After Race 10: Hungary

Ten down, nine to go! The F1 circus heads into its summer break after a sweltering weekend in Hungary. Who can head to the beach to relax? And who will be having sleepless, sweaty, nights as they lie awake wondering how to master this latest generation of Pirelli tyres? Let’s crack on...

Hamilton leads the field into Turn 1
Source: Crash.net

1. Sebastian Vettel (last week: 1^st, no change) (Season high: 1^st, low: 4^th)

A somewhat mixed weekend for Sebastian Vettel. He probably thought he had nailed pole position after throwing down the gauntlet with a scintillating early lap in Q3 but it wasn’t to be. Having then been unable to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton after the first round of pit-stops, his race was then ruined by Jenson Button – who was seemingly paying homage to the Trulli-train. However, despite finishing on the bottom step of the podium he still managed to extend his championship lead and it looks ominous for his rivals as the second half of the season features a quartet of Asian races where Vettel has proved so incredibly dominant over the past two seasons (seven wins from eight).

2. Lewis Hamilton (last week: 4^th, up two spots) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 9th)

One word: stunning. The 2008 World Champion produced a scorching performance to match the weather conditions en route to his maiden win for Mercedes. A mesmerizing lap in Q3 saw him edge Sebastian Vettel to his fourth pole position of the season, a result which left Lewis almost speechless. Then, seemingly against all odds, Hamilton managed to convert pole into victory with a superbly judged drive featuring crucial overtakes on Jenson Button and Mark Webber.

Hamilton secured a record-tying fourth win at the Hungaroring, ending a equal-career-high ten-race win drought
Source: Mark Thompson

3. Kimi Räikkönen (last week: 3^rd, no change) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

No change for the Kimster this week after another fine Sunday afternoon’s work saw him leap above Fernando Alonso in the championship standings. However, he was once again let down by his qualifying pace and was comfortably outperformed by Romain Grosjean – who showed that a victory was possible.

Red Bull team-mates next season?
Source: Getty Images

4. Fernando Alonso (last week: 2^nd, down two spots) (Season high: 1^st, low: 13^th)

I could almost copy and paste what I wrote last week. Disappointing weekend for the Scuderia and they will not be enjoying the summer break. Note: Ferrari was fined by the FIA post-race for illegal use of DRS on three occasions during the race.

5. Mark Webber (last week: 5^th, no change) (Season high: 1^st, low: 15^th)

As with Alonso, a small copy and paste of “no change for the Aussie after a weekend of mixed fortunes” seems like an appropriate summation of Mark Webber’s final Hungarian GP. A multitude of technical problems saw him sit out Q3 but he made the inverse strategy work with a fine drive to P4.

6. Romain Grosjean (last week: 8^th, up two spots) (Season high: 6^th, low: 22^nd)

With the top five drivers fairly easy to place in this week’s F1 Power Rankings, best of the rest goes to Grosjean in spite of his two penalties. An excellent P3 on the grid, Grosjean’s race was also wrecked by Button although he then compounded it himself by effectively shoving him off the track as he overtook him. A fantastic overtaking manoeuvre on Felipe Massa came to nought as he was penalized for narrowly exceeding track limits and, just like the Nurburgring, this is another one that got away. Note: Grosjean was penalized 20 seconds post-race for the incident with Button.

 

Grosjean had an eventful race...
Source: Sky Sports

7. Nico Rosberg (last week: 7^th, no change) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

A second consecutive miserable weekend for Nico Rosberg, who retains seventh place in the rankings almost by default after a solid first half to the season. An awful first lap saw him tumble down the order after contact with Massa from which he never recovered. His late engine failure rubbed salt into the wounds and it will be interesting to see if Mercedes will opt to designate Hamilton their #1 driver such are the relative championship standings of their two drivers.

Rosberg could not recover from his first-lap incident
Source: FOM TV images

=8. Sergio Pérez (last week: 10^th, up two spots) (Season high: 8^th, low: 17^th) & Jenson Button (last week: 10^th, up two spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 16^th)

Once again there’s no separating the two McLaren drivers although JB comprehensively outperformed Checo in the race. As alluded to earlier, Button spent most of his race holding up the faster cars after their pit-stops, evoking memories of Jarno Trulli’s unfortunate hallmark. He had made an excellent start and ran strongly inside the points-scoring positions all day long as the McLaren seemed to perform better on these newer Pirelli tyres.

