Massa: Hamilton “not learning” and “can’t use his mind”

A furious Felipe Massa has struck out at Lewis Hamilton for their collision in today’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Lewis hit the back of Felipe’s car during Turn 7, leaving Hamilton with a broken wing and drive-through penalty, and Massa with a puncture.

Massa was livid, particularly after them nearly colliding in qualifying:

"My thoughts is that again, I told you yesterday, he cannot use his mind. Even in 
qualifying, so you can imagine in the race."

And after having his race ruined by the McLaren driver, Felipe didn’t mince his words on their collision:

"I was on the straight and he touched me, not even when he was on my side. He 
touched me when he was behind me.

Then, when I got to the end of the braking, my tyre was already punctured. For 
sure it was a big, big problem for my race. And he paid for that as well, so 
what can I say?

How many races this year he did this? He went in the wrong direction and he paid 
and he never learned. The FIA is looking for sure for that, because he is doing 
that so many times.

I think he is not learning. I tried to speak to him after we wait, but he didn't 
listen to me. I called him two times, but he didn't listen to me, he [walked] past 
me. He didn't even look to me.

I called him to speak, but when I show him, I said, 'very good job, well done'. 
Like that you will win many championships!"

Regarding the last paragraph of that quote, when Felipe went to speak to Lewis in the driver’s pen, Hamilton responded “Don’t touch me again” after Felipe grabbed his arm.

While Martin Whitmarsh defended his driver’s actions, I feel that Lewis must calm down on the racetrack if he is ever to win another world championship. Countless crashes and mistakes in 2011 have possibly resulted in the worst year of Lewis’ F1 career.

Lewis has been racing at the highest level for 5 years now, and silly rookie mistakes should be well ironed out by now.

Damaged kerbs disrupt Singapore first practice

Kerbs are repaired, delaying first practice

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in a reduced first practice session in Singapore.

The session was suspended for half an hour at the beginning, as plastic sections of the kerbs were peeling away from the track. Once the track was repaired, the time limit was reduced to 60 minutes instead of the usual 90.

An extremely dusty track then slowed the cars down for much of the hour, before Lewis Hamilton set a 1:48.599 to take first place.

Mark Webber made contact with Timo Glock, the Red Bull failing to pass the Virgin at the final corner, and damaging the front wing. Mark pitted for repairs, while Timo was left with a puncture.

A bolt breaks off a kerb halfway through the session

At the halfway point of the session, Heikki Kovalainen had a spot of deja vu, as his Lotus caught fire for the second year in a row in Singapore, this time due to an overheating front left brake.

After a red flag to remove the Lotus car, the stewards were forced to stop the session again with 8 minutes to go, as a bolt broke off another kerb. A green flag allowed the cars to attempt one last run, but Lewis’ previous time was left unbeaten.

Sebastian Vettel was second, with teammate Webber a further second behind. Jenson Button split the Ferraris, who went 4th and 6th. Renault abandoned their bodywork and sidepod adjustments due to overheating problems, leaving Senna and Petrov 16th and 18th.

Narain Karthikeyan drove Vitantonio Liuzzi’s HRT for readjusting to the car before he drives at the Indian GP, and was just pipped by Daniel Ricciardo in the final few moments. Both HRTs were 10 seconds off the pace of Hamilton by the end of the session.

Times from FP1:

 1. Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1:48.599          10
 2. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1:49.005  0.406   15
 3. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1:50.066  1.467   16
 4. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1:50.596  1.997   11
 5. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1:50.952  2.353   12
 6. Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1:52.043  3.444   14
 7. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1:52.251  3.652   13
 8. Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1:52.416  3.817   12
 9. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1:52.435  3.836   13
10. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1:52.815  4.216   13
11. Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1:52.991  4.392   17
12. Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:53.050  4.451   17
13. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1:53.399  4.800   18
14. Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1:53.703  5.104   19
15. Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1:53.749  5.150   12
16. Bruno Senna            Renault              1:53.765  5.166   17
17. Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:53.785  5.186   16
18. Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1:54.736  6.137    8
19. Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1:54.821  6.222    9
20. Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1:56.198  7.599    8
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1:57.798  9.199   13
22. Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1:58.792  10.193   6
23. Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1:59.169  10.570  17
24. Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1:59.214  10.615  18

Vettel rivals concede 2011 title

All of Sebastian Vettel’s title rivals have all but given up hopes on challenging for the 2011 championship crown.

