The F1 summer break is well under way, with factories shutting down for 14 days and team members heading off for some well-earned relaxation time.
The empty void left in its place gives me the perfect opportunity to look back on the season so far. Here’s part one of my mid-season review, rating the drivers who currently sit in the bottom half of the championship standings.
It really has been a great start to F1’s new era, with the seismic regulation changes for 2014 shaking up the competitive order and producing some stunning racing.
The form card changes from race weekend to race weekend, with different cars suiting different tracks and close intra-team battles. Mercedes has dominated the opening half of the season, with Red Bull Racing, Williams and Ferrari leading the fight to be second best.
Force India and McLaren are clinging on to the edge of that battle, with Toro Rosso, Lotus and Sauber a little bit further back. Marussia has made good steps forward in 2014 and now finds itself ninth in the constructors’ championship, pulling away from the struggling Caterham.
We have seen plenty of drama and controversy so far this year, both on and off track. In part one of my mid-season review, I am going to rate the drivers occupying positions 12 to 22 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+.
12th to 22nd:
12th: Kimi Raikkonen
Team: Scuderia Ferrari
Points: 27
Best result: 6th (Hungary)
Grading: D+
Prior to the 2014 season, I said Ferrari’s driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen was the strongest on the grid. However, my expectations of the latter have failed to be met, with a rather underwhelming return to the Maranello-based outfit for the Iceman.
With his team-mate scoring two podium finishes, a best result of sixth at the last race – where he finally felt more comfortable with the car – is disappointing. Sure, it hasn’t all gone his way and the car is far from perfect, but he should be higher than 12th in the standings. Hopefully the minor breakthrough in Hungary will help him move up the order.
13th: Jean-Eric Vergne
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Points: 11
Best result: 8th (Australia and Canada)
Grade: D
I expected more from the Frenchman in 2014, but it has been a rather quiet and frustrating third season in F1 for Vergne. The STR9 is far from reliable and he has retired five times, but more often than not he has been out-performed by his rookie team-mate.
Eighth place in Australia and Canada, as well as ninth in Hungary have been good but far from stand-out results in my eyes. He has plenty of work to do if he wants to retain his seat next year, with the likes of Carlos Sainz Jr and Alex Lynn waiting in the wings.
14th: Romain Grosjean
Team: Lotus F1 Team
Points: 8
Best result: 8th (Spain and Monaco)
Grade: C
I rate Grosjean quite highly and he has pretty much dominated the intra-team battle at Lotus. The team has been on the back foot from the very start of the season after opting to miss the first winter test and reliability issues have plagued the Enstone-based outfit ever since the car debuted in Bahrain in mid-February.
Grosjean has put in some good performances, with eighth in Spain and Monaco being particularly impressive (especially as he was nursing a power-unit problem in the former). However, he has often not had the car to challenge for points. An embarrassing crash while warming up his tyres behind the safety car in Hungary is definitely the low point so far.
15th: Daniil Kvyat
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Points: 6
Best result: 9th (Australia and Great Britain)
Grade: B-
You may find it a little strange that I have given someone with just six points and 15th in the drivers’ standings a B-, but I think the grading is thoroughly deserved for Kvyat. I expected the Russian rookie to struggle in 2014 and be out of his depth after making the jump to F1 straight from GP3, but I was wrong.
He has put in several impressive performances, not only on Sunday but also in qualifying, and would definitely have scored more points so far had he not suffered several costly reliability problems. The future is certainly bright for Kvyat, but he needs a good end to the year to really secure his seat for 2015.
16th: Jules Bianchi
Team: Marussia F1 Team
Points: 2
Best result: 9th (Monaco)
Grade: B
2014 has so far been a breakthrough year for Marussia and Bianchi, with the Frenchman scoring the team’s first points in Monaco with ninth place. It was a strong drive and he pulled off some impressive overtakes, helping the team move up a position in the constructors’ standings.
He has dominated the intra-team battle once again, and also completed a successful test for Ferrari at Silverstone when Raikkonen was unable to take part. Could he be set for a big move to F1’s most successful outfit? It is possible, and I think he would do a great job.
17th: Adrian Sutil
Team: Sauber F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 11th (Australia and Hungary)
Grade: D-
The first half of the 2014 season has been the worst in the history of the Sauber F1 Team; with both drivers struggling to get to grips with the "diva" that is the C33. The car lacks braking stability and power, with the Ferrari V6 Turbo.
