What is the fourth power of the plateau?
As with every season, the midfield tightens a bit more, and it's often complicated to establish a hierarchy. Motors Inside has therefore looked into the issue and offers you, in this article, some answers.
McLaren-Renault: Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris – 30 points
After a very disappointing 2018 campaign, the team from Woking seems to have taken things back into their own hands and while the MCL34 is not the fastest car in the midfield, it appears very consistent which is its greatest strength. The papaya-colored car can be pleased to have good top speed and a decent chassis.
On the driver’s side, McLaren is betting on its leader Carlos Sainz after his compatriot Fernando Alonso’s departure at the end of last year. Sainz has been very consistent and is in 7th place in the standings, just behind the drivers of the Top Teams. But we must not forget the young protégé of the British team, Lando Norris, who has continuously impressed this season, notably with his 6th place in Bahrain.
To see if the eight-time world champion team will be able to continue making improvements to perpetuate its reign in the midfield. While the path to glory is still relatively distant, one can only congratulate this progression in the championship.
It started with just four laps in FP1 on Thursday 😬
It ended with a P6 finish on Sunday – his best result for @McLarenF1 😎
Giving him five points finishes from five starts at the #MonacoGP 🖐
What a weekend for @Carlossainz55 👀#F1 pic.twitter.com/utRqjx1lnx
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 mai 2019
Racing Point: Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll – 17 points
Unlike McLaren, Racing Point has regressed compared to last year. While Force India had established itself as the fourth force on the grid, the numerous investments the team based in Silverstone has received do not seem to have helped.
The RP19 surely has one of the worst chassis on the grid. The Monaco Grand Prix, which requires teams to have a good aerodynamic package, proved that Racing Point is dependent on the Mercedes engine if they want to achieve good results.
Sergio Perez is doing his best to keep the pink car afloat by exploiting the full potential of his single-seater, as in Azerbaijan for example, where he finished in 6th position. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts of the Mexican driver, the results for his garage neighbor, Lance Stroll, are less encouraging. Always eliminated in Q1, the Canadian has only scored points twice by finishing in 9th place.
Would the construction of the new Racing Point base harm the development of the car? The most worrying thing for the Canadian team is that neither its engineers nor its drivers see how to improve the single-seater. The discourse within the team is nevertheless positive, and Lawrence Stroll, the new boss, is ambitious and aims for victory in the short term, which seems unreachable given the current results.
P5 in Constructors Championship and P9 in the Drivers Championship. We gotta keep pushing! #F1 pic.twitter.com/Uq677skJ5N
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) 28 mai 2019
Haas: Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen – 16 points
The VF19 is without a doubt the fastest car among the underdogs. And yet the American team has struggled at the start of the season to harness this speed effectively. Issues are particularly related to poor tire management and a plummeting race pace.
Equipped with a good chassis and good straight-line speed thanks to its Ferrari power unit, Haas has no more excuses for not climbing up the rankings and must stop making mistakes if it doesn’t want to see the best-of-the-rest spot slip through its fingers like in 2018.
Kevin Magnussen is the safe bet for Haas with 14 points compared to only 2 for his teammate Romain Grosjean. Admittedly, the Frenchman was unlucky in Australia where a suspension problem cost him valuable points, but generally it’s the Dane who is ahead, whether in qualifying or in the race.
With a smaller budget than its competitors, the team led by Gene Haas and Günther Steiner might be tempted to shift resources to 2020 if the expected results do not meet expectations.
GOOD JOB BOYS! First double-points finish of the season 💪💪
P7 @KevinMagnussen (6pts)
P10 @RGrosjean (1pt)@LewisHamilton takes the win in 🇪🇸#HaasF1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/2eeqPVwpiR— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) 12 mai 2019
Toro Rosso: Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon – 16 points
The small team from Faenza is undoubtedly one of the good surprises of the beginning of the season. Experiencing fewer engine problems than last year, Toro Rosso has also scored points on more occasions.
If the STR14 has an excellent chassis, its performance lags a bit in terms of the engine, where the Honda might still be somewhat behind the competition, especially in acceleration. The good performances can also be explained by the increased partnership with Red Bull. The parent and sister teams share certain parts, such as the rear suspension.
The Italian team’s lineup is very strong. Daniil Kvyat, back from the dead, seems to be more competitive than ever. The Russian has 9 points, placing him 12th in the driver’s championship. The young rookie Alexander Albon is hot on his heels with 7 points and some standout performances, like his spectacular climb from 20th to 10th place in China during the race after a violent crash in FP3. A promising duo that should deliver some pleasant surprises, but be careful not to fight too much on the track.
It will be difficult for Toro Rosso to find themselves in a position to occupy the fourth place in the standings, but they are clearly a potential candidate for points in a large number of races. James Key’s departure to McLaren could impact the improvements made this year and result in a much less enjoyable second half of the season for the small Italian team.
Alfa Romeo: Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi – 13 points
Even though it is the Hinwil structure that remains in charge, the transformation of Sauber into Alfa Romeo promised only good things. With the return of Kimi Räikkönen, the comeback of the famous Italian brand, and Frédéric Vasseur’s influence on the C38, the 2019 season was supposed to mark the arrival of the Swiss team among the big players.
Like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo had attempted the gamble of this wing, more peculiar than the others being very curved, which ended in a resounding failure. The Italian single-seater indeed has an improvable chassis and saves the day thanks to the Ferrari power unit.
Kimi Räikkönen carries the team single-handedly and has scored all the points for the team. His garage neighbor is having more difficulty taming his car. With zero points on the board, Antonio Giovinazzi is the only driver, aside from the two Williams, not to have entered the Top 10 in a race. An embarrassing situation that, if it doesn’t improve, could well prematurely push the Italian out, according to persistent rumors of his replacement by Mick Schumacher during the season.
For now, Alfa Romeo is not capable of competing with McLaren and Haas, but improvements could change the situation and reignite the Italian team’s championship.
A day marred by damages and penalties. A day to forget. Time to regroup and look forward to Canada. #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/x8vQDS6XpY
— Alfa Romeo Racing (@alfaromeoracing) 26 mai 2019
Renault: Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg – 12 points
Probably the biggest disappointment of this 2019 season. Expected to be a well-established fourth force on the grid, the reality is quite different, and the French team occupies a distant 9th place in the standings with only 12 points scored.
Presented as an improvement of the 2018 single-seater, the RS19 is a poorly conceived car suffering from a very mediocre chassis and reliability issues with the engine that seem to have been resolved since the Monaco Grand Prix. The full power of the Renault engine should indeed be restored as early as Canada, according to the recent statements of Cyril Abiteboul.
With already three retirements and only two finishes in the points in China and Monaco, Renault is struggling. The results are also not there for Nico Hülkenberg, who has only finished in the points once. That was during the opening round in Australia where the German driver finished sixth.
It seems clear that Renault underestimates its status as a factory team, which grants it a certain number of privileges. The position of best of the rest should probably be forgotten, and it might be wise to shift resources to 2020.
🎙 « Le peloton est très serré et tout écart peut mener à de spectaculaires variations. Néanmoins, le résultat est clair même si quelques points étaient possibles sans la voiture de sécurité. »
Retrouvez notre compte rendu du #SpanishGP.
👉 https://t.co/t4WwzeyaeY#RSspirit pic.twitter.com/2Cmzx2VrvF— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) 12 mai 2019
