F1 2012 Performance Grid - Part 2

The 2012 season has without a doubt been the best and most exciting of the nine I have watched, so choosing my driver ranking was always going to be difficult. Some drivers excelled at a few races, but failed to consistently impress me. Meanwhile others were simply “okay” all the way through, resulting in a lower spot.

Formula 1 is a tough old world. Some drivers simply did not impress me as much as the previous 12, seen here. Here’s part 2 of my F1 2012 Performance Grid, running down positions 13 to 25. Do you agree? Tweet me @JackLeslieF1, comment on the Facebook post or comment on the article itself below.

13) Paul Di Resta

Many rate Di Resta highly, and so do I. I think he is one of the sports rising stars, alongside the likes of Hulkenberg and Perez. He certainly matched those expectations early on, scoring consistently. My highlight of his season was Singapore, finishing a career best fourth place and proving to be quick. He is also very clever, knowing when to push, keeping out of the fight for the lead if he was out of position and trying to minimise the time lost. 14^th in the championship was slightly disappointing, thanks to some late season struggles. He also had plenty of pressure on him when rumours circulated about moves to the likes of Ferrari and McLaren. However he dealt with them like a pro. A strong second season but I expect more from him, he needs to prove himself more if he wants to get a top drive for 2014.

14) Pastor Maldonado

Yes, he was a winner in 2012 but apart from that his season was rather underwhelming. Pastor seemingly showed flashes of speed, but on many occasions he was disappointing. That Spanish Grand Prix victory was truly stunning and I have to admit, I was happy to see a new winner. He deserved it on the day, but we still saw that erratic driving style of 2011. He took Grosjean out during the season opener, before crashing out himself. Pastor also took out Hamilton in Valencia, and stupidly hit Perez in Free Practice for the Monaco Grand Prix. Those moments left a bad taste in my mouth really, had he learnt anything from 2011? However he scored some good points but overall his season was rather underwhelming. After Spain I did put high expectations on him but he failed to meet them. I was impressed with his qualifying pace though; he was consistently in the top 10. It was just a shame that he could not replicate or hold his position in the race. In terms of consistency, Senna was stronger. But for raw pace and the odd big points haul Maldonado is the driver for you. 

15) Kamui Kobayashi

Like Maldonado, Kobayashi had a rather difficult season. It was plagued by retirements and inconstant non scores. Like the Williams driver though, Kamui also showed some stunning flashes of speed. He excelled in the Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying session, lining up third on the grid. Kamui trailed of during the race though, a common sight for his fans as Sauber struggled at certain circuits. They had a strong start in Australia, a promising sixth place finish for the Japanese driver. He was fifth in Europe, Fourth in Germany (where both Sauber’s really shone). After that Hockenheim race I really started to believe that he could get a podium, and he did a few races later in Japan. It was fantastic to see him racing to his debut podium at his home race; the cheers of “Kamui” on the podium really did make me see the enthusiasm of the usually quiet Japanese crowds. However between those great results were some off the pace weekends, poor driving and a lack of consistency that has inevitably meant he was dropped for 2013. I still feel he has the talent and that Sauber made the wrong decision, but in 2012 he just did not prove himself. He needs that consistency to show he is a safe bet for points, something Hulkenberg has shown. 

16) Bruno Senna

Bruno may not have scored a win for Williams, but he was certainly the more consistent driver. However failing to make it on to the podium like his team mate, coupled with his struggles in Qualifying, lack of money being brought to the team in comparison to Maldonado and a fast Finn breathing down his neck has meant he was dropped for the up and coming Bottas. After such talk about the Senna name returning to Formula 1 over the past few years, it looks like the expectation set has failed to be met. Bruno’s main problem was qualifying, not helped by Bottas borrowing his car in almost every FP1 session. The difficulties in qualifying meant he was out of position on the grid in comparison to the FW34’s true potential. Therefore it came as no surprise to me when I read that Senna was outqualified by Maldonado 18 times to two during the season. However he was more consistent in the race, bringing the car home and often scoring minor points. However Williams needed that big result and that is what Maldonado gave them. He definitely has the speed, but his lowly grid positions and lack of Friday running have predictably meant Bruno accumulated far fewer points than his competitors.

17) Daniel Ricciardo

So you may be asking why I have placed Daniel Ricciardo above his team mate, who notched up more points in comparison to the Aussie. Well it comes down to a few things. Firstly Daniel was far more superior in qualifying, the ratio ended up being 16 to four in his favour. The next factor links back to the battle for the grid positions, one of the laps of the season being in Bahrain. It was the sixth fastest time of the session, a stunning and precise lap from the smooth driving Aussie. He also finished ahead of him in 12 of the 20 races that they competed in. This just proves the theory that he is overall the faster driver. Yes, at some circuit’s he struggled and that meant his team mate took advantage. He also suffered a number of problems like punctures and unscheduled pit stops, some his own fault and others not so much. This all helped Vergne score the bigger points haul. The final reason why Ricciardo has been placed three spots ahead of Vergne in my Performance Grid is that I see more potential in him. He was brilliant in winter testing, and overall he had a more consistent year. He rarely got in to trouble and showed me that despite the below par machine he was driving in he could challenge the likes of Perez, Hulkenberg and Maldonado.

