Quite new here, but have been lurking for a while and this thread reeled me in. Rankings mostly based on expectations, relative performance, position compared to teammate, car and circumstances.
24. Glock
Hasn’t been doing that well lately. Rather invisible, but seemingly unmotivated and isn’t outperforming his car, while he proved during his Toyota days that he can be quick.
23. Karthikeyan
What’s there to be said? Never was impressed with this guy and lacks potential and perspective. That being said, being less able than most drivers (not dramatically so) he is doing a good job at bringing the car home and keeps within range of Pedro.
22. Vergne
Had a good start to the season, but is being outperformed by his teammate and does his job, but never excels and has dropped off in Q1 far too often this year. Doesn’t seem to be ‘on it’ this season, I liked him in WSR.
21. Massa
While I have been defending his post-Monaco results, Hungary was a grim reminder that he simply isn’t up to the job of being Ferrari’s second driver. He’s costing his team a lot of points in a competitive season, but he also seems to lack the ability to extract everything from his car. Bad luck aside, he hasn’t bounced from mistakes or bad luck or made any nifty strategy calls. If this were 2006, alright, but this is getting a little strange.
20. Ricciardo
While outperforming his teammate and doing some nice qualifying sessions, he too seems to be limited entirely to the capabilities of his car and does his job, but that’s not going to be enough to impress RBR, or even impress at STR.
19. Pic
Doing rather well, has been outperforming Glock lately and seems to be a rather quick, reliable newcomer. The Marussia makes it somewhat harder to judge, but I think the guy has potential.
18. Petrov
Has matured a lot since his debut and has become a stable, reliable driver. Seems to lack the raw speed Heikki has, but has found himself in some good positions during races, keeping it together and not defending against all costs when he does.
17. de la Rosa
Doing a steady job. Has made HRT a little bit more respectable in my eyes and is doing exactly what’s expected of him.
16. Schumacher
Oh dear. I remember at the end of 2010, when everyone started to think he’d be on it in 2011. The same thing happened after last year and while he does seem to be performing better, he has a lot of bad luck, but also seems to be making some mistakes lately. He does seem to be on Rosberg’s pace much more than the past 2 years, but also has his moments where he can’t push the car beyond the Saubers and Force Indias. His podium brought a smile to my face, especially because he had a very strong race. He needs more of those, and less picture perfect PR talk about how the team is working on it.
15. Button
Quite hard to judge his season. He has had his share of bad luck, but I find him largely unimpressive this season. Of course, I don’t know all the details, but I think Button is having a bad season as far as personal performance goes this year as well. It’s a very competitive season, so despite driving a McLaren, bad luck and less-than-stellar driving hurts him a lot.
14. Hulkenberg
While I do have to say I expected more, he’s doing fine. A solid driver, mostly, with some downs. He is going to need some more ups, to even it out and to keep up with Di Resta some more. That being said, I think Nico has some serious potential, but he needs to show it.
13. Kovalainen
Funny enough, when browsing through some other posts, I couldn’t imagine why people had Heikki high up in their ratings, only to find out I too rate his performance highly. Held back by the car, but he does often show what a backmarker can do in the hands of a good driver. He seems to the one able to mess with the STRs on a good day and I like his efforts, despite the somewhat stale situation he’s in.
12. Senna
I remember watching this guy going around Zandvoort many years ago and being captivated by the name. While I was still rather young then, I have developed a very small soft spot for the guy. I like to see him do well, but he more than often doesn’t. The move to Williams had ‘marketing’ written all over it, but he’s doing alright, he’s quite consistent. Sadly, he is underperforming his car. Again, it’s a competitive season, which doesn’t help his case. If he can keep up his pace of Hungary, maybe improve a little, he might edge over Maldonado at the end of this year, as far as points are concerned.
11. di Resta
A solid driver, making the most out of his inconsistent Force India. A little too held back by his car, but I think that might be a mental issue as well. He isn’t showing all his raw pace this season, which I find odd, but I rate him highly because I think he can show some nice performances later this season.
