Mid-Season Report Card

Hello! You might know me from my team-by-team analyses in the Day After Debriefs. Well, I’m here on the main feed now with something I wanted to present to you all with my bug for commentary still not sated.

So, we find ourselves half-way through what a lot were expecting to be an absolute bore of a season after the first few races. Mercedes looked to have a far superior car to either of their challengers, and it didn’t look like there was going to be much of a challenge to be offered all season. And yet, we look back on the first twelve races (the last four in particular) oddly optimistic for what’s to come. Now what happened there? I’ll explore this and more as I walk my way down through the grid, by order of constructor’s standings, and give my opinions on each team and their drivers’ performances so far in the 2019 season.

Mercedes, the big dogs on campus by any description, on an absolute streak of form that’s never really faltered in the formula first established in 2014. The German outfit didn’t just hit the ground running, but sprinting in 2019, having clearly gotten the inside line on how this year’s new simplified aero concept needs to be developed to play nice with this year’s spec of Pirelli tyres. No other team seems to have a grasp on how to get them working like Merc this year. Not only that, but the car has found a groove in technical corners the likes of which it’s never had before, and when you combine these with the well-oiled machine that the strategy team and pit crew are, they’re looking like an unstoppable force in their bid to claim their 6th straight constructor’s title, an absolutely maddening feat in this day and age. Barring complete disaster, I don’t see how their momentum is going to be derailed, and it’s every credit to them. Grade : A+, for being the class of the field as we expect them to be by now.

Lewis Hamilton is showing this year precisely why he is a five-time champion, and on course to become six-time. Lightning quick in both race and qualifying situations, seemingly always able to eke out the best of a bad situation, and if his darkest hour of this year can be summed up by a chaotic wet race that had seven retirees (of which he wasn’t even one of them)? You know you’re witnessing something special. He’s got a couple of pretenders to his throne as F1 champion still, but he is going to take some effort to be beaten, as has become the norm with him. The best of his generation, and having no problems displaying why he’ll be regarded as such. Grade : A+, for looking on-course to outstrip the only man who seemed to look insurmountable in the record books

Valtteri Bottas seemed to be undergoing something of a renaissance after Australia. Out-qualified Lewis Hamilton in equal machinery (a feat in and of itself), and went on to dominate the race thereafter, picking up a victory that was sorely needed after the doldrums he went through for the course of 2018. Struggled some in Bahrain, where the Ferrari was the outright better car, and lost out at T1, Lap 1 in China to never really recover. Something of a return to form in Baku, but from Spain on, Valtteri’s season can be summed up by asking a simple question: What happened? The simple answer being that Lewis Hamilton happened, with four straight wins that served as something of a ‘back in your box’ to the Finn. Where that killer edge Bottas seemed to have found went, we’ll never know, but I can assure you of this: Valtteri needs to have already found it again come Spa or his championship hopes this year are all but over. There’s a certain Dutchman who’s hot on his heels… Grade : B, for mounting a wicked comeback in form, but letting it falter far too soon.

Ferrari have this year shown exactly why you shouldn't put too much stock into what pre-season testing fancies to foretell. “They’ve made a weapon!”, people cried. “This year’s finally the year!” the Tifosi sobbed out with relief. But then, the chips came down and the Scuderia were handed one of their most comprehensive drubbings this side of the formula. On paper, it doesn’t look too bad - they were still consistently scoring Top 6 finishes and podiums. But the problem was that when they were losing out, in the confines of the big three teams, it was happening without so much as a kick of retaliation. The car’s concept has clearly gone down a road not befitting at all to a championship contender, and the team’s operations have been much more miss than hit, with such gems as essentially forgetting Charles Leclerc existed in Canada, and letting the Monegasque drop out in Q1 of his home race. There’s been some shoots of promise in recent races, sure, but not enough to overlook that this year categorically is not their year. Next year, anyone…? Grade : B-, for essentially being the Ferrari that’s been bridesmaid but never the bride for the past six years, with even that much in question this year.

