How weak second drivers are shaping the midfield battle
Already five races into the 2017 season, the battle in the midfield is as fierce as ever, but poor performances from some drivers are already handicapping teams heading into the European leg of the calendar.
Beyond the leading protagonists of Mercedes and Ferrari, the battle in the midfield has intensified with Sauber’s demonstration that any team is capable of scoring points. The role of the second driver has now become even more important in the battle in the constructors’ championship to score consistent points.
Pascal Wehrlein drove an outstanding race to what was eventually eighth, demoted from seventh after gaining a penalty for a late entry into the pitlane for his one and only pitstop. They are valuable points for Sauber as they creep above McLaren in the constructors’ championship, as they struggle with their Honda power unit.
In this tight battle every point matters, and currently two teams within the midfield battle are handicapped by subpar performances from their second driver, notably Williams and Renault. Both have experienced hands at the wheel of their leading car, bringing home the only points and putting them at a disadvantage to Force India who consistently has both cars in the points.
It was a difficult race for Williams in Barcelona, Felipe Massa compromised by a clash with Fernando Alonso in the first corner, and Lance Stroll who was comprised by a poor qualifying session leaving him languishing at the back of the grid.
Despite the pair finishing close on the road, Stroll has done little this weekend to demonstrate that he can perform at the same level as his experienced teammate.
By his own admission, it wasn’t a great weekend, Stroll commenting after the race: “It was not a great race. I have had better ones and I just found it frustrating. The start was good as were the first couple of stints on the soft tyres and I had a good pace at the beginning, but we just struggled on the mediums and started to lose grip.
“I didn’t feel great in the car and couldn’t get it feeling the way I wanted. It was just one of those races, but I am sure it will be better next time.
“At every race I get more and more confident, but this weekend was just a tough one.”
A similar situation has developed at Renault, Nico Hulkenberg leading the charge at the ‘works’ team alongside former GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer. The Brit has had plenty of bad luck so far this season, but another pointless weekend has widened the gap to Hulkenberg to 14 points with the German coming home a season-best sixth.
Despite some promise on Saturday morning, it was another poor weekend for Palmer, not getting the performance out of the car Hulkenberg had found.
“I think it’s fair to say it didn’t bring us the reward we wanted,” Palmer said after the race. “I wasn’t able to get the pace out of the car when it was needed, however, we were going better on the final set of tyres.
“My job now is to sit down with my engineers and analyse the race whilst we also have a good look at the car too. I’m determined that we will do better in Monaco.”
Two teams with a relatively strong driver pairing in the midfield, on the other hand, are mopping up the points, taking advantage of the difficulties faced at Renault and Williams.
Force India once again scored double points finish, this time a fourth for Sergio Perez and fifth for Esteban Ocon, which leaves them only 19 points Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
Toro Rosso has also overtaken Williams for fifth, with a recovery drive from Daniil Kvyat from the back of the grid to score two points for ninth. At his home race, Carlos Sainz was a place ahead after a race long battle with both Haas drivers, although Kevin Magnussen dropped out of that battle after picking up a puncture in a battle with Kvyat.
The performance of the ‘second’ driver is going to be highly significant as we head through the next few races, with the faster car not always certain to claim the most points from a weekend.