This comes after a crushing victory for the German, slicing past Fernando Alonso in the early stages and dominating the race from there.

Teammate Mark Webber, who has barely led a lap this year, never mind win a race, was the first to concede the title:

"I think we're all battling for second now. Seb needs to have a very, very 
incredibly disappointing finish to the season for anyone to take the 
championship off him at this point.

He's in a great position. He's done a great job. And clearly the car was good 
today, so it was a missed opportunity for me."

Fernando Alonso was next up, stating that the title was well out of reach:

"Sure, it would have been fantastic to do the double after 2010, but we must 
stay cool and concentrate and try to reach targets that are within our reach: 
today we did just that. It’s true the title has gone now, but there is still 
great motivation: we want to win races and try to defend the position I have 
just reached in the drivers’ championship."

Lewis Hamilton was more blunt with his statement, saying:  ”I doubt it’s still possible to beat Sebastian for the title, but we’ll keep pushing.”

Vettel has a 112-point lead over Fernando Alonso, and a 117-point lead over Button and Webber, with Hamilton a further 9 points adrift. There are 150 points up for grabs in the final 6 races of the season.

In order to win the championship at the next round in Singapore, Vettel must win the race, with Fernando Alonso 4th or lower.

Hamilton a second ahead in first practice

Hamilton was well ahead in FP1

Lewis Hamilton was miles ahead of the opposition in first practice for the Italian Grand Prix.

A 1:23.865 was enough to put Lewis 0.9 seconds ahead of teammate Jenson Button, who was a further 4 tenths ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Behind Mark Webber in 4th was Adrian Sutil, albeit 2.5 seconds away from the leading McLaren. Nico Hulkenberg took over the second Force India, taking 12th position.

Vitaly Petrov set the fastest speed in the traps (347 km/h) en route to 6th. The Ferraris were off the pace in 7th and 8th, with Sergio Perez and Jaime Alguersuari breaking into the top 10.

Bruno Senna and Nico Rosberg were well off the pace of their respective teammates in 16th and 18th. All Lotus, HRT and Virgin cars were outside of the 107% rule for this session.

Times from FP1:

 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1:23.865           18
 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1:24.786   0.921   19
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1:25.231   1.366   25
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1:25.459   1.594   24
 5.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1:26.550   2.685   23
 6.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1:26.625   2.760   20
 7.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1:26.647   2.782   20
 8.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1:26.676   2.811   24
 9.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1:26.694   2.829   28
10.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:26.696   2.831   15
11.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1:26.699   2.834   21
12.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1:26.826   2.961   21
13.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1:26.836   2.971   25
14.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1:26.996   3.131   29
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1:27.365   3.500   25
16.  Bruno Senna           Renault               1:27.385   3.520   23
17.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:27.433   3.568   25
18.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1:27.492   3.627   24
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1:29.539   5.674   10
20.  Karun Chandhok        Lotus-Renault         1:30.148   6.283   19
21.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1:30.609   6.744   27
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1:30.619   6.754   24
23.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1:31.052   7.187   12
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1:31.899   8.034   22

Hamilton accepts blame for Kobayashi collision

Lewis Hamilton turns into Kamui Kobayashi in Spa

Lewis Hamilton has made a U-turn on his previous statements, and now says that he accepts responsibility for colliding with Kamui Kobayashi.

Lewis moved to overtake Kamui in the early parts of the race, but moved back onto the racing line, where Kobayashi had already parked his car. The McLaren crashed out, while the Sauber struggled on to 12th place.

The McLaren comes off much worse in the collision

After initially claiming that Kobayashi was at fault:

"As far as I was concerned, I was ahead of whoever it was I was racing, and I got
hit by them, and that was my race over."

Lewis has now accepted that he was at fault. A brief statement from his Twitter feed reads:

"After watching the replay, I realise it was my fault today 100%. I didn’t give
Kobayashi enough room though I thought in was past. Apologies to Kamui and to 
my team. The team deserves better from me."

Kamui seemed surprised that Lewis had initially blamed him, saying:

"I know I cannot fight because he is much quicker than me. He overtook me. I 
don’t know if he was using the rear wing, I was just using the KERS. I think 
we have very low downforce, that’s why I catch up him. Just at the end of the 
straight I was staying left, and he was in the middle of the track.

