One of the oft-cited fears about next season's Formula 1 World Championship (during the achingly-predictable political squabbles and threats of a breakaway series that characterised much of the early part of 2009 season) was that without the big-name teams, the sport would be lacking in credibility. An all-new look F1, led by a vanguard of Williams and Force India and largely powered by Cosworth engines seemed, for a time, to be on the cards. This never particularly bothered me - I'm more interested in historical continuity than following big names like Red Bull Racing (who?) around wherever they go. For some, however, it was a real sticking point, to the point where Ferrari even used its lengthening shadow to gain leverage in the propaganda battle.
With the new Concorde Agreement signed and all the usual suspects still in place, 2010 will nevertheless have a very different make-up. Toyota and BMW are gone and - if strong rumours are to be believed - Renault are about to follow them and be run by and badged as David Richards' Prodrive operation for the next few years. There are already going to be four brand new teams lining up at Bahrain next March. With Prodrive and a probable entry for Sauber, the eponymous Peter having completed negotiations with BMW to buy back his old team earlier this week, it would make six. Serbian team Stefan Grand Prix are also trying to find a way in for 2010, rumours having them putting in an offer for Toyota's entry. Not even last years' Constructors' champions will be on the grid in the same form, of course, now that Brawn are rebadged as Mercedes GP.
That leaves us with a probable field of 26 cars and 13 teams, only six of whom competed in their current form in the 2009 World Championship. However, far from being a sign of a sport battling for credibility, Formula 1 is showing signs of enormous growth. OK, the years of plenty have gone, with big car manufacturers unwilling to plough huge amounts of money into a sport where they'll probably be beaten by a British outfit who built their chassis in a shed in Milton Keynes and then cobbled an old V8 into the back of it. But those garagistes were precisely the people who dominated the boom period of Grand Prix racing's huge growth to worldwide prominence in the 1970s and 1980s and precisely the people who the big car companies had to beat. The fact that they didn't and then chucked in the towel only reflects badly on one of the parties.
The irony of this situation is that it was the outbreak of common sense and unity within FOCA and the FIA which has allowed these developments. Through all the threats, counter-threats and posturing - for all the worries about big-name teams departing - all concerned have contrived to create a sport which, though retaining the thread of its heritage and prestige, is nevertheless an attractive and achievable prospect for newcomers. Indeed, the new regulations are even showing signs of tempting new investment from car companies - Volkswagen are said to be looking in to F1 engine supply for 2012 onwards.
It's also good news for the drivers. More cars means more opportunities to get onto the grid, and more drivers on the grid means more excitement and interest for the spectators. Because, and let's hope that Formula 1 teams never forget this, it's drivers who the majority of people come to see. The only loss to Formula 1 2010, then, is some big-name car companies. And I for one think that the loss is all theirs.
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Friday, 6 November 2009
2009: The good, the bad and the ugly 3
Having dispensed with the chaff, today we look at my top ten drivers from 2009.
10. SÉBASTIEN BUEMI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 17 GP, 6 points; best result: 7th (AUS, BR)
The only rookie to start the 2009 season was a 20-year old from a country where motor racing is banned and whose last Grand Prix driver, Jean-Denis Deletraz, has become a byword for incompetence in the sport. A double race winner in GP2 in 2008, Buemi also showed impressively consistent pace in pre-season testing. However, the solidity of his performances throughout his debut season were the most impressive thing of all. With limited time in the car, Buemi never looked out of place in an experienced and tightly-packed field. Three times he qualified a resolutely average car in the top 10 and 4 times finished in the points. The difficult second season beckons, but Buemi looks set to be one for the future.
9. FERNANDO ALONSO (Renault) 17 GP, 26 points, 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps; best result: 3rd (SG)
I think that, all things being equal, Fernando Alonso is still the benchmark driver in Formula 1. However, this year he was a little out of sorts. This has much to do with the major shortcomings of the Renault car, but perhaps there are also elements of the in-team political storm and having one eye on his first Formula 1 Ferrari in the mix. Nevertheless, given the merest sniff of a result and Alonso was in. Expect Alonso to be formidable in 2010.
8. NICO ROSBERG (Williams-Toyota) 17 GP, 34.5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (D, H)
Exploiting his car's double diffuser from the first race, Rosberg was frequently the pace setter on Friday afternoons. Unable to sustain it throughout the entire weekend he or the team may have been, but Rosberg still enjoyed his best season yet in Formula 1, scoring points in 11 out of the 17 rounds. He now seems set to move to Brawn GP in 2010 for his big break in the sport. However, he still has much to prove. In 70 races, he's yet to qualify on the front row for a Grand Prix, and his failure to get a podium finish this year - particularly in Singapore where he threw it away, much to his own publically expressed disgust - was disappointing. It must also be remembered, however, that Rosberg's father was a late bloomer in Formula 1 and that Nico is still only 24 years old.
7. KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari) 17 GP, 48 points, 1 win (B)
A trying year for Ferrari, particularly due to handling difficulties caused the the team's KERS unit. Räikkönen was solid but little else for the early part of the season, admirably stepping up to the plate to win the Belgian Grand Prix in Felipe Massa's absence. However, the simple fact of the matter is that, by sheer force of personality and performances alone, Felipe Massa had manouvred himself into the position of the number 1 driver at Ferrari, a fact which was not lost on the management, who terminated Kimi's deal a year early. Anyone who doubts that the Finn still has the drive to succeed, however, need only look at his spirited drive to 6th place in Brazil, despite an early stop to mend a broken front wing and streaming eyes due to fuel vapour inside his visor from Heikki Kovalainen's pit fire. Let there be no doubt that Räikkönen could still win multiple world titles. But whether or not he does is seemingly up to him.
