[NeilP]

So a little over one third of the way through the season what do we think of the teams and their drivers. I am ranking them in terms of their achievements not the points they have or have not scored.

10. Mercedes.  Harsh?  Maybe, but given the resources and recent history this season has been an absolute disaster. Their design concept is clearly a major failure and one they have not been able to get on top of.  Russell has been as advertised this guy is a future WDC its never been in doubt in my mind but of course you need the car to do it he has the talent.  Hamilton, hugely disappointing,  Has he lost an edge no question in my mind he has but also it may also be he is being as much of a test driver as a racer. Who knows the truth and those that do will not tell. Will he bounce back, given the car yes no doubt in my mind but is that going to happen 2023 will tell.

9. Williams. I had no expectations of them being anything but last. This is a team in a kind of transitional state but you have to appreciate despite the artificial cap imposed by the rule change they are in no position to compete. This is one team to watch to see if they can actually complete the season given the current rules.  Albon has flashed signs of ability but given the car who can really tell. Latifi does not belong in F1 its that simple.

8. Aston Martin. The decline of this team under the guidance of the Stroll family fortune is alarming. Amidst all the ballyhoo of we will be competing for a Championship ballyhoo we endured the team have gone backwards and quickly.  This team when it was Force India under VJ always punched well above its weight now it is a shadow of what it used to be. I understand why Stroll is in the team and in truth he is not as bad as some of us perhaps think he is. He is certainly better than some of the drivers currently in F1 or recently departed. Its not like this team is even a mid field team anymore it is not. As for Vettel my overwhelming feeling is one of sadness that a 4 time WDC is driving for such a poor team. He had lost his edge at Ferrari now I question why he is even in F1 he has nothing to gain.

7. Alpha Tauri. Reliability has bitten this team pretty bad but for a back up Red Bull outfit they are doing okay. You have to hand it to the Red Bull organization what they have managed to do with starting up their own engine company is pretty impressive. When you consider what Renaults experience is and where their works team is its even more impressive.  Pierre Gasly is a far better driver than the car he is in control of its tough there is no better seat available to him. We may never see just how good he really is. Tsunoda flashes at times but he is another I think who is a very marginal F1 driver.

6. Alfa Romeo. Here we start to enter the Ferrari engined teams.  At the beginning of the year I thought it was a superior engine to all the teams in F1 but reliability issues have emerged and it is hard to see it as being number 1 any more. From where they were last season to where they are today is a big improvement. Obviously the car has something to with that but also one has to admire the performances of Valteri Bottas he has been given the team he drives for amazing. There is no bigger points difference between a teams drivers than here. Its too early to judge Zhou but if he studies Bottas it will serve him well for the future.

5.Haas. Another team that benefitted from the Ferrari engine in their car. Coming from where they were last year the improvement in their car is vast. Yes they are way higher up here than in the standings but they are so much better than they were I feel you have to acknowledge that achievement. The return of Kmag to the team has been pretty impressive to say the least. He has scored all of the points  for the team and looked a totally different driver in many ways than his previous time at Haas. I dont know what to make of Mick Schumacher, so much was being made of his time before F1 he was already carrying a far bigger burden than pretty much any driver in the history of F1.  The fact he even made it to F1 is a huge achievement but based on what we have seen to date I am not sure if he belongs here.

4. McLaren. A somewhat disappointing season to date for me. There have been some flashes of ability and performance from the car but similar to Mercedes you would have expected more from such a storied team. Have they gone backwards, I think they have. I know this may come over as harsh given their 4th place in the Constructors and in truth that was probably as high as it was/is possible to go. Lando Norris is performing as well as he possibly could and again is a driver to watch for the future could he be a replacement for Sainz at Ferrari at some stage I have to believe its possible. Danny Ricciardo is a huge disappointment which for me is hard to watch I love the guy his decline since leaving RBR is hard and fast.

3. Alpine.  I have been very impressed with what the team has achieved this season. They have found a lot of speed and have certainly took some steps forward their car looks pretty well balanced between power and aero.  Ocon has proved he belongs in F1 no he is never going to be any more than he is but he is a solid driver capable of winning races given the car. He has some issues as we have seen in the past but he seems to have found a home. What can you say about Alonso that has not already been said. His understanding of the sport is second to none.  He is not the driver he once was but he is defying the years for how much longer I do not know but there is no arguing his abilities. Maybe the management changes they made are paying dividends lets see how the team finishes.

