As we reach the F1 2011 mid-season break, David Coulthard gives us his thoughts on the best performances and moments so far and his predictions for the rest of the year.
Driver of the Season: Sebastian Vettel
How could it be otherwise? Eight poles and six wins in 11 races. Vettel leads the championship by a staggering 85 points from Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber heading into the summer break. Yes, he has had (for the most part) the fastest car and, yes, he has made a few errors, notably on the final lap in Canada to surrender the lead to Jenson Button, but no driver has been perfect. Question marks over Seb’s ability to race from further back on the grid persist, but he has also produced some gutsy overtaking moves at crucial moments, for instance on out laps in Barcelona. And don’t forget he held off Fernando Alonso and Button when under intense pressure in Monaco, making one set of tyres last for 60 laps.
Looking to find form: Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher
If the only true measure of a driver’s performance is against his team mate then these three could all be marked under the file “could do better”. It’s probably easiest to be critical of Michael as he is a seven-time world champion and we expect so much more of him, but it’s actually hard to gauge how strong or weak his performance is as we don’t really know what level Nico Rosberg is at – Nico might be a serial winner, given the right car. Mark has shown signs of improvement after struggling with the Pirelli tyres in early season, but even he admits that Seb has done a better job. As for Felipe, he has really struggled to make any inroads on Fernando over the last two years. Renault’s Nick Heidfeld has also disappointed, given his experience.
'Hats off to Pirelli, even if they do make our job in the commentary box that bit more difficult'
Best innovation: Pirelli tyres
Hats off to Pirelli for sticking to their guns after coming in for some pretty serious flak during winter testing. The specially designed fast-degrading rubber has produced some wonderful races and added a whole new dimension to proceedings, even if they do make our job in the commentary box that bit more difficult.
Worst innovation: KERS
Not ’worst’ necessarily, but the return of the energy boost device after a one-year absence has not brought much to the party. It is too hard to tell which moves have been aided by KERS; we rely on the international race-feed broadcasting giving us the KERS graphic. In my opinion, hidden technology is pointless. Fans want to see what is happening. I would put a bright light on top of the car, or at the back, which would light up when power was available to the driver, change colour when it was being used, and then change again when it had been used up.
Best race: Canadian GP
The best and the worst. With all the rain and the pitstops and the chaos, it was extremely difficult to know what was going on. And trying to keep our patter going during the two-hour rain delay was the hardest thing I have yet had to do as a co-commentator. But what a race. The controversial collision between Jenson and Lewis Hamilton, who was forced to retire; the five safety cars; Schumacher’s podium bid; and then Vettel’s final-lap error, which was induced by Jenson, who had shrugged off two collisions, a drive-through penalty and five pitstops. Jenson described it afterwards as the “best win of my career”. It was like Formula One on steroids.
'I’m struggling to see anyone denying Seb a second successive title'
Best move of the season: Hamilton on Vettel in China
There have been so many great overtaking moves this year but I’m going to go with Lewis’s move on Seb in China. It was so well executed. He saved the extra horsepower from his KERS energy boost device on the exit to turn three, when he might have been expected to use it, and instead deployed it out of turn six to pass the Red Bull on the gentle left-hander turn seven. Seb admitted afterwards that he had been completely taken aback. Sublime.
Surprise package: Paul di Resta
It is great for Britain as a whole – and for us Scots in particular – that we have another talented young driver in Formula One. It looked like the opportunity might have passed Paul by after four years in German touring cars, but credit to his manager Anthony Hamilton and to Force India for taking a punt. Paul has repaid them in spades with some very mature drives and looks remarkably grounded for a rookie. His team mate Adrian Sutil has raised his game in recent weeks and Paul was just starting to get a little frustrated before he finished seventh – his best result to date – in Hungary on Sunday. One to watch.
Prediction: Vettel to win the championship
With McLaren having won three of the last five races, and Fernando having claimed more points than any other driver in July, we can certainly look forward to some races when we reconvene at Spa after the summer break. But I’m struggling to see anyone denying Seb a second successive title…
David Coulthard writes for the Daily Telegraph in the UK, and as well as being co-commentator for the BBC’s Formula One coverage, he is an ambassador for Red Bull Racing.
Want more?
- Hungarian Grand Prix race report
- Driver quotes from the Hungaroring
- More from DC at davidcoulthard.co.uk
- Official Formula One website at formula1.com
Comments
Add a comment