My Top Ten Drivers of 2016: The Rest...

Here are my views on those F1 drivers from 2016 who didn't make my top 10 ranking that I published a few days ago.

My top 10 drivers of 2016 can be read here.

Nico Hulkenberg
Photo: Octane Photography

As noted Nico Hulkenberg came close to sneaking into the top ten, and would have waltzed in had it been based only on the second half of the year. During the first part he in most rounds looked a shadow – possibly the accumulation of various frustrations from over the years rather weighing him down. And some reckoned in a similar sense that his Renault switch being confirmed for 2017 – a long overdue break – resulted in the Hulk finding his urge of old. But in fact his upturn could be traced to before that, to his home round in Germany before the summer holidays. From then on his drives were almost invariably excellent. We've long known about Hulkenberg’s tremendous raw speed but also that he's been unable or unwilling (or both) to adapt to the gentle touch the modern Pirelli requires, and some said that this campaign he'd finally started to learn from his team mate on how to get the best out of the rubber. And with his works move mentioned and that reportedly next year's tyres will be able to be leant on more, things may be coming right for him at last. 

Going through the rest in championship order brings us first to Felipe Massa, for whom the 2016 campaign was his F1 swansong. He started it well and got a run of points finishes – with China likely his season's high point on track at least – but over time he floundered somewhat and the deficit in qualifying and the races to his Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas often gaped. For all of the affection that his departure was greeted with, you'll struggle to find anyone who doesn't think he timed his retirement well.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Why Bernie Ecclestone Backs Donald Trump For President

We love Bernie Ecclestone, we do! F1's CEO loves to make controversial statements and we love to extract our pound of humour from those controversies. In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Mithila and Kunal tell you why Bernie Ecclestone backs Donald Trump for President. And if you're a Hillary Clinton fan, we tell you why he wouldn't back her candidature.

But this episode isn't about Ecclestone alone, we talk about Filipinho Massa's victory over our favourite, Daniel Ricciardo. Massa Jr.'s celebration skills must be applauded - mark of a true champion. Did Felipe hire Max Verstappen's PR agency though to work on his son?

Should we undergo a rule change for 2017? Why is Mercedes resisting it and why is Red Bull Racing for it? Also, what should the rule changes be? We share our perspective and tell you why the teams will always differ in theirs from us fans.

Rio Haryanto seems to be running out of money. Is F1 in BIG trouble if pay drivers run out of money too? Btw, aren't the Indonesian Govt. doing a little too much to fund his race seat? It's a Manor, after all.

In this day and age of super hero movies, it comes as no surprise to us that Super Formula > Formula 1.  And are the new-age 'rocket science' F1 cars no longer attractive for the upcoming drivers too?

Finally, will Lewis Hamilton win his third consecutive Russian Grand Prix OR will Nico Rosberg leave Russia with 100 points? And apart from Vladmir Putin, who else will join the Mercedes drivers on the podium?

Tune in! (Season 2016, Episode 13)

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Lewis Hamilton, Can He? Will He?

With a 36-point deficit in the Drivers' Championship, can and will Lewis Hamilton win his fourth title in 2016? Will Nico Rosberg's lady luck shine all season long? While Ferrari vs. Mercedes might seem to be a farce, Nico Rosberg vs. Lewis Hamilton is serious business, say Mithila and Kunal in this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast.

Apart from Hamilton's race notes, Rosberg needs to read and learn from his party notes. Burger King, like really? And we ask the question everyone wants to - are Hamilton's off-track activities making him lose focus on-track? He might not have anymore jokers left, but isn't he the joker himself?

APPLAUD! All 22 cars finished the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, 3 different teams made it to the podium and Fernando Alonso finished his first full race of the season. APPLAUD!

Could Raikkonen and Ricciardo have raced to the podium had it not been for their opening lap issues? Also, did Mercedes try too hard to get Hamilton to test all of Pirelli's compounds in China? We tell you why Force India is a dream team as they 'follow their leader' and has Haas run out of 'beginner's luck'?

18 driver, 18 bills and 18 credit card payments - it seems that DUTCH is the flavour of the Formula 1 season. We also speculate why Raikkonen, Palmer, Magnussen and Haryanto missed the #racingunited dinner in China.

Finally, 22 minutes to dry a damp patch on the main straight? Whoever said that the Chinese are most efficient!

