moradkhanrmk

[moradkhanrmk]

When talking about the most under rated F1 drivers it usually triggers quite the debate on social media and a lot of the time it leads to a lot of hard core Senna and Hamilton fans try to convince everyone how under rated they are. Do not worry, I am just as baffled as everyone else.

Today I have selected the most under rated driver in my eyes during the time I have been watching Formula 1 and no I promise its not Nico Hulkenburg however it is a fellow German driver by the name of Nick Heildfeld.

The now 43 year old EX Formula 1 driver for me was a massively over rated during his time in the sport.

During his time in junior formulas Nick had successfully won 5 out of 14 championships, I know he is no Lewis Hamilton or but 5 out of 14 championships is nothing to be sniffed at.

During his time in F1 Heidfeld has dived for 6 different constructors over the course of his 11 season F1 career and has had some extremely competitive team mates to deal with along the way, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, and Sebastian Vettel to name but a few.

Heildfeld never had the opportunity to race for top teams like his previous team mates however no matter what machinery he was driving he always seemed to be able to maximise each and every race. One great example of this is in 2001 where he was able to drag his midfield Redbull- Sauber to his Madan podium in formula one while beating future world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ standings that year.

Although Heildfeld was arguable never in a top team that didn’t stop him from getting some silverware along the way. During his 11 seasons he was able to score 13 podiums which is still to date the most podiums in F1 without a win but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t close. 7 Out of his 13 podiums where runner up in 2nd position. Close but no cigar for the German.

Although his results given the cars he was in were incredibly good, in my opinion he was always over looked by his “Super Star” team mates, most notably Robert Kubica during the 2008 Canadian GP where Kubica scored his first and only win and once again team mate Nick Heildfeld found himself if second position.

For me Heildfeld was an all round driver and most importantly he was very consistent. Over the course of his 11 seasons on and off in F1 he managed to finish in the top 10 of the driver’s standings 5 times and cars which arguably shouldn’t have been competitive. He was a very capable and proven podium contender and managed 41 races between 2007 and 2009 without being DNF’d.

Nick Heildfeld in my eyes is the definition of an underrated driver, his ability in the car was consistently overlooked. He was an incredibly talented racing driver with a fantastic personality from the perspective of the media. Although he never won a race, I really do believe given the right equipment he would have been able to achieve some great results.

On his day he was able to compete with the likes of Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton. I do have a soft sport of Nick as I truly feel he was never given the credit he was deserved. By no means was he a perfect driver and I don’t believe he was world championship worthy, but I do believe given the chance with a top team he would have achieved great things.

[moradkhanrmk]

Is Valtteri Bottas’ seat really under threat?

  Is Valtteri Bottas's seat really under threat or is he being unfairly compared to his 5 time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Being Lewis Hamilton’s team mate isn’t easy at all just ask Fernando Alonso (2x world champion), Jenson Button (1x World Champion) Hekki Koverlinan (Race Winner) and Nico Rosberg (1x World Champion).

Since 2007 Lewis Hamilton has only lost out to his team mate in the drivers’ standings twice both in 2011 to Jenson Button and in 2016 to close rival Nico Rosberg. It’s safe to say Hamilton hasn't had walk over team mates as they are all very accredited as is Valtteri Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas earned his drive at Mercedes after years of loyalty and over preforming in the Williams over the course of the 4 seasons he drove for them.

Mid- Winter/ Christmas break Nico Rosberg announced his retirement and the young Finn filled the shoes of his predecessor. From the get go Bottas showed great pace. In this first season with the team he scored 305 Points in the drivers’ championship 100 points ahead of fellow finn Kimi Raikkonen and less than 40 points off the Championship winner Lewis Hamilton. 

Bottas scored a total of 3 Race victories and 13 Podiums in the 2017 season which is an incredible achievement considering for the first time in his career he was battling at the top of the grid consistently against multiple world champions.

Unfortunately the 2018 season seemed to against him. The Finn has been in prime position to win a number of races in 2018. China being one but losing due to poor strategy , Baku was lost due to a puncture ,Austria although the Finn did an amazing job of getting a pole position lap reliability got the better of both Mercedes that day and not forgetting the team to switch his position with Hamilton to give him the victory at the grand prix in Sochi to promote Hamilton even further in the drivers’ championship. No matter what the Finn did he was labeled a “Wing-man” by team principle Toto Wolff.

Bottas so far this season has already surpassed 2018’s performance, 12 races in Bottas has achieved 2 race victories , 9 podiums and sitting second in the drivers’ standings so why is their talk of him being switched out for Ocon?

Since Bottas replaced Roberg in 2017 the environment at Mercedes been far better, with no tension between the drivers both on and off the track both Bottas and Hamilton have been able to work in almost perfect harmony. The two drivers managing to secure the constructors title convincingly in both 2017 & 2018. Considering Mercedes weren’t dominant in either season it really does stem from amazing team work both at the factory and on track. Both drivers showing great respect for each other with the teams interests at heart which we didn’t see with the Hamilton, Roberg paring.