6. FELIPE MASSA (Ferrari) 9 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 3rd (D)
After last year's narrow defeat, Massa came into the 2009 season as the title favourite. What in fact happened, then, was hugely disappointing for him, even before his terrifying accident in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Before then, Massa was very much the team leader at Maranello. Although it was Räikkönen who scored the team's first points and first podium of the campaign, Massa outraced him every other time, despite being outqualified 6 to 4. The real test - whether or not Massa can return to the sport without any effects from his brush with death and severe head injuries - awaits us. If he passes it, he is a future world champion.
5. MARK WEBBER (Red Bull-Renault) 17 GP, 69.5 points, 2 wins (D, BR), 1 pole position, 3 fastest laps.
Of all the drivers involved in the title battle this year, Webber was the best value for money entertainment wise. Head down, shoulders out, Webber's muscular and aggressive style lit up a number of on-track scraps in 2009. However, he also showed signs of his maturity and experience. After an adrenaline-fuelled charge to his first Grand Prix win in Germany, his second success in Brazil was calmness and mastery personified. Prevented from a tilt at the championship by a five-race streak of bad luck and mechanical failures after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Webber's biggest problem for a second attempt at the crown looks likely to be his teammate, who more or less had the Aussie covered at every step this season.
4. RUBENS BARRICHELLO (Brawn-Mercedes) 17 GP, 77 points, 2 wins (EU, I), 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps.
Barrichello didn't know he would even be in Formula 1 for his 17th season until the beginning of February this year, with Bruno Senna lurking in the wings. However, it is impossible to understate the role his huge experience played in his team's success this season. Nevertheless, as befits his late inclusion, he was much slower out of the blocks than his teammate, which gave rise to some uncharacteristic petulance from the Brazilian. By the time he finally broke his duck, Jenson Button was already too far gone to realistically catch, but there were times when Rubens made it look like he was the coming man. A second win followed, his third in the Italian Grand Prix, but the increasing shortcomings in his car compared to the Red Bull saw him lose 2nd place in the final standings at the last. However, it's enough to say that Rubens has been snapped up by Williams for 2010 - where he will pass 300 Grand Prix starts - to illustrate the continued quality of his driving and level of his motivation. Fact: Rubens Barrichello outqualified his teammate, the new world champion, 10 races to 7 this year.
3. LEWIS HAMILTON (McLaren-Mercedes) 17 GP, 49 points, 2 wins (H, SG), 4 pole positions
Hamilton's title defence began shamefully with disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix for misleading the race stewards. It continued with frustration and lower-midfield travails in a car which simply would not behave. However, even before McLaren sorted out the mechanical issues, Hamilton was showing signs of driving with a newfound maturity. Refusing to give up, he got his head down and drove whatever he was given as hard as it would go. As soon as that was anywhere good enough for a race win, he was right there. By the end of the season, he was frequently the pace setter, the only shame in his final outing in 2009 being that his car's brakes let him down after perhaps the most dominant single performance by any driver at a race meeting all season in Abu Dhabi. Now battle-hardened by a character building season, but having lost none of his speed or aggression, Lewis Hamilton is probably the closest challenger to Alonso's mantle as the sport's most complete driver. Several more world titles surely await.
2. SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Red Bull-Renault) 17 GP, 84 points, 4 wins (PRC, GB, J, ABD), 4 pole positions, 3 fastest laps.
The question, as Vettel came to the senior Red Bull team after his miraculous 2008 season at Toro Rosso was: can he keep it up. We now have our answer. Yes, he made a few mistakes along the way. But the fact of the matter is that he's not 23-years old until next summer and without those mistakes and Renault engine problems, he could have already been a world champion. His form in the final races of the season was startling, his palpable disappointment at missing out on his slim title chances in Brazil indicative of a man on top of his game, confident and in full control. His head-to-head qualifying statistics againt his teammate, a renowned one-lap specialist, were 15-2 in his favour, his race pace no less impressive. If Sebastian Vettel hasn't won at least one world title within the next three years, I'll be very surprised.
1. JENSON BUTTON (Brawn-Mercedes) 17 GP, 95 points (world champion), 6 wins (AUS, MAL, BAH, E, MC, TR), 4 pole positions, 2 fastest laps.
A lot of historical attention will, no doubt, be focussed on the second half of Jenson Button's championship season. It was, it's fair to say, a notable part of the story of the year. However, to dismiss his performances in the first seven races would be lunacy. Winning six, you could honestly believe watching him that he was on another plain entirely from his rivals. When things started to go wrong, his Brawn car suffering from grip problems in mid-season, it was really only qualifying where Button was lacking - his race performances were outstanding from the first event and never lessened to the season's end. So, the part of the 2009 season that I will always remember Jenson Button for will be his surgically precise overtakes, made with calm assurance under huge pressure, with history waiting in the wings. The question now is, can he and, particularly, his Brawn team ever repeat this success? It doesn't matter. So many drivers in the history of Grand Prix racing have missed out when they've had a chance. If Button never gets the car to challenge for the top honour again, he can always point to the fact that the one time he had the opportunity, he took it.
I hope you've enjoyed me sitting in judgement of brilliant sportsmen these past few days. Stay tuned, as next week I'll begin to look at Formula 1 throughout the noughties, as we leave this century's first decade.
10. SÉBASTIEN BUEMI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 17 GP, 6 points; best result: 7th (AUS, BR)
The only rookie to start the 2009 season was a 20-year old from a country where motor racing is banned and whose last Grand Prix driver, Jean-Denis Deletraz, has become a byword for incompetence in the sport. A double race winner in GP2 in 2008, Buemi also showed impressively consistent pace in pre-season testing. However, the solidity of his performances throughout his debut season were the most impressive thing of all. With limited time in the car, Buemi never looked out of place in an experienced and tightly-packed field. Three times he qualified a resolutely average car in the top 10 and 4 times finished in the points. The difficult second season beckons, but Buemi looks set to be one for the future.
