The Half-Term Reports

[Led ZeppF1]

Planet-F1 made an interesting the half-term reports of the 2004 drivers

Fernando Alonso ----Grade: B-
Best Qualifying Position: 3rd; Best Result: 3rd; Points: 25

Rubens Barrichello ---- Grade: B-
Best Qualifying Position: 1st; Best Result: 2nd; Points: 62
Grade: B-

Zsolt Baumgartner ----: Grade B+
Best Qualifying Position: 17th; Best Result: 8th; Points: 1

Gianmaria Bruni ---- Grade: C
Best Qualifying Position: 16th; Best Result: 14th; Points: 0

Jenson Button ---- Grade: A
Best Qualifying Position: 1st; Best Result: 2nd; Points: 44

David Coulthard ---- Grade: B-
Best Qualifying Position: 8th; Best Result: 6th; Points: 9

Giancarlo Fisichella ---- Grade: B
Best Qualifying Position: 10th; Best Result: 4th; Points: 10

Christian Klien ---- Grade: C-
Best Qualifying Position: 10th; Best Result: 9th; Points: 0

Nick Heidfeld ---- Grade: B+
Best Qualifying Position: 13th; Best Result: 7th; Points: 3

Felipe Massa ---- Grade: B
Best Qualifying Position: 11th; Best Result: 5th; Points: 5

Part Two will appear next week (read: this week).

http://www.planetf1.com/features/edi...ry_16227.shtml

[Led ZeppF1]

And, this is Guardian's Maurice Hamilton's views.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/formulao...248195,00.html

[Logrence]

I don't agree with Felipe Massa's B - maybe a C+...

[boba259]

I disagree with Dolt Bumbangers B+ ... He is consistently slower than his teammate, his only good point is that he has managed to stay out of everyone's way ... which is certainly an accomplishment several others are not able to achieve.

Maybe a C+ because he has not caused a wreck and he's slow, not a B+, I have no idea where that could have came from.

Alsonso ... I would probably move into the C+ range ... He is a huge disappointment this year. Maybe he got a B- based on *the car's* starts.

Hedfeld's B+ could almost be moved to an A- or an A ... if there is anyone who is making the best out of a bad situation it is Nick. He is much faster than his teammate, almost making the Jordan seem competitive with the mid-packers, like Bruni at times.

Speaking of Bruni ... C is better that I would be willing to give ... he is certainly slower than his teammate and he gets in other people's way quite often ... he is the biggest hazard on the track, unless you consider Sato's engine (funny its rarely Button, but that's another story).
Bruni ... at best a C-, maybe a D+.

[Kicking-back]

It's always very difficult to give ratings like this, every one sees the same races but we all draw different opinions from them.

[boba259]

CORRECTION from my post ...

Replace Bruni with KLEIN!! Don't know why I always mix those 2 names up ... too early in the morning for me!

[spider]

What rating would people give Sato...?

[Kicking-back]

A-

[spider]

That's a fair mark I'd say. Entertainment value A*

[Gt_R]

Ferrari = A+
- Winning 8 out of 9 races, superb reliability + amazing pace. Ferrari is as close to perfect as modern F1 team can be...the whole Ferrari is sleek and love or hate them, they are one great team.

BAR-Honda = A
- Nobody expected BAR to leap so far ahead this season... Honda finally got their act together, BAR finds their reason for existence and their drivers proved critics wrong and the whole operation finally gels

Renault = A-
- Renault has proved that there's life after Mike and produced a very competitive machinery. Decision to revert to narrow V10 proved wise and not as distracting as predicted. Won beatifully in Monaco.

Sauber-Petronas = B
- Some say Sauber is the best example of "average", but there's no denying the Sauber team is one well managed and successful privateer team. Windtunnel rewards are being slowly milked, and the team put together a string of credible points scoring finishes which they should be proud of.

Williams-BMW = B-
- Start off the season with high expectations and a daring design. Marks midseason with 3DQ and one high speed accident in just a fortnight...the pace of the car isn't that bad.. but it's hard to imagine a team like Williams in a state worse than now.

Toyota = C
- Starts season with a crash back to reality..the car is rubbish. Mike is hired to set things right and slowly, the team is finding it's footing again. F1 is a hard man's game...big bucks and screw ups don't go well together. Toyota has to get up there...and fast. Panis's 5th in Indy..a sign of things to come?