Sebastian Vettel has had a tough old time of things since the seeming resurgence of Ferrari in 2017. A car that could and did win races for the first two years, only for it to blow up in his face somehow towards the crucial stages of the season. And now, a car that can only really win a race on its best and luckiest day, and even then, it still hasn’t happened yet. The Seb that seemed to be spiralling out of control (literally) in the back end of last year never quite went away, unfortunately, and a despairing defeat in Canada courtesy of what was a dubious time penalty at the time only seemed to be making it worse. That being said, Seb found a bit of his groove again when he charted a course to redemption at his home race after the misery of last year, and continued that form in Hungary to pick up a podium place that was the best result he and the Scuderia could have hoped for. The championship well out of his grasp at this point, but hopefully he can give Ferrari and the fanbase a bit of hope in the latter half of the season that the team isn’t dead and buried just yet. Grade: B, for having me worried at first, but starting to pull it back.

Charles Leclerc has had a whirlwind of an F1 debut - highlight of the midfield in 2018 in a resurgent Alfa Romeo-backed machine, and making the big jump to his dream team after just one solitary year. Has he lived up to the hype? Honestly, no, but he has lived up to realistic expectations for a driver of his calibre. Charles, as he is now, is still very much rough around the edges as an F1 driver, and something we need to remember is that he’s being consistently compared to a four-time F1 champion, and a man with the potential to do just the same, but who has four years in this level of the sport on the Monaco man. Leclerc, in my view, has had the season he’s really needed to have this year. Adversity and challenges to overcome, some flashes of brilliance to show that calling him up was absolutely justified, and a lesson that not everything in his career with the Scuderia is going to be rosy and bright. He’s shown a very level head thus far, and a steady pair of hands on the wheel, so I have a quiet confidence this year will continue to help him build into the championship-level driver pretty much everyone thinks that he can be in the future. Grade : B, for showing just what it’s like to be dragged so rapidly up the food chain, but not sinking among the sharks in the water

Red Bull were, of all three top teams, the ones with the most to lose this season. They were entering uncharted waters in terms of having a new engine supplier in Honda, and having to pare back their aerodynamic package when theirs had been the class of the field for quite some time, simply held back by the engine powering it. The general consensus was that if they could be no worse off than they were before, it would be a success. Well, in that case, I would call the maiden season of Red Bull Honda so far a roaring success. A start that had hallmarks of that hope for them that’s evolved and blossomed into a team that, with a driver lineup firing on all cylinders, I have faith would be matching, if not beating Ferrari at this point. Pit stops still the slickest on the grid after those double-stack masterclasses last year, a chassis that’s starting to come into its own beautifully, and a working relationship with the Japanese outfit that’s given them one of the best redemption stories in the sport this side of the decade. With a much-talked-about engine upgrade coming in the beginning of September, this dynamite partnership looks on course to take a fight to Mercedes that could well set up a scrap of the titans in 2020. We all live in hope. Grade : A, for topping everyone’s expectations and bringing back the excitement to the sport we thought was slipping through our fingers.

There is no denying that Max Verstappen is in the form of his career right now. To have come away from the first half of the season with two victories against the might of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, as well as a driver who many are lining up to be his foil in future years, Charles Leclerc, is something to be wonderfully proud of. But let’s not forget the rest of his achievements thus far. Finally bagging that first pole position and coming away with podiums in three other races - two of which seemed like madness based on previous form at the circuits. This year, above all his others in F1 to date, has been the one where he has shown why Red Bull put so much faith in him, why this team is being built around him. And he’s not finished yet. There’s still a championship fight on, and even if he can’t topple Lewis, you can bet the Dutch Lion is going to give him the fight of his life for it. Grade : A+, for continuing to be the man who has the entire motorsport world talking

What more is there to say about Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull call-up that’s not been trodden to death by others by now? I won’t rag on the guy, because I think the circumstances need to be taken into account. It’s been saddening to see a guy who showed some promise in Toro Rosso’s experimentation season with Honda last year get thrust headlong into the Verstappen camp after only one season. It was confirmed rather early on by the team that Daniel Ricciardo leaving forced their hand, and it honestly has showed rather drastically. There’s been some flashes of what Pierre can do in that car, but he’s floundered rather consistently all season thus far. What lies ahead of the Frenchman is a fight to save his F1 career, frankly. The challenge is very straightforward, on paper: there’s nine races left this season. In these races, Pierre needs to come out swinging and settle into the Red Bull like he’s still yet to do. He’s not cracked completely, nor can he let himself, but there’s no ignoring that there’s a very steep hill to climb in front of him. Grade: C+, for floundering, but managing to keep a smile on his face.