9. FERNANDO ALONSO (Renault) 17 GP, 26 points, 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps; best result: 3rd (SG)
I think that, all things being equal, Fernando Alonso is still the benchmark driver in Formula 1. However, this year he was a little out of sorts. This has much to do with the major shortcomings of the Renault car, but perhaps there are also elements of the in-team political storm and having one eye on his first Formula 1 Ferrari in the mix. Nevertheless, given the merest sniff of a result and Alonso was in. Expect Alonso to be formidable in 2010.
8. NICO ROSBERG (Williams-Toyota) 17 GP, 34.5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (D, H)
Exploiting his car's double diffuser from the first race, Rosberg was frequently the pace setter on Friday afternoons. Unable to sustain it throughout the entire weekend he or the team may have been, but Rosberg still enjoyed his best season yet in Formula 1, scoring points in 11 out of the 17 rounds. He now seems set to move to Brawn GP in 2010 for his big break in the sport. However, he still has much to prove. In 70 races, he's yet to qualify on the front row for a Grand Prix, and his failure to get a podium finish this year - particularly in Singapore where he threw it away, much to his own publically expressed disgust - was disappointing. It must also be remembered, however, that Rosberg's father was a late bloomer in Formula 1 and that Nico is still only 24 years old.
7. KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari) 17 GP, 48 points, 1 win (B)
A trying year for Ferrari, particularly due to handling difficulties caused the the team's KERS unit. Räikkönen was solid but little else for the early part of the season, admirably stepping up to the plate to win the Belgian Grand Prix in Felipe Massa's absence. However, the simple fact of the matter is that, by sheer force of personality and performances alone, Felipe Massa had manouvred himself into the position of the number 1 driver at Ferrari, a fact which was not lost on the management, who terminated Kimi's deal a year early. Anyone who doubts that the Finn still has the drive to succeed, however, need only look at his spirited drive to 6th place in Brazil, despite an early stop to mend a broken front wing and streaming eyes due to fuel vapour inside his visor from Heikki Kovalainen's pit fire. Let there be no doubt that Räikkönen could still win multiple world titles. But whether or not he does is seemingly up to him.
6. FELIPE MASSA (Ferrari) 9 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 3rd (D)
After last year's narrow defeat, Massa came into the 2009 season as the title favourite. What in fact happened, then, was hugely disappointing for him, even before his terrifying accident in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Before then, Massa was very much the team leader at Maranello. Although it was Räikkönen who scored the team's first points and first podium of the campaign, Massa outraced him every other time, despite being outqualified 6 to 4. The real test - whether or not Massa can return to the sport without any effects from his brush with death and severe head injuries - awaits us. If he passes it, he is a future world champion.
5. MARK WEBBER (Red Bull-Renault) 17 GP, 69.5 points, 2 wins (D, BR), 1 pole position, 3 fastest laps.
Of all the drivers involved in the title battle this year, Webber was the best value for money entertainment wise. Head down, shoulders out, Webber's muscular and aggressive style lit up a number of on-track scraps in 2009. However, he also showed signs of his maturity and experience. After an adrenaline-fuelled charge to his first Grand Prix win in Germany, his second success in Brazil was calmness and mastery personified. Prevented from a tilt at the championship by a five-race streak of bad luck and mechanical failures after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Webber's biggest problem for a second attempt at the crown looks likely to be his teammate, who more or less had the Aussie covered at every step this season.
4. RUBENS BARRICHELLO (Brawn-Mercedes) 17 GP, 77 points, 2 wins (EU, I), 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps.
Barrichello didn't know he would even be in Formula 1 for his 17th season until the beginning of February this year, with Bruno Senna lurking in the wings. However, it is impossible to understate the role his huge experience played in his team's success this season. Nevertheless, as befits his late inclusion, he was much slower out of the blocks than his teammate, which gave rise to some uncharacteristic petulance from the Brazilian. By the time he finally broke his duck, Jenson Button was already too far gone to realistically catch, but there were times when Rubens made it look like he was the coming man. A second win followed, his third in the Italian Grand Prix, but the increasing shortcomings in his car compared to the Red Bull saw him lose 2nd place in the final standings at the last. However, it's enough to say that Rubens has been snapped up by Williams for 2010 - where he will pass 300 Grand Prix starts - to illustrate the continued quality of his driving and level of his motivation. Fact: Rubens Barrichello outqualified his teammate, the new world champion, 10 races to 7 this year.
3. LEWIS HAMILTON (McLaren-Mercedes) 17 GP, 49 points, 2 wins (H, SG), 4 pole positions
Hamilton's title defence began shamefully with disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix for misleading the race stewards. It continued with frustration and lower-midfield travails in a car which simply would not behave. However, even before McLaren sorted out the mechanical issues, Hamilton was showing signs of driving with a newfound maturity. Refusing to give up, he got his head down and drove whatever he was given as hard as it would go. As soon as that was anywhere good enough for a race win, he was right there. By the end of the season, he was frequently the pace setter, the only shame in his final outing in 2009 being that his car's brakes let him down after perhaps the most dominant single performance by any driver at a race meeting all season in Abu Dhabi. Now battle-hardened by a character building season, but having lost none of his speed or aggression, Lewis Hamilton is probably the closest challenger to Alonso's mantle as the sport's most complete driver. Several more world titles surely await.
2. SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Red Bull-Renault) 17 GP, 84 points, 4 wins (PRC, GB, J, ABD), 4 pole positions, 3 fastest laps.