Bottas has every right to keep his seat for the 2020 season. Prior to the last 2 races he has exceeded previous years performances and delivered outstanding results for the team. Let’s face it, as good of a driver Ocon is if the French driver did get the seat at Mercedes will there be speculation about him losing his seat due to the inability to match Hamilton?.

Although Bottas may not be on the level of Lewis Hamilton it’s important to remember that he is a 5 time world champion on the verge of becoming the greatest driver in F1 history and for the most part it is unfair to compare the two. They may be in the same team and driving the same car but it’s very rare when a team can get 2 drivers that are evenly matched race after race and the real question would teams like Mercedes want two Alpha drivers or would it be less of a risk to have a stable number 2 driver and a clear number 1 as things are at the moment?

Written by - Reece Moradkhan

[moradkhanrmk]

Why Was Kvyat overlooked ?

A lot of fans have been wondering why ex Redbull driver Daniil Kvyat has been over looked to replace Pierre Gasley at Redbull for the rest of the season as his overall performance so far this year has been one of the best come back stories in F1 History.  

After being dumped by Redbull in 2016 and given the kick mid-season in 2017 by Redbull junior team Toro Rosso Kvyats return to F1 looked almost impossible but in 2018 D. Kvyat had taken up a new role as a development drive for none other than 15 times contractor world champions Ferrari.

After a year away from the sport and not racing in the main event D.Kvyat was approached by his old team Toro Rosso who decided to re-sign the Russian driver for the start of the 2019 season.

Although the Russian had scored 2 podiums and a fastest lap while at Redbull  A lot of fans we skeptical about this move back to formula one after his form in the late 2016 season and the entirety of 2017 season.

So far this season Daniil Kvyat has been outstanding, currently sitting in P9 in the drivers’ standings with a total point tally of 27 and achieving the teams 2nd ever podium the question is, why didn’t Redbull re-sign him for a second chance in the big team?

Looking at the results alone Daniil Kvyat looks like the ideal candidate for Redbull, being a previous driver for the team, taken part in 80+ races Danniil is the safer bet right ? Well not in the eyes of Redbull.

Throughout Redbulls short but very successful history in formula 1 they have been market leaders in driver development from the likes of 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel  who was previously a driver at Toro Rosso and also the likes of Daniel Riccardo who started his F1 career with HRT thanks to Redbull funding and multiple race winner  Max Verstappen. Although the gambles Redbull have taken in the past promoting junior drivers have worked in a handful of cases the junior program has had its fair share of lack luster performances and the most recent victim is Pierre Gasley.    

So, is having the new boy on the block British born Thai driver Alexander Albon now moving to Redbull an unnecessary gamble that the team really don’t need to take or another master move that could take the constructor battel to Ferrari for P2 in the standings in the second half of the season.

On the flip side of the coin and to be more optimistic about Albons move he has a seriously impressive CV with outstanding performance in formula 2 and is currently sat in P15 in the drivers’ standings but this really doesn’t represent  his performances so far this season given that its only his 12 race in Formula one.

Although Redbull needs solid performances and solid results they also need to find their next super star incase Max decides to jump ship for the likes of Mercedes or Ferrari in coming years. It’s unlikely but it could well happen. Kvyat would be the safe bet but Redbull have always been the team to roll the dice and for Albons career let’s hope they made the right decision.

Written by - Reece Moradkhan 

[moradkhanrmk]

Albon in Gasley Out.

Monday 12th of August 2019, Pierre Gasley lost his seat at Redbull and replaced with fellow Redbull academy driver Alex Albon.

Redbull for years now have been by far the most cut throat team in F1 in terms of driver line ups and it comes as no surprises that this theme has continued with the end to Pierre Gasley’s lack luster 2019 drive. The French driver was promoted at the end of the 2018 season after Daniel Ricardo’s dramatic departure on his own accord. After Gasley’s dazzling 2018 season he got the call up to Redbull but after crashing the car in Spanish winter testing his time at redbull was only going to get harder and harder.

Being a team mate to Max Verstappen is never easy and at this point all Redbull needed is a reliable number 2 driver and even this it seems Pierre wasn’t able to deliver on. Out of the 12 races this season Gasley only managed to outscore his Dutch team mate only once in Silverstone.

But what really hurt Redbull this season has been on the 3 occasions where the team have looked on par with Mercedes or better than while Max thrived while Perrier suffered. Max took 2 wins both in Austria and Germany and on both occasions lapped Gasley.

Going into the summer break Redbull had guaranteed that Perrier’s seat was safe and was giving him all the support and time he needs, however the Hungarian GP was the nail in the coffin. After battling with midfield cars all race, being lapped once again by his team mate and not able to help the team with strategy to secure a race win Pierre Gasley seat was finally up for grabs.

Written By - Reece Moradkhan