Silverstone

God Rest.

First off, I'd like to start this blog off by offering my condolences to the loved ones of Allan Simonsen who tragically passed away during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A death in motorsport is always tragic, any racing driver will be sadly missed.




The British Grand Prix at Silverstone

As mentioned many times, Silverstone 2012 was the first ever live Formula 1 race I attended. Me and three very close friends decided to have a lads holiday watching the pinnacle of motor racing. It was a weekend in which I will never forget.

This year I am giving it a miss. Instead I'll be watching the race from a bar in Salou and as grateful as I am to be going away, I am still very envious of British Grand Prix goers. Still, a break from the pissy weather conditions in Northern Ireland with someone special is still pretty cool.

I absolutely love Silverstone, in my eyes it's a terrific circuit and is considered among the heights of Monaco, Spa, Interlagos and Monaco. I still have my old map from last year. It is soaked to its very fibres. I really hope the weather is perfect this year. Having said that, my favourite condition is a wet qualifying session and a dry race.

After wandering about the track during qualifying, we decided to stand at Luffield, the combination of a timing screen and huge TV screen was epic and truly informative for someone who had lack of access to Twitter. Plus it's great seeing the cars at such low speeds.

Obviously I'll not be covering any results, but it's not hard to predict winners. It's a Red Bull circuit, and considering Sebastian Vettel's form, he could very well complete a very dominate victory. That being said, his team-mate Mark Webber is something of a specialist here. I think he secretly practises at night time since he only lives a few miles from the track.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is also a very strong racer at Silverstone, and Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen will be looking to get his title charge back on track now that those stupid street circuits are over for now.

British Hopes Are Feeble

Another thing I took from last year was the insane amount of support the British have for McLaren. It was crazy seeing a sea of orange hats. My friend Patrice caught and still has Jenson Button's hat from the F1 Forum last year.

This year there will be no surprise when Button and McLaren hopes flop. Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton will be the best opportunity for at least a podium. Hopefully McLaren can do something, The fans deserve something, driver appearances, free souvenirs, something to give back for their dedication.

I'll be cheering for Paul di Resta as always. He's such a talented driver and will be looking to prove to the British audience that he is capable of scrapping with the big boys.

With all being said, Max Chilton has as much chance as being a British winner as the other three do this year.

Soaring Ticket Prices To Blame For Record Low Ticket Sales

Whilst reading an article this week, I was shocked to discover that for a standard weekend ticket for the British Grand Prix is the third most expensive behind Interlagos and Abu Dhabi. 

That is sheer insanity on the face of it. 2012 broke the record for the most spectators at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. This years preliminary numbers show it will hit a record low. Teams have took to Twitter and BBC to plug for sales.

Improved facilities and transport is great, but it's all for nothing unless you get the people there.

Enjoy

Folks have a great British Grand Prix. It's the greatest sporting event that happens in the UK, and it delivers a fantastic experience. I hope everyone enjoys themselves safely and cheers on whoever they may support!

The Story So Far... Part Three

The front runners this year have had a turbulent time as of yet. The only team who have been capable of looking after their tyres have only won a single race, while Ferrari have had a roller-coaster season thus far. The only consistent team have been Red Bull, however they have not been without their problems.

All things considered, no one has had a more disastrous time than McLaren. Let's delve a little deeper!

NOTE: I am not proud of the puns.

Lotus
The aftermath of the season opener left a huge Raikkonen fan like me in ecstasy. I was sure the season was going to be great, after all I had already made a pre season bet for Kimi.

However, things haven't been the same since. Yes yes yes, the tyre management is ace in the dry, and Kimi is still scoring points, but recently Lotus fans have had to endure rough times.

James Allison's departure has damaged the title hopes. With Mercedes on the rise, and Ferrari and Red Bull pulling away, 4th place is not good enough but unfortunately that is where the team is heading.

Maybe I'm being hard on the team? All I know is performances have been lacklustre. 

Romain Grosjean
His place as 2nd driver has been firmly cemented now.

This helps his confidence levels as has been shown. Without any pressure, he can concentrate on his driving. The first five races are proof, first lap and other laps incident free. That's a win in my eyes. Granted Monaco showed us the old Grosjean, but that's Monaco for you!

Team principle Eric Boullier (also Grosjean's manager) has always stated that Romain is a future world champion in the making. At the minute this statement is a little hard to materialize in my mind. Considering the losses Lotus are currently enduring (Allison leaving, big sponsors selling shares) I don't think anyone can be world champion at this team for some time.