The question, as Vettel came to the senior Red Bull team after his miraculous 2008 season at Toro Rosso was: can he keep it up. We now have our answer. Yes, he made a few mistakes along the way. But the fact of the matter is that he's not 23-years old until next summer and without those mistakes and Renault engine problems, he could have already been a world champion. His form in the final races of the season was startling, his palpable disappointment at missing out on his slim title chances in Brazil indicative of a man on top of his game, confident and in full control. His head-to-head qualifying statistics againt his teammate, a renowned one-lap specialist, were 15-2 in his favour, his race pace no less impressive. If Sebastian Vettel hasn't won at least one world title within the next three years, I'll be very surprised.
1. JENSON BUTTON (Brawn-Mercedes) 17 GP, 95 points (world champion), 6 wins (AUS, MAL, BAH, E, MC, TR), 4 pole positions, 2 fastest laps.
A lot of historical attention will, no doubt, be focussed on the second half of Jenson Button's championship season. It was, it's fair to say, a notable part of the story of the year. However, to dismiss his performances in the first seven races would be lunacy. Winning six, you could honestly believe watching him that he was on another plain entirely from his rivals. When things started to go wrong, his Brawn car suffering from grip problems in mid-season, it was really only qualifying where Button was lacking - his race performances were outstanding from the first event and never lessened to the season's end. So, the part of the 2009 season that I will always remember Jenson Button for will be his surgically precise overtakes, made with calm assurance under huge pressure, with history waiting in the wings. The question now is, can he and, particularly, his Brawn team ever repeat this success? It doesn't matter. So many drivers in the history of Grand Prix racing have missed out when they've had a chance. If Button never gets the car to challenge for the top honour again, he can always point to the fact that the one time he had the opportunity, he took it.
I hope you've enjoyed me sitting in judgement of brilliant sportsmen these past few days. Stay tuned, as next week I'll begin to look at Formula 1 throughout the noughties, as we leave this century's first decade.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
2009: The good, the bad and the ugly 2
Yesterday I judgementally assigned some really terrible racing drivers a number. Today I will do the same with their perky cousins, the average.
18. HEIKKI KOVALAINEN (McLaren-Mercedes) 17 GP, 22 points; best result: 4th (EU)
Admittedly, McLaren's car at the beginning of the season was dreadful and meagre performances were guaranteed, but Kovalainen never really managed to raise his game from that level even when the car blossomed in mid season. There were times, in the early races, where it looked as if Heikki was even dealing with a difficult situation better than his teammate, the then-reigning World Champion. However, as likely as not this was because Lewis was taking risks with set-up and strategy to try and break the malaise. There's nothing much wrong with a top line team having this dynamic - a lead driver and a solid if unspectacular back-up man. However, too often this year Kovalainen was a way, way back up man, and it looks to have cost him his drive with McLaren for 2010. I expect to see him find a seat elsewhere next year, where we'll finally see if he can live up to his considerable potential.
17. ADRIAN SUTIL (Force India-Mercedes) 17 GP, 5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (I)
Whether he's at the back of the field or near the front, there's no doubt that Adrian Sutil makes his presence felt in F1. Too often this results in him climbing out of a steaming pile of wreckage, but this year he finally proved that he could get the job done from lights to flag with a fine display at Monza. However, when his team struck the big time at the race before in Belgium he was nowhere, indicative of a variability in his level of performance which has characterised his three seasons in Grand Prix. Occasionally brilliant, particularly in the wet, Sutil needs to prove he can turn pace into points in 2010, especially as the Force India team are starting to look like genuine midfield runners.
16. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA (Force India-Mercedes, Ferrari) 17 GP, 8 points, 1 pole position; best result: 2nd (B)
A veteran now of almost 230 Grands Prix, Fisichella looks to have reached the end of his top-line racing career. A solid if little else start to the year with Force India suddenly exploded into life with an outstanding pole position, in the dry and on merit, at Spa-Francorchamps. As has been the way throughout his time in F1, Fisichella was unable to keep the fight up on race day, but his second place was nevertheless a notable way for Force India to open their account in the sport. His move to Ferrari was disastrous. Unable to get to grips with the demands the KERS system put on his somewhat unpredictable mount's braking system, he spent the last 5 races of the season, living out every Italian boy's dream from the back of the field. But, I suppose it has to be pointed out that he was better than Luca Badoer. Quite the epitaph for 14 seasons in the Formula. A fairer one would most likely be: Giancarlo Fisichella - fast, flair, fourth.
15. JARNO TRULLI (Toyota) 17 GP, 32.5 points, 1 pole position, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (J)
You may already be aware that my enthusiasm for Jarno Trulli is well under control. This year did little to alter my perceptions. I will never understand how a driver so capable of astonishing speed on Saturday can be quite so palpably useless on Sunday afternoons. Trulli is so slow on race day at times that team strategists actually factor his tooling around - like an old lady looking for a parking spot in a garden centre - into their race plans. Starting the year with the second fastest car, Trulli finished no higher than 3rd in the early races, including in Bahrain where he dawdled his way out of a win which could have persuaded Toyota to stay in the sport for 2010. However, with Trulli you never quite know, and at Suzuka he drove a magnificent race to second, with Lewis Hamilton chasing him all the way. With experienced drivers likely to be very attractive to the glut of new teams due to enter the sport next year, Trulli looks likely to head into a 13th year in F1 next March. I'm mystified as to how this can be.