McLaren have gone and stumped the field this season. Everyone accepted that their debut season of the new Renault partnership was by no means representative of what the outfit could really do. What people weren’t expecting was to see just how good they were once their chassis had been brought back into working order. Leading the midfield by a country mile into the summer break, and rightfully so, having produced a car that’s fast, consistent, and has helped Carlos Sainz finish no lower than eighth in the past five races, an eleventh in Canada the only blip in that form over the past nine. That’s an outstanding turnaround from 2018, and one the team can clap themselves firmly on the back for. The only direction is up for them from here, and I look forward to seeing what new heights this resurgence can reach. Grade: A, for producing the second-best comeback of the season.

Carlos Sainz was given what was essentially a team leader role this year, with big shoes to fill and a weight of expectation on his shoulders for a team trying to make a comeback from disaster last year. Did the Spaniard deliver? Boy, did he ever! His form has already been discussed, so let’s just settle on saying that Carlos Sainz is poised to lead this team back up the grid, possibly to its glory days at the top of the food chain if the 2021 regulations fall their way. He’s reinforced that he is a fast, level-headed, remarkably consistent driver who McLaren scored a coup in acquiring. I wouldn’t be surprised if some crazy race in the second half of the year ends up giving Carlos a third step on the podium, even if that does sound like fantasy-talk. Grade: A, for flourishing when the opportunity to step up was presented to him

Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris has had an eventful rookie season thus far. The way I’d honestly look at it is that the has all the pace of Carlos (potential or otherwise), just none of the luck. He’s come away with two 6th places but three retirements to Carlos’ one, let’s not forget! Lando is having the rookie season I hoped he’d have, showing off the skill that McLaren saw in him, and having some dire situations thrown at him that he’s tackled with some admirable maturity. If he can continue honing his pace in that car, and hopefully have a bit better luck from September on, I think this will be an F1 debut he can look back at with pride. Grade: B+, for showing just how much potential he has left to realise

Toro Rosso’s place in the standings probably feels a bit augmented courtesy of that freak podium in Germany, but there’s an important piece of context to remember. The team is running a car that’s partly an old Red Bull, and is still a development outfit at the end of the day. If anything, it rather signifies what the team have been very good at this year: capitalising on other team’s misfortunes or misjudgements to come away with decent results. With only three exceptions, the team have scored at least a point at every race this season, and snagged two double points hauls to boot. Germany was of course the wonder story, but there’s no denying Red Bull’s plucky little sister hasn’t earned its keep thus far, and has the potential to keep on doing that or better. Grade: B, for continuing the growth with Honda, and offering a proving ground for two drivers who needed it.

Daniil Kvyat... What a story this lad’s treated us to, eh? Forced out of the Red Bull senior team one year, forced out of F1 altogether the next, only to come back and put on the performance he has thus far. He’s shown he clearly can still hang with the rest of them, even after a season’s absence. And then, we had that triumphant climax to the redemption arc two weeks ago, managing the wet wonderfully to make it a double Honda podium. Hard to try and predict what the future holds for him, inside this season and beyond, but if he manages to continue this form, I don’t think he’ll struggle at all to find a seat for next year. Grade: B, for pulling off the comeback story in beautiful fashion.

Alex Albon has, in a car that’s not exactly setting the grid on fire, managed to pull off a very respectable F1 debut in my view. His fortunes almost seem to mirror Daniil’s. More often than not, when one’s scored, the other hasn’t. But what’s struck me the most about him (as it has about all of this year’s F1 debutants), is just how maturely he’s going about his business - no silly scraps, no truly careless mistakes, just goes out there and does his best race in and race out. Which is key to his development into the stalwart Red Bull surely hope that he can be. Had a great drive in Germany, considering it was his first wet race in an F1 car, but overall there’s been nothing ostensibly bad about the season so far for the Thai driver. Grade : B-, for a calm and collected start to what’s hopefully a successful career in F1.

