think that DK is developing into a fine driver, and I'll go along with rookie of the year.
2) Williams

The most improved team with the 2nd fastest car on grid & going strong. It's been a while since Williams are among the front runners; they've made some questionable or conservative calls that may have cost them chances to challenge for the win.
No Red Bull are the second fastest car on the grid and have scored almost twice as many points as Williams. The car lacks mechanical grip, and is very sensitive to climatic change. But they are very good.

[steveaki13]

If this was really true you would have Fred as #1 hands down, :dozey:

Thats right. I listed Fred as Numero Uno. He has been outstanding this season. I want him in a good car next season. He deserves a real shot at a 3rd title.


Translation; I can't handle the fact that Fred is the best all around pilot in the field, and don't understand that he is really just painfully honest in his comments about the team and his chances. He is very professional about how he conducts himself and I haven't heard any whining from him in years.
:p Its not 2007 anymore is it


JEV has scored almost twice as many points as DK so this is a bit specious. The races are run on Sunday, scoreboard baby. I do think that DK is developing into a fine driver, and I'll go along with rookie of the year.

This is the only one I am up in the air with. I think JEV has done a good job, but considering how everyone said this guy was bang awful. I think he has done a great job.


No Red Bull are the second fastest car on the grid and have scored almost twice as many points as Williams. The car lacks mechanical grip, and is very sensitive to climatic change. But they are very good.

Yep. Williams may have been 2nd fastest in Silverstone & Germany, but overall Red Bull is the second best package



Wow Taz me old buddy I agree with most of your points. :eek:;)

[journeyman racer]

Translation; I can't handle the fact that Fred is the best all around pilot in the field, and don't understand that he is really just painfully honest in his comments about the team and his chances. He is very professional about how he conducts himself and I haven't heard any whining from him in years.


This just stopped my train of thought, at how blunt it was. You've smacked that off the middle, right out of the ballpark.

[Tazio]

Thats right. I listed Fred as Numero Uno. He has been outstanding this season. I want him in a good car next season. He deserves a real shot at a 3rd title.
Steve I'm not going to claim to know what Alonso deserves. I think it is fair to say that he has gotten what he deserves, which is a paycheck, and two WDC's (and more babes than you can point a stick at :sailor:). I do know this; there is no quit in that guy, and maybe he deserves a little more credit for that.
I also think they will probably have to kill the son of a bitch to get him out of F1.
I am glad I don't speak Spanish, because if I heard all the blathering about him by his countrymen I think I would probably throw up in my mouth....often!



Wow Taz me old buddy I agree with most of your points. :eek:;)Weird huh? I guess I can make a little sense when I'm not stoned to the bejezzus belt. ;)

[Tazio]

This just stopped my train of thought, at how blunt it was. You've smacked that off the middle, right out of the ballpark.
Thanks bro, so you're basically saying I went "yard". The Baseball metaphor may not sit well with a New Yorka', that's kind of hitting them where they live. I wasn't trying to be antagonistic to Joey Buttafuco over 'dere. For those who judge pilot on anything other than performance Fred can be a polarizing figure, I'm not into that, at all, not even a little bit :talk:

[journeyman racer]

Initially, I was thinking of a cricket metaphor.

[Tazio]

:idea: Yeah whatever! :spinhead:

[steveaki13]

Initially, I was thinking of a cricket metaphor.

I agree.

LBW it is then

[journeyman racer]

Sorry. That one went right over the keeper's head.

[steveaki13]

not before he was court at Cow Corner

[journeyman racer]

I feel like Mike Gatting now.

[The Black Knight]

Good article here which sums up the title so far and the season to come along with the remaining 8 races:

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/171171.html

[N. Jones]

Review?

Mercedes romps, everyone else rolls over.

And still..... I am a incompetent FGP'er.....

[steveaki13]

Only a week now until the season resumes. It seems a long while in my world with all thats gone on since Hungary

[Tazio]

:stareup: It is a long time dawg! Glad to see the break comming to an end!

[driveace]

And probably Mercedes wont be as dominant
Maybe RB have been working on more software issues
or Ferrari have got some more upgrades
I personally hope LH and NC are still going to race to the END with NO tyeam orders !

[Storm]

Only a week now until the season resumes.

Yes La Liga on saturday :p:

oh yeah, F1 too ;)

you are right though, this 3 weeks period is the most boring (worse than the winter break)
for the sake of all of us I hope what driveace said happens too.

[steveaki13]

Yes Premier League back and now La Liga back and F1. Suddenly its all action.

[AndyL]

Yes Premier League back and now La Liga back and F1. Suddenly its all action.

And the Challenge Cup final... come on classy Cas :champion: