F1 News

Summer break ratings | Red Bull marginally ahead, McLaren in fine form

Summer break ratings | Red Bull marginally ahead, McLaren in fine form

09-08-2021 11:00 Last update: 12:54
4

GPblog.com

After eleven races it is time to take stock in Formula 1. After each Grand Prix, we at GPblog give the teams figures, and after eleven races the result is a nice average. Which team performed above expectations, and which team still has some way to go? You can read the results of the first half of the season here.

Mercedes: 7.5

As reigning champions, Mercedes are of course the favourites for this season's world title but have had a mixed season. The team made a mistake with Valtteri Bottas' pit stop in Monaco, let Red Bull beat them strategically in France and left Lewis Hamilton out in Hungary while everyone came in for dry weather tyres. Still, after eleven races Mercedes are on top of the championship, but it also owes that to a lot of bad luck with the competition.

Red Bull Racing: 8

Red Bull Racing have a car to compete for the world title in 2021 for the first time since 2013. For the amount of money that Dietrich Mateschitz puts into the F1 project each year, that's not surprising, but the Austrians are finally offering Mercedes some resistance. Red Bull had a bit of a rusty start to the season, but they have made good tactical progress since then, and their five wins in a row have shown how strong the RB16B is now.

McLaren: 8.5

Everyone expected McLaren to fall away in the standings in the gap year with a new engine, but nothing could be further from the truth. The team from Woking has now holds P3 with Ferrari (both 163 points, but with second place in Monaco Ferrari has a better result), but is performing above all expectations.

Aston Martin: 6.5

The new Aston Martin car was presented with great fanfare and even James Bond showed up. With 48 points from eleven races and a seventh place in the Constructors' standings, the team is however disappointing. Of course, the disqualification of Sebastian Vettel hurt a lot, but not having enough fuel left is also a mistake.

Alpine: 7

Alpine started the 2021 season with difficulty, but are now in good shape. With a P1 and P4, the French team ended the first half of the season in phenomenal fashion. It is not yet the championship team Fernando Alonso will be hoping for, but the first victory in this era is a fact.

Ferrari: 7.5

Ferrari have picked themselves up in 2021 after a dramatic 2020. With Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, the team has been reinvigorated and will be competing with McLaren. However, despite a good season, the sights are fully set on 2022, where the Italians want to be back at the top.

AlphaTauri: 6.5

In Azerbaijan, Pierre Gasly took the podium again. The Frenchman always manages to get a bit more out of the car than other drivers and is clearly the best in his team. AlphaTauri is now sixth in the standings, just behind Alpine and ahead of Astone Martin. Not a bad result for such a small team.

Alfa Romeo: 6

With Williams' first points, Alfa Romeo has dropped to ninth place in the standings. The team has scored three points so far and is slipping further and further down the table. Again, the focus seems to be on 2022, with a Ferrari engine still behind the competition as well.

Haas: 5

The only failing so far is for Haas, who with Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher brought in two Rookies, brought the problems on themselves. The focus has been on 2022 from day one, but are two drivers who are still so preoccupied with themselves and making plenty of mistakes capable of steering the car in the right direction for 2022?

Williams: 7.5

Williams hasn't hit the ground running yet, but it's clear that the hard work and new investment is paying off. Williams is still far from where it wants to be, but with a double point finish in Hungary and thus ten points, Williams is now on P8 in the standings and seems to have finally left last place.