We're a good way through the season now and I think it's time to look at the progress of all the teams and drivers. I had promised to do a driver a day but that would have interrupted Canada which is shaping up to be the most exciting Grand Prix yet again.
Nobody could have guessed who would have won the first race, and no one could have predicted the controversy we have already faced. But we've had a new Monaco winner, progression from some teams and regression from others. Over the next few days I'll be taking a close look at each team and how they have performed so far. Please enjoy!
Marussia
Currently chilling above Caterham in the Constructors Championship which is their goal, I'd say their season is off to a blinder. KERS has appeared to boost their performance and the attitude around the team seems to be rather positive. Keep this up and good things will happen. The disappearance of the 10th place money prize could either make or break their existence in the future however.
Max Chilton
Like a typical pay-driver, he hasn't met the standard. I love the fact he's a Brit, however his performances compared to the rest of the back markers (especially when it comes to qualifying) is poor. I can see him getting better though as the season progresses. The boy will learn but unfortunately he'll always just be a cash flow to Marussia. When they no longer need it, he could find himself replaced.
Monaco proved a low point when he miscalculated the gap between him and Pastor Maldonado, resulting in a major collision. Regardless, Max achieved his best position (twice) and unlike the other three back runners, Max has finished every race so far.
Jules Bianchi
It nearly didn't come together for the young Frenchman! He was overlooked for the Force India seat after they elected to go for Adrian Sutil. In my eyes (and hopefully the masses) they made the wrong decision. This guy is quick. Pure speed and class. He relishes having an unheard of second chance and he is refusing to waste it.
Bianchi constantly out qualifies his team mate and his Caterham counterparts, and places his team in 10th place because of his P13 finish in Malaysia. The guy will not be at the back for long. Someone like Sauber who love young aces like this guy will want him. When Paul di Resta moves up the grid, Force India should definitely give Jules first preference.
What's even more promising is the fact he is a member of Ferrari's Driver Academy. Future World Champion?
Caterham
Despite having the nicest livery, I've been really disappointed. Caterham's goals just keep on getting bigger and bigger, but their achievements keep getting smaller and smaller.
It's not come together for them yet despite major updates in Spain. A huge design flaw is holding them back, and an inexperienced driver line-up isn't helping matters.
Charles Pic
Last year, I thought Pic's move from Marussia was a smart one. Little did I know Pic would take two steps back. I don't think he's driven badly, I think it's the car holding him back.
If Tony Fernandes would get serious about F1 and stop dicking about with ridiculous second rate soccer ball teams, then we might have Caterham spectacle to watch.
It's impossible to judge based on the awful performance of that CT03, but at least he's remained relatively incident free.
Giedo van der Garde
Not amused lad, not amused (said Nathan to VDG).
He's not impressed me one bit, in fact I think he is very dangerous. His ridiculous move in Bahrain on Jean-Eric Vergne resulted in him t-boning the Toro Rosso driver, this is on top of many instances of poor control and lack of mental confidence.
Why he's driving instead of Heikki Kovalainen I will never know. Caterham are probably trying to milk his cash and then bring the Flying Finn back. Anybody is better than this Dutch clown.
NOTE: I am a firm believer that both these teams are bluffing to prepare for next year. With a Russian Grand Prix due in 2014, the Sociologist in me is saying that Russian President Vlad. Putin will want a Russian driver on the grid (Vitaly Petrov).
Williams
To say they have gone backwards is fair in many respects, but bare in mind, the blocks to the bright future for Williams are there. I've discovered them here.
The best thing they could have done was deport that useless waste of space [Bruno] Senna out of the sport, and thank Christ they did.
Pastor Maldonado
The Pastor Disaster that we seen in the early stages of last season seemed to have disappeared towards the end, and his no incident streak has continued since. The big accident in Monaco wasn't his fault and he has seemed to calm down overall as a driver.
However while cutting down the number of incidents, he has also cut down strong results. While not being helped by the abysmal form of the car, Maldonado failed to out qualify his rookie team mate for some time.
Pastor has failed to finish half the races and hasn't even looked like scoring a point. Constantly complaining about the car isn't going to help matters, but focusing on 2014 is key. Not that Maldonado is safe for next year...
Valtteri Bottas
Is his great form a surprise? Not to me. I called it well before the start that this guy would be an enigma and while not totally evident as of yet, signs and patterns are strongly emerging.
His results have been impeccable, winning the qualifying battle with Maldonado and coming close to scoring his maiden point in Malaysia have all shown signs of supreme driving talent.
It's a pity the only thing holding him back is a crap car. I really hope it doesn't dictate his 2014 drive. If it does, the sport will have passed up on a great star, and a definite future world champion.
Lotus may have started off the car launches with the E21, but Woking based team McLaren hold the honour of starting off six consecutive days of car launches, a truly wonderful time for Formula 1 fans! I covered the launch live this morning and published a full report on Let's Talk F1. To see the new MP4-28 take a read by clicking here.
2014 Comeback For HRT (sort of)?
As the FIA published the 2013 season entries last November, Spanish outfit HRT were not included due to their financial instability and insecure future, thus only 11 teams will be appearing on the grid this season.
However, an American/Canadian company called Scorpion have been attempting a buyout bid in order to salvage an entry onto the grid. Bernie Ecclestone even gave a nod to the bid but the FIA ruled out any possibility this year as the deadline is long gone, stating they will not accept any specialist circumstances.
They shouldn't worry about pushing hard to get a 2013 slot because the regulations are more or less the same, meaning they would still be hopelessly uncompetitive. The best thing to do would be to develop a monster of a machine for the 2014 seismic shift in performance. They might even catch up with the rest of the pack!