Renault have by no means at all been having the start to 2019 that they wanted. This was ‘laying the roof on the foundations’ time, to paraphrase Cyril Abiteboul, but the foundations have had a tunnel dug under them, and the man with the crane controls needs a pick-me-up. The hope, surely, was that even with McLaren sorting out their aero woes from 2018, the French outfit could finally shake off the embarrassment of being shown up so thoroughly by customer team Red Bull. The reality is not so pleasant, because now it’s Macca doing it instead. Gulfs between this year and last in how well the chassis handles certain tracks, an absolute nightmare in the reliability department at the start of the season, and some baffling strategy calls at times have made this year a step back rather than two forward. It will be very interesting to see if the team can halt their reverse momentum from Spa onwards. Grade : C, for somehow managing to come out worse with Red Bull not under their umbrella anymore.

Nico Hulkenberg may as well be a fixture on the wall of the midfield, considering how he’s held station there for what’s been his entire F1 career. It would appear, unfortunately, that that doesn’t look set to change any time soon. Granted, his relationship with Renault has been quite an amicable one ever since moving from Force India in 2017, but it exemplifies his career in the sport, in all reality: a rock-solid driver who’s never really had that extra gear to make the move up. He’s put in some good performances, but hasn’t been able to grind out the points in the same way he’s been able to for the past few years. On fault of car or driver? I’d lean towards the latter, but it doesn’t inspire much joy either way. Grade: B-, for at least not crumpling under the weight of having our next driver as a teammate

Daniel Ricciardo has a question that he’s likely asked himself at least once this season: Where did it all go wrong? There was so much promise when he left Red Bull for pastures new last year, murmurings that Daniel’s transfer might have hallmarks of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes back in 2013. It would appear, unless the wave he’s about to ride has been slow to gather speed, that this isn’t the case. Regardless, Danny seems to have settled in well to his new team, finally coming to speed with how to get the car primed for divebombs the way he likes them, and coming out with some solid points in a few races thus far. Hopefully, Renault give him a car after the summer break that he can have a bit more fun in than before. Grade: B, for helping Nico salvage what’s not been the best of times for their team.

Alfa Romeo, much like Ferrari, had a great deal of hullabaloo behind them going into the new season which also turned out to be at least a little bit of pie in the sky. There was talk of them being ahead of the curve, on the cusp of dominating the midfield this year. When, in reality, their results this year are being propped up by an icicle who I honestly feel is flattering the team and their car to quite some degree. There’s been signs in some places that this could be turning about, but not much of substance that I can see. Grade : C+, for at least giving Kimi a car that he can happily see out his years to retirement in.

Speaking of Kimi Raikkonen, he’s shown so far why it should never be forgotten, even closing in on the (relatively) ripe age of 40 that he’s a world champion driver. Kimi hasn’t lost his class one bit, and is dragging that car to places you could easily argue that it has no right to be. Case in point being that he is responsible for all but one of the team’s points so far. Astounding. Kimi’s having a good time, and that makes me happy. Grade : B+, because bwoah to you, that’s why.

Antonio Giovinazzi, on the other hand, is unfortunately not having the time everyone was hoping he might have in his ‘true’ F1 debut. Something that’s dawned on me, looking back at this is in perspective, is that there are a lot of worrying callbacks to the Alonso/Vandoorne pairing in McLaren of the two years gone, only arguably a bit worse. Elder statesman teammate to be compared to, a car that isn’t really the best on the grid that said teammate is dragging up the field. Except Antonio doesn’t seem to have that inherent racecraft and quali pace being overshadowed by his teammate’s, hence why I say it could well be worse. I hope that Antonio can find or at least start to discover his pace in the second half of the season, because I think the team are going to regret letting go of Marcus Ericsson rather sorely otherwise. Grade: C-, for making me throwback to that sad, sad time

Trying to grade the mid-season of The Team Formerly Known As Force India is like trying to judge an art competition based on concept sketches. You know there’s more to come, but you can’t quite see it yet, so you’re left wondering what you can really say. The team had a nice start to the season, picking up a handful of points at every race, with a repeat of usual form at Baku, but then started to flounder backwards until Germany finally announced the end of one of the team’s notorious quirks: the worst case of development lag on the entire grid. Whether their new funding courtesy of the Stroll conglomerate is going to help free that up for next year is anyone’s guess, but for now, there are green shoots, just ones I can’t really assess yet. Grade: B-, for keeping their heads above water while the cavalry of new parts arrived.

