Google+ Jack Leslie F1: F1 2014 mid-season review: Part 2

10 August 2014

F1 2014 mid-season review: Part 2

With the end of the F1 2014 summer break and the factory shut down period edging closer, here is part two of my mid-season review. 
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In part one I graded the drivers who currently sit in the bottom half of the championship standings on their performances so far. Now it is time to take a look at the top 11.

The F1 world very rarely stops, with the summer break being crucial for team members, drivers, staff and media to refresh, reflect on the year so far and prepare for what should be an exciting and busy final part of the season. 

I think we all expected Mercedes to be at the front of the field in 2014, with the dramatic change in regulations, but the advantage that the team has enjoyed so far came as quite a surprise. 

The mid-field form card is constantly changing, with Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Williams, Force India and – on occasion – McLaren all fighting to be best of the rest. 

In the second segment of my mid-season review, I am going to rate the drivers occupying positions one to 11 in the drivers’ standings in the typical school grading system of A to F, with plus (+) and minus (-) also being used. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

1st to 11th 
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1st: Nico Rosberg 
Team: Mercedes AMG Petronas 
Points: 202 
Best result: 1st (Australia, Monaco, Austria and Germany) 
Rating:

The German driver surprised many (including myself) by challenging his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in 2013, and the close battle between the two has continued into this season, but this time they are fighting for the title. Rosberg has suffered fewer reliability issues but has driven very well in 2014, making very few errors and putting in some dominant drivers. He currently leads the championship by 11 points, but expect the battle for the title to go down to the wire. 

2nd: Lewis Hamilton 
Team: Mercedes AMG Petronas 
Points: 191 
Best result: 1st (Malaysia, China, Bahrain, Spain and Britain) 
Rating: A+ 

I believe Hamilton is the fastest Mercedes driver (although there isn’t that much in it), but more mechanical issues with the W05 has meant that we have seen some incredible and aggressive recovery drives from the 2008 champion. 

When it is all going smoothly, he has put in some amazingly dominant drives and put in a fantastic defensive performance in Bahrain to hold on to first. With five wins and impressive comebacks in Germany and Hungary, he is now just 11 points shy of his team-mate with eight races remaining. It should be a fantastic scrap for the top spot. 
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3rd: Daniel Ricciardo 
Team: Red Bull Racing 
Points: 131 
Best result: 1st (Canada and Hungary) 
Rating: A+ 

Who expected Ricciardo to beat his four-time world champion team-mate in 2014? I certainly didn’t, but he has done just that. He has excelled in the sport’s new era and has been consistently fighting near the front, scoring five podiums in total. That figure includes his impressive drive to first place in Canada and his faultless victory in Hungary, after he pulled off his three-stop strategy perfectly and completed some brave overtakes. 

Sure, it hasn’t all gone to plan – his home podium on his Red Bull Racing debut in Australia was taken away from him through no fault of his own – but he has certainly proved that he is one of the best drivers on the grid. I am a big fan of the Aussie, he is always so positive and is a really nice guy, so it is great to see him racing at the front.

4th: Fernando Alonso 
Team: Ferrari 
Points: 115 
Best result: 2nd (Hungary) 
Rating: A 

With the machinery at his disposal this season, Alonso has done extremely well to score two podium finishes and sit fourth in the standings over the summer break – particularly when you compare the Spaniard’s results to Kimi Raikkonen’s. 

The F14 T is a difficult car to master, but he has managed to drag it to several strong results and has also been involved in some spectacular, close but fair battles – including in Hungary, where a different strategy helped him to take the chequered flag in second place. 
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5th: Valtteri Bottas 
Team: Williams Martini Racing 
Points: 95 
Best result: 2nd (Britain and Germany) 
Rating: A 

Bottas is proving that he is – like Ricciardo – a star for the future. Williams has enjoyed a change in fortunes this year, returning to the sharp end of the grid with the Mercedes-powered FW36. There have been a few missed opportunities so far, but there has also been plenty to smile about – including the Finn’s run to three consecutive podiums between Austria and Germany. 

6th: Sebastian Vettel 
Team: Red Bull Racing 
Points: 88 
Best result: 3rd (Malaysia and Canada) 
Rating: B- 

The four-time world champion was expected to lead Red Bull’s charge in 2014, despite the team slipping back into the fight to be best of the rest. However, he has been consistently beaten by his less experienced team-mate and has struggled more to adapt to F1’s new era. 

Reliability problems and poor strategy calls (like in Hungary) have cost him points, but without those he would still be trailing Ricciardo in the championship standings. 
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7th: Nico Hulkenberg 
Team: Sahara Force India F1 Team 
Points: 69 
Best result: 5th (Malaysia, China, Monaco and Canada) 
Rating: B+ 

The German driver’s return to Force India has so far been a success, scoring points in 10 of the 11 races. His run of consecutive top 10 results came to a disappointing end in Hungary, after he crashed into his team-mate, but despite remaining podium-less, overall it has been a strong first part of the year and he is proving once again that he deserves a seat at a top team. 

8th: Jenson Button 
Team: McLaren Mercedes 
Points: 60 
Best result: 3rd (Australia) 
Rating:

He inherited third after Ricciardo’s disqualification in Australia, but it was still an encouraging start to 2014 for McLaren after a disastrous previous season. However, the speed and potential of the MP4-29 has failed to be seen since, with Button scoring a few good results – including just missing out on a podium at Silverstone, as it turned pink in tribute to his late father John - and plenty of mediocre ones. 
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9th: Felipe Massa 
Team: Williams Martini Racing 
Points: 40 
Best result: 4th (Austria) 
Rating: B- 

The Brazilian looks at home and happier than ever at Williams, but he has suffered some bad luck and made a few errors in the first half of the 2014 season, with his team-mate Bottas also consistently beating him. He took a surprise pole position in Austria but eventually dropped to fourth, and has scored just one other top five finish this year. 

10th: Kevin Magnussen 
Team: McLaren Mercedes 
Points: 37 
Best result: 2nd (Australia) 
Rating: B 

His rookie season got off to a stunning start with a faultless drive to second place in Australia (third on the road, before Ricciardo’s disqualification), but the Dane has failed to replicate the performance as McLaren has slipped down the midfield pack. The MP4-29’s current form has relegated him to battling for the final points, but he has still put in some good performances and kept his team-mate Button on his toes. 
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11th: Sergio Perez 
Team: Sahara Force India F1 Team 
Points: 29 
Best result: 3rd (Bahrain) 
Rating: B- 

After getting dropped by McLaren in favour of Magnussen, the 2014 season so far has been a mixed bag for Perez in his first year at Force India. He has failed to match the consistency of his team-mate and has lost points thanks to driver errors (for example, in Canada) but has put in several strong drives – particularly in Bahrain, where he scored the team’s first podium since 2009 – and pushed Hulkenberg hard. 

Check out the first part of my 2014 mid-season review here: http://bit.ly/1y9L5lb

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