Talking Point: British GP2 Stars

As a Red Bull seat is up for grabs, as most probably is a Ferrari seat is, and even a Lotus or two..! It's the time of year many of us start to think about where drivers are going to be next year. I could do a lot of predicting here, but much would be premature. Last here once Hamilton had dealt with Mercedes, the dominoes start to fall, and this year it will be the Red Bull seat that is the decider. Kimi or Daniel, Kimi or Daniel?!

What F1 Hub is looking at is GP2, in particular British drivers as in the top 8 after 7 rounds, 4 drivers are British. Could we see any of these drivers in F1 in 2014, or if not 2015?

For those that don't follow GP2, there are 11 rounds this year as a support on Formula One weekends mainly in Europe, and each weekend they have two races rather than one, so 22 races in all.

Standings

1st - Stefano Coletti [135 Points]
2nd - Felipe Nasr [129 Points]
3rd - Fabio Leimer [110 Points]


4th - Sam Bird [92 Points]

Sam is 26, raced in GP2 in 2010 and 2011, before having a year in Formula Renault 3.5, finishing 3rd in the championship. In 2012 also he joined Mercedes AMG F1 team to be a test driver, and has carried on with the team In 2013, he has won 2 feature race wins in Monaco and his home race in Great Britain, with a sprint race victory also in Bahrain, with new GP2 'Russian Time'. 

5th - James Calado [90 Points]

Williams driver Bottas won the 2011 GP3 championship. He made his successful F1 debut this year and who came 2nd to him in that 2011 championship? James Calado, who in GP2 last year finished 5th and has been recognised by his fellow Brits as the one to beat, and for me stands out as the top F1 contender. He had an extremely successful young driver test with Force India at Silverstone recently. James is currently 24. 

6th - Jon Lancaster [65 Points]

Lancaster is also 24, in 2009 and 2010 raced in Formula Renault 3.5, but in 2011 and 2012 struggled to get a full time drive. He only joined GP2 after the first 2 rounds had been and gone, so to be 6th in the championship with 2 sprint race wins is impressive. His progression will be the most interesting.

7th - Marcus Ericsson [64 Points]


8th - Jolyon Palmer [64 Points]

Only 22, Jolyon is already in his 3rd season of GP2 and winning a great feature race in Hungary last time out. GP2 drivers usually will get a max of 5 years so pressure will be to perform well next year to make his mark. 

4 Brits in F1 out 22 currently, but the future is bright for British racing drivers too!

My view - James Calado in F1 2015.

Nick, F1 Hub
@F1HubTweety

F1Hub Teammate Battle Tracker: Hungary

The teammate battles at round 10 in Hungary... 

Red Bull
Race: Webber
Overall: Vettel 8 vs Webber 2
Webber was YET AGAIN unlucky during qualifying, and based on his race pace to finish 4th just behind Vettel would have finished ahead of Sebastian.

Ferrari
Race: Alonso
Season: Alonso 8 vs Massa 2
Alonso 5th and Massa 8th. Massa needs another amazing 2nd half campaign to have another half a chance of staying on for 2014. Imagine if we had a new Red Bull and Ferrari driver? Maybe even then Lotus too!


McLaren
Race: Button
Season: Button 6 vs Perez 4
Button mixed it up with the big guys finishing just behind.


Lotus
Race: Raikkonen
Season: Raikkonen 7 vs Grosjean 3
Another great drive from Romain apart from his bump with Jenson and his unfortunate but brilliant overtake of Massa into turn 4 just outside the lines. Nevertheless, Raikkonen picked up a well deserved 2nd beating Vettel which he needed to keep his title hopes alive, every 3 points count as we have found out before.


Mercedes
Race: Hamilton
Season: Rosberg 3 vs Hamilton 7
Flawless from Hamilton, and whilst he talking down chances are becoming boring, you can't deny his pole lap and his race performance were incredible to claim his 4th race win in Hungary. 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013. Rosberg nowhere near in Hungary. Can Hamilton mount a title fight?

Sauber
Race: Hulkenberg
Season: Hulkenberg 9 vs Gutierrez 1
Hulkenberg's affair with 10th place was ruined by Maldonado and Williams who finally got their first point as Nico finished 11th.


Force India
Race: Sutil
Season: di Resta 7 vs Sutil 3
Oh dear Force India. Double retirement and no pace. Will this let McLaren back into 5th? Sutil qualified higher.


Williams
Race: Maldonado 
Season: Maldonado 6 vs Bottas 4
Great effort from Maldonado, was 7th after the safety car period but it overall messed up his strategy, meaning his chance from Williams first point this season was lost.


