Formula One: Mid-Season Review

We have now reached the halfway point of the 2008 F1 season, and the second half of the season promises to be a classic. It is very rare we get to this stage of the season with the championship so close and so much to talk about.

Season Statistics : Here are the championship tables and a few stats from the first half of the season.

Drivers Championship :

Lewis Hamilton    48 points.

Felipe Massa    48 points.

Kimi Raikkonen    48 points.

Robert Kubica    46 points .

Nick Heidfeld    36 points .

Constructors Championship  

Ferrari        96 points.

BMW Sauber    82 points.

McLaren        72 points .

Toyota        25 points.

Red Bull        24 points .

Williams        16 points.

Renault        15 points .

Honda        14 points .

Torro Rosso    7 points.

Force India    0 points

  Championship leader after each race :

Australia- Lewis Hamilton.

Malaysia- Lewis Hamilton.

Bahrain- Kimi Raikkonen.

Spain- Kimi Raikkonen .

Turkey- Kimi Raikkonen.

Monaco- Lewis Hamilton.

Canada- Robert Kubica.

France- Felipe Massa.

Britain- Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen tied.

  Number of wins (Drivers) :

 Lewis Hamilton    3.

 Felipe Massa    3.

 Kimi Raikkonen    2 .

 Robert Kubica    1  

Number of wins (Constructors):

Ferrari        5 wins.

McLaren        3 wins.

BMW Sauber    1 win 

Fastest Laps :         

Kimi Raikkonen    6.

Heikki Kovalainen    2.

Nick Heidfeld    1 .

Pole Positions:

Felipe Massa    3.

Kimi Raikkonen    2.

Lewis Hamilton    2 .

Robert Kubica    1.

Heikki Kovalainen    1.

Podium Finishes (Drivers):

Lewis Hamilton    5 .

Felipe Massa    5.

Kimi Raikkonen    5.

Robert Kubica    4.

Nick Heidfeld    3.

David Coulthard    1.

Jarno Trulli    1.

Nico Rosberg    1.

Heikki Kovalainen    1.

Rubens Barrichello    1.

Podium Finishes (Teams):

Ferrari        10.

BMW Sauber    7.

Mclaren        6 .

Honda        1.

Red Bull        1.

Williams        1.

Toyota         1.

  Laps Led:

Lewis Hamilton    178 laps.

Felipe Massa    168 laps.

Kimi Raikkonen    135 laps.

Robert Kubica    48 laps.

Nick Heidfeld    18 laps.

Heikki Kovalainen    12 laps .

Average grid position:

Felipe Massa    3.222.

Kimi Raikkonen    3.889.

Robert Kubica    4.222.

Lewis Hamilton    4.667.

Heikki Kovalainen    5.111.

Fernando Alonso    6.333.

Nick Heidfeld    7.773.

Mark Webber    7.889.

Jarno Trulli    8.000.

Nico Rosberg    11.889.

Worst Retirement Rate:

Nelson Piquet Jr.    66.667%.

Adrian Sutil    66.667%.

Sebastien Vettel    55.556%.

Giancarlo Fisichella    55.556%.

Most Laps Driven:

Nick Heidfeld    567 laps.

Robert Kubica    539 laps.

Rubens Barrichello    536 laps.

Jarno Trulli    530 laps.

Nico Rosberg    526 laps.

Heikki Kovalainen    524 laps.

Lewis Hamilton    519 laps.

Kimi Raikkonen    514 laps.

Felipe Massa    514 laps.

Mark Webber    512 laps.  

Summary/Introduction  All the leading contenders have had a mix of great days, solid days and bad days and therefore have all been taking it in turns to lead the championship which has changed no less than six times so far in this season.

Nobody has stated their signal of intent yet and started to put a consistent run together and built up a lead. This is shown by the fact that no driver has recorded two straight victories in the 2008 season.

Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica have all had at least two races where they haven’t scored any points. The shift of balance is changing between the leading contenders constantly.  This has contributed to what has been an extremely unpredictable season so far. We have had four classic races so far this season in Australia, Monaco, Canada and Britain, which have been memorable for being full of incident and drama along with plenty of overtaking and leading contenders making mistakes.