Kimi Raikkonen
First of all, can he do it? Yes.

I have been extremely critical of Kimi recently. With bloody good reasons too. After the best start possible, he lost ground in Malaysia.Next followed a string of 2nd places, two of which he should have won (Spain was far beyond his reach). 

His performance in Monaco was extremely poor. A race he was supposed to do well in, he hit major flop, granted not all his fault, a particular Mexican became very bumper happy.

The lowest point this season so far was in Canada. Kimi just looked like he didn't care any more. Which is grand for personality, but when it comes to challenging for the title, it's not good enough.

Hopefully getting lapped will have kicked his ass into gear. Silverstone is by far a Lotus track. Not a winning opportunity, but a starting point.

Even though this equalling points record thing is great, it's not doing anything for the drivers championship. It's all well and good if Kimi gets on or two points on Vettel on a run of three or four races, but then it's a giant set back when Vettel wins and Kimi flops. Right back at square one.

It's sad to see a season where McLaren and Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton are no longer race winning contenders, and yet Kimi still struggles to be on top of the podium.

I'm negative at times, but I always do believe. Although I am starting to question if he really does know what he's doing.

McLaren
There's nothing I can say here that you are not already aware of. This is a disaster for "Britain's Best."

Revolution over evolution in the car's design did not help. Keeping the old car should have been a no brainer, not they're following William's into a dark descent. An abyss with no return is impending.

Sergio Perez
I have no idea how a driver can go from the heights of last year to the depths of this one.

His temperament on track this year has been tragic. The crap car excuse can only stretch so far, he has to accept some blame.

So far he has failed to do it. The events with Button in Bahrain, I thought Perez was entirely within his rights. However the events at Monaco I cannot defend. Not only did he attempt an entirely dangerous move on Raikkonen, he then had the gall to say it was Kimi's fault.

I would love to have been the one to punch him. It would have been great to read the headline "Checo Wins __ Grand Prix" and he genuinely thought he had a championship winning opportunity. The team has let him down on this basis, but his own attitude has not helped.

To make the most of this mess, he needs to keep out of trouble and stay positive. Something he's doing better than his team mate.

Jenson Button
I've always thought Jenson was the best at what he does. Last season, he proved he was Britain's best after he (in my opinion) out shone Lewis Hamilton, just like the season before that.

This year, Jenson has shown his darker side. A whiner, less likeable character. He blames everyone else for his mistakes, including Perez whenever he should take a leaf from Paul di Resta's book and aim his frustration to the people who need it.

THE TEAM. They have delivered a heap of metal that is not performing as well as the budget that they allow. Granted constantly complaining isn't helping matters, it might get someone in R&D to get motivated. It won't help the British cause going into Silverstone, but everyone loves his smile!

Ferrari
Results have been fluctuating to say the least, It seems to be going from extremely well, to extremely dire. If they follow the current patten, Silverstone will be a nightmare.

Luckily enough Fernando is an expert of the track. Hopefully he'll seal the win this year. I also think Massa has a chance to bag a long awaited win.

Felipe Massa
Barring an odd Bahrain and devastating Monaco, this season has been excellent, even by post 2009 Massa standards.  

Consistency is the best way to describe his on track performance. I also personally believe Massa's five year wait for a win is coming to an end. The dream would be at Interlagos, but in this day and age of Formula 1, what I want never happens.

Fernando Alonso
The up-and-down nature of Alonso's season is not helping his title charge. As I see it right now, Fernando is the single contender to Vettel. And The German is currently coasting to a 4th world championship.

Fernando should be aiming to generate consistency. Beating Vettel simply won't be enough, opportunities have never been greater, the only thing letting him down is his qualifying. Ferrari's last pole position was Silverstone last year. With the British Grand Prix coming up, now is his best chance to turn everything around.

Fernando also needs to watch for a resurgent Kimi, but the best chance for a drivers championship at Ferrari is now.

Red Bull
As the saying goes, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything They have again managed to fluke, lie and deceive their way to the top.

The focal point of the season is obviously the disgrace that occurred at Malaysia. But I'm not getting into that again, and you read my feelings here & here, the incident which I have dubbed Twat-gate following an hilarious tweet.

Mark Webber
Mark Webber has only made a few bad mistakes this year. The first was that Christ awful haircut. The second was at the Chinese Grand Prix where he t-boned the Toro Rosso.

