The Indy Awards - Round 16

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Chinese Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Comments
At the start of the year, I wouldn't have bet for a result like this today. Both the Toro Rossos were the leading independent team for today's Chinese Grand Prix. In addition the two sister Red Bulls were next up. In truth, Toro Rosso had been threatening to do well since last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. Not only would it have gained a win for Mark Webber and second for Vettel in these awards but both their cars would have been on the podium for the FIA championship. Mark Webber quite rightly claims that he could have been fighting for the lead had it not been for the unfortunate incident with Vettel.

Some might say that Red Bull had some bad luck in today's race. However, if one examines the lap times, the Toro Rossos were right up there with the rest of the leading independents. Vettel especially deserves his win today.

Perhaps the emergence of Red Bull and especially the Toro Rossos ( who even finished ahead of the works Renaults and BMWs) should tell us that most of the middle order teams have quite rightly put all their efforts into next year's challengers. There is nothing more to do this year for the likes of Renault, and BMW are safe in the current championship positions. I'm not sure if Williams are still developing their 2007 car at the moment but their fourth position in the FIA championships is still under threat from Red Bull. In these awards, its long gone. Williams have already taken it.

Toro Rosso just need points and today Toro Rosso have lept to seventh in the FIA constructos championship ahead of struggling Honda. Speaking of which, I was disappointed to see that with Button's point scoring position today, have pulled themselves ahead of Super Aguri. A pity for the Super Aguri then for the performances they have managed this year, they deserve to be ahead of the works team.

However, another result like today and we just might see Toro Rosso ahead of Toyota in the FIA championship. Now that would be something for the former Minardi team, wouldn't it?

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Sebastien Vettel (Toro Rosso) - 9
2. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 6
3. David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 5 (1 for pole, 4 for race)
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 3
5. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 2
6. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 1
=. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 1 (for fastest lap)

Teams
1. Toro Rosso - 15
2. Red Bull - 8
3. Williams - 3
4. Super Aguri - 1


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 99 (Champion)
2. Mark Webber - 69
3. Alex Wurz - 64
4. David Coulthard - 57
5. Takuma Sato - 40
6. Anthony Davidson - 31
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 24
8. Adrian Sutil - 19
9. Sebastien Vettel - 11
10. Scott Speed - 9
11. Christian Albers - 8
12. Sakon Yamamoto - 3
13. Marcus Winkelhock - 2

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 163 (Champion)
2. Red Bull - 126
3. Super Aguri - 71
4. Toro Rosso - 44
5. Spyker - 32


Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. David Coulthard - 4 (2 for qualy, 2 for race)
2. Mark Webber - 3 (2 for qualy, 1 for race)
=. Nico Rosberg - 3 (1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
4. Alex Wurz - 2 (2 for race)
=. Takuma Sato - 2 (1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)

Teams
1. Red Bull - 7
2. Williams - 5
3. Super Aguri - 2


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 67
2. Mark Webber - 40
3. Alex Wurz - 37
4. Takuma Sato - 34
5. Anthony Davidson - 24
6. David Coulthard - 22
7. Sebastien Vettel - 3
8. Andrian Sutil - 2
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 2
10. Christian Albers - 1
=. Sakon Yamamoto - 1


Overall Teams
1. Williams - 104
2. Red Bull - 62
3. Super Aguri - 56
4. Toro Rosso - 5
5. Spyker - 4

The Indy Awards - Round 13

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Italian Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg (Williams)- 11
2. Mark Webber (RBR) - 6
3. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 4
4. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 3
5. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 2
6. Sebastien Vettel (Toro Rosso) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 11
2. Super Aguri - 7
3. Red Bull - 6
4. Toro Rosso - 3

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 88
2. Alex Wurz - 62
3. Mark Webber - 57
4. David Coulthard - 43
5. Takuma Sato - 35
6. Anthony Davidson - 29
7. Adrian Sutil - 10
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 10
9. Scott Speed - 9
10. Christian Albers - 8
11. Marcus Winkelhock - 2
12. Sebastien Vettel - 2

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 150
2. Red Bull - 100
3. Super Aguri - 64
4. Toro Rosso - 21
5. Spyker - 20


Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Mark Webber - 3 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
3. Alex Wurz - 2 (1 for qualy, 1 for race)
4. Takuma Sato - 1 (for fastest lap)
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1 (race)
=. Sebastien Vettel - 1 (race)
=. Adrian Sutil - 1 (race)
=. Sakon Yamamoto - 1 (race)

Teams
1. Williams - 8
2. Red Bull - 3
3. Toro Rosso - 2
=. Spyker - 2
5. Super Aguri - 1