Even all of the other races have provided the unexpected and given fans and pundits a lot to talk about. At the moment, fans wonder what is going to happen next and who can find that little bit extra to gain an element of control over a championship which nobody seems to want to win at the moment.

2007 was a close championship season, but so far the 2008 season has provided a more intense battle at the front, a more intense midfield battle and even more twists and turns.   Last season, the championship leading positions didn’t change as much as it has done this season. In 2007, Hamilton led the championship from Bahrain and lost it to Kimi in Brazil. Even more importantly is a break from all the evil spygate politics from last season, which, in the end, undermined the great finish we had last season.

Yes we have had the Max Mosley scandal but, despite that, F1 fans enjoyment of the spectacle so far has still been very high and they have been left rubbing their hands at the prospect of a second half of the season for which they cannot be 100 percent certain where the victories will go next.

The battle of the front teams  As expected, McLaren and Ferrari have both remained front runners so far this season, but BMW have also been much closer than expected after a difficult pre-season. McLaren and Ferrari have been dropping points unnecessarily throughout the year, and this has been one of the main themes of this title battle so far.   Raikkonen and Massa both drove poorly in Australia. Both McLaren drivers got penalized in qualifying in Sepang for blocking, compromising their race, and Massa spun in the race. Then onto Bahrain and McLaren lost their way on the setup, leaving a big advantage in Ferrari’s favour and allowing BMW to capitalize.

In Spain and Turkey, BMW Sauber then fell back as McLaren and Ferrari made less mistakes but McLaren just couldn’t match Ferrari’s pace. Then in Monaco, Mclaren were back on top as Ferrari and their drivers both made errors.  In Montreal, both Mclaren and Ferrari failed to make the podium. Hamilton and Raikkonen were involved in the pit lane tangle. Massa and Kovalainen had troubles with their pit stops and ended up having to fight back through the field. In France both Mclarens had trouble with penalties again, Hamilton a 10 place drop from the previous incident in Montreal and Kovalainen for blocking Webber in qualifying. This handed the shift of balance back to Ferrari in this race. In Silverstone, it was Ferrari and their drivers’ turns to make errors. Raikkonen and Massa made errors on the wet track throughout the race whereas Hamilton drove away into another postcode.  These errors from both McLaren and Ferrari have been a regular feature, so comparing their pace is more difficult than last season. Overall, when you look at it, Ferrari have been the fastest and the more consistent. Ferrari have won five races to McLaren’s three. Ferrari have obtained 10 podiums to McLaren’s six.

In the early season, Ferrari had looked to make more gains than McLaren over last season. In 2007, Mclaren had won four races by this stage to Ferrari’s five.   McLaren went the wrong way on setup after the Australian GP, and Ferrari went on to completely dominate the next three races. Ferrari appeared to have maintained their advantage and then some on the faster circuits. The average gap was about 0.3 to 0.5 seconds per lap.   Turkey was then a turning point. Yes, Ferrari may have won their fourth race on the trot but for the first time in a while, McLaren looked to be keeping up with them on a Ferrari-friendly circuit. Here the gap to Ferrari had gone down significantly; it was now only around 0.1 to 0.2 seconds per lap.  Monaco showed that Ferrari had made huge gains on McLaren on slower tracks by grabbing the front row in Monaco. Ferrari were maybe between a 0.1 or 0.2 seconds per lap quicker compared to being over half second a lap slower last season to McLaren.   All this evidence points to the fact that the designs of these two cars have become very similar. If you remember last season, Ferrari were completely dominant on faster tracks and Mclaren completely dominant on slower tracks.

From here on Ferrari and Mclaren are going to be very close at most race tracks. It is just the odd tenth here and there at the moment. Of course, the rate of development will be very important from this stage going forward.  Ferrari still hold a slight advantage in my opinion and have that all-important double-digit constructor's championship lead. This lead has mainly been built through that sequence of four wins from Malaysia to Turkey and that 1-2 in France where Mclaren’s weekend was ruined by penalties.