He came back and we just made contact. If you see the replay later, I was 
following the white line always, I don’t change at all my line. So I don’t 
know what I need to do – maybe I have to go to the gravel for him? That’s 
stupid, you know. He had to stay in the middle, not come back [towards me].

Definitely I was not trying to overtake him, just staying on my line, doing 
my race. It’s a little bit difficult situation, because he’s fighting for 
the championship. I am doing a different race!

The stewards have stated that there will be no investigation into the collision.

5-place grid penalty for Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado has been handed a 5-place grid penalty for a deliberate collision with Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.

Lewis muscled past the Williams on track while battling for position for their last lap in Q2. Maldonado’s lap was heavily disrupted by the battle, and failed to progress to Q3. After the session ended, Pastor swerved into the side of Lewis’ car, damaging the McLaren’s front wing and sidepod.

Hamilton was able to participate in Q3 (with sticky tape on his sidepods, if anyone noticed!) after several minutes of repairs, and qualified second.

The stewards decided that Maldonado had acted dangerously, and the Venezuelan driver will now start from 21st place.

Lewis has received a reprimand for the incident. Here is how he described the incident:

"I was at the end of my Q2 lap and I got to the chicane as I was just finishing and
there were two Williams just sitting there going very, very slow – I think they were
probably preparing to start for another lap, but it was already red light [chequered
flag, end of Q2].

So I tried and get past, which I did. I lost quite a lot of time there but as I was
coming through the exit of turn one I saw Maldonado approaching quite quickly and he
came around me, I didn’t move anywhere, but [he] happened to swipe across me.

I don’t know whether it was intentional or not, but I guess we’ll see shortly.

The front wing was quite badly damaged, my side pod… I thought my front suspension
was damaged, I think the front towing is a little bit out, but fortunately the guys
did a great job to put it back together.

I just think once the flag is out and the red lights are on there’s no need to be
racing, there should never ever be an incident but unfortunately there was.”

I think it was quite serious and just unfortunate that neither of us, and particularly
him, flipped it or had a big, big crash, so I think we’re quite lucky there."

Here is a video of the incident:

And onboard footage from Hamilton:

Hamilton retains lead in Hungary second practice

Hamilton stayed on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton continued to lead proceedings in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The early parts of the session were spent on the soft (prime) tyre, before drivers moved onto the super-soft compound. It has been estimated that the option tyre is up to one second faster than the prime.

Hamilton’s time of 1:21.018 was nearly a quarter of a second faster than Alonso, who managed 40 laps in FP2.

Jenson Button was consistently on the pace, finishing 3rd. The Red Bulls of Webber and Vettel were half a second off the pace in 4th and 5th. Felipe Massa led the Mercedes and Force India cars to finish the top 10.

Jarno Trulli found huge benefits from his new steering system, lapping only a tenth off Sebastien Buemi. Daniel Ricciardo was 0.5 seconds quicker than Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Times from FP2:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1:21.018           29
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1:21.259  + 0.241  40
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1:21.322  + 0.304  34
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1:21.508  + 0.490  35
 5.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1:21.549  + 0.531  31
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1:22.099  + 1.081  40
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1:22.121  + 1.103  36
 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1:22.440  + 1.422  36
 9.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1:22.835  + 1.817  40
10.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1:22.981  + 1.963  37
11.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1:23.030  + 2.012  34
12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1:23.399  + 2.381  37
13.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1:23.679  + 2.661  34
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault               1:23.861  + 2.843  28
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1:24.181  + 3.163  39
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:24.182  + 3.164  26
17.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1:24.546  + 3.528  21
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:24.878  + 3.860  35
19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1:24.994  + 3.976  38
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1:25.447  + 4.429  39
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1:26.823  + 5.805  33
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1:27.261  + 6.243  28
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1:27.730  + 6.712  31
24.  Vitantonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1:28.255  + 7.237  25

Webber crashes out of Hungary FP1 while Hamilton leads

Onboard with Webber as he crashes into the barriers

Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The highlight of the session was Mark Webber crashing out, ending his session prematurely. He lost control of his Red Bull at Turn 9, and hit the barrier, taking the front end off the car.