14. TIMO GLOCK (Toyota) 14 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (SG)
There were only brief glimpses of the Timo Glock who so impressed many people last season. However, as the Toyota became more of a handful and less competitive, it was Glock who acquitted himself the better. In a car which could be charitably described as bloody useless on street circuits all year, Glock set fastest lap at Valencia and then drove to a fine second place in Singapore, so far ahead of Jarno Trulli that it would have been daytime again by the time the Italian caught up. Glock seems set to join Kubica at Renault next season, should the team continue in the sport. Otherwise, it's a toss of a coin as to whether he's done enough to whet the appetite of any other outfits in 2009.
13. KAMUI KOBAYASHI (Toyota) 2 GP, 3 points; best result: 6th (ABD)
The season's most outstanding debut came in Brazil, where Kobayashi qualified a car he'd barely driven at a track he'd never driven 11th in the driving rain. On Sunday he grappled and scrapped with some big names, particularly Jenson Button, on his way to 9th place. In a rather more controlled drive, not surprising considering he had more experience of the car, he was the fastest of the one-stoppers in the season finale at Abu Dhabi, scoring a fine 6th place. Seemingly set for a drive at Toyota in 2010, he's now left looking at working in his dad's sushi parlour in Japan again. Hopefully sense will prevail and someone else will snap him up for next season, as drivers like this are far too promising to not give a chance.
12. NICK HEIDFELD (BMW Sauber) 17 GP, 19 points; best result: 2nd (MAL)
An applied demonstration that steady doesn't always win the race, Nick Heidfeld this season blitzed the record for most consecutive Grand Prix finishes. However, in a troubled BMW car, he was forced to do so out of the points more often than not. Having now completed his tenth season of Formula 1, Heidfeld is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win. It is arguable he's still waiting for someone to give him his first car capable of giving him his first Grand Prix win. It seems to be touch and go if Heidfeld will be in a Formula 1 car next year. This seems strange to me, as he's hugely experienced, very quick and as reliable as the Japanese railways - as evidenced by his 2nd place in the sopping wet Malaysian race. McLaren, for one, could really benefit from having Nick as a number 2 driver in 2010.
11. ROBERT KUBICA (BMW Sauber) 17 GP, 17 points; best result: 2nd (BR)
A highlight of the 2009 season was Robert Kubica's team radio transmissions on a Friday, when he would deadpan an epic list of his car's faults to his engineer. However, if his head was dropping, he never let it show on the track. Very evenly matched with his teammate, Kubica, like Heidfeld, extracted the maximum from a pretty stodgy car this year. Kubica gets the nod from me on account of his better head-to-head qualifying record and his tendency to finish ahead of Heidfeld when it really counted, i.e. when the car was good for points. He would have beaten Heidfeld in the championship standings, too, if he'd not tangled with Sebastian Vettel when fighting for 2nd place at the season's opening race. Kubica goes to Renault next year, but if the team pull out, there's no doubt he'll find a decent drive elsewhere.
18. HEIKKI KOVALAINEN (McLaren-Mercedes) 17 GP, 22 points; best result: 4th (EU)
Admittedly, McLaren's car at the beginning of the season was dreadful and meagre performances were guaranteed, but Kovalainen never really managed to raise his game from that level even when the car blossomed in mid season. There were times, in the early races, where it looked as if Heikki was even dealing with a difficult situation better than his teammate, the then-reigning World Champion. However, as likely as not this was because Lewis was taking risks with set-up and strategy to try and break the malaise. There's nothing much wrong with a top line team having this dynamic - a lead driver and a solid if unspectacular back-up man. However, too often this year Kovalainen was a way, way back up man, and it looks to have cost him his drive with McLaren for 2010. I expect to see him find a seat elsewhere next year, where we'll finally see if he can live up to his considerable potential.
17. ADRIAN SUTIL (Force India-Mercedes) 17 GP, 5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (I)
Whether he's at the back of the field or near the front, there's no doubt that Adrian Sutil makes his presence felt in F1. Too often this results in him climbing out of a steaming pile of wreckage, but this year he finally proved that he could get the job done from lights to flag with a fine display at Monza. However, when his team struck the big time at the race before in Belgium he was nowhere, indicative of a variability in his level of performance which has characterised his three seasons in Grand Prix. Occasionally brilliant, particularly in the wet, Sutil needs to prove he can turn pace into points in 2010, especially as the Force India team are starting to look like genuine midfield runners.
16. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA (Force India-Mercedes, Ferrari) 17 GP, 8 points, 1 pole position; best result: 2nd (B)
A veteran now of almost 230 Grands Prix, Fisichella looks to have reached the end of his top-line racing career. A solid if little else start to the year with Force India suddenly exploded into life with an outstanding pole position, in the dry and on merit, at Spa-Francorchamps. As has been the way throughout his time in F1, Fisichella was unable to keep the fight up on race day, but his second place was nevertheless a notable way for Force India to open their account in the sport. His move to Ferrari was disastrous. Unable to get to grips with the demands the KERS system put on his somewhat unpredictable mount's braking system, he spent the last 5 races of the season, living out every Italian boy's dream from the back of the field. But, I suppose it has to be pointed out that he was better than Luca Badoer. Quite the epitaph for 14 seasons in the Formula. A fairer one would most likely be: Giancarlo Fisichella - fast, flair, fourth.
15. JARNO TRULLI (Toyota) 17 GP, 32.5 points, 1 pole position, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (J)
You may already be aware that my enthusiasm for Jarno Trulli is well under control. This year did little to alter my perceptions. I will never understand how a driver so capable of astonishing speed on Saturday can be quite so palpably useless on Sunday afternoons. Trulli is so slow on race day at times that team strategists actually factor his tooling around - like an old lady looking for a parking spot in a garden centre - into their race plans. Starting the year with the second fastest car, Trulli finished no higher than 3rd in the early races, including in Bahrain where he dawdled his way out of a win which could have persuaded Toyota to stay in the sport for 2010. However, with Trulli you never quite know, and at Suzuka he drove a magnificent race to second, with Lewis Hamilton chasing him all the way. With experienced drivers likely to be very attractive to the glut of new teams due to enter the sport next year, Trulli looks likely to head into a 13th year in F1 next March. I'm mystified as to how this can be.