Sergio Pérez was quicker than Button in FP3 before crashing, and still managed to get his car into Q3 – for which he just manages to hold onto JB in the F1 Power Rankings. Unfortunately, it proved a costly error to record a lap on the medium tyres and it ruined his opening stint. His pace in the closing stages was not particularly inspiring either as he finished a lonely ninth.

10. Paul di Resta (last week: 6^th, down four spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 17^th)

A stunning first half of the season from PDR has ended on a sour note as Force India have struggled in the last two races, failing to score a point. Paul di Resta failed to make Q3 on merit and, despite a good start, never threatened the top ten before a late hydraulics failure ended his race in sight of the checkered flag. All the momentum is with McLaren in the battle for 5^th in the Constructors’ Championship.

11. Nico Hülkenberg (last week: 12^th, up one spot) (Season high: 9^th, low: 19^th)

It’s a one place rise for The Hulk after a largely anonymous run to eleventh position. A drive-through penalty for speeding in the now slower pit-lane is probably the most notable thing to report.

12. Pastor Maldonado (last week: 16^th, up four spots) (Season high: 12^th, low: 22^nd)

He has had a miserable start to the season but credit Pastor Maldonado for finally securing Williams’ first point of the season – even if it was aided by Rosberg’s late demise. He looked surprisingly chipper from 15^th on the grid when interviewed by Martin Brundle and he was vindicated by his race pace. He improves by four places on his previous season’s best Power Rankings but will need to continue this form if he is to stay ahead of Jules Bianchi and co. Just for reference, he would have finished ahead of Nico Hülkenberg even if the German wasn’t penalized mid-race.

 

Maldonado holds off Rosberg in the early stages
Source: Williams F1 Team (Facebook)

13. Jules Bianchi (last week: 12^th, down one spot) (Season high: 6^th, low: 13^th)

I’m probably being a tad harsh on young Jules, especially after his heroic first half of the season. The Marussia was shocking this weekend – they were miles off even Caterham – as they struggled with the new tyres. Bianchi again did everything he could by obliterating Max Chilton all weekend; I’m still thinking about ranking him as high as eleventh but I’ll resist for now. The departure of Pat Symonds is a mammoth blow to the technical side of the team, although the deal for 2014 Ferrari engines provides optimism and a curious situation whereby they now have links with both McLaren and Ferrari.

14. Charles Pic (last week: 9^th, down five spots) (Season high: 7^th, low: 19^th)

Not quite sure what to make of Charles Pic’s weekend. As usual he outqualified Giedo van der Garde but ended up finishing behind him as his two-stop strategy lost out to VDG’s three. On a day with a high-attrition rate, the result means Giedo is now ahead of Charles in the championship standings. It’s a rather disappointing way for Pic to enter the summer break and, to make matters worse, Williams and Sauber have improved meaning that Caterham have slipped a bit further behind them.

15. Felipe Massa (last week: 15^th, no change) (Season high: 3^rd, low: 15^th)

No change for Massa after this difficult weekend for the team. Having made a good start, his afternoon turned distinctly average after the first round of pit-stops as he once again finished miles behind his team-mate, and even behind Button.

=16. Jean-Eric Vergne (last week: 20^th, up four spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 20^th) & Daniel Ricciardo (last week: 12^th, down four spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 18^th)

Well, well, well... What to say about Toro Rosso’s weekend? Like Force India, they seem to have really struggled with the change in Pirelli tyres. Fresh off his YDT appearance for Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo again made it into Q3 but it was JEV who had the better race as the STR boys ultimately ended up within a second of Hülkenberg. Ricciardo seems to be the popular choice in the paddock for the RBR seat although it has to be said that Vergne not getting a fair shot in the car is a shame. For what it’s worth, I hope it is an STR driver that ‘graduates’ into the main team as it justifies running their Junior program. It would also make place for Antonio Felix da Costa and, then, Carlos Sainz, Jr.

18. Giedo van der Garde (last week: 21^st, up three spots) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd)

VDG reaches the summer break in a solid rank of eighteenth after an excellent drive in the searing Hungarian mid-summer heat which, as mentioned earlier, sees him move above Pic in the championship standings.

