I know the season hasn't yet finished, but feel enough time has passed to begin characterising the performance of the new teams' drivers. This is the first of 4 reviews, working from back to front, three teams at a time.
For the backmarkers I will list their best three results, further up the grid I will give points totals and best result and at the front I will list race victories.
Lotus:
Heikki Kovalienen: (12th Japan, 13th Korea, 13th Australia)
Has generally lead the 6 driver fight for 19th on the grid and has recorded the best results in races. Of all the drivers who went to the new teams, he has the most reason to be satisfied with his performances across 2010 and if it wasn't for the financial crisis and the return of the need for drivers to pay for all but the very top seats, he would fancy his chances at a promotion back to Renault or Force India. As it is, he is very likely to be driving a Renault-powered Lotus, which is currently predicted to be fighting the Toro Rossos for 9th in the constructors' championship.
Jarno Trulli: (13th Japan, 15th Monaco, 15th Hungary)
Has been the victim of more than his share of Lotus' reliability gremlins, but this doesn't mask the fact that he has also been outperformed fairly consistently by his teammate. Until this year he had a reputation as one of the best qualifiers in the sport, but has routinely been outdone on a Saturday by Heikki, who did not have this reputation before.
Virgin:
Timo Glock: (14th Japan, 16th Hungary, 17th Italy)
After a tough start to the season, where Virgin's fuel tank wasn't big enough for the team to finish a race, Timo has generally succeeded in taking the fight to the Lotuses. He has also consistently outperformed Lucas Di Grassi and was the last driver to lose his record of always outqualifying his teammate. He has certainly proved that he is worthy of a place in the sport. He has also been unlucky to be pushed off track when running amongst the "big boys" in Valencia and Korea, which has deprived him of two very strong results.
Lucas Di Grassi: (14th Malaysia, 15th Singapore, 17th Belgium and Europe)
Whilst he has better results than his teammate, this is more a reflection of luck than consistency. He has also had more than his fair share of accidents, particularly the recent smash before the Japanese Grand Prix even started. His place in the sport is almost certainly gone, since he has neither the sponsors, nor the performance to retain it.
Hispania:
Bruno Senna: (14th Korea, 15th Japan, 16th Malaysia and China)
Missed the British Grand Prix amidst rumours that his sponsors weren't paying, but more importantly got comprehensively outperformed by Christian Klien in the Austrian's first race for 4 years. Makes you wonder how he would have coped with the pressure, had he been chosen in Barrichello's place for the Brawn team last season. I suspect he might have cost the team both titles. Disappointing, given the expectation of his uncle's fans.
Karun Chandhok: (14th Australia, 14th Monaco, 15th Malaysia)
Had the best results for the Hispania team after his poor performance in Bahrain but was replaced after 10 races by Sakon Yamamoto, presumably for financial reasons. Has probably done enough to prove he's worth a place, but will need more funds to actually get one. He has also provided very useful insights on the BBC Red Button coverage of practice, so perhaps a career at the Beeb awaits. A pity, but he seems set to become the new Anthony Davidson.
Sakon Yamamoto: (15th Korea, 16th Japan, 19th Italy and Hungary)
Has been given many chances in the sport, by Super Aguri, Jordan and now Hispania, but has yet to outshine his teammate. Thankfully for him, he has the sort of funding that keeps tail-end teams alive, but it appears that Hispania are betting on Christian Klien's ability to score an 11th place, securing the team 10th place in the championship, as a better means of safeguarding the team's future as the Austrian has been brought in for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Christian Klien: (retired in Singapore)
Outqualified Senna, then ran nearly a second a lap faster until his retirement in Singapore, the Austrian former Red Bull protege has shown that he is still a good driver. His recall for Brazil shows the faith the team has in him and may earn him a chance to race for a 2011 drive.
Showing posts with label Kovaleinen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kovaleinen. Show all posts
04 November 2010
10 May 2009
Drivers in trouble
The main metric of performance for a driver in F1 is how you match up with your teammate. Some battles (BMW, Toyota) are closer than others, but here are the drivers you might hear rumours about.
Kovaleinen: Simply didn't have the pace to get out of Q1, which should ring alarm bells. As with his countryman Raikkonen, car problems brought him to an early halt, but at the time he was ahead of his teammate. Reputation: no harm done.
Raikkonen: Clearly not the man he was. Claimed responsibility for Q1 error, although realistically that was a team decision. Had a good first lap today, but car troubles brought him to a halt early on. Reputation: unharmed, but unimproved.
Piquet jnr: Outqualified again (but his best performance yet in 12th) . Survived first lap, unlike some, and ended up ahead of Hamilton. Couldn't keep that up, which on a track like this is a black mark. Stopped earlier than pre-race weight would indicate, probably because Alonso had come out just behind him. Reputation: unimproved, which will soon be a problem.
Bourdais: out on lap 1, like his teammate. Not much to say, really.
Webber: outqualified by his teammate, again (used to be his speciality) but with a better strategy, managed to be best of the rest behind the Brawns. Reputation: restored, still adrift of Vettel though.
Nakajima: Broke his front wing on lap one, but had already lost out in qualifying to his teammate. Got stuck behind Fisichella (but if Hamilton can overtake Piquet, surely Nakajima could overtake a Force India). Lost time when Heidfeld came out in front of him after a stop, but was nowhere near Rosberg's pace again. Reputation: sinking, needs to do something soon to justify his place.
