F1 Talk: Midfield Opportunities as McLaren Return to Form – 2019 Season Review

The midfield battle has got closer and closer as this decade has gone on and 2019 saw the pecking order change race by race and session by session. Part 1 of the F1 Season Review here.

With the margins so tight, the teams and drivers had to execute a near perfect weekend to score points and beat their rivals. Luck played its part and strategy was more important than ever. Ultimately, the driver made the final difference and it made for a season-long war.

Carlos Sainz was the star of the show as he took 6th place in the drivers’ championship despite Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon spending half of the season in a fast Red Bull.

Podiums for Toro Rosso in Germany and Brazil were highlights of the season. At the opposite end of the scale was the nightmare season for Williams and a car which Haas could never understand over the course of 21 races.

There were so many opportunities to score big points and do something special. Some drivers took them, some missed out.

Here is a look at each of the teams and how they fared in 2019:

McLaren – 145pts

From a disastrous second half of the season in 2018 for McLaren, 2019 was a great year for them and one that has set the tone as they closed the gap to the front three teams.

Carlos Sainz was exceptional and thoroughly deserved his podium in Brazil, even if it was only given two hours after the race finished. McLaren have two drivers in Sainz and Lando Norris who are pushing each other on. The line-up is perfect for team comradery and morale.

Norris has struggled slightly in the races compared to Sainz but has had a solid rookie year and should take confidence from his natural speed.

On the whole, McLaren should be very happy with 2019 which has likely surpassed their expectations.

Going forward, McLaren aim to halve the gap to the front three teams in 2020 with stable regulations which should converge the whole field, especially with the bigger teams likely to have one eye on the 2021 season.

McLaren fans will be happy once again after a period of turmoil and tough times which has taunted the team for far too long.

Renault – 91pts

Renault should be disappointed with 2019. Another year of so much expectation yet they underperformed and had to fight very hard just to take 5th place in the constructors’ standings.

At the moment, Daniel Ricciardo’s bold move to join the French manufacturer looks to not be paying off, especially considering how Red Bull and Honda are potentially building up to a championship challenge in 2020.

There was some hope after Canada when Ricciardo qualified in the top five and Renault had a strong race. But, they have struggled on high-downforce tracks and not even been able to clear the midpack which was the minimum they were expecting coming into 2019.

Nico Hulkenberg’s last season in F1 was a disappointing one. A golden opportunity of a podium in Hockenheim fell by the wayside as an unforced error put him out of the race just as they have when podium opportunities have arose in the past.

Talk of Renault even pulling out in the next few years is still ongoing and if they do not improve, I believe it is possible that F1 will be left with just three manufacturers sooner than many think.

Toro Rosso – 85pts

It’s been a terrific season for Toro Rosso. Two extraordinary podiums and maximising results when big points are up for grabs, they couldn’t ask for much more.

Daniil Kvyat had a strong return to Formula One and was unfortunate to not get back into the sister Red Bull team. However, it looks like Red Bull made the right decision. Following his astonishing podium in Germany, Kvyat has been lacklustre in the second half of the season and was outclassed by Pierre Gasly.

Alexander Albon started the year with Toro Rosso and had a strong start to his rookie year. Personally, I don’t think he did anything special with Toro Rosso in his first 11 Grand Prix.

As for Gasly, to mentally overcome the barrier of getting dropped and being on the brink of potentially being out of the sport, the Frenchman bounced back stronger than ever and showed why Red Bull had the faith to promote him to Red Bull in the first place.

He drove beautifully, able to rotate the car and get hard on the power midway through the corners – something he struggled with at Red Bull. His emotions in Sao Paulo following his incredible second place said it all.

It’s underestimated as to how Gasly must have felt after being demoted. Team Principal, Franz Tost, must be pleased with Toro Rosso’s 2019.

Racing Point – 73pts

A quiet year for Racing Point but Sergio Perez’s 10th place in the championship despite an inferior car is a mighty result. Perez scored points in eight of the last nine Grand Prix. To put into perspective, teammate Lance Stroll scored points on just six occasions all year.

Racing Point were disappointing in the early part of the season but developed their car well. They will be worried by McLaren’s progress though and for me, they desperately need a driver who can push Perez to another level.

The driver plays such a big part in the midfield due to the tight margins. Look at Fernando Alonso in 2018 for example, making the final difference to give McLaren points that other drivers may not have been able to get.

Stroll has been very poor, going out of Q1 far too many times, lacking genuine pace and consistency across the season. An average 2019 for the Pink Panthers, with an exceptional Perez somewhat saving their season.

Alfa Romeo – 57pts

I feel that a weak driver line-up for Alfa Romeo has let them down in 2019 and with a better pairing, they could have done more. Kimi Raikkonen started the season off brilliantly and has shown patches of excellent form.

It’s hard to judge how well Raikkonen has done because Antonio Giovinazzi has not exactly set the world alight. Giovinazzi took a long time to settle into F1 but he has improved slowly but surely and been a match for the much older and experienced Raikkonen as the season progressed.

Giovinazzi has shown potential but has made costly errors such as crashing out of a points-paying position at Spa or missing out by hundredths of a second in qualifying to get into the next phase.

Consistency has been pivotal in the midfield battle this year and Alfa Romeo have not fully understood their car. Even in the final race at Abu Dhabi, Alfa Romeo, along with Haas, did not understand how the tyres worked despite it being the 21st race. It’s ridiculous but demonstrates how important it is to understand the Pirelli rubber.

Haas – 28pts

A torrid year for Haas, they built a car which would go backwards over a Grand Prix distance and could not find a solution to get the tyres in the ideal operating window, which for them was a miniscule window.

Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean often qualified well but just fell away as the race went on. Similarly to Alfa Romeo, the drivers have let the team down a little at times and I am particularly surprised that Grosjean remains in F1 for another year.

Both drivers have been inconsistent and failed to adapt to a challenging car. After a very good 2018, this year may be a reality check for Haas and if next year does not see any improvements, Gene Haas may opt to pull the plug on the Haas programme.

Williams – 1pt

From the outset, it was always going to be a very tough season for Williams. Missing the first week of testing, Paddy Lowe leaving the team suddenly and the lack of hope even before Melbourne set the tone for the rest of the year.

The technical department has struggled to say the least but there was a glimmer of hope towards the back end of 2019 as new parts and upgrades seemed to work. It was not too long ago when Williams were Mercedes’ biggest challengers, now they are seconds off the pace and getting lapped multiple times.

Robert Kubica was never going to be the same driver he was eight years ago but to be beaten 21-0 in qualifying by rookie George Russell is incredibly disappointing. Kubica was too far off the pace too often even though he did score Williams’ only point in Germany.

On the other hand, Russell has been excellent with some stunning performances notably the Hungary weekend when he nearly got into Q2 and was able to fight with other cars that weren’t his teammate.

In my opinion, Russell is the real deal and will be a champion should he find himself in the right car at the right time. The former F2 champion is arguably Williams’ biggest strength at the moment and the team are lucky to keep him for another season.

Things will naturally improve and hopefully Williams can at least battle at the rear of the midfield in 2020.

With no technical changes in the regulations for 2020, the midfield should only get tighter. It will be interesting to see if McLaren can bridge the gap to the big three teams or whether another team can surprise.

Development was key in 2019 but with every team having one eye on the 2021 season which will see a raft of changes, the development race may not be as tough next season so having a car which is strong immediately in the first few races will be crucial in 2020 for the midfield runners.