HEROES AND ZEROES (PART II)

My long-awaited part II is finally here, hooray! I'll give you a moment to celebrate...

So this part will look at my 'zeroes' of the season; the drivers who have failed to impress me in the first part of the season and they will now be called up on it. (Refresh your memory of the 'heroes'!)

ZEROES

• Jenson Button- I've had a little (it's not that little) say on Jenson's season so far which underlines the ups and downs of his 2012 season. It's been a strange one, I think it's fair to say, as it started with a win and has since slumped so much that his hopes of taking a second championship are over once again. I'm sure his season will improve when F1 returns after the summer break as he and his team make developments to the car but Jenson will probably be glad to see the back of 2012 after Brazil and hope for a much better 2013 season.

• Michael Schumacher- yes, it is a bit strange to be including a seven time world champion on this list but it's no secret that Schumi hasn't had the best of comebacks and Kimi Raikkonen's comeback season is only highlighting this even more. Sure they both had different experiences when they were away from F1 and Schumacher is older than Kimi but not only do I believe that Schumacher's age shouldn't be a factor, after all he knows his body and fitness the best and he wouldn't still be in F1 if he didn't think he felt up to it, he's also the greatest F1 driver in history if we look at it in terms of number of titles won. Therefore, he has experience, knowledge and expertise in abundance and a truly lacklustre 2012 has naturally left people questioning whether he should even have a seat next year.

• Felipe Massa- I really didn't want to include Massa in this list because I'm a quite a fan of the Brazilian  and I do think that some of the criticism aimed at him has been unfair. However, it cannot be denied that his performance in contrast to his teammate and current leader Alonso's performance has been poor. Of course his position in the Ferrari team is now under threat (that sounds overly dramatic, doesn't it?) but we don't know what will happen for Massa contract-wise and what Ferrari's long term plans are. If they want Vettel when his Red Bull contract is over it wouldn't make much sense to replace Massa for 2013 so we will just have to wait and see...

• The Force India pair- I really didn't want to include Paul and Nico on this list because I think they are both having decent seasons for a midfield team but with their main rivals, mainly Perez and Maldonado, stepping up their games and taking wins and podiums in other midfield cars you can't help but think they and Force India have a lot of work to do! They have certainly slipped behind as a team and I think the drivers need to have more confidence and deliver better results in the second part of the season.

• Jean-Eric Vergne- Jean-Eric is not having a great season but the fact that he is driving for the ruthless Toro Rosso team probably doesn't help. Last season I thought both Buemi and Alguersuari had seasons worthy of retaining their seats so it was a bit of a surprise to see them both dropped for 2012.  Toro Rosso are basically training talented, young drivers and giving them a chance to drive in F1 with the intention of one day promoting them to Red Bull to, presumably, partner Sebastian Vettel. However, this Young Driver Programme has had limited success because of the ruthless nature of it. I wouldn't be surprised to see Vergne dropped once this season is over even though I don't think he should be.

So that's my list, I hope it was worth the wait! It was fairly hard to compile because 2012 has been a topsy-turvy season and I haven't actually been all that disappointed with many drivers, with the exception of Jenson! However, the ones I have listed are the drivers that I think have the most work to do when F1 heads to Spa; which is now fast approaching!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

HEROES AND ZEROES (PART I)

I've reviewed the races of this season as they've gone by but also with some reflection on which race has been my favourite of the season so far. Now it's time to look at the men in the cockpits; the people responsible for delivering such exciting racing and review who has been a 'hero' and who has been below par. (Also, I realise calling them 'zeroes' is harsh but I had to include it for rhyming purposes.)

HEROES

• Fernando Alonso- I had to start this list with the man currently at the top of the standings for the Drivers' Championship. At the beginning of the season many doubted whether Alonso will be able to win his third world championship in the car Ferrari had given him but it's fair to say that Alonso and the team have stepped up their game as the season has progressed. Ferrari brought updates to Mugello and improved their package but Alonso has been in another league in terms of driving and out-performing his machinery. Should he win his third title this year, which I definitely think he will, it will be extremely deserved and I don't think anyone, whether you are a fan or not, can begrudge him of that considering his performance so far this year.

• Kimi Raikkonen- I think it is fair to call Kimi the 'comeback king' of F1 because he has settled in to his team and racing in Formula 1 with relative ease and has been able to deliver multiple podiums and strong points finishes. The only thing making his comeback less than perfect is his failure to win a race but I have no doubt that the Finn will be able to tick that off his list before the end of the season. 

• Mark Webber- It's no secret that Webber had a difficult 2011 season when his teammate ran away with the title and he was left without a win until the very last race in Brazil but he has come back from that like a true professional and has silenced any critics who have ever said he doesn't deserve the second Red Bull seat. He currently has more wins than his German colleague and is even leading Vettel in the championship. The team clearly think that Mark is a good racer and deserves to keep his seat as they have extended his contract for 2013 as well. 

• Bruno Senna- I can only begin to imagine the pressure Senna would have been under at the beginning of this season by joining the Williams team that his uncle is so famously associated with. This combined with him losing his seat at Renault/Lotus would have amounted to a difficult start but I have personally been impressed with Senna's season so far. He may not have a race win like teammate Pastor Maldonado but he has been fairly consistent and I don't see why he should be worried about losing his seat.

• Charles Pic- the young Frenchman is in his rookie F1 season and that is never going to be easy but I've been impressed with the way Pic has just gotten his head down and concentrated on his own driving. You're never going to be delivering great results in a Marussia car but that doesn't mean Pic's season isn't worth mentioning. He is consistent, F1's key word this season, and gaining invaluable experience in F1. I'm sure outscoring his experienced teammate Timo Glock doesn't feel too bad either.

So there you have my stand-out drivers from the first half of the 2012 season. There have obviously been other drivers who have had/ are having good, strong seasons but it is hard to make my exclusive list so they'll just have to try harder when the season continues in Spa. Harsh I know...

Stay tuned for Part II of my 'Heroes and Zeroes' post when I'll address which drivers haven't been impressing me so far this season and need to up their game. Spoiler Alert: Jenson Button will feature!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula