Mid-Term Team-mates Report
With the 2011 season having reached its half-way mark, community member TH has taken the time to analyse the inter-team battles within Formula One post-Silverstone. For the second year in a row, the team-mates have been compared and the performances analysed. Feel free to add your own standings and your reasons for your standings at the bottom of the article.
Red Bull Racing
Drivers: Sebastian Vettel vs. Mark Webber
Better performer so-far: Sebastian Vettel
Without any shade of doubt, the current reigning World Champion has had the legs over his Australian team-mate, in 2011. Being just 21 points short of the mathematical maximum available to all drivers, the speed and precision displayed by Sebastian Vettel has been some of the greatest in years. Securing pole at every race but two and having won at every round but three, there is little doubt as to who has driven the strongest on the grid this season. Whilst the championship leader has been having success after success, team-mate Webber has struggled to match Vettel all season, largely down to a issue with the Pirelli tyres. Yet to lead a lap this season, Webber is facing an increasingly-steep up-hill battle for the rest of the year. The “team orders” controversy which erupted post-Silverstone will do nothing to strengthen the already-fragile relationship between the 34 year old and the Red Bull Racing team. But what of Vettel? Like him or loathe him, Sebastian has shown speed at least equal to that of what Schumacher managed in the early-2000s and, having lead almost 79% of all of this season’s total laps, is one of the fastest drivers on the grid.
McLaren –Mercedes
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton vs. Jenson Button
Better performer so-far: Lewis Hamilton
Without a doubt, the Hamilton-Button battle of 2011 is one of the harder on the grid to decide upon. Hamilton has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons this year. Making contact with Alonso at Malaysia; with Maldonado in Monaco and his “Maybe it’s because I’m black” comment, as well as his contact with his team-mate in Canada, all do little for the 2008 World Champion’s record. Meanwhile, Button has maintained a calm, consistent approach to the title – culminating in a fantastic last-to-first victory at the rain-affected Canadian Grand Prix. However, for all of his short-comings in the 2011 season, Lewis Hamilton has edged his team-mate out in out-and-out speed so-far. Ahead on count-back, if Lewis can manage to steer clear of “avoidable” incidents for the second half of the season, his natural speed should see him edge-out his team-mate in the standings.
Scuderia Ferrari
Drivers: Fernando Alonso vs. Felipe Massa
Better performer so-far: Fernando Alonso
Having won the British Grand Prix, whilst his team-mate battled for fourth position, there is little doubt about who is “top dog” within the Ferrari stable. Although Felipe looked to have bridged the gap to Alonso after the first three rounds of the season, the Spaniard’s performances since Barcelona have been in different class to Massa’s. Whilst Felipe has been tussling with the Mercedes drivers Rosberg and Schumacher for the last 5 races, his team-mate has consistently been fighting for podium positions – occasionally for wins. Scoring 86 points to Massa’s mere 28 since the Turkish Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso is without a doubt both the physical and psychological team leader at Ferrari.
MercedesGP
Drivers: Nico Rosberg vs. Michael Schumacher
Better performer so-far: Michael Schumacher
The numbers say differently, but Michael Schumacher has been just as fast as Nico Rosberg in 2011. Qualifying remains one of his weaker points, but when the lights go out, the 7-time World Champion can match and outpace the times submitted by team-mate Rosberg. However, like Lewis Hamilton, Schumacher has had an alarming number of incidents with other drivers. Contact in Melbourne, Turkey, Valencia and Great Britain have greatly affected his points comparison with Rosberg. An engine failure at Monaco meant the end of yet more solid points and contact with Kobayashi in the most recent race meant yet more hard-earned positions lost to his stablemate. The pace he showed throughout the weekend of the British Grand Prix showed that he was capable of more than the 9th place he was officially classified in. Rosberg drove strongly at China, until a fuel shortage meant he was forced to run at less-than full pace and his consistency has meant he’s secured more points than Schumacher. However, if his 41-year-old team-mate can manage to go through fewer front wings in the remaining races of the season, expect the two to be closer than many had predicted.
Drivers: Nick Heidfeld vs. Vitaly Petrov
Better performer so-far: Nick Heidfeld
Scoring his maiden podium at the opening round of the season, Petrov looked to have stepped up a gear for 2011. He was running strongly in Malaysia, until his particular strategy took its toll on his ailing Pirellis. But it has been Heidfeld, the man who replaced the injured Robert Kubica after a horrific rally crash left him stranded in hospital with a severely-damaged wrist, who has eventually come to the fore. Initially criticised for failing to beat Petrov in a manner that Kubica previously managed to, “quick” Nick’s consistency has been the key to out-scoring his Russian team-mate. Vitaly is a much stronger competitor than he was in 2010, but inconsistency still hinders his chances at beating Heidfeld. Nick is doing enough to beat his team-mate, but will it be enough to secure him a seat at Renault, or somewhere as competitive, should Kubica return to the F1 grid? Somehow, it seems unlikely.
