The battle at the back continues

Home » F1 Blog » August 24 2010 at 14:50 | posted by Martin Porter | What do you think? Add a comment here

The fight between Lotus, Virgin and Hispania

Three new teams entered Formula One this year and whilst their private battle towards the rear of the Grand Prix field might not attract a lot of attention, it is still very significant. The top ten constructors in the World Championship receive bonus prize money and travel allowances from Formula One Management, and this year there is space for just one of the new teams in that exclusive group. Two will miss out and will be faced with an even harder fight in 2011.

Lotus, Virgin and Hispania might not be fighting for race wins but their battle is one of the most passionate on the grid.

Earlier in the season enterF1.com provided a statistical analysis of the new team's initial performances. Now, with twelve races completed, we're doing the same again to measure their progress throughout 2010. After the early flyaway races, Virgin had the fastest car, Hispania had the most reliable, but Lotus had the best combination of both and was leading the race for tenth in the championship.

Since then, the dynamic between the teams has changed and this is how they currently compare.

DRIVERS SUMMARY

Number of race finishes
8 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
7 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
6 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
6 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
6 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
5 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
2 - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

Racing laps completed
545 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
504 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
484 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
479 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
477 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
429 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
135 - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

Two best finishing positions
13th & 14th - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
14th & 14th - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
14th & 17th - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
15th & 15th - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
16th & 16th - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
16th & 18th - Timo Glock (Virgin)
19th & 20th - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

Average finishing position*
18.3 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
19.4 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
19.8 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
20.8 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
20.9 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
21.0 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
21.0 - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

Two best qualifying positions
15th & 18th - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
16th & 18th - Timo Glock (Virgin)
17th & 18th - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
20th & 21st - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
21st & 21st - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
22nd & 23rd - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
22nd & 24th - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

Average qualifying position
19 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus)
19.2 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus)
20.1 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
22.2 - Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin)
22.2 - Bruno Senna (Hispania)
23.5 - Karun Chandhok (Hispania)
23.3 - Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania)

TEAMS SUMMARY

Racing laps completed
1049 - Lotus
1043 - Hispania
961 - Virgin

Total finishes
15- Hispania
13 - Lotus
12 - Virgin

Races when both cars have finished
6 - Hispania
4 - Virgin
3 - Lotus

Races when both cars have retired
2 - Hispania
2 - Lotus
4 - Virgin

Average qualifying position
19.1 - Lotus
21.2 - Virgin
22.9 - Hispania

Average finishing position*
19.6 - Lotus
19.9 - Hispania
20.8 - Virgin

Constructors Championship standings
10th - Lotus
11th - Hispania
12th - Virgin

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

These statistics have changed significantly throughout the year. In particular, Virgin has a greatly improved finishing record and actually had the most reliable car in the group during the last six races. Timo Glock finished just 2 of the first 8 races, but has now finished 4 of the last 5. The VR-01 was beset by all sorts of mechanical failures at the start of the season but many of these appear to have been sorted.

Lotus hasn’t had to focus on the same reliability concerns, and as such, they have developed their car’s performance. The result is that Lotus now has a faster car than Virgin which wasn’t the case at the start of 2010. Timo Glock used to be the best qualifier in the group but is now, on average, behind both Lotus drivers. Since the Chinese Grand Prix, Lotus has outqualified their nearest rivals in every race except one.

Karun Chandhok has not fared well in qualifying in 2010 and is usually a little bit off Bruno Senna's ultimate speed. However, the popular Indian driver has finished more races than anyone else from the new teams and therefore has the best average finishing record. That's rather impressive considering his results would be even better had he taken part in the last two races. The introduction of Sakon Yamamoto may have skewed some of the statistics, but if you combine all three HRT drivers, the team has fared relatively well considering their lack of speed. Hispania is actually ahead of Virgin in the championship.

Since none of the new teams have scored a single point their championship positions are determined on a count back of results. Lotus currently leads this fight with a best finish of 13^th place in the Malaysian Grand Prix, but their advantage is vulnerable. Virgin or Hispania can beat them in 2010 simply by finishing in 12^th place in one race at some point before the year is over.

With tenth place in the Constructors Championship being so crucial to the small teams, the battle at the back of the grid is as fierce as any other.

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