CTA Rookie Championship 2019

RasputinLives

No passing through my dirty air please
Contributor
We have an interesting batch of rookies this year so I thought I'd revive the rookie championship to keep an eye on them statistical.

The rules are the same as I've done the previous times I've done it:

- Any driver having done less than 4 Grand Prix at the commencement of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix is eligible for the championship

- Points will be awarded in the classic 10-6-4-3-2-1 format

- Points will be awarded for the order in both qualifying and the race at every Grand Prix effectively making two rounds on each weekend.

- Unlike the actual racing you don't get points for just turning up. A driver will not be awarded points for a DNF/DQ or if they do not set a qualifying time within the 107% time

- All points will be awarded before any technical penalties are applied - e.g. before a grid penalty for an engine or gearbox change. The same does not apply for driver penalties - e.g penalty for blocking in quali or dangerous driving in the race (whether I agree with them or not).

- drivers joining mid-season who meet the rookie criteria are eligible for points.

- The driver with the most points at the end of the season is the CTA rookie championship winner.

So with the rules set out let's take a look at our current runners and riders

- Antonio Giovanazzi / Alfa Romeo
- Lando Norris / McLaren
- Alexander Albon / Toro Rosso
- George Russell / Williams

It's a very interesting batch this year as it consists of the top 3 in last year's F2 championship and the runner up in F2 two years previous. You could say Giovanazzi has an advantage having already competed in two Grand Prix already but the other 3 have had plenty of track time in testing over last few years as well and probably come higher rated. Having said that I've under rated Giovanazzi in every series he has ever been in so I'm reluctant to knock him now. Until the last few days I would have tipped Russell to be last due to the Williams but today's times in testing suggest they will be at least with the pack come race time and Russell is more than capable of getting in the mix.

The main reason I revived the championship for this year is how close they all will be car wise meaning it will be a really good gage as to who is doing the best job.

I'll update the thread with the results after each round but if you'd like to comment/predict/debate/add stats/tell me it's pointless on the thread then you are more than welcome to as would be interested to see what you all think.

My prediction? Really hard to tell but I'm going Norris.
 
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Sounds like a lot of work for you and an interesting read for the rest of us. What's not to like? :thumbsup:

I'll stick my neck out, I think Albon is going to be the one to watch. Depends how reliable the Honda engine is to some extent though. Giovinazzi has an advantage in some ways with the potentially superior Ferrari engine, but we'll see.
 
Round 1 - Australia Qualifying Result:

1 - Norris - 10pts
2 - Albon - 6pts
3 - Giovanazzi - 4pts
4 - Russell - 3pts

Things to note:

- Giovanazzi was the only rookie not to out qualify his team mate

- Lando Norris is the 3rd youngest driver ever to be in F1 being just one day younger that Jamie Alguersauri

- Albon out qualified Giovanazzi by less than a tenth of a second

- Albon was the quickest driver overall through the speedtrap.
 
Round 2 - Australia Race

1 - Norris - 10pts
2 - Albon - 6pts
3 - Giovanazzi - 4pts
4 - Russell - 3pts

- none of the rookies scored points in the official standings

- 3 of the 4 rookies pulled off overtakes in a race where there was only 9 in total

- Norris and Russell beat their team mates with Russell lapping his

- Giovanazzi's fight with Norris was the most exciting bit of the race but in actual fact it destroyed both their races. Norris got jumped in the pits and god only knows why Antonio stayed out so long - i suspect to back the pack away from Kimi.

Championship standings after 2 rounds.

1 - Norris - 20pts
2 - Albon - 12pts
3 - Giovanazzi - 8pts
4 - Russell - 4pts

Quick question - should I award a point for the driver with the fastest lap in a race?
 
Round 3 - Bahrain Qualifying

1st - Norris - 10pts
2nd - Albon - 6pts
3rd - Giovanazzi - 4pts
4th - Russell - 3pts

- only Albon and Russell out qualified their team mates this time out. Giovanazzi was only 0.06 behind Kimi though when he was knocked out though

- Norris has a clear car advantage over the others

- Russell is clearly hampered by the Williams being so poor and is unlikely to be able to show his true talent compared to the other rookies all season.
 
Round 4 - Bahrain Race

1 - Norris - 10pts
2 - Albon - 6pts
3 - Giovanazzi - 4pts
4 - Russell - 3pts

- All 4 rounds have now had the exact same order with no DNFs

- Norris spent most of the race fighting with Kimi who is old enough to be his Dad.

- In the hands of Giovanazzi's team mate the Alfa was a lot quicker than the Torro Rosso and arguably quicker than the McLaren but for some good driving by Norris so you can make a good argument that he is the one driver under performing in this championship.

- Despite being massivly adrift in the Williams George Russell got some screen time when he firstly put one down the inside of Kubica and secondly nearly got Vettels front wing In his face.

- 3 out of 4 rookies beat their team mates in the race. Just Giovanazzi again missing out.

Championship After 4 Rounds:

1 - Norris - 40pts
2 - Albon - 24pts
3 - Giovanazzi - 16pts
4 - Russell - 12pts.
 
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The thing is, after 2 races, none of the rookies look like a "rent-a-ride" driver of the type who cluttered the lower ranks 20 years ago. Yes I'm talking about drivers like you Gastone Mazzacane !!

I think Norris has got a lot of potential but so far hasn't hooked it all up over a weekend.

Albon looks OK against Danny K.

Russell would look quicker in a pedal cart but is doing all that can be asked of him given the circumstances.

Only Giovanazzi could perhaps up his game a little better but even so, he's not bad either.
 
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