Sauber F1 Team
Drivers: Kamui Kobayashi vs. Sergio Pérez
Better driver so-far: Kamui Kobayashi
Kobayashi’s impressive run of points from Malaysia to Canada has almost been lost in the sea of media speculation about the year’s title race. In a car that is arguably capable of little more than it has achieved, the popular Japanese driver has done himself no harm in 2011. Perez has also impressed, having finished in front of Kobayashi in both of the times he has scored points. Even in Australia, before the Sauber team was disqualified for a technical infringement, the young Mexican finished ahead of his team-mate. Despite both of them performing admirably, it looks as if 2012 will be another season fighting for best-of-the-rest status, as the top four teams either have or will soon finalise their 2012 driver line-ups – none of them looking likely to feature either Kobayashi or Perez.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Drivers: Sébastien Buemi vs. Jaime Alguersuari
Better performer so-far: Jaime Alguersuari
Three races ago, it was Buemi who had virtually secured his seat for (at least) the remainder of the 2011 season with the Faenza-based team. However, sterling drives at Canada, Valencia and Silverstone look to have cemented Jaime’s position in the team – and rightly so. There have been questions over the Spaniard’s talent ever since he joined the grid and, even up to this year’s Canadian Grand Prix it was looking as if he were to soon be axed. Almost as if he wasn’t driving at his maximum previously, the under-pressure Alguersuari has greatly improved – possibly surpassing his team-mate’s current level of ability – since Red Bull’s delivery of a contract ultimatum post-Monaco. Although still close in the standings, Alguersuari’s sudden surge of form has set him up strongly and has turned the pressure onto team-mate Buemi. With Ricciardo now racing for HRT, the pressure on the Toro Rosso drivers has been reduced. Come the end of the season, the time will be up for one of the two. If Sébastien cannot put an end to his team-mate’s form soon, the Swiss driver may be forced to look elsewhere for a seat in 2012.
Force India
Drivers: Adrian Sutil vs. Paul di Resta
Better performer so-far: Adrian Sutil
Rookie di Resta may have impressed in the opening races of the season, but it has been Sutil’s experience that has driven him to scoring 8 more points than his team-mate. The Britton’s consistency is impressive, but the ability of Adrian to secure the occasional strong(er) result grants him number-1 status within the team. Force India’s little-covered “team orders” in Melbourne played a major part in helping the German finish ahead of his team-mate, but a solid 7th position in Monaco and 9th two races later at Valencia have reaffirmed any doubt about who was the more-capable driver for the Silverstone-based team. Few wonder whether Paul will continue to improve, but as of the Silverstone Grand Prix, Sutil still maintains a margin of competitiveness over his team-mate.
WilliamsF1
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello vs. Pastor Maldonado
Better driver so-far: Rubens Barrichello
Despite WilliamsF1 once again producing a disappointing challenger, Barrichello’s driving has been nothing of the sort. Despite securing only 4 points thus-far into the championship, Rubens has held an advantage over yet another Williams rookie. He’s well into his 19th year of Formula One racing, but Rubens Barrichello is showing no signs of slowing down. Apart from a strong drive at the Monaco Grand Prix – ended in one of the crueller moments of the 2011 season to date – Maldonado is yet to prove why he deserves a position in Formula One. The FW32 was slightly more competitive than the ’33, but the Venezuelan driver is doing nothing to suggest he deserves the position over Nico Hulkenberg.
Team Lotus
Drivers: Heikki Kovalainen vs. Jarno Trulli
Better driver so-far: Jarno Trulli
Although he may have complained about his perennial power steering issues this season, Trulli has managed to secure two important 13th positions, compared to Kovalainen’s lone 14th. The frustrated Trulli of 2010 almost appears to have relaxed and has come to cope with the situation he is in. His race pace has become stronger and more competitive than that of what the paddock has come to view time and time again. Although his qualifying pace may have dipped in the past months, Trulli is one man who – for the right and wrong reasons – knows race results aren’t secured on Saturday. With Liuzzi having secured 13th position at the Canadian Grand Prix, Lotus can only thank Jarno for saving them from embarrassingly being dropped below their Spanish competitors.
Hispania Racing F1 Team
Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo vs. Vitantonio Liuzzi vs. Narain Karthikeyan
The veteran was being partnered by the unimpressive returnee, who would later be replaced by a rookie; hardly the plot of a dramatic inter-team battle of the minds. Given an under-developed car, Liuzzi’s 13th position in Canada is an impressive result. He managed to out-class Karithikeyan during their partnership and, by all accounts, dominated Ricciardo in his debut race. For a second year running, the Hispania Racing Team has managed to construct a car that is able to out-pace their Virgin Racing rivals. With Ricciardo having become Vitantonio’s permanent team-mate for 2011, excluding the Indian Grand Prix, should the rookie not manage to find a vast improvement over his Silverstone performance, Vitantonio will likely be the one ending the season on top. For all his work, however, the best he can hope for is a contract renewal with the Spanish team.
Marussia Virgin Racing
Drivers: Timo Glock vs. Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Better driver so-far: Timo Glock
It is one of the greater injustices of Formula One that a driver who, on his day, could score strong podiums for Toyota would be left struggling at the back of the grid with an under-performing team. It is even more so that a championship table would show that he is being beaten by his lesser-rated team-mate. d’Ambrosio secured two strong results in Australia and Canada, but Glock remains the more impressive driver of 2011 so-far. With reliability being so impressive in the modern age, it is largely down to luck when a team such as Virgin finish in the top-15. Unluckily for Timo, Jérôme has been the one who has received the lion’s share. Frustratingly for 2007 GP2 champion, the MVR-02 will allow few opportunities to secure a position higher than the 14th required to push him ahead of his team-mate in the standings.
Credit: The F1 Times (www.thef1times.com)
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