Nurburgring Gastgeber 2013 Großen Preis (Nurburgring To Host 2013 Grand Prix).
Finally we have been guaranteed a German Grand Prix and will be returning to the wonderful Nurburgring!
Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over both the event and venue after the group who owns the circuit failed to raise the funds necessary. This means that we will most certainly have 19 races next season with the European venue still to be decided. Hopefully if anybody had any sense they'd be straight back to Hockenheim for both German tracks. That would be the definition of epic.
Time is Slowly Running Out
This is a message to Force India, Caterham and Marussia. It is time to get your finger out of your arses and get us a full driver line up. I'm sick to the death speculating, my #HireHeikki campaign has been working flat out (like 2 tweets every month, whatever), testing starts very soon and it's ridiculous how we don't know who's driving. I can't remember it every being this late!
The closest rumour I've heard yet is that Luiz Razia (pictured) has been linked to the Marussia seat but these are unconfirmed rumours and to be honest, I'd take Vitaly Petrov or dare I say it, Bruno Senna before another rookie.
Force India launch their car tomorrow, I would like to think they would have the common courtesy for us the fans and Paul di Resta to name a second driver. I even think I'd take back Adrian Sutil at this late stage.
Both Caterham and Marussia launch on the morning of the Jerez test on the 5th of February so at the end of the day, they have no choice but to name drivers soon.
This is however great for Max Chilton, Paul di Resta and Charles Pic as their team mates will be nothing more than a second thought, meaning the team will focus on them first.
UPDATE:
It appears Glock has turned towards the DTM driving for old F1 outfit BMW (ESPN). For those who are unaware, the DTM is the German version of touring cars and has had a number of former F1 stars such as David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher.
I will personally miss him but since I have access to the DTM I am still excited to see him race and I'd like to wish him the best of luck!
Could this tweet from Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen mean that he is flying over to the UK to negotiate a new deal with Caterham?
Kovalainen has been expected to lose his seat to better funded former team mate Vitaly Petrov, following the appointment of Charles Pic for the other seat at minnow team Caterham.
However as ESPN F1 have reported Petrov's talks have stalled and have appeared to reach a brick wall.
After reading this tweet in the early hours of this morning I have become hopeful that Caterham have seen sense in that, yes funding brings greater boosts for development, but those developments will mean nothing if you have an inexperienced Pic and a below average Petrov driving for your team.
I hope Heikki keeps his seat because Caterham will lose the race to get the first point to Marussia.
Charles Pic apparently had a stormer of a rookie season in 2012 and has been awarded a move to Caterham. The first pictures of the young Frenchman have emerged with him spending a few weeks at the teams HQ in Leafield, in an interesting Q&A session here.
I say apparently because, I don't pay a lot of attention to the back runners. I did a little bit in their first year because it was exciting to see new teams, but after the repetition of Q1 fallouts, I got bored. From what I did recall, he impacted very little. Paired up with Timo Glock at Marussia, you're going to look like a second rate driver. He never wowed me and rarely out performed Glock.
The reason given by Caterham was that Pic's performances were enough to reward him with a seat for next season. I think it was based on a lot more than that.
Marussia have confirmed their driver line-up for next season which will consist of the ever impressive Glock and the new kid on the block, Max Chilton. Chilton who despite not winning the GP2 series impressed with a 4th place finish in the championship and two wins at Hungary and Singapore. Coupled with financial backing a move up was almost a certainty. The decision to sign for Caterham was maybe a decision made on long term thinking.
What's confusing to me is the strides Marussia have took recently in terms of development and pace. The gap to Caterham closed significantly this season which for competitiveness sake is always a bonus. This progression can only carry on and who knows, maybe Marussia could have overhauled Caterham this coming season? Chilton's move up was almost a certainty, but not for definite. He could have held on to his seat and helped Marussia overtake Caterham. My point is if Chilton is more beneficial to the team in terms of R&D, and Glock leads them in the right direction, Pic could be left with egg on his face.
The scenario however could work visa versa. If Pic is everything he's cracked up to be, he could be the element Caterham need to make it into the points. In the last race of the season, Petrov managed an 11th place which was the highest by any of the three slower teams to date and enough to secure that all important 10th place in the constructors championship. This could be the season where they compete with the Toro Rosso's! The all important factor is Pic's team mate. Caterham have yet to confirm their complete driver line up for next season. And with only a seat left at Force India, options are running thin for drivers. A move to Caterham for a driver who has not ran in a back runner is a career killer for sure. That's why it is essential to bag the one man on the grip who has shown nearly as much consistency as Kimi Raikkonen.
I am of course taking about Heikki Kovalainen. As I've said in various blogs before, Heikki for his contributions to Caterham deserves a a quicker drive. But with everything except the Force India gig gone, it looks like Caterham is his only option. Even that may be out of reach with gossip suggesting Caterham are going for money over talent and selecting Vitaly Petrov. This would be an extremely detrimental move for Caterham because neither Petrov nor Pic can provide the team with that essential leadership quality.
Pic's arrival may only boost Caterham's campaign for a point. But he is not enough. Caterham need Kovalainen to help keep the momentum going. He has enough experience, but not as much as Pic's previous team mate Glock. This can help Pic grow as a driver out of the shadows and into his own personality.
I really don't know what to make of the move. All I know is, we probably won't notice. At the end of the day it could take a decade of being in the sport for either of the teams to make a difference. Maybe Pic can be around to provide the stars of that time with experience, but as per usual, I am not expecting much and neither should you.
