F1 2013 - Mid-Season Report

Toro Rosso (24 Points)

It€™s been a strange season for Toro Rosso with their performance fluctuating greatly race by race. The car seems strong one weekend and then struggles the next. This struggle for consistency has Toro Rosso currently lying 7th in the constructor championship, with large gaps between McLaren in 6th and Sauber in 8th. It seems likely that 7th will be there finishing position but they€™ll be hoping for strong performances from both drivers in the 2nd half of the season.

Jean-Eric Vergne - 7 (13 Points)

This is the 2nd season at Toro Rosso for Jean-Eric Vergne and while he looked nervous in his debut season, this year he looks more like a complete driver. Vergne has shown very strong race pace but with the worst reliability record on the grid, only finishing 6 races out of 10, Jean-Eric would be sitting higher in the standings. His qualifying performances have been his weakest asset this year, being out-qualified by team mate Ricciardo 7-3, however with strong performances like his brilliant 6th place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix he lies with more points than his Australian team-mate. While Ricciardo seems to be the main contender in the fight for Mark Webber€™s driver next season, Jean-Eric will be hoping to prove he has the quality to fight for a top drive too.

Daniel Ricciardo - 8 (11 Points)

Ricciardo has really timed his form perfectly. Some rather impressive displays in qualifying, dragging the Toro Rosso into the top 10 in his last 3 qualifying sessions has meant that he is shining brighter than Vergne at the present moment and showing Red Bull what a talent he is. Race performances haven€™t always gone to plan however, with the inconsistency of the Toro Rosso partly to blame. Race performance is certainly one aspect that he needs to improve upon in the coming race as currently he is lying two points behind teammate Vergne. With Ricciardo seemingly fighting Raikkonen and Alonso for the 2nd Red Bull seat, he will be hoping to continue his solid performances over the next few races. Personally, I feel Ricciardo should get the drive as that is what the Toro Rosso team is for, to develop and nurture drivers to potentially drive for Red Bull. Going with either Raikkonen or Alonso would seem to negate that philosophy.