Mid-season Review: The Editor’s Hits and Misses

The top 3 of mid-season

1st: Lewis Hamilton, 5 nominations

Regarding consistency, the Briton may not have delivered the best half-season of his career. Nevertheless, if Hamilton is leading the championship before the resumption, it is also thanks to several exceptional weekends, crowned by 4 tops awarded by our editorial team. In a car that no longer outrageously dominates the debates, Hamilton shone from the qualifications, his favorite exercise, by securing 5 poles, tied with Vettel. The first in Australia was the most significant: 6 tenths of a second gap on the two Ferraris of Räikkönen and Vettel! Deprived of victory due to a software problem under the VSC regime during the race, Hamilton experienced a small slump in the next three races, not helped by circumstances. The tide turned in Baku with a fortunate victory, we do not judge him on this event. Instead, his pure talent resurfaced in Spain and France, with two perfect weekends marked by two pole and victory doubles. Aided by the tires or by the engine, Hamilton nevertheless made no mistake when victory was presented to him.

Pushed to his own limits by Vettel, Hamilton even added flair at Silverstone in front of his home crowd with a memorable pole position and a comeback from last to second place after his collision at the start with Räikkönen. But the highlight of his early season came two weeks later in Germany. “The race of my life,” as the main person concerned emphasized upon getting out of the car. On the brink after trying to push his broken-down Mercedes during qualifying, he resurrected like a phoenix 24 hours later, showing all his fighting spirit to climb back again, this time to victory, aided by Vettel. But Hamilton had never won a Grand Prix starting beyond the top 6 on the grid! All on a narrow track, with an incredible stint on soft tires. Hamilton actually maximized most of his results, with final proof in Hungary, where a brilliant pole in the rain allowed him to gain maximum points against his main rival. This performance did not earn him an editorial top spot, but over the season, #44 is our winning number so far.

2nd tied: Daniel Ricciardo, 3 nominations

The verdict is in: the Australian will not contend for the title at the end of this season. We almost regret it! The Red Bull driver’s style has remained consistent year after year: always delivering a spectacle. Hamilton’s improbable victory in Hockenheim stands out, but “Dan the Man’s” success in China is also one of the season’s highlights. Who else can boast of having overtaken all their rivals on the track in less than ten laps to secure a win? Daniel Ricciardo. His late-race overtakes, admittedly with fresher tires, showcase the perfect blend of composure and talent, with his maneuver on Bottas being voted the best overtake of the season.

Ricciardo repeated his success three races later in Monaco, in a less flamboyant but very resilient style, defending against Vettel for 50 laps without 6th and 7th gear! A performance that marks the maturity of a driver already in his 8th season in the top discipline. The Australian had rightfully earned his first victory in the Principality, as demonstrated by his brilliant start to the weekend, with pole position secured while pushing Verstappen into making a mistake!

The major setback of his season, and it’s beyond his control, is the reliability of his car and the Renault engine: three retirements due to technical problems, and on top of that, a collision with his young teammate in Baku, which is more the Dutchman’s responsibility. Even though he finished only 4th in Hungary, Ricciardo put on a show by overtaking on the narrow Hungaroring circuit. The Honey Badger never hesitates, much to the delight of spectators. Perhaps he will have another chance to thrill us before Abu Dhabi, ahead of his departure for Renault.

BEST OVERTAKE OF 2018: 2ND SEMI-FINAL

It’s Red Bull v Red Bull here for a place in the final

Who gets your vote? Ricciardo or Verstappen? ⬇️

— Formula 1 (@F1) 10 août 2018

3rd tied: Nico Hülkenberg, 3 nominations

The future teammate of Ricciardo also deserves recognition. Preferred over Vettel or Gasly in our ranking, the Renault driver might be more discreet. Nevertheless, he remains impressively effective. On a global level, his consistency is astonishing, having established a series of six consecutive seventh-place finishes in qualifying between the Mexican Grand Prix 2017 and the Chinese Grand Prix. In races, the former Sauber driver has seized every opportunity, such as in Shanghai, overshadowed by Ricciardo’s comeback, yet finishing 6th. Luck was even on his side at Silverstone, avoiding the chaos of the first lap. But along with potential luck, Hülkenberg combines talent! The current spearhead of Renault even achieved his best result for the team in Germany, once again pulling the chestnuts out of the fire in the midfield battle under the rain.