19. Adrian Sutil (last week: 18^th, down one spot) (Season high: 5^th, low: 20^th)

As is the case with several other drivers, Adrian Sutil enters the summer hiatus on a downbeat note. Having just missed out on Q3 after thrashing di Resta, Sutil found himself behind his team-mate after the first lap and floundered in the midfield until he too was scuppered by a hydraulics failure.

 

Sutil endured a tough 100th GP
Source: Sahara Force India Formula One Team (Facebook)

20. Valtteri Bottas (last week: 16^th, down four spots) (Season high: 10^th, low: 20^th)

Before I talk about his race, it has to be made clear that the huge eight-place gap between Valtteri Bottas & Maldonado in the F1 Power Rankings really do not justify the young Finn’s performance this season. Evaluating the first half of the season as a whole, they are fairly well matched. However, the nature of Power Rankings means that momentum and recent form can heavily skew this. Bottas’ race was almost identical to Sutil in that he was mired down in the midfield before his hydraulics failed.

21. Esteban Gutiérrez (last week: 19^th, down two spots) (Season high: 15^th, low: 22^nd)

Guti slips to last-but-one in the F1 Power Rankings after another hugely anonymous weekend in his rookie season. Credit him for beating di Resta in qualifying after he had to sit out FP3 with engine trouble, but his race ended early with transmission failure. While he was not expected to beat The Hulk this season, it is disappointing just how far behind his team-mate he is.

22. Max Chilton (last week: 22^nd, no change) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd)

No change for Max and not much to say as he brings up the foot of the rankings. Marussia had an awful weekend and Chilton was miles behind Bianchi.

All views expressed in this blog are my own and no copyright infringement is intended.

After Race 9: Germany

Somewhere hidden away amidst the blanket coverage of Andy Murray’s outstanding and historic Wimbledon victory, there was a Grand Prix on this weekend too (and the Tour de France!). There may not have been any spectacular Pirelli punctures this weekend but the race did feature at least two rather bizarre moments. Let’s crack on...

1.   Sebastian Vettel (last week: 1^st, no change) (Season high: 1^st, low: 4^th)

The World Championship leader ticked two more things off his bucket list: he finally won his home race and a race in July. It was the perfect way to bounce back from his Silverstone disappointment.

 

Jinx? What jinx?
Source: AP

2.   Fernando Alonso (last week: 3^rd, up one spot) (Season high: 1^st, low: 13^th)

Another mediocre weekend for Ferrari saw Fernando Alonso lose ground to Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings; although his relentless consistency sees him recover the spot he lost in last week’s F1 Power Rankings. His post-race Twitter comment was that the team has “three weeks of hard work” ahead of them.

3. Kimi Räikkönen (last week: 7^th, up four spots) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

Sunday afternoon marked the return of Lotus. The hot conditions played into their hands and Romain Grosjean might have won the race if not for the Safety Car. Kimi Räikkönen opted for a late surge on the softer tyres which came up just short – it would have been very interesting to see if he could have survived at the front of the field without making the stop at all.

 

A double podium for Lotus for the first time since Bahrain
Source: Sutton Images

4.   Lewis Hamilton (last week: 2^nd, down two spots) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 9th)

Another pole position for Lewis Hamilton this season was followed-up by another failure to convert it into a victory. Having lost his lead before Turn 1, tyre woes saw Hamilton suffer a miserable first half of the race before, for the second straight race, an excellent fight back saw him record a fine top-five finish on the last lap. Credit his superb qualifying lap and it must be noted there is a certain degree of irony that he actually finished higher in Silverstone despite his spectacular puncture.

5. Mark Webber (last week: 5^th, no change) (Season high: 1^st, low: 15^th)

No change for the Aussie after a weekend of mixed fortunes. As with every other race this season he was outqualified by Vettel but he demonstrated strong pace in the early stages before Red Bull’s nightmare in the pits – which saw Mark Webber’s right-rear wheel bounce through the pit-lane and strike cameraman Paul Allen (at the time of writing, Allen’s confirmed injuries include broken ribs and collarbone). He recovered strongly, aided by the SC, to seventh place but it’s another case of what might have been.

