The
65th Formula One season is now firmly consigned to the history
books. Lewis Hamilton became the sixteenth multiple champion in the sport –
meaning that exactly half of all F1 title winners have won it more than once.
A
season that started off with so many unknowns as F1 began its V6-turbo-hybrid
era and the one thing which remains loud and clear is this: F1 is the pinnacle
of motorsport technology. The outstanding research and development done by some
of the world’s most intelligent minds meant that there were astonishingly few
reliability problems (compared to those expected). Cars were still damn quick
despite having to eke out race fuel and the racing was bloody exciting. Of
course, the new era came at a cost – quite literally. Marussia and Caterham are
no more but even that pales into significance as we pray each day for the full
recovery of Jules Bianchi.
A
smaller F1 grid next year means less room for youngsters to make their mark.
Max Verstappen is the notable exception to that but he is helped by the
terrific Red Bull program – the company has been one of F1’s biggest assets in
the past two decades, continually investing heavily into motorsports through
the economic downturn at a time when major car manufacturers were pulling out.
As I’ve mentioned before, the RBR model is perfect for modern F1. Most teams
have a junior program of some format in other formulae, so why not run a junior
team in F1 like RBR/STR? Ferrari and McLaren could purchase the assets of the
defunct teams and a) keep hundreds of people employed and b) run their junior
drivers like Stoffel Vandoorne and Raffaele Marciello and co.
Finally,
before we get cracking with the F1 Power
Rankings of the season, a reminder that these standings combine a mixture
of overall season performance weighted by recent momentum.
1. Lewis Hamilton
The
best man won. Of that, there can be no doubt. Eleven race wins, more than
double his team-mate, and an eventual championship-winning margin of 67pts –
even if skewed by the horrendous double points – is not flattering to Lewis. It
would have been damaging to F1 had he not
won the title. There’s nothing more to add about Hamilton, such will the
blanket coverage be for the next few weeks, and he’ll now go head-to-head with
Rory McIlroy for BBC Sports Personality of the Year honours.
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| Lewis finishes his season with a W and a second title Source: Mercedes AMG Petronas (Facebook) |
I’m
sure many people will think that Ricciardo was truly the best driver of 2014 given
that not only was he the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race but he did so
on three occasions. Just because Hamilton had the best car should not detract
from his talent, so his P1 is rewarded in these F1 Power Rankings, but Ricciardo chased him all the way; it was a
fantastic season from the smiling Aussie.
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| Source: F1 Fanatic |
Caterham
somehow managed to turn up to Abu Dhabi but you’d have to think it rather
unlikely they’ll be back next season. And so there we have it: the trio of new
teams that entered the sport in 2010 have all collapsed within five years. And
the only man to score points in those five seasons? Jules Bianchi. His
excellent drive to P9 this season will live long in the memory of the F1
family. #ForzaJules #KeepFightingMichael
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| Source: Marussia F1 Team (Facebook) |
There
was only one Flying Finn this season and it wasn’t the world champion. Bottas
came of age in his sophomore season having shown flashes of promise in last
year’s uncompetitive machinery. Did the team let slip a race win earlier in the
year? Possibly. Bolder strategy will be needed in 2015 but the future looks
good for Williams.
5. Nico Rosberg
Nico
will have gained many fans for his defiance at the end of the race as he wished
to finish the season on track. He knows he was beaten fairly over the course of
the season and he will now spend the winter months analyzing just how he can
beat his team-mate in 2015, when you’d have to think Merc will again start off
with a rather sizeable advantage.
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| Wonderful embrace in the pre-podium room Source: FOM TV |
It’s
fair to say that not much was expected (heck, not much was known) about Daniil
Kvyat when he rocked up to Melbourne. Having personally watched him spin off in
the gravel at the YDT in Silverstone last season, I was stunned that he had
leapfrogged both Carlos Sainz Jr and António Félix da Costa in the Red Bull
pecking order. Less than a season into his debut campaign, he had already been
promoted to the four-time reigning champions. Especially strong in quali, Kvyat
had a tendency to drift away in races – especially in the final third of the
season. Despite being comfortably outscored by Jean-Éric Vergne, he’s proved
his worth and warrants a move to the senior team.
7. Felipe Massa
The
only non-Mercedes (works) driver to take a pole position, Massa finishes as ‘best-of-the-rest’
in the final F1 Power Rankings of
this year. To clarify, while there has been significant movement throughout the
rankings, the top six were pretty much impenetrable through the second half of
this season. He was shaded by Bottas through the first half of the season but
finished strongly as he became more accustomed to the team. Both drivers worked
well together and the stability for next season can surely only bring continued
success.
8. Jenson Button
JB
finishes the season eighth in the F1
Power Rankings, one of his higher placings all season after a strong season
to what could yet prove to be his swansong season. He narrowly edged his rookie
team-mate 10-9 in quali but, more often than not, his experience held firm on
Sunday afternoons. Will he be back with McLaren next season? You’d have to
think it’s unlikely. He is a known quantity to both Woking and Honda and the
fact a deal hasn’t been struck yet speaks volumes. A potential question mark
might be his ability to drive development of a car forward – note how McLaren
stagnated when Button was paired with a less experienced team-mate. One thing
is clear though, he has been treated disgracefully by McLaren if this was to be
his last season.
