Can I do a team by team thing? Yeah? Cool.
McLaren - they've done a really good job to group together, and this has shown in the drivers' relationship; Hamilton and Button are working together (for now, at least) to improve the car to it's maximum potential.
Mercedes - Disappointed really. Rosberg has carried the team with limited experience and put in some good results (when the car's up to it)...as for Schumacher, we all know he's needed time to adjust and that, but it's crunch time now; if he stays off the boil dont expect him to be there for too long.
Red Bull - Fab car, fab drivers, nice cola too...but the reliability has let them down in times of need. Crashes, splashes, and similar words that rhyme have punctuated their technological dominance. But they're breaking this trend just as the other teams are putting their feet in the door. Looks to be an epic fight towards the end of the season for top spot.
Ferrari - A bright start indeed, claiming first bragging rights against the other teams in the processional Bahrain race. Perhaps their performance has fallen away a bit, but as Alonso gets ever closer to pushing them at the front, and as Massa gets a few performances in his stride, they can begin to look at challenging for the titles. Time is of the essence though, and they need to make an almighty push to match the others.
Williams - What can I say? General anonymity has marred their season, sitting on the uncomfortable bench of 'neither here nor there'. But Barrichello has provided good results, and as Hulkenburg gets more confident, the team are always in with chances of picking up some points. But I fear the team may need to look to next season to really play with the big boys.
Renault - Written off by so many at the start, Kubica has surprised us all by really pushing the car to the max, and he has reaped points, rewards and respect in the F1 paddock. Petrov needs time to adjust, but with rumours of Raikkonen and Glock wanting his seat, he's got to mature quickly.
Force India - Excellent season so far. Sutil has a nice handful of points, and seems to be thriving in conditions without Raikkonen to punt him off the road. Liuzzi has also done a sound job, with an excellent qualifying at Canada and picking up points too. Most expected Di Resta to have the seat by now. But Liuzzi's hanging on.
Toro Rosso - No longer at the back with the new teams, but neither at the front. Buemi and Alguersuari have matured to say the least, picking up minor points consistently. Still, the car needs to be better for any push in performance.
Lotus - Great job by Mike Gascoyne and the design staff to push a team started from scratch up to the established teams. Kovalainen has been bright, chirpy, and his driving has been commendable as well. Trulli has had a few minor gripes, but he's helping the team get closer.
Hispania - It was so difficult to gauge where they were gonna be come Bahrain. They made it. No testing, new drivers, and taking all this into consideration, they have been a very efficient operation indeed. Chandhok and Senna have struggled with the car but with the split from Dallara, next year's chassis should have input from Geoff Willis if first, he stays, and secondly, it's made inhouse.
Sauber - Now, they ran the tank a bit empty in testing for sponsors to adorn that plain white car, and have looked in bad shape, reliability-wise. But Kobayashi's insane drive at Valencia and De La Rosa's experience might be the catalyst for greater things to come. We can but hope.
Virgin - So Branson's not had the success he had last year chez Brawn, but Nick Wirth has put in the hours to get a chassis going for this year. Pioneering 100% CFD, it's been a struggle, not least the fragility of the car and the fuel-tank fiasco. Still, Glock's done well and Di Grassi is learning, so they have the right to be pleased.
That ought to do it.
GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" -
Charles Bukowski