First of all, I would recommend reading my half-term report on all of the drivers. Part two of the driver ratings will be coming tomorrow, but for now, here is the F1 2014 Driver Ratings: Part One.
Some incredible characters rocketed to fame in this Formula One season, whilst big names struggled to fend off their team mates. Those who performed well this year will be hoping to continue that form into 2015, whilst others will be looking to perform far better next year. Some drivers will not be on the grid in 2015, whilst we are still unsure about one or two names. Here is who outdrove their machinery and who simply failed to deliver in 2014.
Remember that this article and the one following it is nothing more than my own personal opinion. I would like to hear your views in the comments below!
Toro Rosso-Renault
Impressive qualifying speed from Toro Rosso rarely amounted to much in the races, as they seemed to struggle to keep up with the upper midfield, or the car gave up. However, they still managed to beat established teams like Lotus and Sauber by a considerable margin.
No. 25 Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA)
Vergne, who was driving for his career in the second half of the season, impressed many with his excellent race day skills. Whilst it looked as though his qualifying had improved early on, it tailed off towards the end of the season. Nonetheless, Vergne scored a large chunk of Toro Rosso’s points this year, eight of them at Singapore, but his Formula One career looks to be over. He is now primarily looking at IndyCar teams, somewhere I feel that he can be massively successful.
Rating: 6.5/10
No. 26 Daniil Kvyat (RUS)
Youngster Kvyat burst onto the Formula One scene by stealing Sebastian Vettel’s youngest point scorer record. Whilst the young Russian’s qualifying has been massively impressive—notably a fifth place at his home Grand Prix in Russia—he has struggled in the races against his more experienced team mate. A move to Red Bull to replace Vettel will put a lot of weight on his shoulders for next year. Kvyat is my rookie of the year.
Rating: 5.5/10
Lotus-Renault
From taking wins and podiums in 2012 and 2013, Lotus have fallen dramatically to the tail-end of the field, netting a measly ten points. Their twenty-season association with Renault has come to an end, which has netted six World Championships. A switch to Mercedes should revitalise the team.
No. 8 Romain Grosjean (FRA)
Grosjean’s hugely frustrating season highlighted just how good he is at times. With some scarcely believable performances earlier in the year by putting his Lotus in the top ten when it really should not belong there, he has also had a lot of bad luck and a few off days, especially in the second half of the season. With Mercedes power next year, I expect Grosjean to be delivering the points when it matters most.
Rating: 6/10
No. 13 Pastor Maldonado (VEN)
Maldonado’s first half of the season was shocking, there’s no nice way to put it. Whilst Grosjean was hitting the top ten, Maldonado was hitting the wall. However, in the second half of the season, he has matched Grosjean on a number of occasions and even beat the highly-rated Frenchman, hasn’t crashed since the Belgian Grand Prix, and even scored points at the United States—a big improvement.
Rating: 4/10
Marussia-Ferrari
From the highs of scoring points and mixing with Saubers and Lotuses to the lows of Suzuka and going into administration, it has been one massive rollercoaster this year for Marussia, who may not even make the grid next season.
No. 4 Max Chilton (GBR)
Max Chilton’s second Formula One season ended abruptly after the Russian Grand Prix, ironically where he suffered his first retirement due to a mechanical problem. His qualifying improvements seemed to dwindle a bit towards the end of the year and he crashed out of the Italian and Canadian Grand Prix, the latter taking his team mate with him. Even should Marussia be revived, I believe Chilton’s time in Formula One is up. I have to give the Briton credit for racing at all in Russia however, given the circumstances.
Rating: 3/10
No. 17 Jules Bianchi (FRA)
Bianchi’s dreadful start to the season was swiftly overturned with that magical drive at Monaco to take his and Marussia’s first and possibly only points. From then on, he simply destroyed Chilton and was able to hold off the Caterhams on a number of occasions when they caught up in the development race. His accident at Suzuka is something which nobody wishes to see, and we all hope to see Jules make a recovery as soon as possible. It would be great to see him race a Formula One car again someday.
Rating: 5/10
Sauber-Ferrari
By far Sauber’s worst ever season in their long Formula One history as they failed to even score a point. In a car that was clearly difficult to drive, their two drivers failed to utilise what they had on a number of occasions and they slipped to a dismal tenth in the standings. Both drivers have been axed (and rightly so I feel) for next year and the team will be running a line-up with just sixteen Grand Prix starts to their names.
No. 21 Esteban Gutiérrez (MEX)
Gutiérrez has shown very little improvement through his Formula One career. He managed to match his team mate in qualifying and was often not too far away in the races, but he was behind on as many occasions than not. He also got himself involved in a number of unnecessary accidents. He looks to remain in Formula One as a test driver with a top team, possibly with Ferrari.
Rating: 3.5/10
No. 99 Adrian Sutil (GER)
Sutil was unhappy with how Sauber has treated him this year as he claims to have a valid contract for next year. However, the results on track have certainly not been as expected, as Sutil has only barely beaten his team mate who is not rated all that highly. With basically no seats available anywhere, I see this being the end of Sutil’s Formula One career. One high point this year however was reaching Q3 at Austin before being clouted by Sergio Perez.
Rating: 3.5/10
Caterham-Renault
Like Marussia, Caterham ended up in administration. After a crowdfunding effort to get to Abu Dhabi worked, the team was able to make it to the season finale, but ended the year pointless yet again.
No. 9 Marcus Ericsson (SWE)
Ericsson had a very tough start, with a number of crashes and generally poor performances. He did achieve a high of 11th at Monaco and he did begin to impress from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, mixing it more with the Marussias and even being the top of the ‘new’ teams on a few occasions; notably in the rain at Suzuka, despite an early spin. He severed ties with Caterham prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he will be driving for Sauber next year.
Rating: 3/10
No. 10 Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)
A strong-ish start to the year for the popular Japanese driver was turned on its head as he struggled from the Belgian Grand Prix, where he was left without a drive. From then on, every weekend seemed to be a disaster for Kobayashi, and there were rumours that he was not always getting the equipment that his team mate was getting. Roberto Merhi taking over his car a couple of times didn’t help. I feel that it will be the last that we see of Kobayashi this time round. He came back for Abu Dhabi, but I fear that was his last Grand Prix.
Rating: 4.5/10
No. 45 André Lotterer (GER)
Le Mans winner Lotterer drove a Caterham in a one-off drive at Spa. He outqualified his team mate Ericsson by a second and completed one lap before the car broke.
Rating: N/A
No. 46 Will Stevens (GBR)
Stevens was announced as a last-minute driver for Caterham at Abu Dhabi following their successful crowdfunding attempt. He didn’t drive too badly, given the circumstances. He was however considerably off the pace of Kobayashi.
Rating: N/A
So here ends part one of my driver ratings. Be sure to check out part two.
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