10. Maldonado
To be honest, I wasn’t too happy about him being retained. He didn’t impress me at all last year, mostly because I thought Barrichello was done for, allowing Pastor to move in closer. His pace is very good and he reminds me of Montoya in his early seasons. It is sad, however, that his racings skills and mentality seem to be more of ‘NASCAR-Montoya’ than ‘F1-Montoya’. He has wasted a lot of points and is irresponsible, but as a driver, if he ever gets his head screwed on right, might be able to contend for more victories and top positions in the WDC. Maybe.
9. Rosberg
Honestly didn’t quite know where to put him. His performance in China was a textbook late 90s/early 00s victory, solid and smart. The Mercedes is also complicating his season, but he keeps his head down and does well. Doesn’t seem to be as competitive as the past 2 seasons, but again, the car makes things harder for him as well.
8. Kobayashi
2010 and 2011 were largely unimpressive and to be honest, I feared he might not be able to combine his pace with sensible driving and good qualifying laps. He’s been using his talent much better this year, and despite Perez getting all the glory, he isn’t far behind and a much more solid driver than we’ve seen in the past. Color me impressed!
7. Vettel
It seems a little unfair to put him here, but I still consider him to be a hugely talented driver, who has the potential to be greater than Schumacher in his glory years, as far as performance goes. This season shows that last year’s success hasn’t been too good on his resilience or mental power. He is doing well, but doesn’t seem to be getting the most out of his own talent. I’m not a fan, but do wonder why he hasn’t been on it this year.
6. Webber
Has his ups and downs, but largely, until Germany, a very solid season, has refound his pace and confidence. To be honest, I think he was doing better than in 2010 even. The last 2 races weren’t too good on him, but if he can keep up with Alonso, he might end up being his foremost competitor, as he’s still hungry and still motivated.
5. Perez
Is having a very good season, he’s fast, he’s smart and doesn’t take names. He’s doing his best to get the most out of the Sauber, but doesn’t always get it. He’s still young, and it shows, so I think he might be able to impress even more in the future. If he can keep up the pace and do well for the rest of the season, he’ll make a very strong case for himself to join a top-team.
4. Grosjean
I’ve noticed a lot of people wrote him off after his races in 2009. Personally, I didn’t think he did too well, but his pace in the feeder series and Auto GP for instance has impressed me a lot. This year, he’s fully prepared and keeps up with Raikkonen often, even beating him in Qualifying. You can tell he’s still a rookie in F1, he isn’t always ‘on it’ for the entire race, but I do find him rather impressive. I wonder what a couple of years of experience and a car like the RB7 last year would allow him to do.
3. Hamilton
Despite some mistakes, mostly by the team, he has been very consistent and fast. His move on Vettel in the German GP showed he’s hungry, but also wizened up from last year. He seems to be happy, motivated and is doing very well in the car. If he can overcome the points difference with Alonso some more, he might very well be able to push for the championship and win some more races.
2. Raikkonen
At first, I was skeptical of his return. After 2010 and 2011, I wasn’t too sure what to make of the Lotus team. Kimi however has been on the pace, doing well in races and manages to make the utmost of his car. How this hasn’t resulted in a win yet, is slightly awkward for the Lotus team, since Kimi seems to need a car that’s just a tidbit faster and need to work on his qualifying skills. He’s far behind, but as a driver, it’s like we got the Kimi right out of 2007, 2008/9 never happened and he never left F1. I’m glad to have him back and he has certainly added something to F1 this year.
1. Alonso
Who else? A dog of a car, while improving, but Alonso drags it to places it should’ve never been. Fernando is on fire and makes the most of every situation, makes the most of his skills, experience, the team, etc. etc. I feared for his season before it started, now people are fearing Fernando for the championship. If he keeps this up, he can’t miss the WDC and will enter 2013 even stronger. I’ve mentioned the competitiveness of this season more than once, but Fernando somehow manages to edge everyone this year.