 

A repeat of his Chinese GP woes for Webber - this time with horrific consequences
Source: Getty Images

6.   Paul di Resta (last week: 4^th, down two spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 17^th)

A disappointing weekend for Force India who failed to score points on outright pace for the first time this season (pit-stop problems kerbed their Malaysian race). PDR missed out on Q3 but managed to work his way into the top ten by the final quarter of the race. His hopes of stealing a point were dashed in the closing laps as those on fresher tyres cruised past him but he, once again, comfortably outperformed Adrian Sutil.

7. Nico Rosberg (last week: 6^th, down one spot) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

A weekend at home to forget for Nico Rosberg. Complacency saw him miss out on Q3 which put him on the back foot for the race although his ninth-place finish is nonetheless disappointing – especially in a chaotic SC-affected race.

8. Romain Grosjean (last week: 16^th, up eight spots) (Season high: 6^th, low: 22^nd)

Yes! Finally! Grosjean finally sewed together a clean, composed, and fast race weekend and he was rewarded with just his second podium in eighteen races. As mentioned earlier, Lotus were enjoying the high temperatures and Grosjean ran strongly throughout free practice and quali (only narrowly edged out by Kimi). His race pace was superb, especially his opening stint which saw him drive into contention for the victory (had the SC not come out, I believe he could have won!). As it was, the SC neutralized the strategy differences between Grosjean and Vettel, and the Frenchman made way for his championship-contending team-mate in the closing stages. I almost moved Grosjean up even higher but resisted for now – he first has to maintain this form.

9. Charles Pic (last week: 11^th, up two spots) (Season high: 7^th, low: 19^th)

Charles Pic works his way back into the top ten after another fine weekend. He won the Caterham/Marussia battle in both qualifying and the race – despite having to change his gearbox post-qualifying (which dropped him to last on the grid) and a slow puncture shortly after the Safety Car, which again dropped him to last.

=10. Sergio Pérez (last week: 14^th, up four spots) (Season high: 8^th, low: 17^th) & Jenson Button (last week: 16^th, up six spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 16^th)

McLaren had a surprisingly competitive race given their recent woes – especially JB. The 2009 World Champion snuck into Q3 and ran inside the top five for most of the race – agonizingly losing out to Hamilton on the last lap. Checo ran the opposite strategy from thirteenth on the grid and, thanks to his aggressive early laps (which included a fine overtake on his team-mate) also ran inside the points for most of the day. Like JB, he also found himself the victim of a last lap manoeuvre. At the moment, I just can’t split the two McLaren drivers apart!

Bianchi's spectacular engine failure was a somewhat nostalgic moment in this; the age of bullet-proof reliability
Source: Getty Images

=12. Jules Bianchi (last week: 12^th, no change) (Season high: 6^th, low: 13^th), Daniel Ricciardo (last week: 8^th, down four spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 18^th) & Nico Hülkenberg (last week: 15^th, up three spots) (Season high: 9^th, low: 19^th)

For the first time since the very first edition of F1 Power Rankings, three drivers share one spot. Jules Bianchi sat out FP1, as test-driver Rodolfo Gonzalez got behind the wheel, and then missed half of FP2 as he was unwell. Despite this, he still comfortably outqualified Max Chilton and retained his position as lead-Marussia in the race until his engine spectacularly failed (followed by his stricken car alarmingly rolling down the hill across the track, leading to the SC).

Bianchi is a non-mover at 12^th for the third straight week and is joined by the falling Daniel Ricciardo & rising Nico Hülkenberg  The Aussie again stole the show in qualifying with a fantastic sixth place while the Hulk also snuck into Q3 as well. Ricciardo held his own in the opening few laps before tumbling down the order as Toro Rosso struggled with their tyres. The Hulk ran inside the top six for prolonged stints as he ran the inverse strategy to the leading qualifiers and was rewarded for his afternoon’s work with a point – although, as mentioned last week, it’s still desperate times for Sauber. Rumours are rife that they are in dire financial straits.

The astonishing sight of Bianchi's car rolling down the hill across the track
Source: Sky Sports F1 (TV image)

15. Felipe Massa (last week: 9^th, down six spots) (Season high: 3^rd, low: 15^th)

Having crashed out in a practice session for three consecutive races, Felipe Massa made it to Sunday afternoon crash-free and ahead of Alonso on the grid. Unfortunately for the Brazilian that was as good as it got as a curious spin in the opening few laps ended his race. Massa accepted it was driver error but that a gearbox problem meant the car then stalled.

