On the Formula 1 elevator

The British Grand Prix marked the midpoint of the longest season in the history of Formula 1. A good time to take stock once again, just after a race which saw the most successful driver in the history of the sport, Sir Lewis Hamilton, return to winning ways. It means that, in the twelve races so far this season, there have been six different winners from four different teams. Not since 2021 has there been such a variety of drivers and teams claiming the top spot on the podium.

When comparing the first twelve races of this year with the same number last year, one has to take into account there have been some changes to the calendar. The round at Imola was cancelled in 2023 and Shanghai was back on the list this year, while other races take place either earlier or later in the year, but they still match in terms of the points available, as in both years there were three events run to the Sprint format in this period. So here's a summary of the winners and losers (as well as those who remained where they were) from last year to this.

McLaren and Ferrari are definitely worth highlighting as they have each moved up two places in the standings from fifth to third and from fourth to second respectively. McLaren has made impressive progress in terms of points: the Woking team has tripled its score, an increase of 192 points, going from 103 to 295. As for the team led by Fred Vasseur the jump is not so dramatic, up 111 points from 191 to 302.

Only two other teams have increased their points scores, with Haas up 16 from 11 to 27 and Racing Bulls, which ran as AlphaTauri last year, going from a mere three points to 31 already this year, an increase of 28.

As for the drivers, the figures for Lando Norris jump off the page, going from eighth to second with an increase of 102 points, from 69 to 171. His team-mate Oscar Piastri is also doing well, currently fifth in the standings, with 90 more points than when he was tenth last year. Of course, the two Ferrari drivers have also moved up, Carlos Sainz, despite missing one race, by 54 points and Charles Leclerc performing slightly less well, up by 50. Further down the order, Yuki Tsunoda has done well (+17) as has Nico Hulkenberg (+13). It's hard to evaluate Daniel Ricciardo and his eleven points as he failed to score on his only two appearances in this period in Budapest and Spa in 2003 replacing Nyck de Vries, after which he had to pull out with injury.

Strange but true, the maths don't lie, but among those who can be disappointed with how the first half of the season has gone, are the leaders of both the Drivers' and Constructors' classification. Max Verstappen is 59 points down on last year and Red Bull Racing is 130 short. The three time world champion can rest easy as he still has a comfortable 84 point advantage over the second placed driver. However, the Anglo-Austrian team is being caught by its nearest pursuers with Ferrari and McLaren 71 and 78 points behind respectively. Sergio Perez's drop in form, going down from second to sixth, from 189 to 118 points, is a worry and the team will have to be careful in the second part of the season, if it wants to retain the Constructors' crown.

However, there are some doing much worse than Red Bull. Aston Martin is down to around a third of its 2023 points (from 196 to 68) and the drivers are also struggling. Lance Stroll has lost just over half, going from 47 to 23 and Fernando Alonso drops even more, by 104 to be precise, from 149 to 45. The fate of the Alpine duo is similar: Pierre Gasly has dropped 16 points (from 22 to 6) and Esteban Ocon has crashed from 35 to 3!

Mercedes has also done less well this year, but not by much, losing 26 points (the difference between the 12 points gained with George Russell and the 38 lost with Hamilton). It's worth noting that Mercedes' fortunes have taken a turn for the better in the past four races, where it scored 125 of the 221 points available and in the past third of the season it has picked up more points than any other team: 14 more than McLaren, 28 more than Red Bull and a big 75 more than Ferrari.