What a fabulous start to the season it’s been. Australia set the tone with a typical Albert Park GP – crashes, overtaking and general mayhem, featuring some excellent performances from Button, Alonso and Maldonado (well, until the last lap anyway). But Malaysia was even better, with a fascinating battle for the lead, surprise podium finishers, and even an attractive arrangement of awnings which resembled the first ever Formula 1 farmer’s market.
Brilliantly, the 2012 form guide remains relatively unwritten given that we haven’t seen a ‘normal’ dry race on a conventional circuit yet. But with nine teams already having scored points, it’s clearly going to be a close season and the performance of individual drivers could be more important than ever. Which leads me nicely on to the driver ratings.
Regular readers of this blog (many of whom are known to me by name…) will know how this works. Basically, after each race each driver gets a rating out of 10 based on their performance across the whole weekend. Yes I know Autosport do something similar, but unlike them I don’t insist on giving all the British drivers at least 6 every race… and mine’s free, so there. Anyway, each rating is then added up at the end of the year to crown a Pits Take Driver of the Season. I’ve added a full chart of last year’s scores to the 2011 Season Review if you fancy revisiting that. So, off we go…
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel – AUS 8, MAL 6
Mark Webber – AUS 7, MAL 7
It hasn’t really gone the reigning world champion driver or team’s way so far this year. Vettel has been outqualified twice by team mate Webber and appears under pressure to perform, as evidenced by his petty post-Malaysia outburst against a mostly-innocent Narain Karthikeyan. After qualifying only 6th Vettel actually drove very well in the race in Australia, assertively passing Nico Rosberg on his way to a (slightly safety car-assisted) 2nd place. But Malaysia was mildly disastrous – his gamble to qualify on hard tyres was rendered futile by the wet conditions, and after being tagged by Karthikeyan he could only finish 11th. His post-race comments betrayed his frustration at not hitherto being able to run at the very front. Webber has been consistent in finishing 4th in both races so far, and he drove particularly well in the tricky Malaysian rain. The Australian has generally shown better form than in 2011, in spite of running behind Vettel for most of both races and despite the Red Bull not longer being the car to beat.
McLaren
Jenson Button – AUS 9, MAL 5
Lewis Hamilton – AUS 7, MAL 8
Despite the confusing nature of both the Australian and Malaysian races, it’s clear that McLaren have an extremely competitive car. They’re the only team to have mounted the podium more than once and Hamilton and Button are 2nd and 3rd in the championship respectively. Button will probably be the happier of the two men after a great victory in Melbourne which owed much to his continued ability to look after the tyres. Hamilton took pole but then lost out at the start, and from then on never looked like beating his team mate. Another front row lock out in Malaysia boded well, but when the rain came Button’s alleged wet-weather abilities deserted him. A clumsy collision with the seemingly-magnetic HRT of Karthikeyan was one thing, but even after pitting for repairs Button never really looked like a contender, and had to make an extra pit stop after struggling on intermediate tyres. Hamilton’s 3rd place, while useful for the championship, was a little disappointing after another pole, but at least he’s showing much-needed (and apparently intentional) consistency.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso – AUS 8, MAL 10
Felipe Massa – AUS 3, MAL 4
Pre-season fears that Ferrari would be off the pace have been largely proven correct, with only one Q3 appearance so far this season. And yet Alonso leads the driver’s championship after two quite brilliant performances where he extracted more than seemed possible out of the F2012. The Spaniard admittedly blotted his copybook with an off in qualifying in Melbourne, but his drive in the race was admirable as he fended off faster cars to take an excellent 5th. Felipe Massa meanwhile was a second off his team mate in qualifying (despite Alonso’s spin) and endured one of his worst ever Grand Prix which ended after an unnecessary collision with Bruno Senna. In Malaysia, after the heavens opened, Alonso proved once again that he is the most complete driver on the grid. Massa meanwhile was busy proving he’s not the driver he once was - despite driving reasonably well in the wet he lost nearly a lap to Alonso in around 30 laps of dry running. Sergio Perez’s podium heaps the pressure on the hapless Brazilian.