 

Massa spins out
Source: Sutton Images

=16. Valtteri Bottas (last week: 18^th, up two spots) (Season high: 10^th, low: 20^th) & Pastor Maldonado (last week: 19^th, up three spots) (Season high: 16^th, low: 22^nd)

Williams’ 600^th race weekend was predictably disappointing given their season-form but there were several moments of hope during the race. It was the rookie Finn again edging out the Venezuelan in quali although with both cars eliminated in Q1, there was little to cheer about. Their race strategy saw both cars run inside the top ten – Pastor Maldonado for the majority of the race – but catastrophic pit-stop problems scuppered any chance of points. Both of Valtteri Bottas’ stops were affected as was Maldonado’s second stop and the two cars only ended up ahead of the Caterhams and Chilton. Pit-stop woes aside, credit their race pace – and Maldonado’s performance sees him draw level with Bottas in the rankings and 16^th is, incredibly, a season-high for him.

18. Adrian Sutil (last week: 10^th, down eight spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 20^th)

In truth, I’m probably being a tad harsh ranking Adrian Sutil behind the two Williams but whilst you could say that both Maldonado and Bottas extracted the most from their cars, the same cannot be said of Sutil.

19. Esteban Gutiérrez (last week: 20^th, up one spot) (Season high: 15^th, low: 22^nd)

The young Mexican moves up one spot based purely on his qualifying effort. A solid 14^th-place saw him outqualify both Sutil and Jean-Eric Vergne but it was another hugely anonymous race from Esteban Gutiérrez.

20. Jean-Eric Vergne (last week: 13^th, down seven spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 20^th)

Frightening times in the F1 Power Rankings for JEV: Canada seems like a lifetime ago – he soared to 5^th in the rankings just two weeks ago! His alarming drop in performance compared to Ricciardo could not have come at a worse time as they battle for the potential RBR seat and he slides to a season-low 20^th spot after an early hydraulics-inflicted retirement which came after a disappointing bottom-of-Q2 quali effort.

21. Giedo van der Garde (last week: 22^nd, up one spot) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd) & 22. Max Chilton (last week: 21^st, down one spot) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd)

The bottom duo swap places as VDG beat his rookie rival in both quali and the race.

All views expressed in this blog are my own and no copyright infringement is intended.

After Race 8: Great Britain

Three weeks since the last race - the gap caused by the missing race in New Jersey - and plenty has happened in the Motor Racing world. Audi won another 24 Heures du Mans (Tom Kristensen now with nine!), Sebastién Loeb obliterated the Pikes Peak record and Valentino Rossi returned to the top of the podium in MotoGP. Anyway, without further ado, here are this week's F1 Power Rankings.

1.   Sebastian Vettel (last week: 1^st, no change) (Season high: 1^st, low: 4^th)

It’s the hat-trick for Sebastian Vettel (although maybe not the pole-win-FL combo he’d like) – as he retains his place atop the F1 Power Rankings for the third consecutive week in spite of suffering his first DNF of the season. Vettel has had his World Championship lead trimmed after his gearbox failure but it could have been so much worse as closest challengers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen could only manage third and fifth respectively. We’ll never know whether either Mercedes had the pace to beat Vettel over the full race distance but such has been his pace and consistency this season that he remains #1.

Vettel stumbles over his front wing after his first retirement of the season
Source: Crash.net

2.   Lewis Hamilton (last week: 4^th, up two spots) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 9th)

It was a brilliant weekend for Lewis Hamilton in every sense except his final result – although considering he was dead last ten laps into the race, you understand why he moves up to second place in the F1 Power Rankings. A superb pole position saw him thrash his opposition by almost half a second and he calmly led the opening laps of the race until he became the first of several drivers to suffer a spectacular puncture. His recovery thereafter was brilliant. Yes, he was aided by safety cars, but – rather ironically – Hamilton only made one further pit-stop during the race, showing excellent pace and commitment on worn tyres to fall agonizingly short of a podium finish in front of his home crowd.