Toro Rosso
Race: Vergne
Season: Vergne 5 vs Ricciardo 5
Vergne picks up the point as despite Ricciardo getting a third Q3 appearance in a row impressively, he finished behind Vergne who qualifyied 14th and is still behind Vergne on points. Food for thought, but Ricciardo is definitely putting up his fight despite talk of Raikkonen getting the seat.

Caterham
Race: van der Garde
Season: Pic 7 vs van der Garde 3
van der Garde finished ahead

Marussia
Race: Chilton
Season: Bianchi 8 vs Chilton 1
Improvement from Chilton, closer to Bianchi but still not enough. Marussia are back to being behind Caterham. Will their P13 in China be enough to secure them P10 in the constructors?

Nick, F1 Hub

Twitter - @F1HubTweety

Let us know what you think of the teammate battles!
Off for the summer break now, next stop Belgium!

F1Hub Teammate Battle Tracker: Germany

The teammate battles at round 9 in Germany... 

Red Bull
Race: Vettel
Overall: Vettel 8 vs Webber 1
Vettel has now ticked off both Canada and Germany in his list of countries won in, leaving not many he hasn't. Seriously where hasn't he now, Hungary, Brazil & the US are the only three I can think of! Vettel took the lead from the first corner and was challenged but held his own to take his home win. Webber was nevertheless unlucky not to challenge him due to his tyre stop. Bad luck back with Webber and not Vettel!

Ferrari
Race: Alonso
Season: Alonso 7 vs Massa 2
Alonso gets the point just because of Massa spinning, again. Seriously it's almost identical every time, Monaco, Canada and now Germany - what is going on with Massa.


McLaren
Race: Button
Season: Button 5 vs Perez 4
Different strategies allowed Button to finish ahead and they both overtook each other once in a hard racing but fair manner into turn 1.


Lotus
Race: Raikkonen
Season: Raikkonen 7 vs Grosjean 2
A great drive from both Lotus, was very tempted to give Grosjean the point as if not for the safety car, he had a real chance of winning even. But considering the decision to bring Kimi in, had he stayed out I really saw his tyres lasting enough to take the win.


Mercedes
Race: Hamilton
Season: Rosberg 3 vs Hamilton 6
Mercedes not keeping the pace apart from another pole from Hamilton. Hamilton finished 5th whilst Rosberg went all the back to 9th, a poor showing from him at his home race.

Sauber
Race: Hulkenberg
Season: Hulkenberg 8 vs Gutierrez 1
Hulkenberg got YET another 10th place for Sauber with Gutierrez still on 0 for the season.


Force India
Race: di Resta
Season: di Resta 7 vs Sutil 2
The new tyres made Force India look like a low midfield team again in Germany after what has been their best season to date so far. di Resta finished ahead on track again after another dodgy qualifying. 


Williams
Race: Maldonado 
Season: Maldonado 5 vs Bottas 4
Great effort from Maldonado, was 7th after the safety car period but it overall messed up his strategy, meaning his chance from Williams first point this season was lost.


Toro Rosso
Race: Ricciardo 
Season: Vergne 4 vs Ricciardo 5
Ricciardo followed up his Silverstone display with another great qualifying and despite not being able to pick up points still outperformed Vergne. 

Caterham
Race: Pic
Season: Pic 7 vs van der Garde 2
Pic finished ahead.

Marussia
Race: Chilton
Season: Bianchi 8 vs Chilton 1
Chilton gets his first point of the season for not letting his Marussia drive itself across the track backwards.


Nick, F1 Hub

Twitter - @F1HubTweety

Let us know what you think of the teammate battles!
On to an always unpredictable race in Hungary next for the last race before the summer break.

10 Things We Learnt From: Great Britain

Tyre Failures In A Grand Prix Is A Big Failure.
Massa, Vergne, Perez, and more importantly Hamilton all received puncture blowouts which shocked many, mixed up the race, and probably made many drivers feel a bit uneasy sitting where they were driving at up to 180mph! I believe Pirelli have done a good job with the racing side of things in general, but blowouts both from a safety point of a view and robbing drivers of good finishes is unacceptable. Immediate action is being taken!


Vettel Gets Some Bad Luck Afterall
Just when you think Webber gets all the unreliability and Vettel gets every bit of luck to his rivals, he breaks down from the lead just like in Round 8 in Valencia last year. A curse?!


Silverstone Is Amazing
What a race - Silverstone produced a corker and besides drivers enjoying almost every corner, nearly every corner is an overtaking spot which is unbelievable. Together with the weather, and the drama of the tyre blowouts, will be hard to beat as one of the best races of the year.


Webber Loves Silverstone But Is Retiring
Another awful start for Webber dropping down to something like P13 I think after the first corner, but ending up less than a second behind Rosberg over the line... Lets hope now he has announced he's hanging up his helmet in F1 he will relax and string some great races together.


