Formula One: the highs and lows of 2015 so far

We’re half-way through the season, and as expected it’s Mercedes who lead the way, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg fighting it out for the title once again.

However, things aren’t quite so one-sided as they were last year. Ferrari have marginally closed the gap to the frontrunners, Sebastian Vettel claiming two victories with the Mercs unable to get past on both occasions. In the right conditions, 2015 hasn’t always been a two horsepower race...

Lower down the grid, the competition for points is fierce. Engine trouble and penalties have contributed to a varied middle order, in which every team but Manor has managed to score points at one stage or another.

So as the drivers top up their tans, and, um, sharpen their axe wielding skills, let’s take a look at their best and worst moments...

Having won 16 of the 19 races last year, the Silver Arrows have continued where they left off, claiming the chequered flag in eight of the ten grands prix so far in 2015.

They’ve not had it all their own way though. Ferrari beat them in Malaysia and Hungary, and recent clutch trouble has made them vulnerable off the line in each of the last three races.

147 points ahead in the constructors’ standings, Mercedes will win the championship again at a canter barring an astonishing leap forward by their Italian rivals.

As for which of their drivers will win the drivers’ title, it’s too early to say. Hamilton seems to have the edge on raw pace, but Rosberg will scrap for every point he can get. It’s close.

Best moment

Australia, China, Spain... OK, basically any of their six one-two finishes.

Worst moment

Hungary. Both Hamilton and Rosberg were off form, performing badly in racing situations.

The Scuderia’s goal was to win two races by the end of the year, and they’ve done it with ten grands prix to spare. Some productive work over the winter has turned them into Mercedes’ main challengers, although as things stand they require favourable conditions to be capable of winning.

While Sebastian Vettel has settled and thrived, Kimi Raikkonen’s future has looked increasingly bleak, following a series of disappointing results. The Finn needs to deliver in the second half of the season to secure his future in the sport.

Best moment

Attributing Vettel’s win at the Hungaroring to former Ferrari youth driver Jules Bianchi, days after his funeral.

Worst moment

Watching an under-pressure Kimi Raikkonen crash into Fernando Alonso on the first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Comfortably third best in 2014, the Grove team look set to repeat that feat this year.

Operating on a far lower budget than some of their rivals, Williams have stuck to their ethos of building a car which performs well at high speed. They looked capable of winning at Silverstone last month, but a mixture of bad strategy and wet weather cost them podium places late on.

Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa seem to have a good partnership, with both drivers recording a best finish of third so far this season. The young Finn has called speculation over a move to Ferrari “disturbing”, and he’ll need to put it out of his mind if he’s to secure fourth in the championship ahead of his teammate – and indeed Raikkonen, the man rumours say he’ll replace at Ferrari.

Best moment

Jumping Mercedes at the start of the British Grand Prix and holding the lead until the first pit stops.

Worst moment

Finishing 14^th and 15^th in Monaco, only beating backmarkers Manor.

The quadruple winners of the constructors’ title have engaged in a very public war of words with engine providers Renault in recent months, with owner Dietrich Mateschitz saying: “They take from us not only time and money, but also the will and motivation.”

Away from the quit threats, the former champions have struggled for big points, with a power unit they say makes it impossible to compete for wins. With Red Bull’s maiden podium finish only arriving in the last race – largely due to the frontrunners’ misfortune – they might, for the time being, be right.

Hidden away in the midfield, the battle between Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat is one of the closest on the grid. In races they have both finished, the young Russian leads 4-3.

Best moment

Getting both drivers on the podium in Hungary.

Worst moment

Every time Red Bull and Renault have blamed each other for a lack of performance instead of just getting on with it.

The best of the rest outside the top four.

Eight points separate the three teams battling for fifth in the championship, which comes with an influential spot in F1’s much criticised Strategy Group.

Force India themselves believe Lotus should be faster, although mistakes and reliability issues mean the Silverstone-based outfit have finished in the top ten more often this season.

