As we have 5 confirmed rookies on the grid this season with a possible 6th still to come I thought it would be useful to keep track with a rookie championship this season. I thought the fairest way to do it woukd be to have a rookie quali championship, a rookie race championship and a combination of the two to get an overall champion. As we may end up with six rookies I though I would revert to the classic point scoring system as follows:
1st = 10pts
2nd = 6pts
3rd = 4pts
4th = 3pts
5th = 2pts
6th = 1pt
These will be awarded to the rookies for the order they come in Qualifying and the race. The overall championship will of course be the two totals combined. Just to clarify there are no points in rookie championship for turning up. In order for points to be awarded the rookie will have to post a lap time in quali and will have to be a classified finisher of the race. Also to clarify any driver joining the grid who has not raced in a Grand Prix prior to the start of the 2013 season will be elligable to score points.
Unlike previous years it could be a close battle. Our contenders are as follows:
Valtteri 'Man Friday' Bottas - Williams
Williams are saying he's not really a rookie due to his 14 Friday p1 appearences last season but as he's not raced in any GP he clearly is. More than likely most peoples favourite for rookie of the year his potential certainly showed through in his two years as Williams test driver and his top notch record in other Formulas but with two years of no racing is he a little race rusty? We all saw with Romain Grosjean last year that being quick doesn't always translate to good results. Add to this the expectancy on Bottas shoulders and will the young Finn be able to cope with it all? Has a very fast but accident prone team mate and is driving for a team who are used to winning but if we go on last years form the Bottas does not have the quickest car in the rookie field although some say with a bit less crashing it could be. Clearly the bookies favourite though.
Esteban 'Loco Motion' Gutierrez - Sauber
As Guti steps up from test driver to fill the shoes of his fellow countrymen Perez in the Sauber race seat the majority of us muttered the words Pay Driver under our breath. We were right of course, he is there because of Saubers big Mexican backing but then again so was Perez and lets be fair to Gutierrez here, he actually has a much better junior record than Perez did. It might not have worked out for him in GP2 (although he didn't do too badly) but he has pretty much won every catogry he's raced in previous to that and has always been at the front. Like Bottas, Gutierrez has been Sauber test driver for the last two years but unlike Bottas he hasn't had any Friday running time. He has been racing in GP2 though so shoukd be sharp on those wheel to wheel duels. Gutierrez is lucky enough to probably be in the quickest car in the rookie field but is also unlucky to have the teammate with the most talent which could lead to him being put to the sword confidence wise. If he hits his stride though he should certainly give Bottas a run for the rookie championship and if that Sauber is as good as last year coukd be the surprise package of 2013. All aboard the Loco Motion! Cho Cho!
Luiz 'double zee' Razia - Marussia
The man with two Z's becomes Brazils second F1 driver by ousting Timo Glock with sponsorship money. Again to be fair to him he did finish runner up in GP2 and at times looked impressive although it has been suggested that rather than a glimpse of things to come this was Razia at the peak of his abilities. Unless Marussia have made massive strides forward that they are hiding in testing then we shouldn't expect Razia to challenge our previous contenders but he does however have an oppotunity to be best of the rest and in a year with so many rookies this could concrete him to the grid. He's joined Marussia at a time they are on the up. They pushed Caterham to the last race of the season last year, they now have a kers system and Pat Symonds is finaly allowed on the pitwall. We also know Timo Glock was very excited about how the car was developing and being as he was a grumpy sod that can only mean good things. Razia has the advantage of going up against a rookue team mate he know he can beat too. His disadvantage of course is the cosworth engine and the fact he could very well be adrift at the back of the grid no matter how well he drives.
Max 'the caution' Chilton - Marussia
Its quite clear from GP2 last year that the new brit in the grid comes from the school of Johnny Herbert style racing where the mentality of keeping it in the road to pick up the pieces whilst everyone else crashes out rules over all. Not the most exciting to watch but after seeing some of the drivers last year could very well be an advantage in rookie school. If all the others start wheel banging then Max could swoop in to pick up the pieces. Having said that the whole F1 thing could be a rush of blood to the head and he could go at it like a bull in a china shop. Like Razia he has the advantage of coming into a team who is on the way up confidence wise if nothing else and Max can expect a season long duel with his team mate.
Giedo 'freaky deaky dutch' Van Der Garde - Caterham
He's from Holland isn't that weird? Giedo is our oldest rookie on the grid and after years of pushing for an F1 drive has finally landed one all be it mostly due to funds. After offering 7 million Euros for the HRT drive in in 2011 his sponsors landed him the Caterham test drive last year and now finally a race seat. He is not without his plus points though as he was once highly thought of by Mclaren and won junior formula. All if this was four or five years ago though and he seems to have been treading water in GP2 for a while. However age and maturity could be his advantage here in rookie school add to that the renult engine in the back if his Caterham and he certainly has the package to beat Razia and Chilton but can he use it?
*possible entry*
Jules 'white wine spritzer' Bianchi - Force India (maybe)
Ferrari don't do rookies but if they did they'd probably be the best rookies in the world. If Jules Bianchi gets the nod at Force India then there is no way we should under estimate the fact he's been leading Ferrari acadamy for years now and certainly is on their radar as a possible Massa replacement. Bianchi has been rated highly ever since he started single seater racing but hit a stallung point when he failed to take the GP2 world by storm. His 2011 GP2 season was especially poor although he won some prude back in 2012 with a decent season in the 3.5 world series finishing as runner up by a whisker. He akso has F1 experience with pkenty of time with Ferrari and carious Friday sessions for Force India last year. There is no doybting that if Bianchi gets the nod for the drive then it would make the rookie championship a very interesting three way battle for the title. He would have the disadvantage of not having preparation time but the advantage of having a Ferrari druve to be aiming at. Could be a dark horse.