14. TIMO GLOCK (Toyota) 14 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (SG)
There were only brief glimpses of the Timo Glock who so impressed many people last season. However, as the Toyota became more of a handful and less competitive, it was Glock who acquitted himself the better. In a car which could be charitably described as bloody useless on street circuits all year, Glock set fastest lap at Valencia and then drove to a fine second place in Singapore, so far ahead of Jarno Trulli that it would have been daytime again by the time the Italian caught up. Glock seems set to join Kubica at Renault next season, should the team continue in the sport. Otherwise, it's a toss of a coin as to whether he's done enough to whet the appetite of any other outfits in 2009.
13. KAMUI KOBAYASHI (Toyota) 2 GP, 3 points; best result: 6th (ABD)
The season's most outstanding debut came in Brazil, where Kobayashi qualified a car he'd barely driven at a track he'd never driven 11th in the driving rain. On Sunday he grappled and scrapped with some big names, particularly Jenson Button, on his way to 9th place. In a rather more controlled drive, not surprising considering he had more experience of the car, he was the fastest of the one-stoppers in the season finale at Abu Dhabi, scoring a fine 6th place. Seemingly set for a drive at Toyota in 2010, he's now left looking at working in his dad's sushi parlour in Japan again. Hopefully sense will prevail and someone else will snap him up for next season, as drivers like this are far too promising to not give a chance.
12. NICK HEIDFELD (BMW Sauber) 17 GP, 19 points; best result: 2nd (MAL)
An applied demonstration that steady doesn't always win the race, Nick Heidfeld this season blitzed the record for most consecutive Grand Prix finishes. However, in a troubled BMW car, he was forced to do so out of the points more often than not. Having now completed his tenth season of Formula 1, Heidfeld is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win. It is arguable he's still waiting for someone to give him his first car capable of giving him his first Grand Prix win. It seems to be touch and go if Heidfeld will be in a Formula 1 car next year. This seems strange to me, as he's hugely experienced, very quick and as reliable as the Japanese railways - as evidenced by his 2nd place in the sopping wet Malaysian race. McLaren, for one, could really benefit from having Nick as a number 2 driver in 2010.
11. ROBERT KUBICA (BMW Sauber) 17 GP, 17 points; best result: 2nd (BR)
A highlight of the 2009 season was Robert Kubica's team radio transmissions on a Friday, when he would deadpan an epic list of his car's faults to his engineer. However, if his head was dropping, he never let it show on the track. Very evenly matched with his teammate, Kubica, like Heidfeld, extracted the maximum from a pretty stodgy car this year. Kubica gets the nod from me on account of his better head-to-head qualifying record and his tendency to finish ahead of Heidfeld when it really counted, i.e. when the car was good for points. He would have beaten Heidfeld in the championship standings, too, if he'd not tangled with Sebastian Vettel when fighting for 2nd place at the season's opening race. Kubica goes to Renault next year, but if the team pull out, there's no doubt he'll find a decent drive elsewhere.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
2009: The good, the bad and the ugly
Even in post-Schumacher Formula 1, where no dominant driver has yet to emerge, 2009 will go down as an unusual season. Since Michael's retirement in 2006, no driver has won more than 6 races in a season, which has tended to create fierce and hugely dramatic tussles for the championship. In 2009, however, the driver taking the most wins had done so long before half-distance and we were then presented with the unusual sight of three or more other rivals (sometimes literally) falling over each other in their haste to catch up to him.
In spite of all of this, though, the twenty-five competitors in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship offered up the usual blend of brilliance, mediocrity and stupidity that we've come to expect from the world's most expensive sport. For all the technology and investment, F1 still comes down to the most falliable element - the bloke sat behind the wheel.
This year's drivers were faced with a new challenge of a season-long ban on all testing. This put a real premium on experience - of the top six drivers in the final standings, only two had started less than 100 Grands Prix - with newcomers or late arrivals floundering around at the back. However, it also created a crucible in which any driver's ultimate ability would be more immediately obvious than perhaps at any time before.
In my assessment of the overall performances in 2009, therefore, I have tried to balance out results with performances, up and down the field. So, let the controversy, name-calling and back-biting begin. Today we'll focus on the seven drivers who bring up the rear, numbers 19 to 25.
25. LUCA BADOER (Ferrari) 2 Grands Prix, 0 points; best result: 14th (B)
For eleven years now, Badoer has been an integral part of the Ferrari family, test driver throughout the team's ultimate rise to complete dominance. However, it was also the case that he held a dubious all-time record for most Grand Prix starts without a points finish. Sentiment - at such a premium in top-line sport as to be nearly non-existent - as well as Michael Schumacher's dodgy neck, saw Badoer presented with his best chance ever to change all that. What actually occured was a train wreck. Badoer's displays were as good as one could have expected from a profoundly average driver who had not raced a single seater in a decade, grappling with the field's most pitch-sensitive car. He was absolutely beyond hope. Qualifying last for both of his outings, he went on to finish both, in last place. Best forgotten.