Silverstone Can Be Sunny
After last year's washout before raceday, apart from FP1, Silverstone was a scorcher for Britain - well done fans for going back.


Hamilton Still Does Brilliant Come Back Drives
After losing his tyre from first place and dropping to the back of the pack, a points finish would have been a good drive, but to finish fourth and still be challenging for third was a massive drive, and he and the British crowd will be gutted he didn't win at Silverstone again after his 2008 triumph. 


Mercedes On Top
Perhaps Mercedes tyregate test is proving its worth in terms of performance for them now, with Rosberg taking his 2nd victory in 3 races, although he would have come 2nd to teammate Hamilton had it not been for his unlucky blowout. Might not be long before a Mercedes 1-2?


Lightning Massa
Hells bells what a start from Massa - unfortunately for him it's about the only good thing that happens to him at the moment as he was one of the tyre victims.


Ricciardo Showing His Potential
After the announcement of Webber leaving Red Bull and Formula 1, Ricciardo picked up the pace and qualified in the top 10 and finished a very respectable eighth place. Lets see if either he or Vergne can grab the opportunity as finally a 2nd junior Red Bull driver may graduate to the senior time.


The Championship Is Closer
... and the British crowd seem to like that. Vettel is a driver everyone has a different opinion on, but love him or hate him, it's good to see the championship standings closer together again with Alonso and Raikkonen scoring good points. 



Follow us on twitter, or comment on the blog below to join in the discussion!

Twitter - @F1HubTweety

Nick, F1 Hub

F1Hub Teammate Battle Tracker: Great Britain

The teammate battles at round 8 in Great Britain... 

Red Bull
Race: Vettel
Overall: Vettel 7 vs Webber 1
Like Monaco this is a happy hunting ground for ol' Webbo and Vettel beat him on Saturday and would have on Sunday if not for losing his gears. Webber had an appauling start but finished less than 1 second behind Rosberg to create an exciting finish to the race, including a great overtake of Raikkonen into Copse corner which was where I was sitting!

Ferrari
Race: Massa
Season: Alonso 6 vs Massa 2
Massa had yet another incredible start from 11th to 5th in what is quite a short run to the first sweeping corner and was on course for a good race until his tyre blowout. Whilst Alonso was on the podium, I really think Massa would have outperformed Fernando in Britain. 


McLaren
Race: Button
Season: Button 4 vs Perez 4
A close race but Button did well in front of his homies.


Lotus
Race: Raikkonen
Season: Raikkonen 6 vs Grosjean 2
Not a great race for either but Raikkonen squeezed out a 4th after being passed by Webber and Alonso in the last stint - unfortunately Grosjean had a run in with Webber at the start, which was yes, probably his fault!


Mercedes
Race: Hamilton
Season: Rosberg 3 vs Hamilton 5
A massive drive from Hamilton all weekend to get pole and to be on course for winning before his tyre blowout, pulling away from Vettel and Rosberg, followed by a determined drive to 4th from last place.

Sauber
Race: Hulkenberg
Season: Hulkenberg 7 vs Gutierrez 1
Hulkenberg got another 10th place for Sauber with Gutierrez still on 0 for the season.


Force India
Race: di Resta
Season: di Resta 6 vs Sutil 2
Paul takes it purely for his qualifying performance taking 5th place, desperately unlucky to be disqualified but rules are rules Force India I guess. A good recovery too nevertheless - a podium finish for him can't be too far away surely?


Williams
Race: Maldonado 
Season: Maldonado 4 vs Bottas 4
Maldonado finished in front of the very close together Williams cars, never too far apart.


Toro Rosso
Race: Ricciardo 
Season: Vergne 4 vs Ricciardo 4
Ricciardo chose the best time to beat his teammate in style all weekend, with a great qualifying and equally impressive race to finish 8th. Seeing what the two of them can do in a bid to replace Webber will definitely make this a teammate battle to watch!


Caterham
Race: Pic
Season: Pic 6 vs van der Garde 2
Pic finished way ahead.

Marussia
Race: Bianchi
Season: Bianchi 8 vs Chilton 0
As did Bianchi.


Nick, F1 Hub

Twitter - @F1HubTweety

Let us know what you think of the teammate battles!
On to Vettel's home ground in Germany where he is yet to win still.

F1Hub Teammate Battle Tracker: Canada

The teammate battles at round 7 in Montreal... 

Red Bull
Race: Vettel
Overall: Vettel 6 vs Webber 1
Sebastian finally added Canada to his list of countries won in after it had eluded him for so many years with an admittedly flawless performance. 

Ferrari
Race: Alonso
Season: Alonso 6 vs Massa 1
A great drive from Alonso to beat Hamilton to 2nd, using his tyres, KERS and DRS to perfection throughout. Another miserable weekend for Felipe after sticking it in the barriers again.


