2013 F1 Season: Half term Report

So, this season of Formula 1 has been nowhere near as good as last year's. However, it has been very interesting in it's own right; fresh controversy, bursting tyres and some fascinating on track battles in terms of wheel-to-wheel racing and differing strategies.

The original plan was to review the Hungarian GP. But, because we are literally just over the halfway point of the season, I thought I would do a "Half term report", where I give my own personal grade to each team, plus some general comments.



Red Bull Racing Renault

It's been a great year so far for the champions. Despite the gearbox failure at Silverstone, Vettel has had a very successful season. His impressive driving skills (plus good fortune, it has to be said) have given him 4 victories plus 3 podium finishes. The car is the best overall on the grid; fast in both qualifying and the races. As for Webber, he has been unfortunate (not to mention being robbed of a victory in Malaysia) but has transformed that bad luck into decent results. It's for these reasons Red Bull and Vettel are top of both championships.

A - Quick and Consistent, top of both tables.



Mercedes

People laughed at the prospect of Lewis Hamilton leaving McLaren to join Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. Who's laughing now? 3 wins, a bagful of pole positions, and a car which can only get better. Yes it is fair to say that the race car is not as mighty as the qualifying car, but when Mercedes can manage their tyres, they can win anywhere.


A-   - Surprisingly high achieving, with potential to improve.


Ferrari

At the year's inception, Ferrari looked like they had the best race car. At times Massa has shown brilliance, but we've also seen the other side to Felipe, most notably the 2 identical crashes at Monaco. As for Alonso, 2 victories where he absolutely dominated showed off just how good that Ferrari can be. Alonso's consistency keeps them in contention. But, I really think that Ferrari should be top of both championships. The car needs development because at the moment it does not look like winning.

B - Good at times, but must try harder.


Lotus Renault

Lotus looked like the team to beat after Australia. The car being so nice on these 2013 Pirelli tyres helps them a lot and have 1 victory to there name. It should have been 2, but was not due to Raikkonen's unnecessary pit stop at the Nurburgring. Grosjean has improved since last year, but penalties continue to hinder his progress in F1. Lotus are always "there or there abouts", but still have work to do to challenge Red Bull.


B+ - Potential to be at the top, must try harder to get there.


Force India Mercedes

What a great year it has been for Force India. Both drivers are close to each other in the championship and they have a car that is consistent and one that is competitive everywhere. They're even giving McLaren a serious headache! You do sense though that keeping McLaren at bay is going to exceptionally difficult during the 9 races after the Summer break.

B+ - Achieving above expected standards, must not slacken up.


McLaren Mercedes

Oh dear oh dear! McLaren have been achieving massively beneath their potential. Fighting for points is not good enough for a championship winning team. They're already thinking towards next season, with their only goals being to beat Force India and try to get on the podium. But, Button and Perez have had some exciting on-track battles and being a team that has turned things around before, you sense there is more to come from McLaren due to recent race results and performances.


C   - Massively under potential, must improve urgently.


Toro Rosso Ferrari

Toro Rosso have had pretty much the season everybody was expecting. Some races in the points, others not. However, with a vacant Red Bull seat open for next season, the rivalry between Vergne and Ricciardo has spiced up. Vergne has more points but Ricciardo has regularly mixed it with the top 10 in qualifying. Either way, it's going to be interesting at Toro Rosso for the next couple of weeks.

C+ - Performing as expected, with flashes of brilliance.


Sauber Ferrari

Sauber, in comparison to last year, have been disappointing. Only really getting in the points due to the talent of Nico Hulkenberg. Gutierrez is a regular Q1 casualty and looks nowhere near scoring a point. Perhaps their fortunes will change after the Summer break? But for now, Sauber's season has been uneventful and disappointing.


C-   - Generally disappointing, showing hardly any progress.


Williams Renault

Williams have scored only 1 point this season. They also have a top 3 in qualifying under their belt (due to Bottas' wet weather skills in Canada) as well. Before Hungary, points looked an impossibility for Frank Williams' team. Last season they had Maldonado who could win races and Senna who could consistently score points. It's different this year and it's not good enough.

D - Very disappointing, improvement is essential.


Marussia Cosworth

It's hard to expect anything from the back 2 teams. After 3 and a half years a point is still an elusive target. Jules Bianchi starred early on in the season and it is for that reason they are ahead of Caterham at the moment. Chilton is a regular last place man and they are behind Caterham at the moment.

E - As expected with their budget, shocking.



Caterham Renault

Caterham are at the foot of the table, yet are still performing better than Marussia at the moment. They will only go ahead of them with a points finish, but that looks an unrealistic target as it has ever been for Caterham. They have 2 talented young drivers, a world championship winning engine and a bigger budget than Marussia, yet they still can not improve.

F - Even with a larger budget, even more shocking.










So, those are my thoughts. Do you agree with my grades or would you put something else? Whatever you think, please comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading,
Matt