24. ROMAIN GROSJEAN (Renault) 7 GP, 0 points; best result: 13th (BR)
Few drivers in this year's field have such a glittering CV has Grosjean. He has cut a swathe through some of the biggest name championships in European single seaters, and was lying a strong second in the GP2 Series standings to Williams' 2010 newcomer Nico Hülkenberg when the call came from Renault. Formula 1 is a curious old bird, though. Many drivers who excel in lower-formulae can't cope with its demands and disappear completely - Luca Badoer, it should be remembered, was the 1992 International Formula 3000 champion - whilst many drivers with relatively meagre careers explode gloriously into life upon contact with the highest echelon of motorsport - Damon Hill's only real successes prior to his 22 GP wins and the 1996 World Championship had been on motorcycles, whilst Jenson Button's sole single seater accomplishment until 2009 had been the 1998 British Formula Ford title. I'm sure you can see what I am driving at here. Grosjean has, so far, been resolutely of the former category. Watching him, in a very disappointing Renault car, you could almost see his confidence draining away with every successive lap he drove at every successive race.
23. KAZUKI NAKAJIMA (Williams-Toyota) 17 GP, 0 points; best result: 9th (H, SG)
Williams were one of three teams to arrive in Melbourne at the start of the season with a double diffuser and the performance advantages they brought. Whilst Nico Rosberg went on to set some eyebrow-raising lap times throughout the season and score points on eleven occasions, his back-up man singularly failed to do just that. For all their early speed, Williams finished 7th in the Constructors' Cup in 2009, entirely as a result of Nakajima's failure to score any points. He was often quick in qualifying and sometimes quick in the race, but his inability to deliver over the full 200 miles looks to have finished his Formula 1 career.
22. NELSON PIQUET JR. (Renault) 10 GP, 0 points; best result: 10th (BAH)
Like Nakajima, Piquet is another driver whose path to Formula 1 was lubricated by his surname. This is not to dismiss his achievements, however. Piquet won both the Sud-Am and British Formula 3 titles and was twice runner-up in GP2, all with a team owned by his old man. At Renault, though, he flailed around, not swimming but drowning. In his first year he managed to come to grips with the car well enough to score 19 points. And even in 2009 he won a small victory - at the German Grand Prix he outqualified his teammate Fernando Alonso for the first (and it turned out only) time in their 28 races together. Even before the Crashgate saga, though, it was hard to feel much sympathy towards Piquet, whose sullen and sulky behaviour did little to endear him to the public or to his team. More importantly, such paranoid behaviour - whether it was justified or not - in no way helps your performance on the track. He can point to bad management, hectoring and bullying from the team bosses, not being given equal equipment and whatever else all he likes - if you don't deliver on the track in F1 you get found out, chewed up and spat out. His is no great loss to the sport.
21. SÉBASTIEN BOURDAIS (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 9 GP, 2 points; best result: 8th (AUS, MC)
Another fallout from the glittering CV club. Bourdais rewrote the history books in Champ Car racing in the USA, scything his way to four consecutive titles before returning to Europe and Formula 1. Last season, he came up against Sebastian Vettel as a teammate and was blown away, but it must also be said he was a victim of bad luck too, Bourdais getting the lion's share of the car's problems. This year his teammate was the only rookie driver to start the season, 20-year old Swiss Sébastien Buemi. It was much less forgivable this time when he was again outperformed, therefore. However, Bourdais looks to have been a victim more to politics and his relationship with the team's management than to his results - twice he finished the car in the points. Sadly, however, the annals of Formula 1 history are lined with stories like that of Bourdais. It's a cut-throat business and it has claimed another victim here.
20. VITANTONIO LIUZZI (Force India-Mercedes) 5 GP, 0 points; best result: 11th (BR)
Liuzzi was a sufferer from the no-testing curse in 2009, promoted from within after Giancarlo Fisichella's move to Ferrari. And, with over 40 Grands Prix experience behind him, he started strongly even without track time in the new car. With a Force India car proving as slippery as an eel in low-downforce trim, he qualified in the top 10 at Monza and would have finished in the points, too, had the car not let him down. However, as the tracks became less favourable - both to the chassis and to Liuzzi, who had never raced at two of the five venues he encountered in 2009 - he started to go backwards. All of this said, he was never outclassed by Adrian Sutil in the other car and it's not beyond comprehension that a driver of his experience and reliability could find a drive in F1 next season. It would, however, most likely be his final chance to impress at this level.
19. JAIME ALGUERSAURI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 8 GP, 0 points; best result: 14th (BR)
Despite his relatively low position in my rankings, I was hugely impressed with Alguersauri this year. The 2008 British Formula 3 champion was put into the car - again, without testing time - for the Hungarian Grand Prix to become the youngest man ever to start a World Championship round. His pace was always respectable and sometimes very much moreso, not easy in this, the most tightly contested season ever in terms of lap time. On race day, he tended to fade, most likely a combination of lack of track time plus his inexperience at races of Grand Prix distance. Both of these will be naturally addressed in time, of which Alguersauri has plenty. Not twenty until next Spring, I believe he has the potential for a long and successful career in the formula.
In spite of all of this, though, the twenty-five competitors in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship offered up the usual blend of brilliance, mediocrity and stupidity that we've come to expect from the world's most expensive sport. For all the technology and investment, F1 still comes down to the most falliable element - the bloke sat behind the wheel.
This year's drivers were faced with a new challenge of a season-long ban on all testing. This put a real premium on experience - of the top six drivers in the final standings, only two had started less than 100 Grands Prix - with newcomers or late arrivals floundering around at the back. However, it also created a crucible in which any driver's ultimate ability would be more immediately obvious than perhaps at any time before.
In my assessment of the overall performances in 2009, therefore, I have tried to balance out results with performances, up and down the field. So, let the controversy, name-calling and back-biting begin. Today we'll focus on the seven drivers who bring up the rear, numbers 19 to 25.