Ferrari have been a bit more consistent and have made more out of their package, whereas McLaren admit they have not quite performed up to the potential of their car at times. McLaren have also had those penalties to contend with on both their cars in Malaysia and France. Ferrari haven’t been struck by any penalties of this nature and has made the most of it on those two occasions.   Another problem for McLaren has been the run of bad luck for Heikki Kovalainen, He scored no points in Spain, Turkey or Canada and only one point in Monaco. This has helped contribute to the gap Ferrari currently have over McLaren in the constructor’s championship.  BMW have had seven podium visits so far this season. Their pace has improved, but as already mentioned, the errors within Mclaren and Ferrari have maybe flattered them slightly.

However, their consistency and lack of errors from the drivers have to be praised. They have driven the most laps of anybody this season as shown in the stats chart above. BMW Sauber took their first 1-2 finish in Montreal, although they took their opportunity brilliantly, it has to be said it was more to do with problems for McLaren and Ferrari as opposed to superior raw pace.  It is not only BMW who have had a go at running at the front. The midfield has been closer to the front of the grid as Red Bull, Renault and Toyota drivers have qualified near the front this season. Outside of the top three teams, four other teams have already made the podium.  McLaren and Ferrari had more of a comfort zone last season at the front. They were always at least 0.5 seconds clear of the rest; they don’t have that comfort at all this season, so they have been punished when they have dropped the ball.

  The contending drivers  As mentioned in the introduction, none of the leading drivers have been consistent. They have shown some stunning driving, but they have also made silly errors.  In the first two races, Massa really struggled. In Australia, he spun at the start and then collided with David Coulthard, and in Malaysia he spun whilst challenging Raikkonen.

After this, he has shown a major fightback. His wins in Bahrain and Turkey were superbly taken and nobody could touch him in these two races. He has also shown himself to be a driver who can drive in tougher situations with his great fightback through the field at the Canadian GP and finishing third in a wet Monaco GP.

However, just when people thought he was a more accomplished driver than ever before, he had a nightmare GP at the drenched race at Silverstone where he spun 5 times and struggled to drive his twitchy Ferrari. He is definitely a lot more mature this season so he can bounce back from this setback like he did the setback of the first two races.  Raikkonen hasn’t dominated as lots of pundits had expected this season. He has been a bit erratic at times and made a few silly mistakes. He won two races in style in Malaysia and Spain, but in races such as Bahrain and Turkey where Massa is strong, he has been a bit anonymous and unable to really challenge.

In Australia, he made amateurish errors whilst making overtaking moves on Glock and Kovalainen. In Monaco, he had scrapes with the barrier and then completely lost control of his Ferrari and took out Sutil as well as himself. We have seen all the sides of Raikkonen so far this season: he has been majestic, off the pace and all over the place all in one season.  Hamilton was always going to have a harder second season; everyone expected more of the same as last season, as he became the team leader. Expectations were mega-high along with the continued media interest.

Hamilton has had a few stunning highlights, his win in the wet at Monaco was masterful. His drive at Silverstone in horrendous conditions matched the great drives of Schumacher and Senna. However there have been times when all the pressure and expectation have got to him. He was flustered in Bahrain and got it all wrong at the start and then hit Alonso.   In the pit lane in Montreal, he lost focus and forgot the red light. It was one of the most embarrassing errors I have ever seen in F1. He lost his way and never recovered from this mistake at the French GP after a very ragged drive. In those two races, he could have scored a lot of points. He could regret that silly mistake in the pit lane come the end of the season.  Kubica, our fourth championship contender, has been so consistent this season and has made the least mistakes throughout the first half of the season. He has made the best out of his car, which isn’t quite on the pace as his other main contenders.

The only points he has lost for which the blame can be given to him was going off in the gravel at Silverstone, where he could have well overtaken his rivals into the clear lead of the championship. Also, he got tagged by Nakajima behind the Safety car in Melbourne; he may well have got very good points there.

The rest of the points he has lost to his rivals this season have mainly been due to the fact the BMW has not been quite been fast enough. In Spain, Turkey and France he was very quick, but his BMW not quick enough for the podium.  I would say Kubica has been the best driver this season. Whilst the Ferrari and McLaren contenders have been impressive at times, Kubica has always gotten the most out of his car and rarely made errors. The only major error was going off in the wet at Silverstone.   Kubica can be very satisfied that he has got the most points that he could out of the season so far. Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen have all at least 20-30 points due to silly errors. They may be thinking to themselves that they could be dominating the championship if they hadn’t made these errors.

