Poll Surprise team of the season so far?

Surprise team of the season so far?


  • Total voters
    35
  • Poll closed .

landogeorgelewis1

Champion Elect
Whether it's a good surprise or bad one, who have been the surprise team of the season? Not including Ferrari, Mclaren or Red Bull in this!

Lotus:

Signed Raikkonen on and everyone thought here goes, Raikkonen back in it for the money again. But to my surprise Lotus have performed miles better than i thought they'd ever do this season. Not only are they just 1 point behind Mclaren in the constructors championship, but above Ferrari aswell! Also Grosjean has probably been the standout performer of the season IMHO opinion. If he's this good now and can cut out the mistakes for the rest of the season i smell a win not only for Raikkonen but him aswell.

Sauber:

My god, haven't Sauber been brilliant this season in some races. Perez's second in Malaysia was the highlight of the season for me nothing will beat it. Also the Swiss outfit have been a breathe of fresh-air this season. Plus they've also had another podium this season in Canada.

Williams:

Above Force India in the championship who would have thought that after last season? Plus a win thanks to Maldonado's brilliant drive in Spain. However ironically he's not done that much since that race and quietly under the shadow of Maldonado's win it's Senna whose been bringing home the points. They may not be spectacular points but still points are points in my view.

Mercedes:

Have Mercedes been the disappointment of the season? After a brilliant 2 row start in Australia and a win in China things seem to have headed south. Rosbergs struggling to bring big points home and bar Schumacher's podium in Valencia they've not really threatened to do much really. TB fair Schumachers had a chunk of bad luck this season but still whats happened to Rosberg?

Force India:

Well after so much promise last season, Force India have gone backwards to my surprise. I had fully expected them to be challenging for a podium or two this season but have been beaten by both Williams and Sauber to that. Nico Hulkenberg has started to show some promise in his racing but Paul Di Resta should be doing a bit better than what he is at this current moment.

So which team has been your surprise team of the season so far?
 
Williams, so far as I could see this season was set to be worse, not better!

Mercedes have done a lot worse than I expected, but only a little worse than they did last year (I think?)
 
Due to finger trouble on a massive scale i ended up hitting Force India when I meant to hit Lotus. It's my stupid phone keypad.
 
For me, it is Lotus, will Williams almost equal. I really had doubts that Williams would survive this year, given last year's awful performance. But I had absolutely no idea that Lotus would be where they are.Both drivers are stunningly effective and on a consistent basis. For me, it is the driver performances that separate the two teams, and the Lotus duo have unquestionably been the more impressive.
 
They've all been surprising, for over or underachieving. Williams edge it for me though, although probably shouldn't be too surprising since they did get rid of Michaels :whistle:

I wouldn't rush to conclusions about Force India yet though - they tend to pick it up in the second half of the season, where more of the tracks suit their car, especially Spa and Monza.
 
Williams for me, if they had a better quality of driver they could be up there with at leat Kimi/Romain as Pastor has shown when he's not hitting things.
Small bias hoping for them to return to the top flight again. Supporting Williams is like supporting Barsley FC, you know they hit the giddy height once & there's that sublime optimism in your heart they can do it again despite your head telling you otherwise ....
 
Most surprising team for me this season isn't an option - Ferrari. After the phoney testing war and the first couple of races they looked to be on for another blank season but, at least in Alonso's hands, the car has been incredible.

Of the teams listed:

Lotus - need to get a win
Sauber - try the same tyre tactics and see if you get further up why don't you?
Williams - Great to see them win a race. Dump Senna and put Bottas in so we can see what the car can really do.
Mercedes - appear to have lost their way (think LIgier in 1979 and 1980)
Force India - no more or less than than I expected, mediocre really.
 
Expectations:

Lotus - Regular podiums
Sauber - Consistent midfield
Williams - Caught by Caterham
Mercedes - Championship challenge
Force India - Occasional podiums

Reality:

Lotus - Regular podiums
Sauber - Occasional Podiums
Williams - Midfield + a win
Mercedes - One win and generally high midfield
Force India - Low points scorers

I will go with Williams as they have been a bigger surprise than Sauber.
 
Whilst I love seeing the Williams back fighting in the top 10...when I heard they were tied into Renault for powerplants I had an inkling that this car could turn out to be pretty good... however for mine it is Lotus... consistently quick... and Kimi in the hunt for a WDC...
 
HRT. As in surprised every time they turn up for a race.

Here are some stats that might help people decide - the number of podiums and points the five teams in the poll will have at the end of the year if they continue to perform as they have done so far compared with their totals for 2011:
stats.PNG


It seems harsh to call Mercedes and Force India surprisingly bad when both are on course to have better seasons than 2011, although perhaps they aren't meeting their own optimistic targets. My personal choice are Lotus, who weren't really anywhere last year (as Renault) and now have arguably the fastest race car on the grid.
 
I agree. I never expected Lotus to have regular podiums and competing for wins.
The other teams in the poll are marginally better or worse than last year. Williams of course had a win, but it seems that in one weekend everything came perfectly together for them. Since the win they haven't been impressive.
 
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