At the start of the week I put forward my list of the most underrated drivers of the season thus far. Inevitably, there’s only one way to go from there.
So it is that we reach the less enviable end of the driver rankings: those who, let’s be honest, could be doing a little better – or a lot better, in the case of one unfortunate candidate.
Four candidates made the cut with just nine precious rounds to make amends. Who’s on your list?
Nico Rosberg
P2, 181 points
When Nico Rosberg limped home in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year having lost the title in heartbreaking circumstances, he vowed to come back bigger and better in 2015, and only a brave man would have written off this calculated, analytical driver from making good on his promise.
But he’s failed to do so. Improve he has, but not by nearly enough to trump Lewis Hamilton’s leaps in pace and confidence.
His teammate has him rattled – the Hungarian Grand Prix underscored this, with Rosberg opting to mirror Hamilton’s strategy to cover him off rather than gamble for big points and a shot at slashing the championship lead.
His seat might be safe, but his reputation most certainly isn’t. 2015 is fast becoming the year that decides whether Rosberg will be defined as a contender or merely a safe number two. Time to step up.
Kimi Räikkönen
P5, 76 points
Much has been written about the once-trusty Finn, but so lofty are the heights Räikkönen once claimed that it is impossible not to note the lacklustre performances that have come to define him.
Barring his briefly competitive stint at Lotus after his 2010–11 sabbatical, signs of the old Räikkönen have been few and far between. Last year he was partly forgiven because the Ferrari he was delivered was terrible to drive, but with Sebastian Vettel showing off what the F-15T can do this season, Kimi has nowhere to hide.
The F1 world is divided as to whether Kimi is battling for his seat this year, with half anticipating the arrival of Valtteri Bottas in 2016, and the rest expecting a one-year reprieve while the Scuderia bides its time to snag Max Verstappen.
Perhaps the equation is better defined as this: with the end of Räikkönen’s career now in sight either way, is pootling around somewhere in the top 10 how this champion wants to define his twilight?
Pastor Maldonado
P14, 12 points
This may be the first list that isn’t an entry sheet on which Pastor Maldonado is grouped with Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Rosberg, but his inclusion is nonetheless relevant: possibly for the first time, the spectre of losing his seat now hangs above him.
For one, Lotus is fast becoming fed up with its driver, with speculation suggesting the number of points his questionable driving has cost the team outweighs the hefty PDVSA sponsor cheque he brings to the team.
Perhaps more pressing is the possibility of a sale to Renault, which would render his services – rendered because of those very petrol dollars apparently best described as reimbursement rather than sponsorship – redundant in the face of major manufacturer cash. Why keep a second-tier driver when you’re in Formula One to be the best?
Only results will do for Maldonado from now on, but does he have them in him?
Valtteri Bottas
P4, 77 points
Yes – shock, horror – the latest edition in the James Bond-esque series of Flying Finns has made the cut for this list of underperforming drivers.
Yes, Bottas is immensely talented. Yes, he is leading teammate Felipe Massa in the driver’s championship. But is a three-point difference between who is supposed to be one of the sport’s next big things over a 34-year-old who has spent the better part of the last five years being hammered by his other teammates justifying his hype? Uh, no.
This isn’t to say he doesn’t have it in him, of course, but the diminuendo of the sizzle for his move to Ferrari is telling. Massa is a known quantity to Ferrari – both the almost-champion Massa of 2008 and the no-podium Massa of 2011 – so Bottas’ inability to put the Brazilian away halfway through the season isn’t a glowing endorsement.
Could this pause be long enough for Ferrari to consider alternatives? As mentioned above, the ever-grinding rumour mill is suggesting the Scuderia may now have Verstappen in their sights instead.
Let’s see how the season ends.
Tweet Michael abuse on behalf of Valtteri Bottas: @MichaelLamonato
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