Formula One: Parent/Teacher Conference - Drivers' Grades So Far

Grade A 

Robert Kubica: He may be the underdog in this year’s championship and is the least likely to end up on top come Interlagos, but he’s performed the best of anyone so far this year. He’s not the fastest driver out there, nor is he driving the best car. However, he’s been the most consistent on this year’s grid and has not yet made a mistake, while his opponents have made plenty. We all knew his talent from his stint with BMW Sauber in 2006, but his 2007 season left some doubts regarding just how talented he was especially after his crash in Montreal. However, in 2008, he’s silenced everyone by being the smartest driver to this point, which rewarded him with his and BMW Sauber’s first win in, ironically, Montreal. It’s unclear if he can stay in the title hunt this year (remember that his team still is slightly behind Ferrari), but I think he will definitely stay alive into the final race. All the same, he gets my highest mark of the year for overcoming his car’s shortcomings (which aren’t many) by using his smarts to his advantage. 

Grade A-

Felipe Massa: Two races in, he had a season’s worth of miscues, zero points, and was under fire from the media. In the six races since, he’s done more than quiet his naysayers. He leads all drivers in wins and is the current points the leader, becoming the first Brazilian to do so since Ayrton Senna. Could he follow his hero’s footsteps and win the World Driving Championship? He’s got the measure of teammate Kimi Raikkonen at the moment and has momentum on his side. Plus, it appears that this year’s title will, like last year, go down to the last race at Interlagos. Assuming he can keep up this form until then, he’ll be my pick to pull it off; remember, the Interlagos circuit is his best. He dominated the race in 2006 and only finished second in 2007 because Kimi needed to so he could lock up last year’s WDC. At this point, I think Massa’s got the best chance to do that this year. He’s driving the best car, and he looks to have Kimi on the ropes.

Mark Webber: Very quietly, the Australian has had a very nice season to this point. Until Montreal, he was the only Red Bull Racing driver to score points and currently sits on 18 for the season. He’s done a nice job of slightly resurrecting his career this season in the Red Bull team. A few years ago, he looked poised to make a charge at the championship when he switched the Williams team. Unfortunately, that switch came as Williams were starting their decline, with Webber falling victim to inferior machinery and poor reliability. Nevertheless, Webber is showing his true metal this season and is, in my opinion, the “best of the rest” as far as drivers, even outperforming some of the drivers within the big three teams in a few races so far.

Grade B

Kimi Raikkonen:At the start of this year, Kimi was the runaway favorite for this year’s driver’s crown. Preseason testing proved accurate in that the Ferrari is the best car on this year’s grid. However, Kimi has not fully capitalized on that and is currently having a fairly underwhelming season. Sure he sits third the standings with a pair of wins, but he’s had several moments of remarkably poor performance. His race in Melbourne was simply amateurish (he did not deserve eighth place in the least), and he killed what would have been this year’s feel good story when he rear-ended Adrian Sutil in Monaco. While that incident was due to hard racing, he seemed to lack interest in that race all the way through and ended up out of the points. He’s lucky to only be five markers out of the championship lead and will need to keep his head on straight and not have anymore bad races this year if he wants repeat last year’s title.

Grade B-

Lewis Hamilton: Even though I think he’s assumed Michael Schumacher’s role as the driver you either love or hate, he’s got some work to do if wants to assume another of Schumacher’s roles as world champion. The Mclaren, despite not being the best car on the grid, is competitive enough to give Hamilton a very realistic shot at a title. Unfortunately, despite some moments of brilliance (Monaco in the wet, Montreal in qualifying), he’s made even more mistakes (qualifying in Sepang, collision with Fernando Alonso in Sakhir, and his pitiful pit-lane collision with Raikkonen in Montreal). For sure, he’s got the talent and the car to have a shot at the championship, but he’ll need to stop making mistakes.

Jarno Trulli:The Toyota team has seen its struggles in recent years. However, they’ve seen a slight upturn in performance this year, spurred on by a solid season from Trulli. Often criticized for poor race-craft, he gave the team its first podium since Melbourne 2006 last weekend in Magny-Cours and has done well to keep Toyota in the hunt for best of the rest.