2. Ferrari. Like I have said about other teams what a huge progression this team has made this year. I was unsure about Binotto but he has convinced me he is up to the task of running the most legendary team in the sport. This team should be in the lead in the constructors and Leclerc should be in the lead of the Drivers. A combination of bad luck, poor pit wall decisions and suddenly reliability issues have said otherwise.  The car looks amazing yes it porpoises but not as much others, the engine I would have said was brilliant but recent reliability issues have me wondering if they are pushing too hard. I am not smart enough to know.  Leclerc, wow what a driver I do not like Verstappen as many know and I am not saying this because of my dislike but I genuinely think Leclerc is a better overall driver than Verstappen. That said he looked totally dejected after the last race its up to his team to pick him up.  Sainz is a very good driver but the pressure Leclerc is putting on him is telling. At least that is my explanation for his poor by comparison season. If they are to challenge Red Bull they need to maximize every single opportunity and make very, very few mistakes.

1. Red Bull.  No surprises here. I hate the team and many of their personnel but I admire their tenacity, their engineering skills and their brilliant car designer Adrian Newey.  What they have achieved with their engine is amazing to me. Yes reliability has a question mark over it in some areas but after a rocky start its seems to be coming together and they are going to be hard if not impossible to beat. Verstappen is a sensational driver. I dont think in F1 there is a faster man over one lap than him. He is still a long way from being a  complete driver but he is well on his way.  Perez  is having a tremendous season and frankly I feel sorry that he is clearly being treated as a wingman. I was not impressed with him last season but this season he is doing great. I cannot see anyone beating both the team and the drivers this season it will be another bitter pill for me to swallow but it is inescapable that they will deserve to win if indeed they do. I would not bet against them with any odds.

[Westie]

Nice post Neil.

I can't say I agree with your ranking but I agree with the sentiment behind them.

So the good thing about this year is that it's the first of a major rules change and we're still seeing the dynamic settle.  Within this, I like you,  am hoping some teams (Merc) are able to come to grips with what they have placed on track.  Much like last year where I think by this point folks may have awarded Vers the title I hope it's premature to do so now as well.  The second half of last year belonged to Hamilton/Merc barring the interjection of a Race Director under seige who made the wrong decisions.

So my only hope is that the season is not "over" from a competitive standpoint.  I hope that Ferrari and maybe later in the year Merc can bloody the noses of Redbull and/or make it the most painfull championship for them.  If it's done already then I'm likely to start to switch off.  I'm already watching races on fast forward and soon I will be questioning what I pay Sky for.  I may be a bit of a plactic fan but I can't continue to watch Redbull win it for another 2 seasons... I may as well save the money and disappointment.

My biggest turn off is watching the teams with cars that are supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport technology bounce down a track... this just seems ludicrous and is doing the sport no favours in what it serves up especially as we were told they would all have it under control in 3 or 4 races.  Yes it is suspicious that the team who say they spent no time last year developing their car... knocks the interpretation of the rules out of the park and yes it does at this moment look like the Redbull dog and pony show with the rest of them merely making up the numbers.   Lets hope that changes (err who can I write to at Sky to ask to stop showing Ginger bolloks - he gets more airtime than his star driver.)

[forzaferrari]

 If it's done already then I'm likely to start to switch off.  I'm already watching races on fast forward and soon I will be questioning what I pay Sky for.  I may be a bit of a plactic fan but I can't continue to watch Redbull win it for another 2 seasons... I may as well save the money and disappointment.

I actually find this comment very refreshing to read as not many would admit to such, its perfectly acceptable not everyone watching F1 is a die hard who eats and breathes all things f1, hell, more often than not even us "die-hards" do quite a lot of complaining or being overcritical when our team or driver is not winning. Fair play to ya!

[Westie]

Hi Forza,

I'm even a crap at being a plastic fan - I'm stuck somewhere in the middle.  I like to support who I support and I'm hoping someone on the grid other than Lewis will appeal so I can start to transition away from Lewis but so far they only appeal to me insofar as they make good opponents for Lewis currently.

Having said all that my support only extends to what is done on the track.  I couldn't be less bothered about what any of them get up to on social media or outside of the sport as long as it does not bring them or the sport into disrepute.  Much of what happens on social media these days simply doesn't bare anyone paying it any attention anyway.  So I can't profess to be a die hard fan. I don't care too much for pouring over the history of the sport either other than to remember I liked watching Mansell when I was younger but I didn't get or appreciate Senna or Schumacher though I must admit to liking Lauder but only due to his reaquanitence to us through his Mercedes Team management involvement.  I thought he was a really decent bloke...which prompted me to watch Rush and again he comes across as a really decent bloke.

So I'm not die hard but I do like to hear and sometimes participate in discussions about the technology of F1 though I admit I'm not really clever enough to understand a lot of it,  it is illuminating to hear what other say and like most I suppose once you are immersed in the talk for long enough I at least start to feel like I may have a clue when I mostly don't :-)

[forzaferrari]

Hi Forza,

I'm even a crap at being a plastic fan - I'm stuck somewhere in the middle.  I like to support who I support and I'm hoping someone on the grid other than Lewis will appeal so I can start to transition away from Lewis but so far they only appeal to me insofar as they make good opponents for Lewis currently.