The session began as damp and lacking grip, but dried out throughout the day. This led to several lock-ups and drivers running wide in the session.

Hamilton’s time of 1:23.350 was enough to take the top spot. He could have gone faster at the end, but was held up by Jaime Alguersuari. Sebastian Vettel was 2 tenths behind in 2nd. Fernando Alonso suffered a small fire on the car during the day, but still participated in the session to go 3rd.

Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov made it into the top 10. Bruno Senna drove Nick Heidfeld’s car for the session, and was 0.8 seconds slower than Petrov.

Daniel Ricciardo was in last place, 8 tenths off his teammate Liuzzi.

Times from Hungarian FP1:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1:23.350   	      19
 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1:23.564  + 0.214   24
 3.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1:23.642  + 0.292   29
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1:23.666  + 0.316   12
 5.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1:23.772  + 0.422   20
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1:24.115  + 0.765   25
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1:24.250  + 0.900   22
 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1:24.369  + 1.019   20
 9.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1:24.620  + 1.270   24
10.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1:25.093  + 1.743   22
11.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1:25.113  + 1.763   21
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1:25.336  + 1.986   22
13.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1:25.357  + 2.007   17
14.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1:25.836  + 2.486   24
15.  Bruno Senna           Renault               1:25.855  + 2.505   25
16.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:25.890  + 2.540   28
17.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1:26.099  + 2.749   36
18.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1:26.124  + 2.774   25
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1:26.878  + 3.528   26
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1:27.352  + 4.002   21
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1:28.533  + 5.183   30
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1:28.903  + 5.553   22
23.  Vitantonio Liuzzi     HRT-Cosworth          1:29.059  + 5.709   24
24.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1:29.904  + 6.554   26

Hamilton takes superb victory in Germany

Lewis Hamilton took one of his greatest wins in the German Grand Prix today. Lewis drove his heart out all race long to beat Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber to the top step of the podium. Sebastian Vettel had a dire race, struggling to 4th on the final lap. Adrian Sutil silently took an excellent 6th, while Kamui Kobayashi made a brilliant comeback from 18th. Here is what happened:

Webber continued his streak of bad starts, allowing Hamilton to leap into the lead at the first corner. Fernando Alonso pushed Vettel aside to move into 3rd.

Hamilton takes the lead while the Red Bulls fall back

Nick Heidfeld and Paul di Resta came together, sending both cars to the back of the grid. They remained ahead of Karun Chandhok, who pitted for a new nosecone after a few laps.

Slipping wide at Turn 3 cost Alonso 3rd place to Vettel. The other Ferrari, back in 6th, was stuck behind Nico Rosberg, and was being urged to pass the Mercedes to avoid “ruining” his race. Even with DRS, Massa failed to pass.

His teammate, without DRS, barged his way past Vettel at Turn 1, giving Alonso back 3rd position.

On Lap 10, the world champion shocked viewers around the world, by succumbing to pressure and spinning at Turn 10. He kept 4th, but was now under pressure by Rosberg and Massa.

This 3-way battle allowed Massa to get closer to Rosberg, and the Ferrari driver pushed his way into 5th. Further back, Sebastien Buemi accidentaly pushed Nick Heidfeld off the track, launching the Renault into the air and into the gravel trap.

Heidfeld is launched into the air after colliding with Buemi

The focus soon switched to the frontrunners, as the top 3 drivers began to close up to each other. Lewis made a mistake exiting the Veedol chicane, allowing Webber to slide past into the lead. Hamilton wasn’t having any of it though, using a wider line onto the pit straight, and shoving his McLaren along the pit wall to retake the lead.

Webber pitted from 2nd on Lap 16, followed by Hamilton and Alonso a lap later. However, as the three drivers came together at Turn 1, Felipe Massa – who was yet to stop – was in the middle of the battle. Pushing Webber wide, he took the lead, but Mark was still past Hamilton.

After Felipe pitted, Webber took control of the race. Michael Schumacher emulated Vettel by spinning off at Turn 10. Jenson Button finally stopped on Lap 25, indicating a 2-stop strategy.

Webber surprised many by stopping earlier than expected on Lap 31. With traffic and a poor out lap, Hamilton retook the lead after stopping a lap later. Mark tried a move around the outside of Turn 2, but Lewis pushed him onto the grass to retain the lead.