Mercedes
Michael Schumacher - AUS 9, MAL 7
Nico Rosberg – AUS 5, MAL 4
Mercedes have had a bizarre start to the season; they have arguably the second-best car in terms of one-lap pace but only have a single point to show for it. Michael Schumacher has led the charge, qualifying 4th in Australia and running 3rd before gearbox problems spoiled his day. This at least spared the veteran from the acute tyre wear which afflicted Rosberg, with the younger German holding up a train of cars in the closing stages and then sustaining a puncture after a collision with Perez. Malaysia started well, with Schumacher a second-career best 3rd on the grid, again ahead of Rosberg. An unfortunate collision with Grosjean restricted Schumi to 10th in the race, but Rosberg fared even worse and toiled to 14th. The younger German needs to raise his game, as do the team - the M03 only appears quick in qualifying due to its clever DRS system giving it an advantage against closely-matched rivals. In race conditions, with limited DRS use and tyre management problems, the Mercedes seem destined to always go backwards.
Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen – AUS 8, MAL 8
Romain Grosjean – AUS 8, MAL 5
Lotus have complained that the first two races of the season haven’t allowed them to show their true form. In fact, the 7th and 5th places secured so far probably represent the best results the team can realistically hope for in dry conditions at present. Raikkonen has achieved both finishes, despite the handicap in Melbourne of being knocked out in Q1 and lining up 18th on the grid. It was left to Grosjean to uphold qualifying honour with a fantastic 3rd place, but an aggressive Maldonado pass-cum-nudge put paid to his race hopes. Kimi took a useful 7th place finish though, and followed that up with 5th in qualifying (later relegated to 10th by a gearbox penalty) and in the race in Malaysia. Despite responding in his usual monotone in interviews, Raikkonen has also managed to show he’s enjoying himself though his self-mocking gesture of sending ice creams to journalists in the Sepang paddock. Grosjean made two major mistakes in the Malaysian rain, colliding with Schumacher and then spinning off all on his own. The speed is there if he can iron out the errors.
Force India
Paul Di Resta – AUS 6, MAL 8
Nico Hulkenberg – AUS 7, MAL 7
Despite three points finishes so far, it’s been a slightly underwhelming start to the season for the Silverstone-based squad, who ended last year so well. The team are certainly there or thereabouts relative to the midfield pack, but haven’t yet made the step forward needed to challenge the front runners. Qualifying in Australia provided the first evidence of this, with di Resta failing to progress beyond Q2. Hulkenberg was slightly the quicker driver all weekend and made Q3, but retired early as a result of first-corner contact. Meanwhile, di Resta never looked like scoring until the very last corner, when some smart driving allowed him to catch and pass Vergne’s Toro Rosso. The Malaysian rain served to mask the team’s slight lack of dry pace, with both drivers performing extremely well to finish in the points. In fact, the two drivers have generally been evenly matched so far – this is unsurprising, given that they have similar levels of experience, although it does make some of the hype from British media outlets around di Resta’s debut season look a bit silly.
Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi – AUS 9, MAL 5
Sergio Perez – AUS 9, MAL 10
In my season preview, I accused Sauber of being dull and anonymous, but also referenced their gifted drivers. Well, the sublime talents of Sergio Perez have well and truly catapulted the midfield team into prominence. Melbourne was a good start –despite a poor qualifying showing both drivers finished in the points, with Kobayashi showing his usual fighting spirit to take 6th and Perez hanging on with fading tyres to finish 8th. But of course, Perez’s drive in Malaysia is the one which the team’s whole season will probably be remembered for. The Mexican should really have won but for his late race error, but nevertheless drove brilliantly throughout and catapulted himself into contention for a Ferrari drive next season (or even this season, according to some observers). The team’s Swiss sensibleness was still evident, with a cautious late second pit stop and a radio message to Perez not to throw away the points for second place with an attempt to take the lead, but the car looks good enough for regular points finishes - at least until the inevitable late-season performance drop-off.
Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo – AUS 8, MAL 6
Jean-Eric Vergne – AUS 7, MAL 9
Red Bull will be delighted at the form shown thus far by their latest batch of young guns, after the controversial and oft-discussed decision to remove Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari from their drives at the end of 2011. The new Toro Rosso continued its promising testing form in Melbourne as Ricciardo and Vergne qualified 10th and 11th. The last lap of the race turned into a lottery as a pack of cars jostled behind Rosberg’s hobbled Mercedes, and while Ricciardo profited to steal 9th, Vergne lost out to his team mate and di Resta on the run to the line to finish where he started. The team seemed to take a step back during qualifying in Sepang, but come the wet race Vergne performed magnificently to maintain position on intermediate tyres when the track was at its wettest – a sure sign of a potential star in the making. His eventual 7th place overshadowed a solid drive to 12th by Ricciardo, and the Frenchman has no doubt already caught the eye of the Red Bull hierarchy for all the right reasons.
