Lotus, Virgin and Hispania - After 4 Races

The battle at the back

Whilst Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren fight for the 2010 Formula One World Championship, a similarly intense battle is taking place at the back of the grid. Three new teams entered the sport this year and each desperately wants to be the best rookie outfit.

After four races so far there is no clear leader, but it’s worth looking at how Lotus, Virgin, and Hispania compare with each other.

 Number of race finishes
3 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
3 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
2 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
2 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
1 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
0 - Timo Glock (Virgin)

Racing laps completed
204 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
159 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
127 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
118 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
90 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
59 - Timo Glock (Virgin)

Best finishing position
13th - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
14th - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
14th - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
16th - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
17th - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
Yet to finish - Timo Glock (Virgin)

Average finishing position*
16.5 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
17.5 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
20.0 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
20.5 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
21.5 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
24.0 - Timo Glock (Virgin)

Best qualifying position
14th - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
16th - Timo Glock (Virgin)
18th - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
22nd - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
22nd - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
23rd - Bruno Senna (Hispania)

Average qualifying position
18.75 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
19 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
19.5 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
22.5 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
23 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
23.5 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)

*For the purpose of this statistic, a driver who registers a DNF is deemed to have finished the race in position 24.


The stats tell an interesting story. The Virgin is the quickest car, as per Timo Glock's speed in qualifying, but it’s also the most unreliable. Glock is yet to finish a Grand Prix this year and has completed just two racing laps in the last two rounds.

Lotus has been the most consistent new team, and since Heikki Kovalainen has enjoyed better reliability than Jarno Trulli, the Fin has scored the best results.

The Hispania Racing Team has displayed excellent reliability since the first race in Bahrain where both cars retired early. HRT are therefore ahead of Virgin in the Constructors Championship (on a count back of results) and are the only new team to get both cars home in the last two races.

These stats are designed to show the progress of the teams, rather than the drivers, but they do indicate that Timo Glock is significantly ahead of Lucas Di Grassi. The other teammates are much closer in qualifying.

To date Lotus have been the most successful rookie team in 2010, but with a fast Virgin car and a reliable Hispania right behind them, there is plenty of time for anything to happen before the season ends.

Posted by Martin Porter. - Follow him on twitter @mpondaweb.

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Last Comment Posted »

• Cheers for the feedback guys!

  It will be very interesting to see how the teams compare in another 4 races or so. I think Lotus will still be on...
  by MartyP
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