He handled the Twat-gate scandal with relative ease, simply not letting Vettel away with it. He called him up on it and made sure the world knew he had been wronged. It was the team who had let him down, but why would anyone want to disturb the golden child at Red Bull?

Webber won the only Grand Prix I have attended (Silverstone 2012) so I have a soft spot for this guy. His problem is that he is in the shadow of a fake driver. But I'm not getting into that again. 

This could very well be Webber's last season at Red Bull. If it is, I would like him to walk away with at least one win.

Sebastian Vettel
Why is he still on top? Three-fold answer:
1) He is still a major fluke. Nobody can defend that anymore.

2) He's a cheat. Malaysia, if you are still disillusioned, get your head looked at. You may have a severe mental disorder.

3) He hasn't put a foot wrong. Did I just compliment Sebastian Vettel? His lowest finishing place this year? 4th. When did he last achieve that? 2011, and I don't need to go into detail of what happened in that year.

While Kimi has failed, Fernando has flopped and Hamilton is no match for Red Bull, he has seized the opportunity to take the early advantage. And he might not let it go.

I had to explain to someone recently why there is no use in hoping Vettel's car will fail or he'll retire: because that kind of bad luck doesn't happen to Vettel.. It has nothing to do talent, it's pure fluke.

The way I see it, if Vettel grabs pole, Houston60 doesn't mind missing the race. His performances in Europe are mixed... Between 1st place and 3rd but when the Asian tracks hit, it's all Vettel town. Considering nothing looks like picking up for Kimi, and Alonso can't find consistency, Vettel may very well have walked away with the championship already.

But I always believe in one man:

#KINGKIMI

The Story So Far... Part Two

Last time out, I covered the progress of the majority of the rookie drivers in the Marussia and Caterham teams, along with Valtteri Bottas and his experienced team mate Pastor Maldonado in the Williams.

The midfield last season was extremely tight with Sauber making an immense leap forward in terms of pace and podium finishes. Force India showed us how far they have come and Toro Rosso put their young talent on display with just the one driver breaking through. All these teams (excluding Toro Rosso) have swapped about drivers but no driver change was as big when it was announced Lewis Hamilton would take over from Michael Schumacher who was forced into retirement by the move. 

Toro Rosso
The Red Bull feeder team has always been known for hiring rookies to promote to the bigger team, but in recent years they have failed to find any talent worth of replacing Mark Webber.

Last year, Daniel Ricciardo was heavily promoted as the more talented driver but he was consistently beaten by Jean-Eric Vergne's driving ability. This year the team has made a much improved leap forward, the same can be said for both drivers.

Eventually, Toro Rosso will ditch these two boys, I reckon they won't have bother finding work in Formula 1.

Daniel Ricciardo
His season didn't get off to the best start with the first two races, but his qualifying magic was duly present in China this year when he qualified 7th and finished 7th. Usually when a team achieves that kind of result on Saturday, it turns out to be a nightmare on Sunday, so he done a great job holding it all up.

With more people noticing JEV's talents, the pressure has been lifted off Daniel, which can only be a good thing.

He needs to focus on trying to beat his team mate. When a seat eventually becomes vacant at Red Bull, this is how he will be judged, and at the minute, the ball is in JEV's court.

Jean-Eric Vergne
I have always thought JEV (great nickname) has been a great driver. Considering he's only 3 points off last season's total already speaks for itself.

His qualifying performances have improved quite dramatically, and his scoring points more consistently is achievable because of a great car.

He is the ideal candidate to succeed Mark Webber because he has no ego and a great fan base. Should he keep this up, championship opportunities will be plentiful.

Force India
Me and this team did not get off to the best start this year. The fact they waited until the last minute to announce their second driver was extremely disrespectful.

When Adrian Sutil was unveiled, an opportunity had been missed in the form of Jules Biachi. His raw pace should have been shown in this car, not a lacklustre Marussia.

Monaco was a high point for the team with both drivers proving overtaking is possible.

Adrian Sutil
Instead of a world championship, Sutil has something more unique to his name, an ASBO. I'm not a fan of Sutil or second chances. The fact he got one annoys me when there were better options.

It's hard to argue though that this driver decision didn't work. So far he has proved he can still compete with the best that the midfield has to offer, and staying out of the spotlight has not hurt his reputation.