18) Heikki Kovalainen

I’m a big fan of Heikki and really think that he has improved as a driver. It was a massive sacrifice to move to the now known Caterham, but his help and input as a race winning drivers has helped the Leafield team close the gap on the midfield. Admittedly, the gap was slashed but not the amount wanted and expected. For me that meant his season was slightly disappointing, but he continued to work with a poor car and drive the team forward. Admittedly it was his team mate who sealed 10^th in the constructors for Caterham, but over the whole season I feel Heikki just had the edge. He was impressive in Monaco and drove his heart out. Abu Dhabi was also another strong race for him, dominating the race and even finishing ahead of Sergio Perez. You can always trust Heikki to get the car home, strongly evident this year when he finished 19 of the 20 races. This was mainly due to the smart driving of Heikki and the improved reliability of Caterham. I really hope he gets a drive for 2013, but if not he has the speed to get back in to the sport. I also really admire the fact that he does not want to move in to the “pay driver” role like some others (*cough* Maldonado), he wants his talent to do the talking.

19) Charles Pic

To consistently beat your more experienced team mate is quite a feat. What makes Charles Pic’s season even more impressive to be was that he is a rookie. Not many people can enter the sport and be beating people with seasons of Formula 1 experience. He had a tough start, being thrown right in to the deep end with no testing prior to the opening round. However he handled it well and by the seasons end I was quietly impressed with his performances. One thing that did not help his first year was the reliability of the MR-01, it was not up to scratch with their nearest rivals Caterham. However when his car was running, he was clever and rarely got in to scrapes with other drivers. However that does not show a cautious approach, he was still driving for all he was worth even though it was hard to tell from a lap down and four seconds off the pace. Now he has made the slight step up to Caterham, who got the added financial boost of piping Marussia to 10^th in the constructors. That will certainly be a helping hand to him moving in to the midfield.

20) Jean-Eric Vergne

To be honest I have been positively underwhelmed by the Frenchman’s debut in Formula 1. In fairness, it is getting increasingly more difficult to get to grips with such a fast and powerful car but by the seasons end he was still below the high expectations set by his junior career. The main struggle was in qualifying, he was consistently the sole midfield runner in the Q1 drop zone. Meanwhile in the same session team mate Daniel Ricciardo would often comfortably make it through to the second session. In the race he was slightly better, scoring more points over the season in comparison to his Aussie team mate. However his questionable driving in Valencia, lack or true qualifying pace and underwhelming race results have made me question his potential. That is why he is placed so low, I still feel Toro Rosso made the wrong decision in dropping Alguersuari for the Frenchman. Whether it is unfair or not, he failed to impress me.

21) Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly was faster than his team mate on a number of occasions, but I still feel like Heikki has more pace and is a more well rounded driver. Petrov was a late signing for 2012 but he raced cleanly early on and matched Kovalainen on a number of occasions. Caterham proved to be the fastest of the “new” teams yet again, but that first point eluded them. He could have finished in the points at the European Grand Prix, but collided with Jean-Eric Vergne whilst running 10^th. The contact dropped him down to 13^th. Petrov had a slight mid season dip, meaning Kovalainen was not the Caterham star. Despite this, he continued to quietly work away and ended the season on a high by finishing the Brazilian Grand Prix in 11^th, handing 10^th in the constructors to Caterham. It must be hard to a driver to go from scoring points and podiums to fighting at the back, but like Heikki I think he has become a better driver because of it.

22) Jerome D’Ambrosio

It is difficult for me to rate Jerome any higher when he only completed one race for Lotus. He jumped in to the car with little testing experience of the E20 so I respect that to start off with he was a bit rusty, and during the race he had a KERS problem. However he still finished the Italian Grand Prix in 13^th place, some way off his nearest rival and hardly lighting up the timing screens. I respect that he was rushed in to the race and that his lack of preparation would have meant he was on the back foot but his weekend was nothing special, shown by the result.

23) Timo Glock

Glock is another driver who has helped a small team push forward and develop. In comparison to 2011, the Marussia squad made big gains. These came particularly towards the end of the year, without Timo’s help I don’t think they would have had such a strong year. It was all a bit of a rush at the beginning, with the car failing the crash test and testing being very limited. However like he always does, Glock drives the wheels off his car and makes the most of the situation. In a similar way to Kovalainen, I think driving at the back has helped his develop as a driver and improve. He also had the added challenge of a team mate who could consistently match him, keeping him on his toes. 12^th place in Singapore helped Marussia provisionally jump in to the coveted 10th position in the constructors. Unfortunately they just missed out at the very end but that run under the Marina lights was very impressive indeed, finishing way ahead of the Caterham’s and even some established midfield runners. He stays at Marussia for another season, I’m not sure if they can take on Caterham in the same way that they did this season but it’s all a waiting game.

24) Pedro de la Rosa

His experience of developing and testing Formula 1 machinery was very useful to HRT, who pushed so hard to catch up the the distant pack. They made some improvements, chipping away at the gap to Marussia and Caterham. However it was not enough, the best he could do was just hope the car would last the race distance. With the fold of the team, we wave goodbye to yet another driver. However Pedro has had a successful racing and testing career, he is highly respected and will have plenty of fond memories to look back on.

25) Narain Karthikeyan

If you drive a HRT, the best thing you can do is finish the race. That is exactly what Narain did, consistently bringing the car home and trying to push the team forward. It was always going to be an up hill struggle for him, with the limited funds and a poor base car to develop. He had a rather quiet season out of focus. Obviously the team are not on the 2013 entry list, so he is left without a drive. It is a shame to say goodbye to a driver, but thankfully there are plenty of other routes to take.