Half Term Review of F1 Season so far and My top Formula 1 drivers of 2021 so far

The half term review of Formula 1 season so far, with the next race is in two weeks time. Just like two year ago (didn't did this post in 2020), I will say one sentence that will be positive with each team. And one sentence that will be negative for each team. Also, I will include with this post my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2021 so far below. Starting with Mercedes:

Mercedes:
+ Leading both the Drivers' and Constructors Championships with current F1 World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, includes four wins for Hamilton.
- Poor performances from Valtteri Bottas despite sitting fourth in the Drivers' standings with six podiums, Hamilton missing out on wins at Baku, Paul Ricard and the Hungaroring that could cost Hamilton and Mercedes both championships.

Red Bull:
+ Best car and drivers on the grid so far with the RB16B, Impressive performances from Max Verstappen includes a race wins for Verstappen at Imola, Monaco, Paul Ricard and both Red Bull Ring rounds; while Sergio Pérez won at Baku too.
-Verstappen missed out on three race wins at Bahrain (going onto a two stopper instead of one), Barcelona (Hamilton on fresh tyres) and Baku (puncture late on) could cost Verstappen and Red Bull both championships.

McLaren:
+ Some great race performances from Lando Norris, which include three third places finish for Norris at Imola, Monaco and Red Bull Ring II; only 116 points at this stage last season, 163 points this season at this stage a much better improvement from McLaren.
- Daniel Ricciardo performances haven't been impressive this season with the car not suiting him, 50 points compare to Norris's 113 points so far this season best result of fifth place at Silverstone; third in the Constructor's standings is still possible this season.

Aston Martin:
+ Second place finish for Sebastian Vettel at Baku and second on the road (later DSQ) at the Hunganoring.
- AMR21 has been poor in qualifying which effect their race results, resulting currently sitting seventh in the Constructors' Standings with 48 points this season compare to 120 points at this stage last season (as Racing Point), if the AMR21 can be improved on going into the second half of the season the team could still finish fifth in the Constructors, results needs to be better.

Alpine:
+ Grand Prix win for Esteban Ocon at the Hunganoring, a returning Fernando Alonso making strong performances which includes finishing sixth at Baku and a fourth at the Hunganoring.
- Despite the Grand Prix win last time out, 114 points at this stage last season (as Renault), 74 points this season, currently the the team sits fifth place in the Constructor's standings; the Renault Power-Units are still around 40bhp less than the Mercedes and Honda Power-Units; A521 (basically an evaluation of the R.S.19 from 2019) is showing its age, keeping fifth in the Constructor's standings is a must for Alpine.

Ferrari
+ Some great race performances from both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Jr., which includes second place finishes for Leclerc at Silverstone and Sainz, Jr. at Monaco; only 80 points at this stage last season, 163 points this season at this stage a much better improvement from Ferrari.
- The team missed out on wins for Leclerc at Monaco (on pole for race, DNS because of a Driveshaft problem that wasn't fixed from qualifying) and at Silverstone (late charge from Hamilton to take the win); the Ferrari Power-Units are still around 40bhp less than the Mercedes and Honda Power-Units; third in the Constructor's standings is a must for Ferrari.

Scuderia AlphaTauri:
+ Some impressive performances from Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda this season which include a third place finish for Gasly at Baku, and a fifth place finish for Galsy and a sixth place finish for Tsunoda at the Hunganoring.
- The team currently sits sixth in the Constructor's standings, fifth in the Constructor's has to be the target for AlphaTauri going into the second half of the season.

Alfa Romeo:
+ Some impressive performances from Kimi Räikkönen (despite turning 42 late in the year) this season which include tenth place finishes at Baku and the Hungaroring.
- 5 points at this stage last season, 3 points this season, currently the the team sits ninth place in the Constructor's standings, eighth in the Constructor's has to be the target for Alfa Romeo going into the second half of the season.

Haas:
+ Twelfth place finish for Mick Schumacher at the Hungaroring.
- Currently the the team sits tenth in the Constructor's standings; 0 points this season, VF-21 is basically the VF-20 underneath, the car hasn't been developed since Imola, the team has been focusing on the 2022 car instead, a season to forget for Haas.

Williams:
+ Some impressive performances from George Russell this season, which include strong performances at Imola, Paul Ricard and both Red Bull Ring rounds; while the team best finish came at the Hunganoring with a seventh place finish for Nicholas Latifi and a eighth place finish for Russell, meaning the team scored for the first time in over two seasons, 10 points compared to 0 points at this stage a much better improvement from Williams.
- Russell should have scored points at Imola, both Red Bull Ring rounds and at Silverstone, the team is heavily relying on Russell to score points; keeping eighth in the Constructor's has to be the target for Williams going into the second half of the season.

And just like last two seasons ago (didn't this post in 2020), my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2021 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 2021 so far this season:

10. George Russell (Williams) - Some strong performances at Imola, Paul Ricard and both Red Bull Ring rounds; which include a eighth place finish at the Hunganoring.

9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) - Returning back to Formula 1 after two seasons away, fast and reliable, which include a fourth place finish the Hunganoring.

8. Estiban Ocon (Alpine) - Some impressive performances this season, which includes a Grand Prix win at the Hunganoring.

7. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) - Some impressive performances this season, consistently fast which includes a Grand Prix win at Baku and a third place finish at Paul Ricard.

6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) - Some impressive performances this season, which includes a fifth place finish at the Hunganoring; and a third place at Baku.

5. Carlos Sainz, Jr. (Ferrari) - Some impressive performances so far this season, which include a second at Monaco and a third place finish at the Hungaroring.

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - Consistently fast where the car doesn't deserve, which include Grand Prixs' he should have won this season but due to unreliable car at Monaco and underpowered one at Silverstone.

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) - Consistently fast, which include three third place finishes at Imola, Monaco and at the Red Bull Ring II.

2. Sir Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - Some impressive drives this season, which include four Grand Prix wins, some impressive wins at Bahrian, Portimão, Barcelona, and Silverstone; leading the Drivers' Championship and a strong possibility of winning the Drivers' Championship once again for the eighth time.

1.Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - Best driver on the grid this season so far, five Grand Prix wins, a very strong change of winning his first ever Drivers' Championship going into the second half of the season.

Twelve races to go to see who will be the champions for 2021, starting at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix in a weeks time.