It's hard to say what's in store for him. The fact he has only ever driven for Force India (and their two previous outfit names) has to say something about what other teams think of him. His aim for the season should be to stay out of Paul's way.

Paul di Resta
2013 was a great start for the Scot, but then someone in his team said "let's f--k everything up." Seriously though the amount of mistakes made by his garage is ridiculous.

Then people criticise Paul for hitting out at them?! He has every right to be outraged. di Resta is going places in the world, but he is being let done by his own team. Engineers being paid thousands and then not being able to count and do their job?!

Despite all this, Paul has scored points in every round bar Malaysia. The battle is equal between him and Sutil so far, but as the season progresses so will Paul. In addition, the team will need to clean up their act pronto.

Sauber
The Swiss team undoubtedly managed to steal raw talent from Force India by recruiting Nico Hulkenberg. Granted the start to their season got off to an awful start for many reasons, Nico managed to fight back before falling into another slump.

I predicted this before the start of the season. Sauber tend to have issues when carrying over momentum from one season to another. After reaching podium heights last year, they have only managed to score 5 points so far. 

The biggest mistake was not letting go of Sergio Perez, but rather Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese driver had huge talent but suffered at the hands of poor set up. They miss him greatly and instead, they hired what can only be described as a disaster.

Esteban Gutierrez 
The aforementioned disaster comes in the form of this furry (look at his eyebrows) little Mexican.

Like Perez before him, Sauber brought him in as the Mexican government funds the young driver, making him an extreme pay driver.

Let me assure you, NOTHING has payed off. He has proven to be an absolute danger to everyone around him. If he's not crashing into barriers he's crashing into title contenders such as Kimi Raikkonen.


He seems to have no awareness and once he's in the car, he acts like a newborn puppy, almost scared of his surroundings. Not to mention he's not even come close to scoring any points.

My hope is that he will be replaced soon. I can think of a number of better candidates, particularly Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen. His only purpose is bound to be his cash flow. Theey're probably keeping him around in order to gain enough money for next year, whenever Krazy Kob comes back (hopefully).

Nico Hulkenberg
The words; 'future world champion' come to mind, although that's based on his previous performances, this year it has not been great, that can be put down to the team though but not all the bucks can be passed.

He has been incredibly quiet this year, mostly scrapping from the back, very little opportunity to showcase true talent. He slumped after a double points finished but looked to be on the mend before he struck out in Canada. 

The move from Force India has not prospered for him at all and I feel bad for him. The only thing keeping Nico in the game is his dreadful team mate.

Just wait for Brazil though whenever Sebastian Vettel is trying to keep up with him around Interlagos!

Mercedes
The decision not to retain Michael Schumacher last year was painful. Love him or hate him, not hearing the name is absolutely crap.

Michael's departure was only the beginning of a board revolution. Followed out the door shortly by Norbert Haug, big names like Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda and reportedly, Paddy Lowe all joined to create an all star package of money, personality and brains. Team principle Ross Brawn has supposedly been cut out of the picture. His departure is still not for certain.

Despite the heavy hitters added to the background, the biggest talent on the grid joined (Fernando Alonso is all tied up at Ferrari) in the form of Lewis Hamilton.

I'm not one bit ashamed to admit I said that Mercedes were going to buckle under the weight of their own ambition this year and to be fair, the first two races they did.

Then the string of pole positions came. I was proven wrong, they had one lap speed. But race pace? Dreadful. 

Nobody could have predicted that they would be involved in the biggest scandal so far this year, but I'll have more on tyre gate soon.

Lewis Hamilton
The move away from McLaren must have hurt Lewis at a personal level. But there is no doubt it was a lucky one. He moved from disaster into an environment where he can be Lewis.

He's still looking for this first Mercedes win, but his pole positions were quite frequent. It's just the cars awful ability to look after the tyres. The situation really came home in Barcelona when he snapped back saying [to his engineer] "I can't go any slower."

Considering the majority of the rest of the season is filled with permanent race tracks (harder on tyre wear) he will struggle to find that first win. Rest assure, it will happen.

The best thing about Lewis this season is his new dog, Roscoe. SO ADORABLE (I'm a dog lover).

Nico Rosberg
I am very, very glad Nico got the first win for the all new Mercedes this year. There was too much hype and attention over Lewis. Autosport at a four page article nearly every week about him and it got sickening.

Nico managed to achieve three consecutive pole positions and the (supposed) biggest win of the year at Monaco, thirty years after his father. 

