"Verstappen most likely to win a race if Hamilton has any sort of problem"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The American sports channel ESPN looks back on the first half of the Formula 1 season. Which drivers are performing well and which are disappointing? As with the official F1 Power Rankings, the driver's car is taken into account in the assessment.
Lewis Hamilton is seen as the best performing driver of 2020, but Max Verstappen is a good second. "Yes, he's had two consecutive DNFs, but he can't be blamed for either. Verstappen still looms as the man most likely to win a race if Hamilton has any sort of problem. But as far as a championship challenge goes, he'll have to wait at least one more year", said journalist Jake Michaels.
The disappointments
It also deals with drivers who so far have been disappointed. The criticism of Valtteri Bottas is particularly harsh: "He has to be doubting his ability after another lackluster half season. Hamilton is crushing him, particularly on Sundays, and when chances to win are offered up he fails to take them. All in all, Bottas is pretty lucky to have already secured another season at Mercedes.”
Will we see these drivers again in 2021?
According to ESPN, we will probably not see two drivers next year. "Right now he's the weakest of the four Red Bull drivers and few would be surprised if Japanese F2 driver Yuki Tsunoda took his place in 2021", writes Michaels. And he is not very enthusiastic about Nicholas Latifi either. "We've seen nothing to suggest Latifi will have a long-term future in F1 on merit. He has looked below average compared to teammate Russell and continues to make errors on track.”