Sergio Perez has beyond a doubt earned his keep and his seat with the first half of his season, either fighting for points or to get into the points at nearly every race this year. Much like his old Hulk-ish teammate, Sergio’s made the midfield his wheelhouse for his F1 career, and he’s had no small part (even excluding his hand in the takeover last year) in keeping that team afloat, a reputation he’s kept up this year. Hopefully, with the car beneath him from Spa onwards, he can lead a charge for some better results to give the new owners something to smile about. Grade: B, for being the wily little Mexican we all know and love still

Lance Stroll has… honestly had the season I thought he might in his new home at Racing Point. His tenure with Williams showed it, even if he was being compared with a much more storied teammate there in the first year - his qualifying is arguably some of the weakest on the grid, and it’s very unfortunate, because his racecraft is great. His starts continue to draw attention, his ability to nail down a place is wonderful (even against a far superior opponent as we saw in Germany and Canada), and he’s actually responsible for more of the team’s current points than Checo. Madness, you’d surely have cried! If there’s some kind of block he has for extracting one-lap pace, I hope he can find it and remove it, because it would make him a driver well worthy of where he sits in far more people’s eyes. Grade: C, for still needing to bump up that average starting position

Haas have had a reversal of fortune comparable to McLaren’s fall from grace last year, and it is honestly devastating to see. A complete lack of understanding of why the car has such poor race performance, such an inability to maintain its tyres that is making dozens scratch their head in abject bewilderment at what this flaw in the chassis design could possibly be. There’s been some lucky breaks, but the situation has been slipping fast from their hands, and everyone is hoping that they can reach a solution over the summer. Grade: D, because something has clearly gone very wrong.

Romain Grosjean is having the last kind of start to 2019 that he would have wanted. Outscored by his teammate by more than double so far, still falling prey to the sort of silly mistakes that plagued his run last year, and now seeming to scrap with said teammate every other race, giving me flashbacks to the Force India boys from two years ago. I commend Haas for sticking with him and KMag and not just dropping him for the next new talent, but I think it’s fair to say that the time’s come for Romain to consider calling time on F1, for his own sake as much as the team’s. Grade: C-, because the moments of brilliance are getting fewer and further between.

Kevin Magnussen continues to be the more consistent of the two Haas drivers, which makes me wonder if giving Romain the Australia-spec chassis was a ploy to keep his confidence boosted. Speculations aside, he’s brought home some valuable points where they’re getting scarcer and scarcer for the American outfit. However, it has to be said that his driving style is very volatile and still earning raised eyebrows on the grid. Why this is noteworthy is that his teammate’s are among them. Kevin needs to get a pep-talk on reigning things in around Romain, because they’re liable to tearing themselves down from the inside. Grade: C, still bringing home some bacon, but not without skinning a few prize calves in the process.

And lastly on our journey, we come to Williams, and I won’t mess around too much here. Something is rotten in the state of one of Britain’s oldest racing teams, and it’s hard to tell if it’s being rectified or not. The car seems to be improving, yes, but is it going to improve enough is what remains to be seen, especially with another year under these chassis and aero regulations to get through. We could see this languishing at the back carry on for a while yet if the team aren’t careful. Grade: E, because the crash to the depths does finally seem to be making a turnaround.

George Russell is going to be the driver for me that defies his team’s rating categorically because he has proven to be quite the unsung hero this season. Whether his pace relative to his teammate is reflective or not, he has consistently and convincingly been the faster Williams all season, and almost gave the team its first Q2 appearance of the season at Hungary - what a feat. I am very glad that Toto Wolff has expressly ruled out calling George up to Mercedes next year because Williams desperately need him to try and continue their regrowth. Grade: B+, for showing one of the most level and realistic heads on the grid in the face of absolute calamity and nearly making a miracle happen at the Hungaroring.

Robert Kubica, on the other hand has had the most upsetting run on the grid this year. Everyone was full of hope for the returning hero this year, confident that yes, he’d struggle, but surely it wouldn’t be for long! Right? Alas, I think we can safely say now that Robert’s attempt at a return was an ill-fated one. He just doesn’t have that magic touch he seemed to have back in the day. He fought his way back, which I commend him highly for, but it just isn’t happening. Grade: F, with a heavy heart. Not even that point in Germany redeems this year, in my eyes.

Submitted August 06, 2019 at 06:17PM by TonyTempest https://ift.tt/2OI7EBC