The season has been great to him so far. His tyre management is significantly better than Lewis's, although a lot off the field.

Backing both drivers never worked for Mercedes in the past, but it's not possible to back Nico over Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, that was never going to happen. Solace should be found in what he has achieved so far. Moving to another team around Mercedes where he is the number one focus would definitely benefit his career.

Remember, McLaren will be joining forces with Honda again and even though I am sceptical, it could bring back wonderful feelings to the team. I don't think they will want to keep Jenson Button or Perez around any longer. 

Nico Rosberg could easily find his Nirvana at McLaren.

2013 Canadian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Canada always throws up an exciting race, in my opinion it is the best Grand Prix to watch because of the unpredictability. The 2011 race was my absolute favourite of all time, and I hope this years will be just as good!

Q1 started under wet conditions, a few drivers such as Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Marussia's Jules Bianchi tried slicks but soon found themselves straight off the track.

Ferrari Mishaps

When Ferrari called both their drivers in to change their tyres, they didn't look to closely at each drivers track positions. Felipe Massa wasn't prepared to leave his pit box when team mate Fernando Alonso came in to change his tyres. The encounter looked awkward but hilarious!

However the second mishap wasn't so funny. In an even wetter Q2, Massa had a second qualifying disaster when he took his car onto the slippery wet lines in sector 1. The result was a huge sideways smash, clocking in 5 G's and a red flag for the session.

Massa after the accident.

Felipe was able to walk away unharmed, the frustration in the car was adamant after he banged on his steering wheel immediately. After a Monaco crash that seen him sent to hospital, this isn't what the resurgent Massa needed. A dry race will be his only hope if he is to salvage anything.

Phenomenal Bottas Shows His Salt

Just whenever the critics start hitting him, he throws a huge left hook back. Valtteri Bottas not only shocked the world in Q1 & Q2 by setting quick times, but he managed to grab P3 in Q3 after setting a blindingly quick lap.

I have always believed the boy is talented but being held back by his team and car, but something went very very right for the Williams team today, and I am very glad it happened to him and not Pastor Maldonado, that would have been an opportunity wasted.

Strong Push From Raikkonen and Alonso

Sebastian Vettel was the overall quickest driver by nailing pole position, but the man sitting in second place in the championship could only achieve P9 and then got set back further by a grid penalty. There is no doubt in my mind that Kimi Raikkonen will throw us up a strong push tomorrow, providing a hugely entertaining race.

That is until he gets stuck behind a Mercedes and forgets how to overtake. Kimi give us those final two laps in Monaco again, but make them last a whole race. Please?

Likewise, Fernando Alonso will need a monster drive from P6 if he is to achieve anything. Because his car is so kind to his tyres (like Kimi) he is not so effective in wet weather conditions. This is bad because the weather is ridiculously unpredictable. 

I couldn't honestly begin to fathom a prediction for tomorrow. Common sense dictates Vettel, but the motorsport fan in me says Kimi could achieve greatness if he would just bloody take a chance. Being Mr. Conservative won nobody a title ever! Alonso is the in the better position and if it's a dry race, I think he'll start on the harder compound. I don't know, I'm not a doctor.

Lewis Hamilton didn't look to happy with P2. That's maybe because he knows he'll slip away down the field and hold up Raikkonen!

Thanks very much for reading! Please let know what you think in the comments section!

RESULTS (NOT INCLUDING PENALTIES) (AUTOSPORT):

Pos Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   
 1. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m25.425s  
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m25.512s  + 0.087s
 3. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault     1m25.897s  + 0.472s
 4. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m26.008s  + 0.583s
 5. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m26.208s  + 0.783s
 6. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m26.504s  + 1.079s
 7. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m26.543s  + 1.118s
 8. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m27.348s  + 1.923s
 9. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m27.432s  + 2.007s
10. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m27.946s  + 2.521s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m36.811s                                   Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari       1m29.435s  + 1.786s
12. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes     1m29.761s  + 2.112s
13. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m29.917s  + 2.268s
14. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m30.068s  + 2.419s
15. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       1m30.315s  + 2.666s
16. Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m30.354s  + 2.705s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m24.776s                                    Gap *
17. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m24.908s  + 2.590
18. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault     1m25.626s  + 3.308
19. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m25.716s  + 3.398
20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth    1m26.508s  + 4.190
21. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth    1m27.062s  + 4.744
22. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault     1m27.110s  + 4.792

The Story So Far... Part One

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.