Williams
Pastor Maldonado – AUS 8, MAL 6
Bruno Senna – AUS 5, MAL 9
Williams have unexpectedly made a massive step forward so far in 2012, and the recent shock departure of CEO Adam Parr (who looked the part and talked the talk but rarely appeared to do anything positive) shouldn’t be too much of an issue in the long term. In Melbourne the FW34 showed great pace but ultimately disappointed, thanks on both counts to Maldonado. His drive up to 6th in the race was at times breathtaking, but so was the loss of concentration that led him to hit the wall on the last lap and spectacularly retire. Senna meanwhile had a difficult weekend, but redeemed himself entirely by performing exceptionally in the wet in Sepang, eventually finishing a magnificent and poetically-just 6th. For his part Maldonado lost another points finish with a late-race engine failure, but remains the faster driver in dry conditions at present. Senna’s result should increase his confidence though and the initiative may well swing between the two drivers for the rest of the year – hopefully the early race collision between them in Malaysia isn’t a portent of things to come...
Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen – AUS 6, MAL 4
Vitaly Petrov – AUS 7, MAL 7
Of all the teams on the grid, perhaps the most disappointed at the moment (Ferrari’s woes notwithstanding) will be the Caterham outfit. While the first two races have been unusual there’s been no real sign that the team have caught up with the midfield, something which they have themselves acknowledged. Indeed, given the relative strength of teams like Toro Rosso and Williams the task for Caterham appears even harder than in 2011. Things haven’t been helped so far by an indifferent couple of races from Kovalainen. In Australia the Finn struggled and later retired with suspension difficulties, while in Sepang he was beaten home by his team mate. Petrov’s solid performances have actually been the team’s highlight so far, and the Russian seems to have settled in well and is already performing at least as capably as Jarno Trulli managed (with some obvious benefits…). The first priority will be to get ahead of Marussia and back to their habitual 10th place in the constructors’ standings; sadly, doing so will likely rely on attrition among the midfielders rather than outright pace.
HRT
Pedro de la Rosa – AUS 7, MAL 6
Narain Karthikeyan – AUS 6, MAL 8
HRT have unsurprisingly had a difficult start to the season. After no testing Melbourne was always going to be a struggle, but while the similarly unprepared Marussias made the grid comfortably, the HRTs missed out by a significant margin. De la Rosa actually deserves some praise for getting within 1.3 seconds of qualification despite hardly any practice laps. Sepang was an improvement in that both cars made the grid, and Karthikeyan amazingly restarted 10th after starting the race on wets. It is to the team’s credit that both cars made it home, despite the team’s novel cooling system which apparently requires it to be raining for the car to continue running. This should be sorted for China, but HRT’s professionalism (or lack thereof) was summed up by the restart in Malaysia – while the other teams sheltered under purpose-built awnings (or a large plastic sheet in Marussia’s case), the Spaniards could only muster a single umbrella to protect each car. And despite the removal of said umbrellas presumably not being a particularly time-consuming job, they still managed to get a penalty for personnel being left on the grid too late…
Marussia
Timo Glock – AUS 9, MAL 7
Charles Pic – AUS 8, MAL 6
Given their lack of pre-season testing, it seemed fanciful to expect Marussia to even finish the opening races. But they have done so with both cars, and despite remaining off the pace of the midfield runners aren’t actually that far away from the Caterhams (and are ahead of them in the championship on countback). Early fears in Melbourne that the cars would struggle to qualify proved unfounded, and Glock drove an excellent race to finish 14th, just one lap down. In Malaysia the German found the wet conditions to his liking, as he often has in the past, and again did extremely well to beat Heikki Kovalainen home. In fact in this early stage of the season Glock is doing a good job of emulating Kovalainen’s 2011 form by regularly outperforming his car. Team mate Pic was also classified in both races and has made a very sensible start to his F1 career. Both men are currently ahead of Felipe Massa in the championship (which says more about Massa’s wretched performances than it does about Marussia) and will hope to continue their relatively good form.