McLaren
Race: Perez
Season: Button 3 vs Perez 4
Shocking race for McLaren in a race which they have won for the past 3 years with Hamilton and Button. Button really struggled in the race though in particular.


Lotus
Race: Raikkonen
Season: Raikkonen 5 vs Grosjean 2
Low key race for the black and gold cars, with the brakes not working for Kimi which is what you need around Montreal.


Mercedes
Race: Rosberg
Season: Rosberg 3 vs Hamilton 4
Good performance from Hamilton at a circuit he has won at in 2007, 2010 & 2012, a well deserved podium whilst Rosberg struggled blaming the car...

Sauber
Race: Hulkenberg
Season: Hulkenberg 6 vs Gutierrez 1
Another quiet afternoon for the Sauber boys, Hulkenberg must be asking what he was thinking of moving from Force India, scoring double points.


Force India
Race: Sutil
Season: di Resta 5 vs Sutil 2
Fab drive from Paul from 17th to 7th on a 1 stop, 57 laps on the medium tyre NOBODY expected - must have actually been quite relaxing to drive his race really! Sutil had a silly spin trying to overtake Bottas, didn't work out so well but recovered well himself to score points.


Williams
Race: Bottas
Season: Maldonado 3 vs Bottas 4
A superb performance in the wet on Saturday meant Bottas started P3, and whilst he didn't even hang on to score a point, there is no question where the points go this week.


Toro Rosso
Race: Vergne
Season: Vergne 4 vs Ricciardo 3
Perhaps the biggest contrast in teammates, Vergne having the best weekend of his F1 career so far, finishing in an incredible 6th. Vergne becoming the superior junior Red Bull driver?


Caterham
Race: Pic
Season: Pic 5 vs van der Garde 2
Pic gets the point because van der Garde was so poor. Crikey.

Marussia
Race: Bianchi
Season: Bianchi 7 vs Chilton 0
Standard good effort Bianchi, can the British Grand Prix bring anything out of Max?


Nick, F1 Hub


Let us know what you think of the teammate battles!
Back to Europe next, the Great British Grand Prix, woo!

F1Hub Teammate Battle Tracker: Monaco

The teammate battles at round 6 in Monaco... 

Red Bull
Race: Vettel
Overall: Vettel 5 vs Webber 1
Monaco is one of Webber haven's, so far Vettel to have almost got a front row ahead of Mercedes and to have not have been challenged by Webber in the race gives Vettel the edge today, another runaway season for Vettel from the Aussie?

Ferrari
Race: Alonso
Season: Alonso 5 vs Massa 1
Massa had a shocker of a weekend, whether his crashes was his fault or not is still to be resolved. Alonso didn't have much better, poor qualifying and for once dropping back during the race rather than gaining position like he does everywhere else! Alonso pips it but neither really deserves!


McLaren
Race: Perez
Season: Button 3 vs Perez 3
Perez provided the most action from any driver in what was an extremely dull race, everyone is going to have different opinions on his brilliant and disastrous overtakes, but deserves the point to level with Button 3 all!


Lotus
Race: Raikkonen
Season: Raikkonen 4 vs Grosjean 2
Grosjean had some speed, but a ridiculous amount of crashes automatically hands it to Kimi.


Mercedes
Race: Rosberg
Season: Rosberg 3 vs Hamilton 3
Rosberg after a terrible start controlled the race well and deserved his first race win of the season, Hamilton was unlucky to finish behind the Red Bull's but perhaps would have taken 1st into turn 1 if it wasn't Rosberg next to him!

Sauber
Race: Hulkenberg
Season: Hulkenberg 5 vs Gutierrez 1
Hulkenberg so close to getting a point but frustrated after Raikkonen's last minute charge! Gutierrez nowhere.


Force India
Race: Sutil
Season: di Resta 4 vs Sutil 2
Sutil was one of the stars of the show, making some daring overtakes into the hairpin without consequences, a great performance. 


Williams
Race: Maldonado
Season: Maldonado 3 vs Bottas 3
Great effort from Maldonado on the track he excels at, almost making into Q3 in a duff Williams, but had an incredible crash bringing out the red flag. A great effort nevertheless, i'm sure they'll get a point before the end of the European season.


Toro Rosso
Race: Vergne
Season: Vergne 3 vs Ricciardo 3
Vergne was mixing it far above Ricciardo just like last year.


Caterham
Race: van der Garde
Season: Pic 4 vs van der Garde 2
Great performance from Giedo to make it into Q2.

Marussia
Race: Bianchi
Season: Bianchi 6 vs Chilton 0
Best result of P14 for Max but still is behind Jules although by not as much now.


Nick, F1 Hub


Let us know what you think of the teammate battles!
Next race over to Montreal in Canada for the race of unknowns...