So my last blog was full of backslapping and high fives for my top five drivers in F1 this year. Now the fun bit, Any blogger or message board keyword warrior knows it is much more fun to pick holes in other people who are living your dream and have more talent in their pinkies than we do in our entire bodies. So here are my worst five drivers for 2011.
Jarno Trulli
The only driver who failed to out qualify his team mate at any stage of the season.. A woeful stat which is made worse by the fact that until very recently Trulli was regarded as one of the finest qualifiers on the grid. Having entered F1 in 1997 Trulli is one of the most experienced drivers of all time but it looks like his time has now passed. Caterham it seems are retaining him for 2012 presumably for his abilities to develop a car but the general consensus amongst F1 fans is that he should have been replaced by a hungry young talent to push the excellent Heikki Kovalinen who is now entering veteran status himself.
Pastor Maldonado
Despite being the reigning GP2 Champion Maldonado entered F1 with a bit of a reputation for being a reckless driver with a large wallet. Slightly unfair but he did not enhance his reputation this season despite a couple of excellent performances in qualifying performances he finished the 2011 season with the unwanted accolade of being the lowest point scoring Williams driver ever, Whilst it should not be forgotten that it was also the worst Williams car ever incidents like the deliberate move on Lewis Hamilton at Spa made it incredibly hard for those keen to see him shrug off his ‘pay driver’ reputation to defend him. He has retained his seat for 2012 but a massive improvement is required.
Felipe Massa
The likable Brazilian had an awful season. Having the worlds greatest driver as your team mate doesn’t do a lot for your confidence and Massa has driven like a man deviod of confidence since the infamous ‘Fernando is faster than you’ incident in 2010. It’s hard to judge just how good Massa is now, It appears he is now a shadow of the driver he was before his accident in 2009 but I would argue that Alonso made that car appear much faster than it actually is and it maybe Alonso that is making him look bad. 2012 appears to be his last in a Ferrari, Another poor season may make it his last in F1.
Lewis Hamilton
In my opinion one of the three best drivers in the world, but there is no getting away from the fact that Hamilton had a terrible year in 2011, Extremely frustrated by the lack of out of the box pace from his team Hamilton behaved like a child who had just had his sweets stolen, In contrast, his team mate excelled under tough circumstances and made the most of a bad situation and came out of the whole episode smelling of roses. Hamilton’s bizarre choice to live his personnel life out in public view could be looked at as either a) a young man growing up after having it so easy for many years b) someone who is more interested in living the show bizness life. A similar year in 2012 could damage his stock permanently and with a whole new batch of young drivers coming through in 2013 Hamilton may find himself struggling to fight for another world championship. There is no doubt that Hamilton should have won at least two world championships by now.
Timo Glock
One has to feel sorry for Timo Glock, A strong upper midfield driver in his days at Toyota he had the carpet swiped from under him when Toyota withdrew from the sport in 2009. A decision to join Virgin on a long term deal instead of sitting out for a year and hoping to pick up a drive in mid season is probably a decision he now regrets given how many drivers have been dropped during the season in the last two years. His lack of motivation has seen him struggling to take the fight to Team Lotus and was out performed by the solid if not spectacular Jerome D’ambrosio who will be replaced next year. This was further highlighted at the Brazilian Grand Prix when he was not only out qualified by his team mate but also both HRT drivers in a car inferior to his.
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