Fisichella: Qualified last, and much slower than Sutil (19th). Survived first lap incident, which is a plus. Had some problems mid-race, making 4 put stops, but on his final stint was the fastest car on the track, 8th on the overall fastest laps ranking (why not for the rest of the race).
Barrichello: Outdone in qualifying, recovered on lap one. Blamed the tyres in stints 2 and 3 for his failure to capitalise on 3 stop strategy. Should have been fuelled longer for penultimate stint, but at least he came second. Will have to tow the line behind Button, if he can't win before Ferrari et al catch up.
Kovaleinen: Simply didn't have the pace to get out of Q1, which should ring alarm bells. As with his countryman Raikkonen, car problems brought him to an early halt, but at the time he was ahead of his teammate. Reputation: no harm done.
Raikkonen: Clearly not the man he was. Claimed responsibility for Q1 error, although realistically that was a team decision. Had a good first lap today, but car troubles brought him to a halt early on. Reputation: unharmed, but unimproved.
Piquet jnr: Outqualified again (but his best performance yet in 12th) . Survived first lap, unlike some, and ended up ahead of Hamilton. Couldn't keep that up, which on a track like this is a black mark. Stopped earlier than pre-race weight would indicate, probably because Alonso had come out just behind him. Reputation: unimproved, which will soon be a problem.
Bourdais: out on lap 1, like his teammate. Not much to say, really.
Webber: outqualified by his teammate, again (used to be his speciality) but with a better strategy, managed to be best of the rest behind the Brawns. Reputation: restored, still adrift of Vettel though.
Nakajima: Broke his front wing on lap one, but had already lost out in qualifying to his teammate. Got stuck behind Fisichella (but if Hamilton can overtake Piquet, surely Nakajima could overtake a Force India). Lost time when Heidfeld came out in front of him after a stop, but was nowhere near Rosberg's pace again. Reputation: sinking, needs to do something soon to justify his place.
Fisichella: Qualified last, and much slower than Sutil (19th). Survived first lap incident, which is a plus. Had some problems mid-race, making 4 put stops, but on his final stint was the fastest car on the track, 8th on the overall fastest laps ranking (why not for the rest of the race).
Barrichello: Outdone in qualifying, recovered on lap one. Blamed the tyres in stints 2 and 3 for his failure to capitalise on 3 stop strategy. Should have been fuelled longer for penultimate stint, but at least he came second. Will have to tow the line behind Button, if he can't win before Ferrari et al catch up.
26 April 2009
Under Pressure
Team-mate comparisons are the most accurate ones available in F1. Some drivers suit certain car characteristics better than others, but generally, if you're beating a well-regarded teammate, you're doing well.
If, however, you're being completely overshadowed, then you're number may soon be up:
Piquet - Has one of the best drivers since the Prost, Senna, Mansell era as his teammate, but then so did Lewis Hamilton. Getting a kicking in the press and on TV, but ultimately, he must raise his game, if he is to keep his seat beyond Spain (or Turkey, depending on the rumour you hear). Rumour also has it that only his dad's friendship with Flavio Briatore saved him from the chop last winter.
Bourdais - Multiple Champ Car champion has managed to prove how worthless the Champ Car series is, having been outdone by a rookie last season (admittedly Vettel) and being outdone by another rookie, with an uninspiring CV (Buemi). Must stamp his authority soon, otherwise Sato might get a call (or else one of the Red Bull youngsters).
Nakajima - Has managed a top 8 position in a session that counted only once (8th in Q1 at Bahrain), which is one more than Piquet, but far fewer than Rosberg. Nico Hulkenberg might replace him, or else another Toyota favourite, but realistically it is only his Japanese passport that is keeping him in F1 for now.
Kovaleinen - Has been overshadowed by Hamilton for a year and a bit now. However, his performance in China will keep the pressure off for a while yet.
Fisichella - Very experienced, but unable to wring the best out of the car. He is losing the head-to-head with another inexperienced driver, and probably won't get a drive next season. Whether he loses his drive in the meantime, however, depends on whether McLaren decide to "persuade" tehir partners to give De La Rosa some racing.
If, however, you're being completely overshadowed, then you're number may soon be up:
Piquet - Has one of the best drivers since the Prost, Senna, Mansell era as his teammate, but then so did Lewis Hamilton. Getting a kicking in the press and on TV, but ultimately, he must raise his game, if he is to keep his seat beyond Spain (or Turkey, depending on the rumour you hear). Rumour also has it that only his dad's friendship with Flavio Briatore saved him from the chop last winter.
Bourdais - Multiple Champ Car champion has managed to prove how worthless the Champ Car series is, having been outdone by a rookie last season (admittedly Vettel) and being outdone by another rookie, with an uninspiring CV (Buemi). Must stamp his authority soon, otherwise Sato might get a call (or else one of the Red Bull youngsters).
Nakajima - Has managed a top 8 position in a session that counted only once (8th in Q1 at Bahrain), which is one more than Piquet, but far fewer than Rosberg. Nico Hulkenberg might replace him, or else another Toyota favourite, but realistically it is only his Japanese passport that is keeping him in F1 for now.
Kovaleinen - Has been overshadowed by Hamilton for a year and a bit now. However, his performance in China will keep the pressure off for a while yet.
Fisichella - Very experienced, but unable to wring the best out of the car. He is losing the head-to-head with another inexperienced driver, and probably won't get a drive next season. Whether he loses his drive in the meantime, however, depends on whether McLaren decide to "persuade" tehir partners to give De La Rosa some racing.
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