In a complete contrast to the regular undercut, Alonso pitted on Lap 33, and managed to move into the lead. However, his lead didn;t last long – Hamilton did what Webber couldn’t, and sailed around the outside of the Ferrari to retake the lead again.

Vettel jumps Massa on the final lap - albeit in the pits

In the battle for 6th, Nico Rosberg did very well to hold off a faster Button on both the back and main straights. However, running wide at Turn 1 handed Jenson the position. It was short-lived though, as a hydraulic failure caused the McLaren to retire.

Sebastian Vettel began to pick up the pace, and tried a move on Massa at the Veedol chicane. It failed to materialise, as Sebastian locked up and went straight on at the chicane.

Hamilton celebrates a fantastic win

Into the final 10 laps, the battle for the top 5 positions were decided by the final set of pit stops. The medium tyres were delayed for as long as possible, but with the rain holding off, using the slower tyre was inevitable.

Hamilton was the first to react, diving into the pits on Lap 52. Alonso followed him in a lap later, but failed to pass the McLaren. Oddly enough, even though Lewis was faster on the primes, Mark decided to stay out for several laps, to try a different strategy.

If failed to work, as the Red Bull emerged in 3rd again, well behind Alonso in 2nd. Meanwhile, the battle for 4th was decided on the final lap. Both Massa and Vettel pitted on Lap 59, but a slow stop by Ferrari allowed Sebastian to take 4th position.

Alonso hitches a lift from Webber back to parc ferme

A last-gasp battle for the lead was short-lived, allowing Hamilton to cross the line to take one of the finest wins of his career. After a stunning lap on Saturday, he was on the pace every single lap, and pushed the Red Bulls past their limit. Fernando Alonso was also impressive, but the drama didn’t end after the chequered flag for him. After running low on fuel, the Spaniard stopped as a precautionary measure – and Webber gave him a lift back to the pits on the Red Bull sidepod!

Adrian Sutil was the unsung hero of the race, quietly moving up the field to take a well-deserved 6th place. Rosberg and Schumacher were behind the Force India, while Kamui Kobayashi recovered well to take points after qualifying 18th.

Update: Sebastien Buemi has received a 5-place grid penalty for Hungary, after the stewards concluded he was at fault for the collision with Nick Heidfeld. More to follow.

2011 mid-way driver rankings: 5 – 1

This is the final article in a 3-part review of the drivers’ performances so far this season.

5 – Nico Rosberg

Rosberg continues to lead Mercedes instead of Schumacher

Ranking in 2010: 6^th

Review from 2010 ranking: “He never crashed on his own, only finished out of the points twice, and a brilliant qualifying in soaking conditions in Malaysia proved he has the talent when it counts most.”

Like 2010, Rosberg has never retired of his own accord. He drives as consistently as Nick Heidfeld, with the pace to match. It’s just a pity he still can’t race for wins.

Within firing range of Felipe Massa, Rosberg has the chance to finish in the top 6 for the first time – but this won’t be enough. Nico won’t rest until he gets a championship-winning car, and Mercedes doesn’t look up to the task.

With this in mind, a switch to Red Bull replacing Mark Webber could be on the cards. But what would Rosberg have to show for his performances so far? For one, he has trounced a 7-time world championship race after race for the past season and a half.

It’s not a move that’s out of the question – personally, I’d love to see it happen. But in the meantime, consistently beating Schumacher will do his reputation a world of good.

4 – Lewis Hamilton

A troubled year amid controversy for Hamilton

Ranking in 2010: 5^th

Review from 2010 ranking: “While Lewis showed good pace this year, he let himself down when he needed results most.”

Every year, we see a new improvement to who is undoubtedly a fantastically talented driver. Still, Lewis Hamilton’s reputation has taken a battering this year.

Outbursts against the press and the stewards have done him no good. Questionable driving in Monaco earned him stern words by past champions, to which he responded petulantly.

To make matters worse, the collision between him and Button in Canada has fractured what was a very good team relationship. Lewis’ anger at the team was also at boiling point last race, where it was revealed he wanted drastic reductions in the number of sponsor events in his next contract.

Perhaps this is too harsh on Hamilton. To be fair, he was doing 4 sponsor appearances every day for 2 weeks between Valencia and Britain.