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 55
2. Alex Wurz - 35
3. Takuma Sato - 29
4. Mark Webber - 28
5. Anthony Davidson - 22
6. David Coulthard - 16
7. Andrian Sutil - 2
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 2
8. Christian Albers - 1
=. Sakon Yamamoto - 1
=. Sebastien Vettel - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 90
2. Super Aguri - 51
3. RBR - 44
4. Spyker -4
5. Toro Rosso - 3

The Indy Awards - Round 12

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Turkish Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg (Williams)- 11
2. David Coulthard (RBR) - 6
3. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 4
4. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 3
5. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 2
6. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 15
2. Red Bull - 6
3. Super Aguri - 4
4. Toro Rosso - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 77
2. Alex Wurz - 62
3. Mark Webber - 51
4. David Coulthard - 43
5. Takuma Sato - 32
6. Anthony Davidson - 25
7. Adrian Sutil - 10
8. Scott Speed - 9
9. Christian Albers - 8
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 8
11. Marcus Winkelhock - 2
12. Sebastien Vettel - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 139
2. Red Bull - 94
3. Super Aguri - 57
4. Spyker - 20
5. Toro Rosso - 18

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Alex Wurz - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Anthony Davidson - 3 (2 for qualy, 1 for race)

Teams
1. Williams - 1
2. Super Aguri - 3


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 49
2. Alex Wurz - 33
=. Takuma Sato - 28
4. Mark Webber - 25
=. Anthony Davidson - 22
6. David Coulthard - 16
7. Andrian Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 82
2. Super Aguri - 50
3. RBR - 41
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

The Indy Awards - Round 11

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Hungarian Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg (Williams)- 11
2. Mark Webber (RBR) - 6
3. David Coulthard (RBR) - 4
4. Alex Wurx (Williams) - 3
5. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 2
6. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 14
2. Red Bull - 10
3. Super Aguri - 2
4. Toro Rosso - 1

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 66
2. Alex Wurz - 58
3. Mark Webber - 51
4. David Coulthard - 37
5. Takuma Sato - 31
6. Anthony Davidson - 22
7. Adrian Sutil - 10
8. Scott Speed - 9
9. Christian Albers - 8
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 6
11. Marcus Winkelhock - 2
12. Sebastien Vettel - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 124
2. Red Bull - 88
3. Super Aguri - 53
4. Spyker - 20
5. Toro Rosso - 16

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Takuma Sato - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Nico Rosberg - 5 (2 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Mark Webber - 4 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
4. David Coulthard - 3 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
5. Anthony Davidson - 1 (1 for fastest lap)


Teams
1. Red Bull - 7
=. Super Aguri - 7
3. Williams - 5


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 43
2. Alex Wurz - 28
=. Takuma Sato - 28
4. Mark Webber - 25
=. Anthony Davidson - 19
6. David Coulthard - 16
7. Andrian Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 71
2. Super Aguri - 47
3. RBR - 41
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

The Indy Awards - Round 10

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the European Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Mark Webber (RBR)- 10
2. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 7 (6 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
3. David Coulthard (RBR) - 4
=. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 4
5. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 3
6. Adrian Sutil (Spyker) - 1

Teams
1. Red Bull - 14
2. Williams - 7
3. Spyker - 3

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 55
2. Alex Wurz - 55
3. Mark Webber - 45
4. David Coulthard - 33
5. Takuma Sato - 29
6. Anthony Davidson - 22
7. Adrian Sutil - 10
8. Scott Speed - 9
9. Christian Albers - 8
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 6

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 110
2. Red Bull - 78
3. Super Aguri - 51
4. Spyker - 20
5. Toro Rosso - 15

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Mark Webber - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Alex Wurz - 4 (2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. David Coulthard - 4 (2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. Anthony Davidson - 4 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
5. Takuma Sato - 2 (2 for qualy, 2 for fastest lap)


Teams
1. Red Bull - 10
2. Super Aguri - 6
3. Williams - 4


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 38
2. Alex Wurz - 28
3. Takuma Sato - 22
4. Mark Webber - 21
=. Anthony Davidson - 18
6. David Coulthard - 13
7. Andrian Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 66
2. Super Aguri - 40
3. RBR - 34
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

The Indy Awards - Round 9

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the British Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. David Coulthard (RBR)- 9
2. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 6
3. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 5 (4 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 3
5. Christian Albers (Spyker) - 2
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi (STR) - 1
=. Mark Webber (RBR) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 11
2. Red Bull - 10
3. Super Aguri - 3
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Roos - 1