So those are the runners and riders. Feel free to use this thread for you comments and predictions. I'll be updating it with results after every Grand Prix.
1st = 10pts
2nd = 6pts
3rd = 4pts
4th = 3pts
5th = 2pts
6th = 1pt
These will be awarded to the rookies for the order they come in Qualifying and the race. The overall championship will of course be the two totals combined. Just to clarify there are no points in rookie championship for turning up. In order for points to be awarded the rookie will have to post a lap time in quali and will have to be a classified finisher of the race. Also to clarify any driver joining the grid who has not raced in a Grand Prix prior to the start of the 2013 season will be elligable to score points.
Unlike previous years it could be a close battle. Our contenders are as follows:
Valtteri 'Man Friday' Bottas - Williams
Williams are saying he's not really a rookie due to his 14 Friday p1 appearences last season but as he's not raced in any GP he clearly is. More than likely most peoples favourite for rookie of the year his potential certainly showed through in his two years as Williams test driver and his top notch record in other Formulas but with two years of no racing is he a little race rusty? We all saw with Romain Grosjean last year that being quick doesn't always translate to good results. Add to this the expectancy on Bottas shoulders and will the young Finn be able to cope with it all? Has a very fast but accident prone team mate and is driving for a team who are used to winning but if we go on last years form the Bottas does not have the quickest car in the rookie field although some say with a bit less crashing it could be. Clearly the bookies favourite though.
Esteban 'Loco Motion' Gutierrez - Sauber
As Guti steps up from test driver to fill the shoes of his fellow countrymen Perez in the Sauber race seat the majority of us muttered the words Pay Driver under our breath. We were right of course, he is there because of Saubers big Mexican backing but then again so was Perez and lets be fair to Gutierrez here, he actually has a much better junior record than Perez did. It might not have worked out for him in GP2 (although he didn't do too badly) but he has pretty much won every catogry he's raced in previous to that and has always been at the front. Like Bottas, Gutierrez has been Sauber test driver for the last two years but unlike Bottas he hasn't had any Friday running time. He has been racing in GP2 though so shoukd be sharp on those wheel to wheel duels. Gutierrez is lucky enough to probably be in the quickest car in the rookie field but is also unlucky to have the teammate with the most talent which could lead to him being put to the sword confidence wise. If he hits his stride though he should certainly give Bottas a run for the rookie championship and if that Sauber is as good as last year coukd be the surprise package of 2013. All aboard the Loco Motion! Cho Cho!
Luiz 'double zee' Razia - Marussia
The man with two Z's becomes Brazils second F1 driver by ousting Timo Glock with sponsorship money. Again to be fair to him he did finish runner up in GP2 and at times looked impressive although it has been suggested that rather than a glimpse of things to come this was Razia at the peak of his abilities. Unless Marussia have made massive strides forward that they are hiding in testing then we shouldn't expect Razia to challenge our previous contenders but he does however have an oppotunity to be best of the rest and in a year with so many rookies this could concrete him to the grid. He's joined Marussia at a time they are on the up. They pushed Caterham to the last race of the season last year, they now have a kers system and Pat Symonds is finaly allowed on the pitwall. We also know Timo Glock was very excited about how the car was developing and being as he was a grumpy sod that can only mean good things. Razia has the advantage of going up against a rookue team mate he know he can beat too. His disadvantage of course is the cosworth engine and the fact he could very well be adrift at the back of the grid no matter how well he drives.
Max 'the caution' Chilton - Marussia
Its quite clear from GP2 last year that the new brit in the grid comes from the school of Johnny Herbert style racing where the mentality of keeping it in the road to pick up the pieces whilst everyone else crashes out rules over all. Not the most exciting to watch but after seeing some of the drivers last year could very well be an advantage in rookie school. If all the others start wheel banging then Max could swoop in to pick up the pieces. Having said that the whole F1 thing could be a rush of blood to the head and he could go at it like a bull in a china shop. Like Razia he has the advantage of coming into a team who is on the way up confidence wise if nothing else and Max can expect a season long duel with his team mate.
Giedo 'freaky deaky dutch' Van Der Garde - Caterham
He's from Holland isn't that weird? Giedo is our oldest rookie on the grid and after years of pushing for an F1 drive has finally landed one all be it mostly due to funds. After offering 7 million Euros for the HRT drive in in 2011 his sponsors landed him the Caterham test drive last year and now finally a race seat. He is not without his plus points though as he was once highly thought of by Mclaren and won junior formula. All if this was four or five years ago though and he seems to have been treading water in GP2 for a while. However age and maturity could be his advantage here in rookie school add to that the renult engine in the back if his Caterham and he certainly has the package to beat Razia and Chilton but can he use it?
*possible entry*
Jules 'white wine spritzer' Bianchi - Force India (maybe)
Ferrari don't do rookies but if they did they'd probably be the best rookies in the world. If Jules Bianchi gets the nod at Force India then there is no way we should under estimate the fact he's been leading Ferrari acadamy for years now and certainly is on their radar as a possible Massa replacement. Bianchi has been rated highly ever since he started single seater racing but hit a stallung point when he failed to take the GP2 world by storm. His 2011 GP2 season was especially poor although he won some prude back in 2012 with a decent season in the 3.5 world series finishing as runner up by a whisker. He akso has F1 experience with pkenty of time with Ferrari and carious Friday sessions for Force India last year. There is no doybting that if Bianchi gets the nod for the drive then it would make the rookie championship a very interesting three way battle for the title. He would have the disadvantage of not having preparation time but the advantage of having a Ferrari druve to be aiming at. Could be a dark horse.
So those are the runners and riders. Feel free to use this thread for you comments and predictions. I'll be updating it with results after every Grand Prix.