Jaguar-Cosworth = D+
- Once again, the team is nothing but being in F1 to make up the numbers...happily dragging the Jaguar name through the mud in the process. Webber looks set to be gone, it's hard to show your worth when the car doesn't bother to complete races. The whole Jag team needs more than encouragement to be treated seriously.

Minardi-Ford - D+
- Always taking up the final row of the grid makes you wonder where the Minardi get their enjoyment and satisfaction from. But all can be forgiven when one takes a look at their expenses, and to be able to drag the car to finishes when teams like Mclaren, Jaguar and Williams cock up IS satisfaction

Jordan-Ford - D
- Jordan looks a shadow of his former self..all frowns and growls..and his team looks like a reflection, nothing to cheer about. Nick proved handy, but otherwise, the whole operation looks lost.

Mclaren-Mercedes - E
-Would have gotten an outright F, but the last couple of race perhaps indicate that the team is finally finding it's foot again. Of course, it's still performing better than the likes of Minardi and Jordan..but given the budget, their performance is nothing short of shameful.

Well..that's my half-term report of the teams

[Logrence]

Seems fair enough, but I'd put Jaguar and Toyota nearer to the McLaren level!

[N I Tram]

I'd rate Jaguar below Jordan and Minardi - they've got the best specification engine, theroetically the best driver line-up (certianly, potential to ahve had the best) and lots of experts on the team, but they're still little faster than thsoe 2 teams, and their relibaility is awful.

[Led ZeppF1]

And, here is Planet-F1's the half-term reports part two:

Cristiano Da Matta ---- Grade: C
Best Qualifying Position: 9th; Best Result: 6th; Points: 3

Olivier Panis ---- Grade: C
Best Qualifying Position: 7th; Best Result: 5th; Points: 5

Juan Pablo Montoya ---- Grade: B+
Best Qualifying Position: 2nd; Best Result: 2nd; Points: 24

Ralf Schumacher ---- Grade: C-
Best Qualifying Position: 1st; Best Result: 4th; Points: 12

Giorgio Pantano ---- Grade: C-
Best Qualifying Position: 15th; Best Result: 13th; Points: 0

Takuma Sato ---- Grade : C
Best Qualifying Position: 2; Best Result: 3; Points: 14

Kimi Raikkonen ---- Grade: B+
Best Qualifying Position: 4th; Best Result: 5th; Points: 8

Michael Schumacher ---- Grade: A
Best Qualifying Position: 1st; Best Result: 1st; Points: 80

Jarno Trulli ---- Grade: A-
Best Qualifying Position: 1st; Best Result: 1st; Points: 41

Mark Webber ---- Grade: B
Best Qualifying Position: 2nd; Best Result: 7th; Points: 3

http://www.planetf1.com/features/edi...ry_16268.shtml

[Omega99]

Sato should have been rated a touch higher. He's aggressive, fun to watch, and is starting to find his grove... I think.

[climb]

Sorry, but thius kinda of measuring scale is not familiar to me: is B- better or worse than B+?

[BlueBlood]

generally scale would go up, b-, b, b+.
Therefore b+ is better than b, and b is better than b-

[Kicking-back]

Very harsh on Sato, I feel.

[Raven]

Most of the grades from Planet F1 seem fair enough. Personally I'd bump Massa down to a C though. Zsolt has done a decent job to ensure he is still running at the end of a race, but that's not really deserving of a B+ in my book. More often than not he is the slowest on track.

[BIGMOUTH]

My list of driver grades:

M Schumacher - 9/10
R Barrichello - 6/10

J Montoya - 8/10
R Schumacher - 6/10

K Raikkonen - 8/10
D Coulthard - 8/10

F Alonso - 7/10
J Trulli - 8/10

J Button - 7/10
T Sato - 5/10

G Fisichella - 8/10
F Massa - 5/10

M Webber - 6/10
C Klien - 7/10

O Panis - 7/10
C da Matta - 5/10

N Heidfeld - 8/10
G Pantano - 4/10
T Glock - 7/10

Z Baumgartner - 3/10
G Bruni - 2/10