No one, not even Mercedes, and certainly not Lewis, believed that they would
get through the race without suffering on the tyre front. But they did, and
Lewis showed once again why he is so lethal when he is in the mood. Against
the odds he put his car on pole on Saturday, then controlled the race,
capitalising on his fresh rubber when he needed to overtake after each pit
stop. It was a consummate performance.
Talking of Lewis’ mood, it was, of course, a major topic of debate afterwards.
How could it fail to have been after he spoke so openly about his recent
split with his girlfriend and how cut up he has been these last weeks? He
told us afterwards how supportive his relatives had been as he worked
through this difficult time. It was as if there had been a death in the
family.
I have no idea whether it was a good tactic in terms of winning Nicole Scherzinger
back, but what I do know is that it did not affect his performance one iota
on Sunday. Lewis appears to have moved on from 2011, when his performances
on track were badly affected by his emotional state out of it. He appears
now to be able to compartmentalise his emotions. He has matured as a driver.
And because Lewis is fundamentally a good lad – he is not malicious in any
way, he is religious – everyone sort of works with him as he goes through
these mood swings. There have been so many now that they have ceased to
surprise.
The important thing is that Lewis is competitive once again on track. All
those doubting his move to Mercedes must eat their words now. And with Lotus
struggling financially, and Ferrari having had a tough weekend, it looks as
if he could be the biggest threat to Sebastian’s chances of a fourth world
title.
On the subject of Ferrari, and the rumours linking Fernando Alonso with Red
Bull, I would not be surprised if he has looked around. Fernando has not won
a title since 2006, and while he went very close with Ferrari in 2010 and
again last year, he is desperate to win again. Fernando is not the type to
sit on his hands doing nothing, he will be applying huge pressure behind the
scenes.
The season is fascinatingly poised, on and off the track. After a few weeks
RR everyone will return to Spa refreshed and ready to resume hostilities.
I cannot wait.
David Coulthard’s half-term report:
Red Bull (277 points)
S Vettel 172
M Webber 105
Fourth straight season Red Bull have challenged for both titles. Unbelievable
consistency. Sebastian continues to improve, whil Mark will be desperate to
win a few before he goes.
10/10
Mercedes (208)
L Hamilton 124
N Rosberg 84
All the restructuring appears to be paying off. No one expected them to be
second in constructors’ at this point. Now starting to back qualifying pace
up with race pace as well. Lewis and Nico Rosberg both impressive.
9/10
Ferrari (194)
F Alonso 133
F Massa 61
Fernando Alsono showing once again why he is a great. Keeping Ferrari in it
with two wins and a string of heavy points finishes despite inconsistent
car. Felipe Massa still struggling.
7/10
Lotus (183)
K Raikkonen 134
R Grosjean 49
Very impressive considering financial woes at Enstone. Consistently easy on
their tyres. Romain Grosjean could do better. Difficult to know just how
impressive Kimi has been. 9/10
Force India (59)
P di Resta 36
A Sutil 23
To be ahead of McLaren at the half-way stage is an unbelievable achievement
for a team on a fraction of the budget. Consecutive non-points scoring
finishes a bad sign though.
7/10
McLaren (57)
J Button 39
S Perez 18
McLaren have started slowly before but have been able to turn it around.
And while there are signs of improvement, it is too little too late.
Consecutive races – Canada and Britain – yielding no points unheard of at
Woking.
6/10
Toro Rosso (24)
D Ricciardo 11
J-E Vergne 13
Slightly anonymous in the midfield. Difficult to know what the future holds
for this team other than as a feeder team for Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo has
stepped up a gear since being linked with Mark Webber’s seat.
7/10
Sauber (7)
N Hulkenberg 7
E Gutierrez 0
Disappointing season after impressing in 2012. Nico Hulkenberg has not been
able to show his potential. Financial woes. Now talk of 17-year-old Russians
coming in with new backing. Hmm.
6/10
Williams (1)
P Maldonado 1
V Bottas 0
Definitely worrying, although there are changes afoot. Pat Symonds is coming
in and he has vast experience. Also a Mercedes partnership next year. But
not good enough.
5/10
Marussia (0)
J Bianchi 0
M Chilton 0
Not taking anything away from Marussia, who have improved since last year in
relative terms, but they have been in F1 four years now. Max Chilton has had
his half-year bedding in. He will be judged on second half of year.
5/10
Caterham (0)
C Pic 0
G Van der Garde 0
Even more disappointing than Marussia since they have constructors’ championship
money and bigger backers. Still anonymous after four years. Performance
level should be higher.
4/10