Half-Term Reports

[BSchneiderFan]

Well, Martin Brundle offered his at Silverstone, so I thought I'd have a go.

Michael Schumacher A muted year from the reigning champion, but the 2005 Ferrari on its Bridgestones seems to have little pace. He still seems to be trying hard, and Imola and Monaco were feisty drives. Never count him out. 8/10
Rubens Barrichello Also struggling with Ferrari's slump in form, but coping less well. There's a sense that he's no longer as happy at Ferrari as he was, and Rubens is a driver who needs coddling. Unless there are big results in the second half of the year, it's hard to see him seeing out his contract at Maranello. 5.5/10

Jenson Button After the peaks of 2004, this season has been one big trough. Occasionally looks bemused by the car's lack of pace, but is still plugging away. He can't be encouraged by Williams' performance either... Still, showing real class in adversity. 7.5/10
Takuma Sato Not really showing the flair he occasionally demonstrated in 2004, but, like his team-mate, struggling with a deeply recalcitrant car. Doing as well as could be expected, but not dazzling. 6/10

Fernando Alonso A strong contender for the driver of 2005. Blessed with a quick and reliable car, but making the most of it. Awesomely consistent (which, paradoxically, his rare slip in Canada only served to highlight), and now has at least one hand on the title. 9/10
Giancarlo Fisichella It all started so well. A dominant (if fortunate) victory in Melbourne seemed to suggest that Fisi had at last found an outlet for the talent many suspected he had. But it's all fallen apart since then. Reliability has played its part, but all too often he's simply looked scrappy. 6.5/10

Mark Webber This was going to be the season when he really stepped up to the, ahem, mark. But Williams-BMW has not been the combination it used to be, and Webber's desperation to succeed has occasionally shone through in the form of silly mistakes. Full marks for effort, but... 7/10
Nick Heidfeld The quiet man of Formula 1, cruelly dropped by long-term backers Mercedes-Benz when he was believed to be surplus to requirements. Is there some regret in Stuttgart now? The late news of a Williams drive was his life-line and he's grabbed it with both hands. Quick, neat, unobtrusive and an engineer's joy, by all accounts. Gaining the upper hand over Mark Webber has been no mean feat, but Heidfeld is the form driver at Williams. 8.5/10

Kimi Raikkonen Quick, quick, quick. Driving out of his skin in 2005, in a car which has speed but lacks the metronomic reliability of Alonso's Renault. The title is a long-shot but still possible. 9.5/10
Juan-Pablo Montoya The off-season was promising. McLaren was full of praise for JPM's work ethic and the way he'd upped his fitness levels. But it's been a scrappy half-season, and missing races because of a "tennis" injury was a silly mistake he can ill afford. Now, inevitably, riding shotgun to Raikkonen's championship challenge. Silverstone demonstrated how different it could have been. 7/10

Jacques Villeneuve Why did he bother? Some improvements have been discernable in the past few races, but the driver of 1996/97/98 is hardly visible now. Semi-public feuding with his team might owe something to media hype but demonstrates an ego which is no longer backed by results. He should be burying Massa and making us marvel at what he can make the Sauber do - but he isn't. 5/10
Felipe Massa A calmer man than the one who first arrived at Sauber - but too calm? This isn't the Hinwil team's greatest car or year, sure, but Massa has been a little anonymous. That he's holding his own against a former world champion says as much about Villeneuve's poor performance as it does about Massa's quality. Needs to up his game if he is to continue to be mentioned as one of the stars of the future. 6.5/10

David Coulthard A solid and rewarding season after his enforced departure from McLaren. DC looks happier and more relaxed than he has for years, and his new bosses are obviously happy with him. Another year at Red Bull in 2006, this time with Ferrari power - an Indian summer, perhaps? 8/10
Christian Klien A changed man from 2004, demonstrating how much his inexperience was telling at Jaguar. His pace has been hardly off that of his team-mate, and he has started to look genuinely quick. Still has a lot to prove if he is to keep the seat for 2006. 7.5/10
Vitantonio Liuzzi No-one really wants to admit it, but Liuzzi has disappointed. The man who carried all before him in F3000 was expected to burst onto the F1 scene and dazzle, but he has proved at best solid, at worst scrappy. Perhaps he needs more seat time; certainly there is a feeling that Red Bull has rushed him into a race seat. 6.5/10

Jarno Trulli His qualifying pace continues to flatter Toyota, and has put in some fine race drives to notch up three podium finishes. Doubts still linger over his ultimate racecraft, but he has been a service to Toyota so far. 8/10
Ralf Schumacher An anonymous season so far. Some solid drives, but nothing to mark him out from the midfield. Perhaps Trulli's speed has rattled him; perhaps the effects of Indianapolis '04 still linger. Needs to do more to convince. 6/10

Tiago Monteiro Put in an invidious position at a team which is barely ticking over in 2005, though his Indianapolis podium will have been a boost, even if it is hardly representative. A solid driver who is improving incrementally, and has a remarkable finishing record. 6.5/10
Narain Karthikeyan As enigmatic as always. Fantastic car control allows him to wring speed out of a fundamentally bad car, but he has proved a little erratic. Starting now to get his head together, but has he done enough to convince team bosses that he should stay in F1? 7/10

Patrick Friesacher A man who perhaps spent too long in F3000 for any good it may have done him. Pedalling a Minardi was never going to be particularly fulfilling, but he has kept his head above water. 6.5/10
Christijan Albers Is he wondering why he ever left the DTM? Occasional flashes of speed wrung out of the Minardi have been impressive, and he should get another chance. But will he? 7/10