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 55
2. Alex Wurz - 48
3. Mark Webber - 35
4. David Coulthard - 29
5. Takuma Sato - 26
6. Anthony Davidson - 18
7. Scott Speed - 9
=. Adrian Sutil - 9
9. Christian Albers - 8
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 6

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 103
2. Red Bull - 64
3. Super Aguri - 44
4. Spyker - 17
5. Toro Rosso - 15

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 3 (2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
2. Alex Wurz - 3 (2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Takuma Sato - 1 (for fastest lap)


Teams
1. Williams - 6
2. Red Bull - 1

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 38
2. Alex Wurz - 24
3. Takuma Sato - 20
4. Mark Webber - 15
=. Anthony Davidson - 14
6. David Coulthard - 9
7. Andrian Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 62
2. Super Aguri - 34
3. RBR - 24
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

The Indy Awards - Round 6

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Canadian Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Alexander Wurz (Williams)- 9
2. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 6
3. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 5 (4 for race, 1 for pole)
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 4
5. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 2
6. David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 14
2. Super Aguri - 8
3. Red Bull - 5


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 38
2. Alex Wurz - 34
3. Takuma Sato - 21
4. Mark Webber - 17
5. David Coulthard - 16
6. Anthony Davidson - 14
7. Andre Sutil - 6
=. Scott Speed - 6
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
=. Christian Albers - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 72
2. Super Aguri - 35
3. Red Bull - 33
4. Spyker - 11
5. Toro Rosso - 11

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Takuma Sato - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Nico Rosberg - 5 (2 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Mark Webber - 4 (2 for qualy, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Alex Wurz - 3 (2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
=. Anthony Davidson - 3 (2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
5. David Coulthard - 1 (for qualy)

Teams
1. Super Aguri -9
2. Williams - 8
3. Red Bull - 5

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 28
2. Takuma Sato - 18
3. Alex Wurz - 16
4. Mark Webber -11
5. Anthony Davidson - 10
6. David Coulthard - 8
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 44
2. Super Aguri - 28
3. RBR - 19
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

The Indy Awards - Round 4

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Spanish Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. David Coulthard (RBR)- 11 (9 + 1 for pole + 1 for fastest lap)
2. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 6
3. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 4
4. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 3
5. Andre Sutil (Spyker) - 2
6. Christian Albers (Spyker) - 1

Teams
1. RBR - 11
2. Super Aguri - 7
3. Williams - 6
4. Spyker - 3

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 28
2. Alex Wurz - 15
3. Takuma Sato - 14
4. Mark Webber - 13
5. David Coulthard - 12
6. Anthony Davidson - 10
7. Andre Sutil - 6
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
=. Christian Albers - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 43
2. RBR - 25
3. Super Aguri - 24
4. Spyker - 11
5. Toro Rosso - 5

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. Takuma Sato - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. David Coulthard - 4 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Anthony Davidson - 1 (for race)
=. Christian Albers - 1 (for race)
=. Andre Sutil - 1 (for race)

Teams
1. Super Aguri - 6
2. Williams - 5
3. RBR - 4
4. Spyker - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 17
2. Takuma Sato - 12
3. Alex Wurz - 7
=. Anthony Davidson - 7
5. Mark Webber - 6
=. David Coulthard - 5
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 24
2. Super Aguri - 19
3. RBR - 11
4. Spyker - 2

The Indy Awards - Round 3

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Bahrain Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Post race comments
Williams scored maximum points in the independents award at the Bahrain Grand Prix. They were however, very fortunate to do so for in the race it seemed that the Red Bull were absolutely in flying form. David Coulthard drove a storming race starting from 21st on the grid to catch his teammate Mark Webber during the race. At the point when the two Red Bulls retired, they were in fact not only ahead of both the Williams drivers but were also ahead of both the Renaults. Adrian Newey's design excellence whilst not yet up there with the front runners, is starting to show its worth relative to the works Renaults. The cars were fast and their drivers were clearly up for it. Mark Webber was also going quickly but his pace was perhaps hampered by a fuel filler that refused to close once the car got underway after the first round of pitstops.

Both the Red Bulls retired as a result of drive train failure, whilst both were leading the works Renaults. Or so the explanation goes. But you can never tell these days of corporate PR cover ups. Coulthard retired with a broken driveshaft and Webber with a broken greabox. All in all, it has to be encouraging for Red Bull at this stage. Pre-season of course, the expectation was that an Adrian Newey chassis coupled with Mateschitz money should have seen them challenging in the top 5. But they are progressing, no doubt about it. And with Mark Webber, they have a driver thats clearly quick and not short of motivation. Do not forget David Coulthard as well who was quicker than Webber this weekend. And in fact, his race fastest lap was quicker than that of Heikki Kovalainen's. Had Mark Webber not had his fuel filler out of shape, chances are he'd have been faster than both Coulthard and Fisichella. Their independents score below does not do justice to their race performance last weekend.

