Hang The Traitors

While the world waits for Max Mosley's next move after exhibiting temper tantrums over some otherwise truthful snipes about him, lets consider the two treacherous teams who were expelled from FOTA in the last few weeks.

One of them, Williams, have stated that they wish to be reinstated into FOTA. I am absolutely disgusted by the audacity. I'm certain Vijay Mallya, the loathsome maker of the world's worst drink, incorrectly called a beer, the awful Kingfisher, is probably in a state of wishful thinking that his team would be welcomed back into the fold as well.

I do not see any reason whatsoever for the treachery to be rewarded. Whilst the teams showed uncommon solidarity in facing up to the tyrant Mosley, these two sold their souls to the devil, blissfully agreeing to be led by the nose by Max and Bernie. In the case of Frank Williams, he plainly admitted that money (and of course some lucrative Formula 2 design contracts) was the main motivation. In the case of Mallya, he gave some pitiful excuse about banking convenants that supposedly forced his hand.

Very well, if these apostates were so adept in saving their selfish skins, the let them now stand alone. FOTA had fought hard to gain concessions and whatever benefits should be theirs to share amonst themselves. Williams and Force India walked out by their actions, akin to deserting your comrades in battle. Why should they not face the firing squad now? And why should the be allowed to share in the spoils of (any) victory?

I say allow the new teams USF1, Campos and Manor into FOTA for they are indeed taking a bold step. But disloyalty should be rewarded in kind. Let Williams and Mallya stand alone and negotiate with Bernie and see how far that gets them. More revenue for the teams certainly. But none for these bastards.

The So Called Solution

So it has emerged that Mercedes have floated a compromise proposal to FOTA and the FIA regarding the rules for next year's Formula 1 world championship. In effect, a budget cap of 100 million would be in place and the smaller teams would be technically assisted by the current manufacturers, although this stops short of chassis supply.

What a load of bollocks! Why not simply allow customer cars? Toro Rosso have shown that the concept can work. Heck, even Super Aguri showed that its possible to show the works teams a thing or two. Lola, who apparently will enter the 2010 championship, is in the business of constructing racing cars and selling them off to teams in other formulae. If customer cars were allowed, they could supply the other entrants as well.

Interestingly, there are two different views within FOTA itself. Some folks led by Williams who are adamantly opposed to the idea of customer cars on the grounds that this would somehow jeapordise the constructors world championship. Again, completely bollocks. Then there's Red Bull, who were assured when they entered Formula 1 that customer cars would be allowed.

I still can't understand Williams' argument. We could easily add a team's title in addition to the constructors championship. For instance, points for the constructors championship could be scored by the top two cars of the constructor regardless of the team that won it. If Williams for instance supplied cars to say Campos, and such a team scored a one-two in the race, Williams as a constructor would collect points since they are the constructor of the cars. They would still gain the prestige of winning the constructors title. If Campos regularly beat the works cars, then the team championship would be won by Campos.

In other formulae and especially in sports cars we see different combinations of chassis and engines all the time. In grand prix racing, we see that its possible for the customer team i.e. Toro Rosso to win against the works team using different engines. In sports cars we regularly see the customer teams beat the works cars. It all adds to the interest in the sport.

Teams would be in a far better position to afford grand prix racing if they did not have to spend monies on research and development and maintaining production facilities. But nevertheless, they would still have to pay for their chassis. In fact, this would be a revenue source for constructors. Lola makes a living from this. And so could say the Williams team, who I'm sure with its still vast technical resources could make better racing cars.

Frank Williams is a complete ass. And so is his team. I'd never thought I'd ever say that. And yet now, I wish Williams demise from grand prix racing.

Williams Give In Again

So Williams has broken ranks and have signed up for next year's world championship. Or should that be called selling their collective souls? Needless to say I am more than a little troubled and disappointed. The reason given is that Williams does nothing else but grand prix racing and hence cannot afford to be left out.

Williams, Brawn GP and wannabe team Force India are 3 teams currently competing who are in support of Max Mosley's budget cap. With Williams' capitulation how long before the other 2 break ranks and capitulate? Despite Williams' assurances that they are still in support of FOTA, the practical reality is that the FIA and FOA have once again succeeded in bending Williams to their will.

I suppose some people never learn. In the past, the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) was intended to care for, among other things, the commercial rights of the teams. This it did. However, with sleight of hand and the incompetence of solicitors representing Williams, McLaren and Tyrrell, Bernie Ecclestone managed to deny those rights and grab it all for himself. Williams and McLaren went so far as to sue their incompetent former solicitors but in the end, Bernie stepped in to ensure that the lawsuit never saw the light of day lest it revealed the dirt that went on to the public.

How much money was paid to shut the teams up? No one knows. It couldn't have been so small a sum but I doubt if it was a very large amount neither. Bernie managed to flog off those commercial rights, first to the now defunct Kirsch, then a string of banks and finally the loathsome CVC. Bernie became a billionaire from that sale whilst Frank Williams is struggling to stay afloat.