Having said all that my support only extends to what is done on the track.  I couldn't be less bothered about what any of them get up to on social media or outside of the sport as long as it does not bring them or the sport into disrepute.  Much of what happens on social media these days simply doesn't bare anyone paying it any attention anyway.  So I can't profess to be a die hard fan. I don't care too much for pouring over the history of the sport either other than to remember I liked watching Mansell when I was younger but I didn't get or appreciate Senna or Schumacher though I must admit to liking Lauder but only due to his reaquanitence to us through his Mercedes Team management involvement.  I thought he was a really decent bloke...which prompted me to watch Rush and again he comes across as a really decent bloke.

So I'm not die hard but I do like to hear and sometimes participate in discussions about the technology of F1 though I admit I'm not really clever enough to understand a lot of it,  it is illuminating to hear what other say and like most I suppose once you are immersed in the talk for long enough I at least start to feel like I may have a clue when I mostly don't :-)

At the end of the day we are all only armchair experts and the main thing is you get enjoyment from the sport (ok, maybe not so much these days  )

I openly admit F1 doesnt (and hasnt) give me the same buzz and excitement as it once did, obviously I still enjoy watching and following throughout the season but not quite as intently as in years gone by.......its still 1000x more exciting than cricket though, eh Neil? 

[NeilP]

Hi Forza,

I'm even a crap at being a plastic fan - I'm stuck somewhere in the middle.  I like to support who I support and I'm hoping someone on the grid other than Lewis will appeal so I can start to transition away from Lewis but so far they only appeal to me insofar as they make good opponents for Lewis currently.

Having said all that my support only extends to what is done on the track.  I couldn't be less bothered about what any of them get up to on social media or outside of the sport as long as it does not bring them or the sport into disrepute.  Much of what happens on social media these days simply doesn't bare anyone paying it any attention anyway.  So I can't profess to be a die hard fan. I don't care too much for pouring over the history of the sport either other than to remember I liked watching Mansell when I was younger but I didn't get or appreciate Senna or Schumacher though I must admit to liking Lauder but only due to his reaquanitence to us through his Mercedes Team management involvement.  I thought he was a really decent bloke...which prompted me to watch Rush and again he comes across as a really decent bloke.

So I'm not die hard but I do like to hear and sometimes participate in discussions about the technology of F1 though I admit I'm not really clever enough to understand a lot of it,  it is illuminating to hear what other say and like most I suppose once you are immersed in the talk for long enough I at least start to feel like I may have a clue when I mostly don't :-)

At the end of the day we are all only armchair experts and the main thing is you get enjoyment from the sport (ok, maybe not so much these days  )

I openly admit F1 doesnt (and hasnt) give me the same buzz and excitement as it once did, obviously I still enjoy watching and following throughout the season but not quite as intently as in years gone by.......its still 1000x more exciting than cricket though, eh Neil? 

Well Forza yesterdays Test Match was amazing but I appreciate nobody on here likes the sport. Taking up an earlier comment you made I know you are not a Hamilton fan but credit where credit is due you rarely complained during the Mercedes domination so I personally give you a ton of credit for that.

I admire you love a team rather than a driver and I appreciate that if Michael was still driving it may be different. I would be enjoying the racing more if RBR were not winning the hatred l have at my age for them is somewhat irrational. Nonetheless its how I feel.

[forzaferrari]

Well Forza yesterdays Test Match was amazing but I appreciate nobody on here likes the sport. Taking up an earlier comment you made I know you are not a Hamilton fan but credit where credit is due you rarely complained during the Mercedes domination so I personally give you a ton of credit for that.

I will have to take your word for it Neil.......though never again do I want to hear the words Amazing and Cricket used in the same sentence 

Oh I bloody did......you just couldnt hear me 

[morini]

Well Forza yesterdays Test Match was amazing but I appreciate nobody on here likes the sport.

I like it. Just don't have time to give it much attention currently. Nothing I like better in the summer than sitting in the garden with test match special on the radio.

[PapaofGags]

Well Forza yesterdays Test Match was amazing but I appreciate nobody on here likes the sport.

I will have to take your word for it Neil.......though never again do I want to hear the words Amazing and Cricket used in the same sentence 
Oh I bloody did......you just couldnt hear me 

I like it. Just don't have time to give it much attention currently. Nothing I like better in the summer than sitting in the garden with test match special on the radio.

Yeah I heard on the news England did well to win, I may not enjoy rounders but Its always nice to beat
"Johnny foreigner"  Hehe    

Sat in the garden today with the head phones on listening to AC/DC I look like I got 3rd degree burns lol