25. LUCA BADOER (Ferrari) 2 Grands Prix, 0 points; best result: 14th (B)
For eleven years now, Badoer has been an integral part of the Ferrari family, test driver throughout the team's ultimate rise to complete dominance. However, it was also the case that he held a dubious all-time record for most Grand Prix starts without a points finish. Sentiment - at such a premium in top-line sport as to be nearly non-existent - as well as Michael Schumacher's dodgy neck, saw Badoer presented with his best chance ever to change all that. What actually occured was a train wreck. Badoer's displays were as good as one could have expected from a profoundly average driver who had not raced a single seater in a decade, grappling with the field's most pitch-sensitive car. He was absolutely beyond hope. Qualifying last for both of his outings, he went on to finish both, in last place. Best forgotten.
24. ROMAIN GROSJEAN (Renault) 7 GP, 0 points; best result: 13th (BR)
Few drivers in this year's field have such a glittering CV has Grosjean. He has cut a swathe through some of the biggest name championships in European single seaters, and was lying a strong second in the GP2 Series standings to Williams' 2010 newcomer Nico Hülkenberg when the call came from Renault. Formula 1 is a curious old bird, though. Many drivers who excel in lower-formulae can't cope with its demands and disappear completely - Luca Badoer, it should be remembered, was the 1992 International Formula 3000 champion - whilst many drivers with relatively meagre careers explode gloriously into life upon contact with the highest echelon of motorsport - Damon Hill's only real successes prior to his 22 GP wins and the 1996 World Championship had been on motorcycles, whilst Jenson Button's sole single seater accomplishment until 2009 had been the 1998 British Formula Ford title. I'm sure you can see what I am driving at here. Grosjean has, so far, been resolutely of the former category. Watching him, in a very disappointing Renault car, you could almost see his confidence draining away with every successive lap he drove at every successive race.
23. KAZUKI NAKAJIMA (Williams-Toyota) 17 GP, 0 points; best result: 9th (H, SG)
Williams were one of three teams to arrive in Melbourne at the start of the season with a double diffuser and the performance advantages they brought. Whilst Nico Rosberg went on to set some eyebrow-raising lap times throughout the season and score points on eleven occasions, his back-up man singularly failed to do just that. For all their early speed, Williams finished 7th in the Constructors' Cup in 2009, entirely as a result of Nakajima's failure to score any points. He was often quick in qualifying and sometimes quick in the race, but his inability to deliver over the full 200 miles looks to have finished his Formula 1 career.
22. NELSON PIQUET JR. (Renault) 10 GP, 0 points; best result: 10th (BAH)
Like Nakajima, Piquet is another driver whose path to Formula 1 was lubricated by his surname. This is not to dismiss his achievements, however. Piquet won both the Sud-Am and British Formula 3 titles and was twice runner-up in GP2, all with a team owned by his old man. At Renault, though, he flailed around, not swimming but drowning. In his first year he managed to come to grips with the car well enough to score 19 points. And even in 2009 he won a small victory - at the German Grand Prix he outqualified his teammate Fernando Alonso for the first (and it turned out only) time in their 28 races together. Even before the Crashgate saga, though, it was hard to feel much sympathy towards Piquet, whose sullen and sulky behaviour did little to endear him to the public or to his team. More importantly, such paranoid behaviour - whether it was justified or not - in no way helps your performance on the track. He can point to bad management, hectoring and bullying from the team bosses, not being given equal equipment and whatever else all he likes - if you don't deliver on the track in F1 you get found out, chewed up and spat out. His is no great loss to the sport.
21. SÉBASTIEN BOURDAIS (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 9 GP, 2 points; best result: 8th (AUS, MC)
Another fallout from the glittering CV club. Bourdais rewrote the history books in Champ Car racing in the USA, scything his way to four consecutive titles before returning to Europe and Formula 1. Last season, he came up against Sebastian Vettel as a teammate and was blown away, but it must also be said he was a victim of bad luck too, Bourdais getting the lion's share of the car's problems. This year his teammate was the only rookie driver to start the season, 20-year old Swiss Sébastien Buemi. It was much less forgivable this time when he was again outperformed, therefore. However, Bourdais looks to have been a victim more to politics and his relationship with the team's management than to his results - twice he finished the car in the points. Sadly, however, the annals of Formula 1 history are lined with stories like that of Bourdais. It's a cut-throat business and it has claimed another victim here.
20. VITANTONIO LIUZZI (Force India-Mercedes) 5 GP, 0 points; best result: 11th (BR)
Liuzzi was a sufferer from the no-testing curse in 2009, promoted from within after Giancarlo Fisichella's move to Ferrari. And, with over 40 Grands Prix experience behind him, he started strongly even without track time in the new car. With a Force India car proving as slippery as an eel in low-downforce trim, he qualified in the top 10 at Monza and would have finished in the points, too, had the car not let him down. However, as the tracks became less favourable - both to the chassis and to Liuzzi, who had never raced at two of the five venues he encountered in 2009 - he started to go backwards. All of this said, he was never outclassed by Adrian Sutil in the other car and it's not beyond comprehension that a driver of his experience and reliability could find a drive in F1 next season. It would, however, most likely be his final chance to impress at this level.
19. JAIME ALGUERSAURI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 8 GP, 0 points; best result: 14th (BR)
Despite his relatively low position in my rankings, I was hugely impressed with Alguersauri this year. The 2008 British Formula 3 champion was put into the car - again, without testing time - for the Hungarian Grand Prix to become the youngest man ever to start a World Championship round. His pace was always respectable and sometimes very much moreso, not easy in this, the most tightly contested season ever in terms of lap time. On race day, he tended to fade, most likely a combination of lack of track time plus his inexperience at races of Grand Prix distance. Both of these will be naturally addressed in time, of which Alguersauri has plenty. Not twenty until next Spring, I believe he has the potential for a long and successful career in the formula.
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