On the other hand, they will be simply relived that in terms of the championship, these errors haven’t cost them too much, as they are level on the championship lead. Going into the next races, it will be as if they were all on zero points again as they clear to inch ahead.  The best drives of the season so far have come from Lewis Hamilton. His performance in the wet at Silverstone was extraordinary. His three-stop race in Turkey was spectacular; he pushed the whole way and managed to overtake Massa for the lead at one point in a clinical move.

His drive at Monaco was also similar to the likes of Senna and Schumacher around the streets, pushing to the limits in that incredible middle stint as the track’s condition was changing lap by lap. When Lewis Hamilton performs like this, I believe his talent is unmatched by anyone in the pit lane.   The problem is, the amount of pressure and expectation on him are also unmatched. This is why we have seen him get a bit ragged and make a few errors, which we may not have expected from him last season.

Who will take the championship now?  It’s very hard to call, but I think my opinion remains the same as it was before the season started. In the end, it will be a battle between Hamilton and Raikkonen.

Raikkonen may have been a bit indifferent during this half of the season, but we have seen in the past that when he needs a performance, he can put a series of race wins together. Last season, he was 26 points behind at midway point of the season. At the moment, he is level on points with his main two championship contenders.   His championship could very well start at the next race in Hockenheim. He has had six fastest laps out of nine so far this season, and this shows him to be potentially the fastest driver on the grid. He just hasn’t always delivered for the full distance in some races.  I think Hamilton’s best-ever career win was the last race in Silverstone, and it could act as a huge springboard for him in this championship. All of a sudden, we are seeing the happy and cheeky Lewis that we saw last season.

More importantly, the McLaren is really starting to gain on the Ferrari, so Lewis more often than not will now have the car to challenge for victories. If he can take the inspiration from his home victory, he could well start to open up a gap and say to the others “catch me if you can.” As long as nothing else major goes wrong for him, like it did after his breakthrough win in Monaco, then he will become very hard to beat.  I don’t think Massa’s and Kubica’s title challenges will continue for much longer. Kubica has done very well to make the most of his car and rivals’ shortfalls and stay in touch with them in the championship for this long.

However, BMW’s rate of development is slower than McLaren and Ferrari. You get the feeling that whatever BMW can do, Ferrari and McLaren will be able to do just that little bit more.   Kubica will have some more highlights this season, but he will slowly start falling back. However, over the next few years he will be challenging for titles for sure. Kubica and Massa have both done very well so far this season, and both deserve a lot of praise for making this championship a four-way fight at the present time.  Massa has shown improvements but at Silverstone, but he showed the same weaknesses we have seen from him in the past. His Ferrari was really tough to handle in the wet, but despite Raikkonen really struggling with similar problems in the sister Ferrari he was still able to get valuable points from the race.

I think it is races like this which make the difference between two evenly matched drivers. I think Massa can still win a couple more races this season, but when push comes to shove, Raikkonen can find something extra and I expect the same this season.  So in the end, I expect it to be very close between Hamilton and Raikkonen, who are my main title contenders and I expect both now to start putting very positive runs together as they put their mixed first halves of the season behind them and now push on.

If I were a betting man, my safe money would be on Raikkonen. He has the experience. He has the extra confidence after coming back from so far behind last season. He has had a bumpy ride so far this season, but it was the same last season.

Hamilton could end up referring his mind back to “pitlanegate” and thinking to himself “What if.” However, Hamilton can pull a big rabbit out of the hat and Raikkonen needs to remember that. Hamilton has a great chance. When Hamilton performs at his best, he has shown his driving is up there with the greats of the sport.  What could decide this championship is another wet race, a reliability failure or poor tactical call by the team. With a championship this close, these are the kind of factors that will separate the drivers.  Although I think this battle is going to be between Raikkonen and Hamilton, if they tag each other in a couple of races, then Massa and Kubica have every possibility of staying in the equation and winning the championship by default.

