F1 2020: Half-term driver rankings, part one

Formula 1

F1 2020: Half-term driver rankings, part one

Williams, Haas, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri and Ferrari

Sam Hall

Thursday 17 September 2020 07:44

The halfway point of a very different Formula 1 season is now upon us, with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes appearing to have one hand on retaining their titles.

But who have been the stars? GPFans has taken a look at the performance of all the drivers, and in old-school fashion, we have awarded them a grade.

We are starting here with the teams currently positioned 10 to six in the constructors' championship, with the top five following on Friday.

Williams

George Russell - C+

In qualifying, Russell is seemingly unbeatable, possessing a perfect record of 30-0 against his team-mates in Robert Kubica last year, and this season Nicholas Latifi, which speaks for itself. He has also admirably dragged the car into Q2 on a handful of occasions.

But it is Sunday's results that ultimately count, and he has regrettably yet to score a point, primarily due to the FW43 lacking race pace compared to over one lap.

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There have still been opportunities in the Styrian, Italian, Hungarian and Tuscan Grands Prix, but Russell, through poor luck or otherwise, is yet to register and sits second-last in the standings by virtue of his 11th place at Mugello.

Nicholas Latifi - C-

Entering his rookie campaign alongside the highly-rated Russell, Latifi was expected by many to be considerably out of his depth in F1, but this has not been the case.

Although yet to out-qualify Russell, Latifi has shown comparable pace on Sundays and has justly been rewarded with a 2021 seat. By virtue of two 11th-place finishes, the Canadian also sits one spot above his team-mate in the standings.

Haas

Romain Grosjean - D

Judging Grosjean's performances in 2020 was a far harder task than expected. On the one hand, the Frenchman has been a relatively solid pair of hands but, on the other, he has yet to score a point, while his best result a P12.

Haas has not developed or upgraded the car all season and nor does it intend to, and with a poor Ferrari power unit, Grosjean is currently fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

Kevin Magnussen - D

Magnussen has at least scored the team's only point of the season so far, but sadly, he also has five retirements to his name in 2020, with only one of those where he was partially to blame as he was involved in the restart chaos at Mugello.

In terms of qualifying, he has edged Grosjean five to four, although the latter has reached Q2 on three occasions compared to the Dane's two, so there is little to choose between them.

With a host of young drivers looking to make the step up to F1, though, and with Sergio Perez and Nico Hülkenberg looking for drives, he has chosen a poor time to have an off-season so far.

Alfa Romeo

Kimi Raikkonen - C+

It is difficult to find fault in Raikkonen's season. Only once has the Finn failed to finish a race, with his right-rear wheel failing at the season opener.

At the Styrian, Belgian and Tuscan Grands Prix, Raikkonen was the lead Ferrari-powered driver, although a post-race penalty at the latter led to him forfeiting that position. He at least still collected his first points of the season.

Antonio Giovinazzi - D

While others struggled, Giovinazzi bloomed at the season opener in Austria to finish ninth. Sadly, since then, he has failed to add to his tally and has gradually slipped further and further behind his veteran team-mate in terms of pace and positions.

Both drivers may only have a solitary points finish to their name, but it is Raikkonen who is extracting more from his car than the Italian and it would come as no surprise were Giovinazzi to be replaced by another Ferrari junior next year.

AlphaTauri

Pierre Gasly - B

Pierre Gasly, race winner. We certainly didn't expect to be writing that at the start of the season. His form has improved massively since being dropped from Red Bull and returning to his former team last summer.

Although in one of the slower cars of the midfield, the Frenchman ended a 24-year wait for a French grand prix winner with his triumph in Italy, while he has regularly threatened those with better machinery in qualifying.

Daniil Kvyat - C-

All too often, Kvyat seems to be the driver that was simply in the race. Almost never spectacular, he is the definition of a safe and steady pair of hands.

But with drivers such as the Honda and Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda coming through the ranks, his time could be nearing an end...again.

It's not that Kvyat does anything wrong, quite the opposite in fact, but even removing Gasly's 25 points for his Monza victory, he would still be trailing his team-mate by eight points.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc - B

The Ferrari SF1000 is not a good car, mainly due to its inadequate power unit.

Focusing on the driver, however, Leclerc has somehow been able to drag his car on to the podium twice and is still involved in the battle for fourth in the championship.

This battle, it must be said, does involve the drivers currently sitting fourth through 11th, but Leclerc is there, which is no mean achievement.

Sebastian Vettel - E

Were Vettel not a four-time champion, there is not a world in which he would have been considered for the Aston Martin drive next season.

The German always says the right thing, never allows his emotions to overtake his brain in media sessions, and although the car has clearly been designed to play to the strengths of Leclerc, he has appeared to lack motivation all season since it was announced before it started he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of this year.

Racing Point/Aston Martin is gambling on the fact that form is temporary in signing Vettel for 2021.

Before you go...

"I would rather retire first than take sabbatical" - Perez

Hamilton not a hypocrite for promoting Extreme E