 

Hamilton's puncture was the first of many on Sunday afternoon
Source: The Telegraph

3.   Fernando Alonso (last week: 2^nd, down one spot) (Season high: 1^st, low: 13^th)

It’s a one place drop for the double World Champion as he experienced the exact opposite to Hamilton in that his weekend was somewhat mediocre but he claimed a fine third-place finish. Just like in Montreal, Alonso earned his rostrum finish thanks to some fine overtaking through the race but he will be worried at just how far off the pace the Ferrari seemed to be – especially in qualifying.

 

Another podium for Alonso but he knows Ferrari have lots of work to do
Source: Indystar.com/AFP/Getty

4.   Paul di Resta (last week: 3^rd, down one spot) (Season high: 5^th, low: 17^th)

PDR also drops a place although this is mainly due to Hamilton’s outstanding weekend than anything wrong that Paul did. For the third race running, he had to battle his way through the field and for the third race running he recovered beautifully to score points. A stunning 5^th place effort in qualifying was wiped away as his car was found to be underweight and it is these niggling issues that continually befall di Resta. His resiliency and racecraft – like his wonderful battle with Hamilton – have shown that he is ready to make the jump to a top team should the opportunity arise.

5. Mark Webber (last week: =7^th, up two spots) (Season high: 1^st, low: 15^th)

They were tied last week but, despite Nico Rosberg fending off Mark Webber for the victory this week, it’s the latter who edges ahead in the F1 Power Rankings. With his heavily-rumoured switch to the Porsche programme confirmed, Webber drove through the field like a man possessed after his woeful start and with another lap he might well have stood atop the Silverstone podium for the third time in four years. His presence in the F1 paddock will be missed as will drives like the one we witnessed on Sunday.

6. Nico Rosberg (last week: =7^th, up one spot) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

It was simply a case of “right place, right time” for Nico Rosberg as he inherited his third career victory from Hamilton and Vettel’s problems. Although the two Mercedes drivers seemed evenly matched for most of the weekend, Hamilton crushed his team-mate in Q3 and then seemed to be opening up the gap in the opening stint. Nonetheless, credit Rosberg who appeared to be hustling Vettel in the middle part of the race, and showed the speed necessary in the closing stages to fend off the charging Webber.

It's all smiles for Nico!
Source: The Sun

7. Kimi Räikkönen (last week: 6^th, down one spot) (Season high: 2^nd, low: 12^th)

The 2007 World Champion turned up to Silverstone sporting an ‘interesting’ new haircut that would only be revealed to the general public if he stood on the podium. Unfortunately for the flying Finn, the second safety car scuppered any chances of a top-three finish he had as Lotus failed to react and pit him for fresh tyres – an error they seemingly regretted almost instantly. After a disappointing qualifying session, Räikkönen had fought his way up to second, but was powerless to prevent those who had the fresher rubber in the closing stages. The team have slightly lost their way and the loss of James Allison is surely one of the main reasons.

8. Daniel Ricciardo (last week: 14^th, up six spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 18^th)

Toro Rosso just cannot get both cars home in the points! This weekend, it was the turn of Daniel Ricciardo – who consolidated his career-best fifth on the grid with an eighth place finish. It could have been even better for the young Aussie if not for some overly-aggressive blocking by Adrian Sutil; while the second SC also left him exposed to the recovering Hamilton and Felipe Massa. Never have the STR boys been more in the spotlight as right now, with Webber’s departure from F1 now confirmed. After JEV taking the limelight in Monaco and Montreal, Ricciardo recovers all the six spots he dropped in the F1 Power Rankings last week and vaults ahead of his team-mate.

9. Felipe Massa (last week: 9^th, no change) (Season high: 3^rd, low: 14^th)

No change for Massa this week. After crashing in practice for the third race running and then missing out on Q3, he made an absolutely cracking start to his race and was running strongly before his spectacular puncture. A fine recovery drive saw him finish sixth and Ferrari will look for him to build on his race performance as they battle for the Constructors’ Title.