Also, his spirited driving has not left him, as shown at Silverstone, where he wowed the crowd with a splendid comeback from 10^th to 4^th.

He is currently level with Button on points, but Lewis will never be satisfied being nearly 100 off Vettel.

You can be guaranteed some dramatic performances – good or bad – this season, and every one after. Despite this, Hamilton needs to ease off at times, and learn which battles to fight and which to avoid.

3 – Jenson Button

Button has improved in many sectors compared to 2010

Ranking in 2010: 7^th

Review from 2010 ranking: “The McLaren car was far better than what Button delivered, and this must be improved on for 2011.”

Aside from his retirement at Silverstone, Button has finished in the top 6 at every race so far. He has been stronger at McLaren than last year, where he constantly struggled for race pace.

Holding back slightly in Monaco may have cost him the race win, but his performance was still excellent. He produced one of the greatest drives in years in Canada, getting a taste of every single position, before scything through the field with blistering pace.

Strangely enough, his wet weather pace was rather poor in Britain, where he slipped behind Massa, Hamilton and Di Resta, before fighting back in the dry conditions.

Still, he has shown himself as a more complete driver this year, and unlike his teammate, shows restraint where necessary. Unfortunately, the title is probably well out of reach by now, but beating Hamilton in the standings would still be a good achievement.

2 – Fernando Alonso

Is Alonso the only man who can take down Vettel?

Ranking in 2010: 3^rd

Review from 2010 ranking: “Despite the controversies, Alonso is still a driver to be feared.”

Many were against Alonso last year, after Ferrari manipulated Massa to grant Fernando extra points. This year, no such controversy exists, as Fernando may well be the only driver with the skill to take down Vettel.

The Ferrari car has been inconsistent to say the least. Within 30 laps, Alonso went from leading the Spanish Grand Prix to being lapped, thanks to unpredictable behaviour on the hard tyres.

In the hands of a normal driver, this would be no car to challenge the championship with. However, Fernando is no ordinary driver. His fiercest enemies and rivals still fear him, and for good reason. Alonso has thrashed the Ferrari to its absolute max in the search for performance, and recently his endeavours have been rewarded.

When granted a sniff at victory in Britain, Alonso took it and ran, stretching out a 20-second lead to Vettel. At times, he was up to a second a lap faster than the Red Bull.

Still, a 92-point gap exists between Fernando and the championship leader. Don’t rule the Ferrari out, though. 2010 saw a similar situation, where, after Silverstone, he declared he would win the championship, despite a massive points deficit. We all know what happened next – he came perilously close to clinching the title – a defiant Renault standing in his way being the only obstacle.

It would be the stuff of legends if anyone were to still take the title fight to Vettel. But if there’s anyone on the grid who can do it – it will be Fernando Alonso.

1 – Sebastian Vettel

Clever and calculating - Vettel has managed his lead perfectly

Ranking in 2010: 1^st

Review from 2010 ranking: “I believe he truly is the best driver of 2010.”

It’s an accepted fact that drivers will always make a mistake. Jenson Button failed to see Lewis Hamilton in Canada, and squeezed him into the wall. Lewis made a badly judged move on Felipe Massa in Monaco. Fernando Alonso pushed Button too close to the kerbs in Canada, while Mark Webber has struggled for pace on occasions.

And Sebastian Vettel? He slipped wide and lost a place. That’s it.

That slip, of course, occurred on the final lap of the Canadian Grand Prix, costing him the win. But compared to the mistakes others have made, Vettel has proven himself as almost bulletproof in reliability.

In a complete contrast to 2010, clean, consistent and careful races are the order of the day. Never cracking under pressure, Sebastian has utilised the Red Bull’s searing pace to the maximum, slicing out an 80-point lead over his teammate.

Nearly utterly faultless all season, Sebastian is more complete a racing driver. With a favourable position in the team, the stage is set for back-to-back championships.

Or is it? Fernando Alonso took a valiant victory at Silverstone, and marked his return to the very top. With Ferrari pushing to surpass Red Bull, there may well still be a fight for the title.

In which case, Vettel’s mettle will be tested severely. Or, Alonso’s charge may fail to materialise, and Vettel may cruise to the title. Hopefully it will be the former, and we will see Sebastian’s true talent tested.