Arriving less than a year ago, Carlos Sainz can talk about it: the German is unshakeable at Renault, as evidenced by the statistics of the direct confrontation between the two men.

A single personal regret stands out at the time of assessment: a crash all alone in Baku during the race. But apart from Hungary, Hülkenberg brings points every time he finishes a race: nine finishes in the points! His two other retirements were not his fault, hit by Grosjean in Spain and a victim of his turbo in Austria. If Renault is fourth before the restart, it is mainly due to the current leader of the championship of the others, seven points ahead of Magnussen.

Beyond the three men mentioned, Vettel and Gasly could also have had their place, both with three nominations as well. However, the Ferrari driver pays dearly for his crash in Germany, already mentioned numerous times on our site. But this kind of mishap doesn’t go unnoticed in a fierce battle for the title. Also burdened by his failed overtake on Bottas in Baku or his start in France, the German has let more points slip by than Hamilton and leaves a slightly less convincing impression, hence the difference in our ranking!

For his part, Pierre Gasly achieved a memorable feat in Sakhir and scored 26 points out of the 28 recorded by Toro Rosso. However, the flattering comparison with his opponent is not quite enough to propel him into our top 3. The Norman is, nonetheless, the best French driver among our three Musketeers. Let’s hope that his place will be with Red Bull-Honda in 2019, alongside Max Verstappen!

*: Max Verstappen achieved the feat of being in both the tops and flops categories during the Monaco weekend!

The half-top, half-flop

Max Verstappen, 3 tops, 3 flops… and 1 half-top, half-flop

Is the young Dutch driver simply unclassifiable? Considering his performance since the start of the season, we can estimate that he is capable of the best… as well as the worst.

His season was disorganized from the start. Impatient during the race in Australia, he lost control of his Red Bull on a curb, spinning behind Kevin Magnussen. In Bahrain, his eagerness cost him a good position in qualifying (note: Red Bull officially defended their driver, claiming that the engine delivered a “sudden and unpredictable” power surge for the driver) and his impatience cost him the chance to see the finish line after a collision with Lewis Hamilton that caused irreversible damage. After two disappointing races, he aimed to turn the tide in China, where the team’s race strategy promised a fight for the podium. A new collision, this time with Sebastian Vettel, forced him to publicly acknowledge his mistake, which is difficult to admit for a driver eyeing the top. However, his biggest mistake was yet to come, and his behavior in Azerbaijan, as questionable as the team’s management of their drivers, resulted in a difficult double retirement for Red Bull.

The first race phase completed, it’s time for the European tour and a new Max Verstappen is emerging. He finishes his weekend with a solid 3rd place in Spain, the scene of his first F1 victory two years earlier. However, he arrives too confident on the streets of Monaco, and as with the previous Grand Prix, history repeats itself. Like in 2016, a close encounter with the rail at the Swimming Pool breaks his suspension and his car crashes into the barriers during Free Practice 3, the damage preventing him from qualifying. Fortunately, he climbs through the field with flair during the race. Starting last, he finishes 9th! Stung by the excessive attention from journalists on his mistakes, he exceeds expectations in Canada by dominating practice sessions and then finishing 3rd once again on a circuit unfavorable to his car, thanks to an impeccable battle with Valtteri Bottas at the start.

Austria is then the highlight of his first part of the season. Competitive all the way through qualifying where he starts 4th, he demonstrates that he can also fight cleanly, here against Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas, and manage his tires to secure Red Bull’s first win at home, at the Red Bull Ring.

There are no Team orders here, but you’ve got to keep it clean. No blame on either driver, both race hard and want to win.

An #AzerbaijanGP to forget for us today… but both drivers’ have apologised and we all move on to Spain! 💪 pic.twitter.com/K1G5dftOJ0

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 29, 2018

The mid-season flop 3

1st: Romain Grosjean, 4 and a half nominations

Among the disappointments, the most notable is the first half of the 2018 campaign for the French driver. While he had established himself as the team leader in the past two seasons, his teammate took on this role, while the French driver fell back into his past habits. As early as Bahrain, the Frenchman showed signs of frustration after being out in Q1, nearly resulting in a collision with his teammate during the race. A harbinger of a devilish series. Worse in Azerbaijan, while making a remarkable comeback from the back of the grid to 6th position, the French driver foolishly crashed into the wall while trying to warm up his tires. A blunder reminiscent of Brazil 2016…

But Romain Grosjean hadn’t hit rock bottom yet! His latest mistake at the start in Spain proves it: after skidding at turn 3, he chose to keep accelerating and cut through the pack with his car out of control, causing Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly to retire. A choice heavily criticized in the paddock… After a brief calm in Monaco and Canada, it happened again in France, with a return to our flops. Off to a bad start from qualifying, where he crashed due to a setup error, he performed a questionable maneuver on Esteban Ocon at the start, for which he was penalized, before plummeting in the race. His first points scored in Austria didn’t even break the negative spiral, as in Great Britain, the Frenchman caused another collision, this time with Carlos Sainz. Romain Grosjean will need to calm his driving style and regain the confidence necessary to make up for his early season and secure his (coveted) spot at Haas for 2019. Meanwhile, here he is leading our flops ranking…

Safety car out

Grosjean out 😬#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/JaLMEyzZMx

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018

2nd: Williams, 3 nominations

The other disappointment comes from the Williams team. The English single-seater has replaced Sauber at the back of the pack, with fears confirmed as early as Bahrain where both cars finished in the last places, with a qualifying time lower than that of 2017… While the pair of drivers proved to be inexperienced, Williams seems to have missed the design of its car, which is very unstable. In Spain, the drivers (including Robert Kubica) spun multiple times on a circuit where aerodynamics are crucial, and the Polish driver even described the Williams as “undriveable.” In Great Britain, while team founder Sir Frank Williams is present in the pits, these problems are still not resolved, with significant instability when opening the DRS. The second half of the season may have to be sacrificed to correct the situation for 2019, with potentially increased support from Mercedes in the future. Will they be able to get out of our flops by the end of the season?

3rd: McLaren and Vandoorne, 2 nominations each

Finally, how can we not mention McLaren, as the team itself had high hopes after making the radical decision to switch from the Honda engine to the Renault. If the team had previously defended itself by blaming the engine for poor chassis design, that is no longer possible this season. After a good start (40 points in the first five races, a top finish in Australia), the team has slowed down, and internal difficulties have emerged. While the 2017 car seemed relatively stable, the 2018 version falls short, even on slow and winding tracks, which were once the team’s strength. The Woking team experienced a real rough patch, with four consecutive flops: between Monaco and Austria, two of which were solely Vandoorne’s.

Another issue within the team is the evolution of the Belgian driver, displaying quite lackluster performances, especially compared to his teammate, with the Alonso-Vandoorne ratio showing a 12-0 in qualifications for the future retiree. Vandoorne’s overall performance is also marred by some mistakes, such as in Austria where he collided with Gasly at turn 2… His seat is clearly threatened for 2019 and even before, in the event of a move at Force India.

*: Grosjean and Gasly are counted here in the “French drivers” flop. Esteban Ocon can also be included in the ranking, with half a point.

**: let us recall the presence of the race direction, which scores a point for the Australian flop with a Virtual Safety Car used in the greatest misunderstanding.

Article written in collaboration with Alexy Girard and Alexandre Lepère