With only three retirements to their name so far, staying reliable will be key to their ambitions.

Best moment

Le Mans-winning Nico Hulkenberg returning to F1 and qualifying 5^th in Austria, finishing 6^th in the race.

Worst moment

Watching the VJM08 disintegrate on Hungary’s bumpy track, which rolled the car of Sergio Perez and dislodged Nico Hulkenberg’s front wing.

Lotus are the joint most unreliable team alongside McLaren, with Pastor Maldonado DNFing more times than any other driver.

A series of incidents – both mechanical and human in cause – have seen Lotus nearly always either finish in the top ten, or fail to make the end of the race altogether. With a little more consistency, fifth would easily be theirs.

It still might be, as long as Romain Grosjean continues to be dependable. His teammate Maldonado, on the other hand, needs to up his game: three penalties in the last race was inexcusably dreadful, and it meant Lotus failed to capitalise on Force India’s double retirement.

Best moment

Grosjean’s frank apology to Will Stevens after running into the Manor driver at the Canadian Grand Prix. After previous disputes, this was a welcome gesture.

Worst moment

Crashtor’s 95-point haul in Maldonado Bingo just 21 seconds into the British Grand Prix. A record that will take some beating.

With two of the youngest drivers in the sport, Toro Rosso’s progress has been intriguing to watch.

Some terrific performances from both Verstappen and Sainz have been masked by retirements often caused by Renault’s explosion-prone power unit, without which they might have found themselves above Lotus in the standings. As it is, they are four points shy.

Their issue from hereon in is that both drivers have either used or surpassed their allocation of four engines for the year, which means penalties will likely become a frustrating feature from Spa onwards. At least there’ll be lots of overtaking...

Best moment

Max Verstappen’s fourth place in the most recent race in Hungary.

Worst moment

Max Verstappen’s huge crash at Turn 1 in Monaco, which also ruined Romain Grosjean’s race.

After a promising start, Sauber have increasingly struggled to infiltrate the top ten, with richer rivals developing at a rate they can’t seem to match.

Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson reportedly brought in €40m between them when they signed up to race at the start of the year, but the money hasn’t propelled Sauber as far up the grid as they would like.

They have at least improved on their worst-ever year in 2014 by actually scoring some points this season, but there will be disappointment if they can’t make another step up in the remaining ten races.

Best moment

Felipe Nasr’s fifth-place finish in the opening race in Melbourne.

Worst moment

Signing five drivers to race for 2015 before the season had begun.

As feared in pre-season testing, McLaren have had to suffer at the back as new partners Honda figure out how to make a race-winning hybrid engine.

Progress has been tediously slow, and reliability issues have seen McLaren penalised at every turn, chicane and hairpin bend on the calendar. Having used five engines apiece, Button and Alonso will surely suffer from more penalties to come.

McLaren could still feasibly climb the standings, although they’ll need to find several tenths before they start scoring points, rather than inheriting them through retirements up ahead.

If upgrades go well, though, they have the potential – and budget – to finish strongly.

Best moment

Fernando Alonso’s fifth place in Hungary, as Jenson Button made it a double points finish in ninth.

Worst moment

The Spaniard again, this time for saying McLaren looked like “amateurs” on team radio in Montreal. Tell it like it is, Nando…

The minnows of Formula One – running their entire team on a budget of roughly 2.4 Fernando Alonsos – are basically racing in a class of their own.

Having openly stated that this year’s focus is laying the foundations for 2016, there’s very little chance that Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens will be going any quicker by the time the finale in Abu Dhabi comes around.

That said, they have been consistent runners, having only retired once apiece, which is a better record than Ferrari can boast.

In the wake of Jules Bianchi’s tragic death, Manor’s desire to continue in F1 has earned the respect of fans around the world. Let’s hope they can better the Frenchman’s ninth place in Monaco one day...

Best moment

Finishing every race they have entered this year with at least one car, having missed the first grand prix in Australia.

Worst moment

Finishing every race they have entered this year in last place.