The Super Aguris continue to do well. Anthony Davidson was only beaten out of the top 10 in qualifying after some last minute performances by Williams and Toyota and for quite some time, he looked like he was going to start in the top 10. This weekend Anthony Davidson was much quicker than teammate Sato who up until this point had outperformed the Briton. During the race however, Takuma managed to battle it out with Ralf Schumacher's Toyota and looked well on his way to beating the German. But alas, his engine gave way as well. Davidson though a classified finisher, would suffer the same fate. If I were being cheeky I'd say that the Japanese pushed the self destruct button to ensure that the sole surviving Honda of Barrichello would finish ahead of both the customer cars. As it is, Davidson's fastest lap of the race was quicker than that of Barrichello.

So, with the demise of the Red Bulls, Williams are once again the leading independent. But despite pushing hard they only finished 9th and 10th overall in the race. (Both Williams had fastest laps quicker than both the works Toyotas) But as I said, luck had everything to do with this. I have a feeling though, that as the season progresses, Adrian Newey's Red Bull might just be consistently beating Woking. And do not be surprised if they win more Wag The Dog points for beating the works cars on a regular basis. Now thats a prospect to relish.

Comments On The Customer Car Row
As it is, as you can see from the points scored in Bahrain and the overall standings, the Williams teams are beating all comers including the Toro Ross and Super Aguri, both teams who have been threatened by Williams with litigation of the customer car row. But as you can see, Williams have been consistently outperforming these customer cars. Therefore, I shouldn't think that Frank Williams will be bothered about taking this matter to the courts. The Spyker team are a different story altogether. Whilst the points do show that they are ahead of Toro Rosso in race finishes but they are in actual fact slower than both Toro Rosso and Super Aguri. They have every reason to want to seek legal recourse.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg (Williams)- 9
2. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 6
3. Christian Albers (Spyker) - 4
4. Andre Sutil (Spyker) - 3
5 Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 2
= Mark Webber (RBR) - 2 (1 for qualy + 1 for race finish)
7. David Coulthard - 1 (For fastest lap)

Teams
1. Williams - 15
2. Spyker - 7
3. RBR - 3
4. Super Aguri - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 22
2. Alex Wurz - 15
3. Mark Webber - 13
4. Takuma Sato - 10
5. Anthony Davidson - 7
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
7. Christian Albers - 4
= Andre Sutil - 4
8. David Coulthard - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 37
2. Super Aguri - 17
3. RBR - 14
4. Spyker - 8
5. Toro Rosso - 5

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 4 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. Alex Wurz - 4 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Anthony Davidson - 3 (2 for qualy, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Mark Webber - 1 (for qualy)
=. David Coulthard - 1 (for fastest lap)
=. Takuma Sato - 1 (for fastest lap)

Teams
1. Williams - 8
2. Super Aguri - 4
3. RBR - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 12
2. Takuma Sato - 7
=. Alex Wurz - 7
4. Mark Webber - 6
=. Anthony Davidson - 6
6. David Coulthard - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 19
2. Super Aguri - 13
3. RBR - 7

Post Script

The Wag The Dog points for Bahrain has been a fair reflection of the season so far. The independents are strong during qualifying and have good race pace but are no match for the factory teams over a race distance.

The Indy Awards - Introduction

Looking at how some of the independent teams like Williams and Super Aguri have performed relative to their respective factory teams Toyota and Honda, I have decided to create a couple of purely hypothetical and hopefully fun awards for independent teams. Its sort of a fantasy grand prix challenge. Some of the reasons for doing this include:

1. I pay too much attention to the front runners and therefore creating this award focuses some of my attention to the midfield battle and the relative performances of the teams.
2. Its fun watching the independents beat their respective factory teams.
3. Its for my own amusement.
4. All the other blogs have all sorts of charts and statistics so I want a gimmick too ;)

So with that I shall go on to define an independent team. First, no we will not be following the FIA definitions of independent teams as stated in the Sporting Regulations. If this were the criteria, Ferrari would be an independent team rather than a manufacturer. So that's rubbish.

Second, an independent is a team that I deem to be independent. Yes, yes, shades of Max Mosley there but I have my reasons. The following teams are eligible for the awards:

1. Red Bull - Yes, they are well financed by Herr Mateschitz. But in spirit they are an independent team. And certainly they act like a free spirited racing team than corporate stiffs like Honda and Toyota. I fully expect Renault to give them engines equal to the works cars and its then an interesting battle of ingenuity between their respective chassis design teams.

