Mercedes:
+ Best car and drivers on the grid so far with the F1 W06 Hybrid, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
- Can Mercedes control both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton egos in the team, if both drivers blow up, it could allow Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Räikkönen or Sebastian Vettel to take the drivers' title.
Ferrari
+ Some great race performances from both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, which includes second place finishes for Räikkönen in Barcelona and Vettel in Montreal.
- SF16-H has not been fast enough then the Mercedes nor the Red Bull in race pace this season, also poor strategies has cost race wins for Sebastian Vettel in Melbourne and Montreal.
Williams:
+ Some great performances from Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa this season, which includes podium for Bottas in Montreal.
- No points at Silverstone, apart from that the FW38 been too slow and underdeveloped this season, fourth in the constructors' is a must for Williams this season if not they will be overtaken by Force India.
Red Bull:
+ Impressive performance from Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen includes a famous race win for Verstappen in Barcelona, also great improvements from the RB12 and the Renault power unit (under the Tag Heuer name) this season, second in the constructors' is a must for Red Bull this season.
- Despite a more reliable and powerful power unit from Renault, the Renault power units are still around 50-60bhp less than the Mercedes power units; also the poor pit-stop in Monaco for Daniel Ricciardo cost Ricciardo the race win in Monaco.
Force India:
+ Some impressive performances from Sergio Pérez this season which include two third place finishes at Monaco and Baku.
- VJM09 was too slow earlier in the season cost them points early on, Force India still might finish fourth in the constructors' if the car is fast and reliable.
Renault:
+ A seventh place finish for Kevin Magnussen at Sochi, best result so far for Renault this season
- 50 points last season at this stage as Lotus, this season as Renault only 6 points, no points from Jolyon Palmer, a very undeveloped and little to no downforce from the RS16 and with focus going to the 2017 Renault F1 car ninth in the constructors' championship will be the best they can do for 2016.
Scuderia Toro Rosso:
+ Some impressive performances from Carlos Sainz, Jr. this season which include a sixth place finish at Barcelona.
- Despite the podium finish in Shanghai for Daniil Kvyat for Red Bull, detonating back to Toro Rosso in mid-season has destroyed Kvyat's confidence only managing 2 points compare to Sainz's tally of 26 points in that period, could see Kyvat getting the sack before the end of the season is finished; while using year old power units from Ferrari is starting to show with McLaren starting to catching up the constructor's standings, sixth in the constructor's standings is possible but thankfully back to Renault power units for next season may help.
Sauber:
+ A good race performances from Marcus Ericsson at Bahrain and Felipe Nasr at the Red Bull Ring both finishing twelfth place each.
- 25 points last season at this stage, this season no points so far, no development to the C35 all season meaning slowest car at most tracks, and Peter Sauber has sold the team to Swiss-based investment firm Longbow Finance meaning the team is in a healthy state for the short term.
McLaren:
+ Some great race performances from both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, which includes fifth place finishes for Alonso in Monaco and Button in the Red Bull Ring.
- Despite a much more reliable Honda power unit, power unit are still round 90-100bhp behind of the likes of Mercedes power unit; and the thirsty Honda power unit has not helped the team getting points, if Honda reduce the horsepower deficit to Mercedes, McLaren will finish sixth in the constructor's standings.
Manor:
+ A tenth place for Pascal Wehrlein at the Red Bull Ring gives Manor their first points in Formula 1 for over two years with the help of the Mercedes power units and Williams transmission and suspension components for 2016; that means ahead of Sauber in the constructors championship so far in 2016.
- Despite the MRT05 scored a point this season, the car is undeveloped and little to no downforce meaning battling into the midfield is limited to some tracks for the rest of the season, while Rio Haryanto lost his drive for the second half of the season due to sponsors difficulty from Indonesia, meaning Esteban Ocon replacing Haryanto for the rest of the season.
Haas:
+ 28 points so far in the teams debut seasons includes a sixth place finish for the teams debut Grand Prix with Romain Grosjean in Melbourne, then a fifth place finish for Grosjean in Bahrain, at least eighth place in the constructor's standings is more than curtain.
- no points from Esteban Gutiérrez, missing out on points with a few bad first lap starts, apart from that a good debut season from Haas.
And just like last season, my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2016 so far this season, this is the part who was in my top 10 so far this season, not in championship order. So here is my list below.
My Top Formula 1 drivers of 2016 so far this season:
10. Romain Grosjean (Haas) - Sixth place in the teams debut race in Melbourne, then a fifth place finish in Bahrain.
9. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) - Some impressive drives at Sochi, Montreal, and Hunganoring; includes a fifth place finish at Monaco finishing on the lead lap.
8. Carlos Sainz, Jr. (Toro Rosso) - Some impressive performances so far this season, which include a sixth place finish at Barcelona.
7. Sergio Pérez (Force India) - Consistently fast and reliable this season, which include two third place finishes at Monaco and Baku.
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) - On his day faster driver than his team-mate Vettel, which includes two second place finishes in Bahrain and Barcalona.
5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) - Three second place finishes in Shanghai, Montreal and Baku; should have won Montreal.
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) - Some impressive drives despite an underpowered car includes two second place finishes in Monaco and Hockinheim, despite he should have won at both Barcelona and Monaco.
3. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso/Red Bull) - Some impressive drives in his second season and despite his still only 18!, which include a Grand Prix win at Barcelona, becoming the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix!
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - Five Grand Prix wins so far this season, a great second half of a season that is needed for Rosberg to beat Hamilton to the drivers' championship.
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - Best driver on the grid this season so far, with five Grand Prix wins, a strong possibility of winning the drivers' championship once again, only problem his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Nine races to go to see who will be the champions for 2016, starting at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks time.
No comments:
Post a Comment