Sutil has had a very average and underwhelming season so far, failing to score a point and cracking under the pressure (such as his crash in Monaco and spin in Germany) when a better result looked possible. Looking ahead to 2015, it isn’t looking good for him at the moment, with five drivers scrapping over just two seats at the Swiss outfit.
18th: Marcus Ericsson
Team: Caterham F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 11th (Monaco)
Grade: E+
2014 has so far been a disaster for Caterham, with a very poor car and lots of changes behind the scenes. Despite pre-season reliability promise, Ericsson has suffered plenty of problems (mainly power-unit related) and had a rather anonymous rookie year so far. 11th place in Monaco was helped by retirements and he has consistently been a few tenths slower than his team-mate.
19th: Pastor Maldonado
Team: Lotus F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 12th (Austria and Germany)
Grade: E
Despite being confirmed as a Lotus driver for 2015, Maldonado’s first year at the Enstone-based outfit has been very disappointing. He has suffered plenty of power-unit problems, but has also made several costly mistakes and consistently finished behind his team-mate Grosjean when both cars have made it to the chequered flag.
20th: Esteban Gutierrez
Team: Sauber F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 12th (Australia)
Grade: D
The Mexican has often matched and on occasion finished ahead of his more experienced team-mate, but – like Sutil – he has also struggled with the tricky C33 and made several errors as well. His Monaco crash when running in the top 10 was the most painful, while things looked more promising in Hungary until he was forced to retire.
Was part of one of the most memorable moments from the season so far – his barrel-roll in Bahrain – but other than that, it has been a quiet first half to his second year in F1. He is up against tough competition to retain his Sauber seat, but the recent announcement that the sport will return to Mexico in 2015 will certainly help his cause.
21st: Max Chilton
Team: Marussia F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 13th (Australia and Bahrain)
Grade: D-
Like last year, he has been consistently off the pace of his impressive team-mate Jules Bianchi but has stayed out of trouble and made it to the chequered flag with the car in one piece. Well, apart from Canada where his run of consecutive race finishes came to an end after he hit Bianchi on lap one. A rather average start to his second year in F1 and it doesn’t look set to change in the second part of the season.
22nd: Kamui Kobayashi
Team: Caterham F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 13th (Malaysia and Monaco)
Grade: D
Both Caterham drivers have suffered woeful reliability issues, particularly during practice where they have lost plenty of track time. It has been a difficult start to first season at Caterham – a team that is now very different to the one he joined in late January. His experience doesn’t look like it has helped to move the team forward, so his future is far from certain.
.jpg) |
| © Octane Photographic |
It really has been a great start to F1’s new era, with the seismic regulation changes for 2014 shaking up the competitive order and producing some stunning racing.
The form card changes from race weekend to race weekend, with different cars suiting different tracks and close intra-team battles. Mercedes has dominated the opening half of the season, with Red Bull Racing, Williams and Ferrari leading the fight to be second best.
Force India and McLaren are clinging on to the edge of that battle, with Toro Rosso, Lotus and Sauber a little bit further back. Marussia has made good steps forward in 2014 and now finds itself ninth in the constructors’ championship, pulling away from the struggling Caterham.
We have seen plenty of drama and controversy so far this year, both on and off track. In part one of my mid-season review, I am going to rate the drivers occupying positions 12 to 22 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+.
12th to 22nd:
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Team: Scuderia Ferrari
Points: 27
Best result: 6th (Hungary)
Grading: D+
Prior to the 2014 season, I said Ferrari’s driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen was the strongest on the grid. However, my expectations of the latter have failed to be met, with a rather underwhelming return to the Maranello-based outfit for the Iceman.
With his team-mate scoring two podium finishes, a best result of sixth at the last race – where he finally felt more comfortable with the car – is disappointing. Sure, it hasn’t all gone his way and the car is far from perfect, but he should be higher than 12th in the standings. Hopefully the minor breakthrough in Hungary will help him move up the order.
13th: Jean-Eric Vergne
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Points: 11
Best result: 8th (Australia and Canada)
Grade: D
I expected more from the Frenchman in 2014, but it has been a rather quiet and frustrating third season in F1 for Vergne. The STR9 is far from reliable and he has retired five times, but more often than not he has been out-performed by his rookie team-mate.
Eighth place in Australia and Canada, as well as ninth in Hungary have been good but far from stand-out results in my eyes. He has plenty of work to do if he wants to retain his seat next year, with the likes of Carlos Sainz Jr and Alex Lynn waiting in the wings.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
14th: Romain Grosjean
Team: Lotus F1 Team
Points: 8
Best result: 8th (Spain and Monaco)
Grade: C
I rate Grosjean quite highly and he has pretty much dominated the intra-team battle at Lotus. The team has been on the back foot from the very start of the season after opting to miss the first winter test and reliability issues have plagued the Enstone-based outfit ever since the car debuted in Bahrain in mid-February.