 

Massa recovered well from his puncture
Source: Reuters

10. Adrian Sutil (last week: 11^th, up one spot) (Season high: 5^th, low: 20^th)

Not much to say about Sutil. He moves back into the top ten after a solid weekend but was once again overshadowed by Paul di Resta. His block into Copse on Daniel Ricciardo was a low point but he wasn’t penalized by the stewards so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

11. Charles Pic (last week: 13^th, up two spots) (Season high: 7^th, low: 19^th) & 12. Jules Bianchi (last week: 12^th, no change) (Season high: 6^th, low: 13^th)

It was business as usual for our backmarker heroes as they once again outqualified and out-raced their respective team-mates, with Charles Pic edging out Jules Bianchi – which sees the Caterham driver leapfrog his Marussia rival in the rankings. One blot on Pic’s weekend copybook was his practice crash as he aquaplaned off in the typical British Summertime conditions.

13. Jean-Eric Vergne (last week: 5^th, down eight spots) (Season high: 5^th, low: 19^th)

A hugely frustrating weekend for JEV. After two excellent performances on the notoriously difficult Monte Carlo and Montreal circuits, it all fell apart for him in Silverstone Q2 as he ran wide in Becketts/Chapel on his main hot lap which left outside the top ten – allowing Ricciardo to gain the upper hand in this, the first race since Webber’s exit announcement. Of course, he was another victim with the Pirelli tyres exploding which eventually led to his retirement but the pendulum has swung in the STR garage once again.

 

JEV's puncture
Source: Formula1.com

14. Sergio Pérez (last week: 15^th, up one spot) (Season high: 8^th, low: 17^th)

Another miserable weekend for McLaren but Checo actually manages to move up one place thanks to his Sunday performance. Outqualified by JB, he overtook him in the early stages of the race and retained his place in front of the Englishman throughout the race until his tyre failed down the Hangar straight. Given the team’s struggles, and Sergio’s early woes this season, the intra-team battle has quietly been in Checo’s favour for a good few races now.

15. Nico Hülkenberg (last week: 19^th, up four spots) (Season high: 9^th, low: 19^th)

What to say about The Hulk this week? He moves up four spots thanks to winning the battle with both Williams and stealing a point on the last lap as Romain Grosjean and the two McLarens fell away. In truth, it will be of little consolation to him as he watched di Resta again come from the back of the field in his Force India and comfortably beat him. It is hugely frustrating to watch Nico Hülkenberg struggle with a car that does not let him show off his talent.

=16. Romain Grosjean (last week: 18^th, up two spots) (Season high: 6^th, low: 22^nd) & Jenson Button (last week: 16^th, no change) (Season high: 5^th, low: 16^th)

Similar story for both drivers as both managed to outqualify their team-mates but fell behind them early on and couldn’t recover the deficit. Grosjean edged Räikkönen by 0.007secs in quali – an achievement that seemingly went unnoticed by almost everyone. His race came to a slightly premature end as his front wing failed but it was clean for the most part (the first corner contact was just a racing incident). Most worrying for Romain was the “Kimi is faster than you” message during the race. Button’s plight was discussed earlier and there’s no change for him this week.

18. Valtteri Bottas (last week: 18^th, up seven spots) (Season high: 10^th, low: 20^th) & 19. Pastor Maldonado (last week: 21^st, up two spots) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd)

Valtteri Bottas’ stay inside the F1 Power Rankings top ten comes to an end after just one week as he loses the eight places he gained last week. Silverstone was another hugely disappointing weekend for Williams although they did end up finishing the race 11^th and 12^th (that said, it is probably just as agonizing to miss out on the points by such a small margin). Pastor Maldonado squeaked into Q2 but both Williams ran together for most of the race and it’s the rookie who retains his position ahead of the Venezuelan in the rankings based on his season so far.

20. Esteban Gutiérrez (last week: 20^th, no change) (Season high: 15^th, low: 22^nd)

Hugely anonymous weekend for the Mexican: he only managed to beat the Caterhams and Marussias in both qualifying and the race and was again comfortably outshone by Hülkenberg.

21. Max Chilton (last week: 17^th, down four spots) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd) & 22. Giedo van der Garde (last week: 22^nd, no change) (Season high: 17^th, low: 22^nd)

Killing lots of ‘two birds with one stone’ in these rankings this week… Max Chilton slips to second from bottom after he was once again thrashed by Bianchi – although this one hurts more given it was Silverstone – while it was much of the same at Caterham as Giedo van der Garde was nowhere near Charles Pic. Chilton beat VDG in the race and so it’s Giedo who props up the rankings for the second consecutive week. 

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