Thrive or Survive; who’s hot and who’s not so far this season
We are only three races into the 2019 season and it has already been kinder to some drivers than others. This article will examine which drivers are thriving at the top of their game and who is hanging tight just to survive to the next race.
Thriving: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas
It is probably best to get the discussion about the undeniable success of the Mercedes duo out of the way first. Lewis has started the season with the assurance that you would expect from a five-time world champion and Bottas has come back from the closed season with an assurance we haven’t seen from the Finn since his days at Williams. The Mercedes W10 is undoubtedly an excellent car and worryingly for Ferrari one with great upgradability. Both Mercedes’ drivers have put in the sort of assured, level-headed performances that have allowed them to capitalise on mistakes from Ferrari when they have been behind. I think most Formula 1 fans are hoping that Ferrari can find some performance or it might be a very long season.
It is probably best to get the discussion about the undeniable success of the Mercedes duo out of the way first. Lewis has started the season with the assurance that you would expect from a five-time world champion and Bottas has come back from the closed season with an assurance we haven’t seen from the Finn since his days at Williams. The Mercedes W10 is undoubtedly an excellent car and worryingly for Ferrari one with great upgradability. Both Mercedes’ drivers have put in the sort of assured, level-headed performances that have allowed them to capitalise on mistakes from Ferrari when they have been behind. I think most Formula 1 fans are hoping that Ferrari can find some performance or it might be a very long season.
Surviving: Sebastian Vettel
Coming out of winter testing Ferrari looked mighty and some commentators were already predicting a fifth world championship for Sebastian Vettel. As it turned out Ferrari were well behind in Mercedes in Melbourne and Vettel can take little of the blame for this, but it was in China where things started to look bad for Vettel. Outclassed by his far more junior team-mate Charles Leclerc all weekend, a struggling Vettel once again spun out being overtaken by his nemesis Lewis Hamilton. The reaction of the Italian press has been a little unfair, but team orders in Melbourne and then again in China favouring Vettel may have been bad strategy calls for Ferrari. Ferrari must be wondering if their unnecessary selection of a lead driver before the season has started may now have been a mistake. I have no doubt that a driver of Vettel’s calibre will bounce back, but at what cost?
Coming out of winter testing Ferrari looked mighty and some commentators were already predicting a fifth world championship for Sebastian Vettel. As it turned out Ferrari were well behind in Mercedes in Melbourne and Vettel can take little of the blame for this, but it was in China where things started to look bad for Vettel. Outclassed by his far more junior team-mate Charles Leclerc all weekend, a struggling Vettel once again spun out being overtaken by his nemesis Lewis Hamilton. The reaction of the Italian press has been a little unfair, but team orders in Melbourne and then again in China favouring Vettel may have been bad strategy calls for Ferrari. Ferrari must be wondering if their unnecessary selection of a lead driver before the season has started may now have been a mistake. I have no doubt that a driver of Vettel’s calibre will bounce back, but at what cost?
Thriving: Kimi Raikkonen
We have seen a lot of good drivers not quite ready to give up the top tier of motorsport move to smaller teams in their twilight years and never really live up to their past performance slowly fading away. Not it would seem for Kimi Raikkonen; the oldest driver on the grid is showing just how good he is single-handedly dragging Alfa Romeo to fifth in the constructor’s championship. Alfa have clearly built a good car this year, but it is flattered by Kimi’s driving and he has silenced those who said that Alfa should look to take on an up-and-coming driver.
We have seen a lot of good drivers not quite ready to give up the top tier of motorsport move to smaller teams in their twilight years and never really live up to their past performance slowly fading away. Not it would seem for Kimi Raikkonen; the oldest driver on the grid is showing just how good he is single-handedly dragging Alfa Romeo to fifth in the constructor’s championship. Alfa have clearly built a good car this year, but it is flattered by Kimi’s driving and he has silenced those who said that Alfa should look to take on an up-and-coming driver.
Surviving: Pierre Gasly
The season started badly for Gasly who had a big crash during winter testing and doesn’t really seem to have found his stride since. At the Australian GP, in a car that his teammate put on the podium, Gasly only managed eleventh, things were not much better in Bahrain finishing eight to Verstappen’s fourth and whilst Gasly managed to finish in sixth with a point for the fastest lap in China he finished the race over a minute behind the other Red Bull. Whilst the wild speculation that he could be replaced by Albon is unfounded, he will have to up his game to keep his seat next year.
The season started badly for Gasly who had a big crash during winter testing and doesn’t really seem to have found his stride since. At the Australian GP, in a car that his teammate put on the podium, Gasly only managed eleventh, things were not much better in Bahrain finishing eight to Verstappen’s fourth and whilst Gasly managed to finish in sixth with a point for the fastest lap in China he finished the race over a minute behind the other Red Bull. Whilst the wild speculation that he could be replaced by Albon is unfounded, he will have to up his game to keep his seat next year.
Thriving: Lando Norris
This rookie has come on to the F1 scene with a bang as supported by a well-deserved eighth in the constructor’s championship after three races. Norris could even have added to his points haul if it wasn’t for some unlucky first lap contact with Kyvat in China. Norris not only looks fast but he also looks assured. This is almost certainly due to the apprenticeship that he has served with McLaren, taking part in multiple testing sessions last season and doing ‘work experience’ in almost all of the departments in Woking. Norris seems to be unphased by his move to the big leagues and whilst he is not yet in Fernando Alonso’s league McLaren still have a driver that can over-deliver in their car.
This rookie has come on to the F1 scene with a bang as supported by a well-deserved eighth in the constructor’s championship after three races. Norris could even have added to his points haul if it wasn’t for some unlucky first lap contact with Kyvat in China. Norris not only looks fast but he also looks assured. This is almost certainly due to the apprenticeship that he has served with McLaren, taking part in multiple testing sessions last season and doing ‘work experience’ in almost all of the departments in Woking. Norris seems to be unphased by his move to the big leagues and whilst he is not yet in Fernando Alonso’s league McLaren still have a driver that can over-deliver in their car.
Surviving: Robert Kubica
The Polish driver’s return was heralded as one of the greatest comeback stories of all time; a man overcoming the odds and adversity to return to the top tier of motorsport. It is hard to say this but the unpopular truth is that he is struggling. He has yet to really challenge his rookie teammate George Russell who has outperformed him in almost every session and has beaten him in every qualifying and race this season. Kubica has stated that there seems to be differences between his car’s performance and Russell’s, although he admits that this might not be completely down to the engineering. Kubica’s already difficult challenge of adapting to Formula 1 must have been made far more difficult by William’s woefully underperforming car but unless he can redress the balance to his teammate there may not be a fairytale ending to the Kubica story.
The Polish driver’s return was heralded as one of the greatest comeback stories of all time; a man overcoming the odds and adversity to return to the top tier of motorsport. It is hard to say this but the unpopular truth is that he is struggling. He has yet to really challenge his rookie teammate George Russell who has outperformed him in almost every session and has beaten him in every qualifying and race this season. Kubica has stated that there seems to be differences between his car’s performance and Russell’s, although he admits that this might not be completely down to the engineering. Kubica’s already difficult challenge of adapting to Formula 1 must have been made far more difficult by William’s woefully underperforming car but unless he can redress the balance to his teammate there may not be a fairytale ending to the Kubica story.
There are other drivers that could undoubtedly have been included in this list; Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon seems to be excelling at the moment. Others such as Kvyat, Giovinazzi, and Danny Ricciardo seem to be struggling but there is still a long way to go in the season and it will be fascinating to see how these dramas play out. Who do you think is thriving or surviving?
Images: F1.com
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