And what did Williams and McLaren get? Well obviously not enough since Williams is now thinking like small fries. Instead of standing their ground and possibly gaining what is theirs by right i.e. greater share of the commercial revenues of the sport, they capitulate once more. By signing with the FIA, Williams have lost all leverage against Bernie and CVC. How on Earth can you demand more from those bastards and in the long run eradicate their cancerous activities if you have a contract with the FIA to race?

Perhaps it is just as well that Williams are merely given scraps off the food table and today are merely a midfield runner destined one day to fade away to oblivion. Their cowardice deserves such reward. Sorry Frank, I have lost all respect for you.

Update 27/05/2009 : Williams have been temporarily suspended from FOTA membership. As well they should be. Hopefully Williams will be denied any gains made by FOTA. They don't deserve any of it

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 8

Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the French 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 (1 for pole, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
2. Mark Webber (RBR) - 6
3. David Coulthard (RBR) - 4
4. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 3
5. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 2
6. Adrian Sutil (Spyker) - 1

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


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 49
2. Alex Wurz - 43
3. Mark Webber - 34
4. Takuma Sato - 23
5. David Coulthard - 20
6. Anthony Davidson - 18
7. Scott Speed - 9
=. Adrian Sutil - 9
9. Christian Albers - 6
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 92
2. Red Bull - 54
3. Super Aguri - 41
4. Spyker - 15
5. Toro Rosso - 14

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)
2. Alex - 3 (1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Mark Webber - 1 (for race)
=. David Coulthard - 1 (for race)



Teams
1. Williams - 8
2. Red Bull - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 35
2. Alex Wurz - 21
3. Takuma Sato - 19
4. Mark Webber - 15
=. Anthony Davidson - 14
6. David Coulthard - 9
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 56
2. Super Aguri - 33
3. RBR - 28
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

Nico Rosberg

Amidst all the hype surrounding Lewis Hamilton, spare a thought for the 2005 GP2 champion Nico Rosberg. Nico had a great debut race last year, finishing in the points and taking the fastest lap of the race. From then on, his results had largely gone downhill. Sometimes the fault lay with him but in large part it coincided with the worst ever season for Grove in grand prix racing.

This year, Nico looks like he's having a far better time. The Williams of course is no match for the Ferraris or McLarens up front but against cars of similar (or even slightly better) performance, Nico has been doing a splendid job. Both in my Indy awards and in the official FIA standings, Nico is currently the top independent team driver.

In the Indy Awards, Nico has had a couple of wins, a second and a fourth position. The last comes despite having failed to finish in Malaysia, through no fault of his own. Whilst the Red Bulls are looking increasingly quick they haven't had the reliability. In the Indy points standing, Nico has a massive lead and if you follow the Wag The Dog points, you can see that he eats the works Toyotas for breakfast, consistently faster and finishing ahead of them.

All things being equal, its easier being in a quicker car than an average or bad one. Narain Karthikeyan for instance was absolutely amazed at the ease with which the Williams can be driven as compared to the Jordan he was used to. Likewise, I am certain the latest McLaren is better balanced and has limpet like grip compared to the Williams. Thus, Hamilton up front has a far easier time and its easy to praise his successes, considerable though it may be.

However, Nico has a year's experience under his belt and that experience has been hard won on the back of a terrible season for Williams. With those hard times, comes maturity in addition to the raw speed and natural talent. Something that Hamilton has yet to exhibit, for he hasn't had the need to, lucky sod that he is.

God knows if Williams will ever make the necessary quantum leap required to once again challenge for honours at the front but should McLaren or Ferrari require a new driver (not that they really need it right now) then they could do worse than Nico. In fact, if BMW were smart and the time came to replace Nick Heidfeld then their former driver would be a most excellent choice. Its one thing having an exciting hotshoe like Sebastien Vettel in the car. But for the overall package, I think Nico represents an excellent choice.

I do hope however that Williams, now with Toyota power behind them are able to rally in the next few years to give Nico Rosberg the car that he deserves. Inevitably one does compare drivers to that standard benchmark called Michael Schumacher and it would be interesting to see if Nico can develop some of the leadership skills that Michael possesses to lead the Williams team to glory once again. Tall order but not impossible.

Whatever it is, Nico deserves a chance at the big time as much as Hamilton does.

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 - Round 2

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

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Alex Wurz (Williams)- 9
2. Mark Webber (RBR) - 6
3. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 4
4. Anthony Davidson - 3
= Nico Rosberg - 3 (1 for fastest qualifier + 1 for fastest lap + 1 for race finish)
5. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 2

Teams
1. Williams - 12
2. Super Aguri - 7
3. RBR - 6
4. Toro Rosso - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 13
2. Mark Webber - 11
3. Takuma Sato - 10
4. Alex Wurz - 9
5. Anthony Davidson - 5
= Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 22
2. Super Aguri - 15
3. RBR - 11
4. Toro Rosso - 5
5. Spyker - 1

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

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

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

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 8
2. Takuma Sato - 6
3. Mark Webber - 5
4. Alex Wurz - 3
= Anthony Davidson - 3

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 11
2. Super Aguri - 9
3. RBR - 5