Grosjean has put in some good performances, with eighth in Spain and Monaco being particularly impressive (especially as he was nursing a power-unit problem in the former). However, he has often not had the car to challenge for points. An embarrassing crash while warming up his tyres behind the safety car in Hungary is definitely the low point so far.
15th: Daniil Kvyat
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Points: 6
Best result: 9th (Australia and Great Britain)
Grade: B-
You may find it a little strange that I have given someone with just six points and 15th in the drivers’ standings a B-, but I think the grading is thoroughly deserved for Kvyat. I expected the Russian rookie to struggle in 2014 and be out of his depth after making the jump to F1 straight from GP3, but I was wrong.
He has put in several impressive performances, not only on Sunday but also in qualifying, and would definitely have scored more points so far had he not suffered several costly reliability problems. The future is certainly bright for Kvyat, but he needs a good end to the year to really secure his seat for 2015.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
16th: Jules Bianchi
Team: Marussia F1 Team
Points: 2
Best result: 9th (Monaco)
Grade: B
2014 has so far been a breakthrough year for Marussia and Bianchi, with the Frenchman scoring the team’s first points in Monaco with ninth place. It was a strong drive and he pulled off some impressive overtakes, helping the team move up a position in the constructors’ standings.
He has dominated the intra-team battle once again, and also completed a successful test for Ferrari at Silverstone when Raikkonen was unable to take part. Could he be set for a big move to F1’s most successful outfit? It is possible, and I think he would do a great job.
17th: Adrian Sutil
Team: Sauber F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 11th (Australia and Hungary)
Grade: D-
The first half of the 2014 season has been the worst in the history of the Sauber F1 Team; with both drivers struggling to get to grips with the "diva" that is the C33. The car lacks braking stability and power, with the Ferrari V6 Turbo.
Sutil has had a very average and underwhelming season so far, failing to score a point and cracking under the pressure (such as his crash in Monaco and spin in Germany) when a better result looked possible. Looking ahead to 2015, it isn’t looking good for him at the moment, with five drivers scrapping over just two seats at the Swiss outfit.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
18th: Marcus Ericsson
Team: Caterham F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 11th (Monaco)
Grade: E+
2014 has so far been a disaster for Caterham, with a very poor car and lots of changes behind the scenes. Despite pre-season reliability promise, Ericsson has suffered plenty of problems (mainly power-unit related) and had a rather anonymous rookie year so far. 11th place in Monaco was helped by retirements and he has consistently been a few tenths slower than his team-mate.
19th: Pastor Maldonado
Team: Lotus F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 12th (Austria and Germany)
Grade: E
Despite being confirmed as a Lotus driver for 2015, Maldonado’s first year at the Enstone-based outfit has been very disappointing. He has suffered plenty of power-unit problems, but has also made several costly mistakes and consistently finished behind his team-mate Grosjean when both cars have made it to the chequered flag.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
20th: Esteban Gutierrez
Team: Sauber F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 12th (Australia)
Grade: D
The Mexican has often matched and on occasion finished ahead of his more experienced team-mate, but – like Sutil – he has also struggled with the tricky C33 and made several errors as well. His Monaco crash when running in the top 10 was the most painful, while things looked more promising in Hungary until he was forced to retire.
Was part of one of the most memorable moments from the season so far – his barrel-roll in Bahrain – but other than that, it has been a quiet first half to his second year in F1. He is up against tough competition to retain his Sauber seat, but the recent announcement that the sport will return to Mexico in 2015 will certainly help his cause.
21st: Max Chilton
Team: Marussia F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 13th (Australia and Bahrain)
Grade: D-
Like last year, he has been consistently off the pace of his impressive team-mate Jules Bianchi but has stayed out of trouble and made it to the chequered flag with the car in one piece. Well, apart from Canada where his run of consecutive race finishes came to an end after he hit Bianchi on lap one. A rather average start to his second year in F1 and it doesn’t look set to change in the second part of the season.
22nd: Kamui Kobayashi
Team: Caterham F1 Team
Points: 0
Best result: 13th (Malaysia and Monaco)
Grade: D
Both Caterham drivers have suffered woeful reliability issues, particularly during practice where they have lost plenty of track time. It has been a difficult start to first season at Caterham – a team that is now very different to the one he joined in late January. His experience doesn’t look like it has helped to move the team forward, so his future is far from certain.
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