Certainly from Kubica’s point of view, he has stayed up there through others making errors. In F1, you can always try to predict what is going to happen, but sometimes this sport can really surprise you.

  The midfield battle  With such an intriguing battle for the championship, you almost forget the almighty battle in the midfield between Renault, Red Bull, Toyota, Williams and Honda. There can only be a matter of 0.2 or 0.3 seconds separating most of the drivers in this group throughout the course of the season so far.  Everyone was expecting great things from Renault, but it hasn’t happened. Their car is better, but they just cannot gain enough on the front two. Alonso is driving as hard as he can and has had some good qualifying results. Out of all the midfield teams, he has the best average grid position.

In the races, Alonso has maybe pushed a bit too hard and gone for results rather than solid points. This, along with Piquet Jnr difficult start to F1, has contributed to Renault being seventh in the table. 

Red Bull have looked consistent all year. They are more reliable and are able to get points in most races. Webber has scored in six of the nine races so far. When you bear in mind Ferrari, BMW and McLaren have a monopoly on the top six, with only two points scoring positions remaining, Webber has done well to race ahead of the other midfield drivers. He is turning into a top line driver; qualifying second in Silverstone this season is further proof of that.

Whilst Webber’s stake rose, Coulthard has suffered nothing but bad luck. It simply hasn’t gone for him this season. At least he has a great result in Montreal to savour. He will retire at the end of the season. This may not be his greatest season so far, but he will have 13 GP wins and championship challenges to look back on in a largely successful career. 

Toyota have a much better car this year, which is helping Trulli have a great season. In Malaysia and France in particular, he has driven brilliantly. Trulli has 20 points so far, and his race pace looks to be more competitive than ever before. He is possibly driving better than at any other point in his career.

Glock, however, in the other car is finding life tough and is being flattened by Trulli. Finishing fourth at Montreal has been his only good race to date.  Honda haven’t had as much of a nightmare season as in 2007, but they are slipping back down again as they put all their effort into next season. They have at least had a few good highlights to put smiles on the team’s faces, like Barrichello’s podium in Silverstone and Button’s fifth in Spain. The rest of the season is likely to be very difficult though.  In this midfield battle, it is hard to say who will come out on top. I back Red Bull to make the most developments, and if Webber hangs on to his great level of consistency then Red Bull should hang onto the fourth spot.

However, if we get more crazy races this season then it is possible for one of these teams to bag a giant-killing result, which can all of a sudden turn the midfield battle in the constructor's on its head.

  Quick summary questions on the season so far:  Best driver so far this season? – Kubica Best qualifier? - Kubica Worst driver so far this season? - Piquet Jr. Who has the fastest car? – Ferrari Who has the fastest car in the midfield? – Red Bull Most improved team of the season – BMW Sauber Best drive of the season? – Hamilton’s win in Silverstone Best giant-killing performance? – Sutil in Monaco Best overtaking move of the season? –Massa on Barrichello and Kovalainen in Montreal Worst error of the season? – Hamilton forgetting the red light in Montreal Best tactical decision? - McLaren filling Hamilton’s car with lots of fuel after he hit the barrier in Monaco Worst tactical decision? – Ferrari not changing Kimi’s intermediate tyres at the first pit stop at Silverstone Most underrated driver so far? – Jarno Trulli Worst Stewards decision? – Kovalainen’s 5-place penalty in France Most exciting race of the season? – Britain Has the 2008 season been better than the 2007 season so far? – Definitely Who will end up with the crowns at the end of the season? –Ferrari and Raikkonen

Conclusion  It has been a very exciting season so far, and as you can see there is a lot to talk about. The amount of memorable moments has been at an all-time high for the first half of a F1 season whether it be Hamilton’s rain dances in Monaco or Britain, Kubica and BMW’s first win at Montreal. There has been something for everyone to enjoy.  The title fight is really close, and there have already been more twists and turns than we sometimes get in a whole F1 season. It has been very unpredictable when people often say that F1’s main weakness is its predictability. Certainly during the Schumacher years, these people would be right.

However, in F1 now we have some great talent and the playing field is a lot more even than it was. F1 is now proving the critics wrong and turning back into a sport that people want to watch again.  Let's hope the season carries on in this manner and stays as close as it is.