9. Sebastian Vettel
All
good things come to an end. We’ll see the return of a German driving the red #5
car next season as Seb begins the next chapter in his already illustrious career.
Plagued by technical woes all season, the gap to Ricciardo slightly flatters
the latter, but Vettel was beaten fair-and-square all things considered. Danke Seb.
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| Danke Seb! Source: Infiniti Red Bull Racing (Facebook) |
Alonso
just had no momentum in the closing stages to this season, culminating in a
rather miserable Yas Marina finale. He also ended up being only a little bit
ahead of a very lacklustre Räikkönen. One thing is certain with his move to
McLaren for next season: expect the Spaniard to be battling for victories once
again. Honda know the score, they have had an extra year of learning and
developing their new power unit and understanding what is needed and how best
to configure it.
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| The sun has set on Alonso's Ferrari career Source: Scuderia Ferrari (Facebook) |
You
have to feel for Kevin Magnussen. By most impartial accounts, the young Dane
has had a stellar debut season: scored an incredible debut podium in Melbourne
and matched his world champion team-mate more often than not. Yes, there were
rookie mistakes but once upon a time, Button spun off behind the Safety Car in
Monza 2000. K-Mag’s aggressive driving style was also a pleasure to watch and
it’s such a shame that the British media have effectively done their utmost to
drive him out of the team for next season.
12. Nico Hülkenberg & 13. Sergio
Pérez
The
Hulk just edges out Checo to creep into the top half of these rankings. A
strong final couple of races after what was otherwise a rather underwhelming
second half to his season helps him to P12. The most incredible thing about Hülkenberg
is that he has still yet to stand on the podium in his F1 career.
It
was Pérez who took Force India’s only podium of the year in Bahrain and he
could easily have stolen the victory in Canada if not for mechanical woes. The
points gap between himself and Nico is slightly flattering to the German but
Nico did have the edge, all things considered. Next year will be fascinating –
and it could very well be the last chance both drivers have to impress a top
team.
14. Kimi Räikkönen
After
his stunning heroics with Lotus following his comeback to F1, this was just a
plain awful season for the 2007 champ – and he’s arguably lucky not to be even
lower in these standings. Lucky to have a seat for next season, things can
surely only get better for the Iceman.
15. Romain Grosjean
Roll
on that Mercedes power. A lost season for Grosjean as the late-starting Lotus
team just never got it going. A brief stint of competitiveness at the start of
the European season quickly evaporated and Grosjean and Maldonado struggled
massively until Austin.
16. Jean-Éric Vergne
You
could almost see the frustration in JEV threaten to boil over onto the track as
he went wheel-to-wheel with his former STR team-mate Ricciardo in Abu Dhabi.
The sign of a man who knows he’s done with the Red Bull program, and one who
was so narrowly edged out by a three-time race winner in 2014 and then
surpassed by a driver who started the year as a teenager. Vergne had copious
amounts of bad luck in the first half of the season and proved to everyone what
he could do in Singapore especially. A Williams test-drive looks to be on the
cards and it will be desperately sad to see him disappear from Sunday racing.
Judging by his 16th position in these rankings, it might not be
altogether unjustified by Toro Rosso…
17. Pastor Maldonado
See Grosjean, Romain. It’s
incredible to think that in Maldonado’s four-year career, he has just eight points-scoring finishes – one of
those his stunning victory in Barcelona. Three seasons spent with bad machinery
is atrocious luck – summed up by his move from Williams to Lotus, just as the
momentum went the opposite way.
18. André Lotterer
And
so we move into the depths of the paddock. The bottom seven include two drivers
who made one-off appearances this season and one just one driver who will be on the grid in 2015. Lotterer rocked up and
destroyed Marcus Ericsson in Spa. With none of the bottom seven having any sort
of momentum, Lotterer clinches 18th on talent alone.
19. Will Stevens
Unlike
Lotterer, Stevens didn’t beat his team-mate in his one-off appearances but he
does make it above five regular drivers. A quietly solid debut weekend for the
young Brit, who did more in one quali session than compatriot Max Chilton did
in two seasons.
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| Will Stevens put together a solid debut weekend in difficult circumstances Source: Caterham F1 Team (Facebook) |
The
Swede edged out Kamui Kobayashi as he has secured a seat on the grid next
season. KK wishes he never came back – that says it all.
22. Max Chilton
If
not for Sauber, Chilton would be rooted to the bottom. He showed nothing of
note in his career.
23. Esteban Gutiérrez & 24.
Adrian Sutil
Zero
points. Zilch. Nada. Just an awful season for Sauber. Beaten by Marussia, who
missed three races, they must hope they can secure the funding to be back next
season. It’s a miracle that Sutil even lasted this long in F1, he proved once
again this season that he is not worthy of this sport.
All views expressed in this blog are my own and no copyright
infringement is intended.