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 12)

2016 F1 Betting Preview - Rosberg and Raikkonen where the value is?

We start off confused, and end up confused on a higher level. So the adage goes. And it fits rather neatly with the annual round of F1 pre-season testing. Interpreting it comes with all sorts of toxic health warnings - the headline lap times mean little; we don't know fuel loads, programmes being run or other vital details. That even with these all teams are making efforts to conceal where they are in the competitive order, and that applies equally whether they're doing well or doing badly. It never stops us trying to interpret it though. And with testing done and the opening round of the season proper a week away, from looking at F1 betting odds at netbet do we have a renewed sense of where the value is?

Nico Rosberg's odds to finally beat his team mate 
Lewis Hamilton over a season may be tempting
Photo: Octane Photography

There was little in Barcelona testing to suggest that Mercedes has been knocked fully off its pedestal and therefore Lewis Hamilton remains rightful favourite to be 2016 world drivers' champion. This is reflected in tight odds though for him to do just that - a bet on Lewis at 20/57 to bag the title doesn't even give you 150% of your stake back.

If you fancy laying some money Lewis's way then evens for him to win no more than 11.5 rounds this year looks better value - he got 'only' 10 wins last season and you'd think this campaign will be more competitive, although on the other hand there after 21 rounds this time rather than the 19 then.

Nico Rosberg by contrast gets fairly tempting odds. For him to continue his good end of 2015 form and win the ultimate prize in 2016 you can back him at 29/10. Maybe even better value is 5/6 on him to get more than 5.5 wins, which would be to match his total from last year at least (which was six) and with two more rounds to do it in.

F1 2016 Season Preview: Manor - To the Manor Born

Wind back to the latter part of 2014 and very few thought we'd see its like again. After the Russian race - the location possibly not a coincidence - the owner of the (then named) Marussia team Andrey Cheglakov walked, plunging the outfit into administration. Of course there was talk of fighting on from the team's two main threads of continuity John Booth and Graeme Lowden, but the apparent death rattle sounded terribly familiar.

Photo: Octane Photography

It still sounded terribly familiar when entrepreneur and Ovo Energy owner Stephen Fitzpatrick arrived on the scene to buy the squad and provide some funding. The team, now back to being called Manor, still required a lot of things to come together in the team's favour to continue, but come together they did. The two main creditors Ferrari and McLaren decided to cooperate rather than get awkward, Ferrari too agreed to continue a supply of 2014 power units. Manor had fortune also that the administrators had chosen to sell off its assets in stages, and while one auction had already happened by this point there remained enough for the team to form a skeletal operation (and in an ironic twist, it bought some of the missing pieces from the auction of Caterham, the other team going into a similar abyss at a similar time). Around 80 of the former 200 staff were reassembled, though many of the rest had since been snapped up elsewhere. Manor was on its feet again.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - How To Measure A Good F1 Test?

Before we get to answering 'How to measure a good F1 test?', we tell you why we were missing in action for a few weeks. We also tell you why we love Formula 1 testing as we try and indicate the 'Sign Of Times To Come' (for 2016). Along the way, we also answer a few other questions in this week’s episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast:

• Why the silly qualifying changes till be delayed till the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix?
• Who is the ONE person in the sport not doing his job?
• Why Lewis Hamilton won't be able to dominate for 10 years? – Why F1 drivers are losing weight?
• Why Renault's 2016 car has been delayed?
• Is Rio Haryanto the new Pastor Maldonado?
• Why Haas's car has the COOLEST name! And why the start to their debut campaign is already ominous.
• From third grade engine to third sponsor – McLaren Honda woes to continue in 2016?

And finally, has Alain Prost hinted on the sign of times to come?

Tune in! (Season 2016, Episode 05)

New Grand Prix Times article: Pay drivers ain't what they once were, in more ways than one

Of the many issues that swirl persistently around F1 today there is something that runs through just about all of them. The sense that in this sport things aren't quite what they used to be.

Photo: Octane Photography

This was the case recently even with what you'd have thought would be the inoffensive matter of new car launches. And especially so with the news that Rio Haryanto had claimed the final remaining seat on the 2016 grid, a decision that almost certainly owed much to the money that he brings.

But it's the case too that even the pay driver isn't quite what it used to be, and in more ways than one. As despite the ones we've all heard - such as that Niki Lauda was a pay driver too - the complaints about them right now don't betray mere wistful reflection on the past. Not entirely anyway.

You can have a read of my thoughts on it all here: http://www.grandprixtimes.com/news/id/11334