F1 Talk: The Manic Midfield Story So Far – Part Two

In Part One of the Midfield Story So Far, Motorsport Radio’s Nigel Chiu looked at the teams who have hit the ground running. Assessing McLaren, Racing Point and Alfa Romeo.

Once you’ve caught up, check out Part Two below…

(7th) Renault – 12 points

So much hope and promise came from the Renault camp after last year finished. They hoped to close right in on the top three teams but at the moment they have gone backwards. Pace is there but even at their best, Renault are only just ahead of the rest of the midfield and at least one second a lap behind the big three teams – not where the French manufacturer wants to be at all.

Worse still, the reliability from the Renault power unit has been abysmal. The driver line-up is excellent but it is just the car. In my opinion, changes need to happen at Renault within the management team – both technical and at the high end. Whether it is Cyril Abiteboul (team principal), technical director Bob Bell or the Renault president Jerome Stoll. At the moment, it looks like at best Renault will have a similar performance to last year which will be far below their expectations.

The French manufacturer have not finished a Grand Prix on five occasions (out of eight). That is unacceptable. Both drivers could be taking grid penalties after just half a dozen races if the reliability is not sorted out. Mistakes by the team have hampered progress too so frustration and disappointment will be setting in for everyone in the team.

Renault are the biggest disappointment for me because of the targets they set. I expect them to be back at the front of the midfield in Spain and Monaco but it is that gap to Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari that is very worrying. Yes, they are not spending a massive budget compared to those teams but this is Renault’s 4th season since they came back to Formula One and they are still yet to break away from the rest of the midfield. Things need to change sooner rather than later at Renault if they want any chance of challenging for wins and podiums in 2021.

(8th) Haas – 8 points

Saturdays are proving good days for Haas, but Sundays, not so much. For whatever reason, once they fill their car up with lots of fuel, they lose all the pace they have compared to the rest.

Tyres seem to be the problem. It could be a similar issue to Red Bull, which is that the operating window is very narrow due to the car’s aero balance and weight distribution. With the sensitiveness of the current specification of Pirelli tyres, this is a big problem to overcome.

They probably have the best aerodynamics of the midfield but tyre troubles have prevented the team from matching the stunning season they had last year. It will be tough though to match the amount of points they scored in 2018.

As for the drivers, they are very equally matched. Both are doing a good job and even with the aggression of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, both will just go backwards during the race with a car which is 8th or 9th best (team-wise) on a Sunday.

It is a good sign that there is a lot of speed and potential in the car, Haas just need to find a way to unlock it all to score some more points. Magnussen’s 6th in Melbourne is the only points they have scored this year.

(9th) Toro Rosso – 4 points

Toro Rosso celebrated their 250th race in Formula One in China. They are definitely in the midfield fight despite being at the back of it in the standings. The car looks very good and both drivers have been performing well so far, they just have not maximised their opportunities.

Alexander Albon has been getting the high praise and he deserves exactly that. Okay, he had a heavy crash in Shanghai in FP3 but he came back strongly on Sunday. I do think Toro Rosso missed out on an opportunity to get some big points though in China. Considering Helmut Marko hesitated for a large amount of time before finally snatching Albon away from a Formula E driver with Nissan; Albon has surpassed many expectations and has impressed.

Daniil Kvyat hasn’t done too badly either actually. He’s shown that he still has the speed and with Gasly’s current form, could the Russian really find his way back into Red Bull after being demoted in 2016 from the parent team to eventually finding his way out of F1 in late 2017. Maybe it’s too early to think about that prospect but he first needs to beat Albon, I think his experience will come through later in the year.

The one key point I would note about Toro Rosso is that they tend to drop off as the year goes on. I expect the same this season again because with the Honda engine, they may find themselves testing parts and therefore taking grid penalties to help out Red Bull. We saw this last year and Red Bull didn’t even have a Honda engine yet. They need to get points early on so the next few Grand Prix will be crucial for them.

(10th) Williams – 0 points

And lastly bringing up the very rear is Williams. From Australia to Azerbaijan, the gap to the next worst car has closed slightly but they are still on average at least one second behind the next car.

I really do not know what to say. Just from the onboards the car looks very unstable and unpredictable to drive and Russell himself said that after he tested the Mercedes, the Williams is just lacking in every single department – that’s what you would expect.

If you are just 0.1 of a second slower in every single corner, on a 20 turn track that’s two seconds. Plus the deficit you have by carrying less speed onto a straight. That is dumbing things down of course.

Is it possible for Williams to get into the midfield fight? Unlikely. I think they may nick a point somewhere in a chaotic race but even though we are only three races in, I think 10th place and last in the constructors’ is Williams’ place already. Alarm bells must be ringing, loudly.

Comparing George Russell and Robert Kubica is very difficult with Williams trying to understand their car and fixing them by running various parts and testing all kinds of things to find a solution.

McLaren have shown that you can get back towards the front half of the field but can Williams do the same? Do they have the current personnel to do that? I don’t think so. They will need to bring in some new people at the very least. There was a rumour that the team have already given up on this year’s car but with no regulation changes from the 2019 cars to the 2020 cars, a B-spec car that can be introduced later in the current season would be the best option.

It could be a very difficult, long, arduous 18 months coming up for Williams.

The Final View

With the close competition and the new aerodynamic regulations the racing has been excellent in the midfield and every round will see a continuation of the good battling we have already had.

Right now the one certainty is the midfield is tight, and pretty much every team has some excuse fo fall back on for why they haven’t maximised their results, and some ray of light pointing to them having a promising season.

As ever, it will all be about the development race but doing the job on track and taking a big points haul when the top three teams slip up or if there is a crazy Grand Prix will be vital – if you are on form at the right time then you may find yourself taking crucial double figure points in one race.

It will be a mighty season-long scrap.