Heikki Kovalainen:If only he could get some good luck, he may have win. Unreliability has cost him, and Mclaren, dearly. His results this year are far from indicative of his driving talent. Once he can get lady luck on his side, especially at the starts of races, he’ll be a force to deal with in the second half of the season.

Grade C

Nico Rosberg:He started the year nicely with a podium in Melbourne, but has disappointed since. Sure, some of it has to do with luck, but he’s also had his fair share of mistakes and poor races. He disappeared in Sepang, ran into the back of Hamilton in Montreal (although he continued on), and made Williams write off a chassis after Monaco. He’s not met expectations this season, but still has time to turn things around. The Williams is pretty competitive and is capable of nice results, but it’s up to him to maximize his scoring chances and not throw them away, as he’s done in a few races this year.

Kazuki Nakajima:The best of the rookies this year (I’m not counting Vettel or Glock as rookies since they’ve ran several races before this year), Kaz has done very well for himself. Many thought he would do what Nelson Piquet Jr. is doing this year, while Piquet was expected to be the top rookie. Switch that around, as Nakajima has given Williams some fine results and has helped compensate for Rosberg’s off races. Plus, given that Takuma Sato is not running at the moment, he’s given Japan a new Formula 1 hero, and a pretty good one at that.

Sebestian Vettel:The youngest driver on the grid has taken advantage of others’ mistakes to score some nice points this season. He struggled immensely early on with 4 first lap crashes in the first four races (which forces me to mark him this way), but has given STR some good points, which will serve them well considering the current state of team (Red Bull is going sell its stake in them within a year or two).

Grade C-

Fernando Alonso:The Renault may be a down on performance, but Alonso has thrown away a few chances to score well (see Monaco and Montreal). He’s got too much talent to waste those opportunities. Plus, he’s been in the news with his rumored departure to Maranello by 2010. A Word of advice for you Fernando: I know Renault is struggling right now, but stay put. You know you’ll always have number one treatment in that team, and going to Ferrari will see you compete heavily with Massa or Raikkonen, and we know how you react when a teammate pushes you. Renault will get it together, you just need to stay put and run smart for the rest of the year; you’ll get some good results as they come to you.

Nick Heidfeld: He may have been the best of the rest last season, but he's been very underwhelming this season. He did start the season nicely with a podium, and even locked up a 1-2 for the team in Montreal with a fine second. However, he barely showed up in Monaco, and didn't seem to be around in France. His teammate has had his measure in every race to this point. Quick Nick may be his nickname, but Nick has been anything but quick so far. I expected him to compete for a win this season, but he doesn't seem to have that pace. BMW will probably keep him because he can be very consistent, but that consistency is lacking this year. I expected more from him.

Timo Glock:A good fifth in Montreal is the lone high-light in his season at the moment. He’s been quick at times, but Trulli has is measure, which everyone expected. Even still, he’s done a respectable job this season

Grade D

Sebastien Bourdais: The four time Champ Car champion has done poorly since his fine run in Melbourne. He’s finding out quickly how difficult it is to be F1, as his future is uncertain due to his team’s state.

Jenson Button/Rubens Barrichello: They’re both driving Hondas, meaning that they can’t be much higher than this at the moment. They may have more points than last year, but that’s due to a lot of luck; the performance of the cars and the team is extremely poor.

David Coulthard: He may have gotten a podium in Montreal, but he’s been abysmal this year, likely his last in Formula 1 as a driver.

Giancarlo Fisichella/Adrian Sutil:  They’ve done well for Force India, but they’re with the worst team this year. I can’t mark either much higher than this, although Sutil drove a fine race in Monaco.

Grade F

Nelson Piquet Jr.:  Don’t ask everyone to drop the “Jr.” until you show you consistently race well.

Takuma Sato/Anthony Davidson:The likeable drivers of the likeable Super Aguri team have been left in the cold with the team no longer around. It’s a shame, they both showed some nice driving in the little team.