2. Williams - A sad choice this one. Once upon a time, I would have classified this as the BMW factory team. With all the championships it has won in the past, it really ought to be compared to the frontrunners but Formula 1 like natural evolution favours the strong and Williams are anything but that these days. Still, they must be considered the favourites to take the awards.

3. Super Aguri - As far as I'm concerned these guys are heroes this season, in the mould of Minardi in seasons long gone. They are taken care by Honda but of course you wouldn't expect Honda to be too pleased about the customers beating the works machines. No reason to wonder why Aguri Suzuki is racing in Formula 1, he is simply a racer. As far as I'm concerned they are the closest thing these days to "Minardi Cool"-ness.

4. Toro Rosso - Their cars are designed by Adrian Newey just like the Red Bulls. However, one wonders if the budget is anywhere close to that of the Bulls. On top of that, they are using a Ferrari engine. And of all the engine suppliers, I'd imagine Ferrari are the worse. Nevertheless, this is the former Minardi team and I wish them all the best.

5. Spyker - Now by right the Squadron is a car manufacturer albeit a maker of very small volume, expensive cars. The fact of the matter is, these guys are not going to do a Super Aguri anytime soon, despite Mubadala money. And with their performances to date I'd say that in spirit they are an independent team. So they're eligible.

Some may argue that McLaren, whose shares are majority owned by private organisations should really be classified as an independent. But in actual fact, in spirit they are the Mercedes factory team. Also, Mercedes doesn't have any customers. Even if they did, McLaren would still be the works team and therefore doesn't qualify.

So what awards are on offer? These are:

1. The Colin Chapman Award for best independent team.
2. The Wag the Dog Award for the independent team that most often beats its respective factory team over the course of the season.

And now on to the rules.

Colin Chapman Award

Points will be given to eligible teams based on their finishing order. I've always preferred the old 9-6-4-3-2-1 points system. Therefore, the top independent finisher for each grand prix will be awarded 9 points. The second independent finisher will be awarded 6 points and so on. Points are awarded to drivers and the score of each driver is added to the team total.

A bonus point will be awarded for qualifying performance. Now, I'm no fan of the current Formula 1 qualifying formats, so I'll adopt the old one. The independent driver who gets the fastest time in all of qualifying (first, second or third session) will be awarded an additional bonus point. His/her point will be added to the team total as well.

A bonus point will be awarded for fastest lap during a race. The independent driver who drives the fastest lap of all independent teams will be awarded a bonus point. And his/her point will be added to the team total.

Simple right?

Wag The Dog Award

Here's where its a little more complicated. One point will be awarded to the independent driver for each respective factory team car that he or she beats during the course of the grand prix. Points will be awarded for performances during qualifying, the race finishing order and for race fastest laps.

Qualifying

In this case, the official FIA F1 qualifying result will be used. A point is awarded to a driver and his/her team for each respective factory team car that he/she beats in qualifying.

E.g.

Qualifying order Mark Webber (RBR), Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), David Coulthard (RBR), Heikki Kovalainen (Renault).

Mark Webber - 2 points for beating 2 works Renaults.
David Coulthard - 1 point for beating 1 works Renault.
RBR Team Total - 3 points

Qualifying order Mark Webber (RBR), David Coulthard (RBR), Fisichella, Kovalainen.

Mark Webber - 2 points for beating 2 works Renaults.
David Coulthard - 2 points for beating 2 works Renaults.
RBR Team total - 4 points

Qualifying order Mark Webber (RBR), Fisichella, Kovalainen, Coulthard(RBR)

Mark Webber - 2 points for beating 2 works Renaults.
David Coulthard - 0 points for qualifying behind both works Renaults.
RBR Team toal - 2 points.


Race

The FIA F1 official results will be used for classification purposes. Similar to qualifying, except that it now applies to the race. A point is awarded to the independent driver and his team for each respective factory car that he/she beats during the race. See the qualifying points above for examples. However, for race points the driver must have finished the race and be classified according to the official FIA results.

Fastest Lap

As in qualifying and race results above, a point is awarded to the independent driver and his / her team for achieving a fastest lap during the race that is quicker than each respective factory car's fastest race lap.

The Wag The Dog points for each grand prix will be the sum of qualifying, race and fastest lap points.

I'm not sure if this is all clear but if you follow the points after each race, it should all become clearer.

I'm not a lawyer obviously and I can't define this is perfect legal terms so hopefully it'll be clearer to you (if you're still following this) after you see the points after each race. Points are awarded for all races in the FIA F1 calendar.

First results coming up in the next post.