The 2014 Formula 1 season is four races in and with the sport’s return to Europe just around the corner; I thought it would be a good time to take a look at how the rookies have fared so far.
Three fresh faces joined the grid this year. Kevin Magnussen replaced Sergio Perez at McLaren, Daniil Kvyat took over Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at Toro Rosso and Marcus Ericsson joined Caterham.
So, let’s start with the man who currently sits ninth in the drivers’ standings, shall we? I had high expectations of Magnussen prior to his F1 debut and he certainly impressed in Australia by taking the chequered flag in third place.
Of course, he was then promoted to second thanks to Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion - with Red Bull Racing’s appeal of the decision being rejected, which meant the Danish driver left Melbourne second in the championship.
He looked comfortable throughout pre-season testing, despite limited running prior to trying out McLaren’s 2014 car for the first time in Jerez, and that continued over the course of the first race weekend of the year.
The 21-year-old qualified in fourth place in tricky conditions and went on to score a podium finish, beating his team-mate Jenson Button and putting in a very mature drive to score an impressive result.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the strong form he showed in Australia since, but that isn’t entirely his fault. The Mercedes-powered MP4-29 is more suited to warmer conditions and both McLaren drivers struggled in the cooler temperatures at the last race in China, with the rookie eventually finishing in 13th place. A lack of the downforce in the high-speed corners didn’t help either.
However, he has made a few mistakes that have cost him points. His pace was good in Malaysia and a top six finish could have been possible, but a clumsy collision with Kimi Raikkonen on lap two and front wing damage saw him slip to an eventual ninth place.
In Bahrain, he collided with the Finn once again and lost several positions on the first lap. The colder night-time temperatures didn’t help his recovery and he eventually retired with a clutch issue, although he didn’t look on course for a top 10 result anyway.
So after a few below-par races and some rookie errors, he will be hoping that the warmer climate in Spain and the planned upgrades will help McLaren return to the front of the scrap for the final podium position.
Daniil Kvyat was a surprise replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso, with some claiming he was too young and inexperienced to step up to Formula 1. However, he has certainly proved the critics wrong so far with very respectable drives.
He started his first Formula 1 race from eighth place on the grid after a strong Q3 lap in tricky conditions. In the race, he battled cleanly and fairly to cross the line in 10th place (which later became ninth) to score on his debut, finishing just three seconds behind his more experienced team-mate.
The 19-year-old was frustrated to miss out on the top 10 shoot-out in Malaysia and started in 11th, before putting in another good but rather quiet drive on Sunday to add another point to his tally.
The Toro Rosso STR9 wasn’t as quick around the Bahrain International Circuit and he finished the third race of the season in 11th.
Despite registering his first non-score of the year, Bahrain was still a positive weekend for the Russian as he out-qualified Vergne for the first time and put in an error-free performance. Next up was China, where he started in a disappointing 14th place but recovered to score another point. Overall, it has been a respectable start to Kvyat’s Formula 1 career.
Marcus Ericsson’s first race was far from straightforward. Caterham looked to have emerged from winter testing with the most reliable Renault-powered car, but the Leafield-based outfit had a disastrous weekend in Australia that included almost no running in Friday’s two free practice sessions.
The Swede went into qualifying with very little running under his belt, so 20th on the grid and nine tenths off his team-mate’s Q1 time wasn't too bad. A strong start saw him run as high as 11th before an oil leak cut short a promising race.
In Malaysia, he crashed in the rain-affected qualifying session and took the chequered flag in 14th place after managing to edge out Max Chilton’s Marussia by one tenth despite losing power in the closing stages of the race.
Another oil leak in Bahrain meant he was forced to retire after a disappointing weekend.
Finally, he finished the Chinese Grand Prix in last place and some way off the driver in front after struggling throughout with understeer and balance issues.
The three rookies have suffered mixed fortunes in the opening four fly-away races of the 2014 season, but they have all shown plenty of potential. Let’s see how they fare over the rest of the year, it will certainly be very interesting to watch.
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| Images © McLaren Mercedes, Red Bull/Getty Images and Caterham F1 Team |
So, let’s start with the man who currently sits ninth in the drivers’ standings, shall we? I had high expectations of Magnussen prior to his F1 debut and he certainly impressed in Australia by taking the chequered flag in third place.
Of course, he was then promoted to second thanks to Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion - with Red Bull Racing’s appeal of the decision being rejected, which meant the Danish driver left Melbourne second in the championship.
He looked comfortable throughout pre-season testing, despite limited running prior to trying out McLaren’s 2014 car for the first time in Jerez, and that continued over the course of the first race weekend of the year.
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| © McLaren Mercedes |
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the strong form he showed in Australia since, but that isn’t entirely his fault. The Mercedes-powered MP4-29 is more suited to warmer conditions and both McLaren drivers struggled in the cooler temperatures at the last race in China, with the rookie eventually finishing in 13th place. A lack of the downforce in the high-speed corners didn’t help either.
However, he has made a few mistakes that have cost him points. His pace was good in Malaysia and a top six finish could have been possible, but a clumsy collision with Kimi Raikkonen on lap two and front wing damage saw him slip to an eventual ninth place.
In Bahrain, he collided with the Finn once again and lost several positions on the first lap. The colder night-time temperatures didn’t help his recovery and he eventually retired with a clutch issue, although he didn’t look on course for a top 10 result anyway.
So after a few below-par races and some rookie errors, he will be hoping that the warmer climate in Spain and the planned upgrades will help McLaren return to the front of the scrap for the final podium position.
Daniil Kvyat was a surprise replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso, with some claiming he was too young and inexperienced to step up to Formula 1. However, he has certainly proved the critics wrong so far with very respectable drives.
He started his first Formula 1 race from eighth place on the grid after a strong Q3 lap in tricky conditions. In the race, he battled cleanly and fairly to cross the line in 10th place (which later became ninth) to score on his debut, finishing just three seconds behind his more experienced team-mate.
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| © Red Bull/Getty Images |
The Toro Rosso STR9 wasn’t as quick around the Bahrain International Circuit and he finished the third race of the season in 11th.
Despite registering his first non-score of the year, Bahrain was still a positive weekend for the Russian as he out-qualified Vergne for the first time and put in an error-free performance. Next up was China, where he started in a disappointing 14th place but recovered to score another point. Overall, it has been a respectable start to Kvyat’s Formula 1 career.
Marcus Ericsson’s first race was far from straightforward. Caterham looked to have emerged from winter testing with the most reliable Renault-powered car, but the Leafield-based outfit had a disastrous weekend in Australia that included almost no running in Friday’s two free practice sessions.
The Swede went into qualifying with very little running under his belt, so 20th on the grid and nine tenths off his team-mate’s Q1 time wasn't too bad. A strong start saw him run as high as 11th before an oil leak cut short a promising race.
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| © Caterham F1 Team |
Finally, he finished the Chinese Grand Prix in last place and some way off the driver in front after struggling throughout with understeer and balance issues.
The three rookies have suffered mixed fortunes in the opening four fly-away races of the 2014 season, but they have all shown plenty of potential. Let’s see how they fare over the rest of the year, it will certainly be very interesting to watch.
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