A thoughtful shot credit: LAT/Autosport

Robert Kubica. One of the most difficult races to pick so far this year. Alonso certainly isn’t worthy of it, Massa disqualified himself by moving over, Vettel went backwards from the start, Hamilton and Button weren’t particularly stellar and Webber carried a problem throughout much of the race.

We suppose, by default, it has to go to Kubica. Again the best of the rest, the general feeling around the paddock is that he’s getting more out of the car than there is to be given. However, it’s somewhat difficult to tell when he’s thoroughly outclassing his team mate at every turn.

He really deserves to be put in a championship winning car, just to have a shot at it. Sadly for him, the McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull drives look to be locked up for next season, if not beyond. The next option, Mercedes, appear to have their driver line up settled for next year barring another Schumacher retirement, which isn’t something Kubica was or should be willing to hang around for.

His best option, Ferrari, went for a man they knew would play second fiddle to Alonso, not something we can see Kubica doing. “Here’s a potentially championship winning car, Robert, but do us a favour and don’t actually win in it, will you? Just get out of the way when His Magnificence Sir Fernando Alonso moans a bit.” No, we can’t see it happening either.

Therefore, we at Badger think he’s done exactly the right thing in committing to Renault and we’d be very surprised if he didn’t have a clause or two in his contract authorising his release should a ‘big’ team come in for him.

Sadly, and it’s very much a reflection of the race we endured at the weekend, there’s not that much more to say.

Badger’s series of team and driver analysis: The Top Dogs, the Chasing Dogs and the Sleeping Dogs.  First of all, here’s the Top Dogs after Germany

So, Hockenheim – to be honest, the racing wasn’t that interesting and your correspondent actually dozed off at one point (don’t worry, the wonders of modern technology allowed for rewinding). However, thankfully for this article and the wider F1 press, Ferrari managed to generate reams of copy by trying to play God yet again. When will they learn?

A picture is worth a thousand words... credit: Autosport/Sutton Images

Ferrari

• Qualifying: Alonso (2^nd) Massa (3^rd)
• Race: Alonso (1^st) Massa (2^nd)

Okay. Deep breath. The story of the race up to that incident is quickly told. Both Massa and Alonso beat Vettel off the line to take first and second respectively. They then trundled round until their pit stops, pitted and returned to the same positions.

Then on lap 49 Massa deliberately slowed to allow Alonso through after an instruction from the pit wall and sparked the incident that’s got F1 in the papers for all the wrong reasons.

The story’s genesis can really be traced back to Felipe Massa’s signing of a new two-year contract earlier this year. “That’s a bit odd” we thought, “he’s been no great shakes this season.” Now the reasons for that have become abundantly clear. Massa is a number two driver to Alonso, presumably only kept on to please the moody Spaniard who, after his season at McLaren, clearly doesn’t relish having a competitive team mate. Quick enough to be World Champion again, certainly, but willing to race for it? Not a chance.

The issue itself is different to Ferrari’s Austrian switch in 2002. For a start, it’s clear to anyone watching F1 this season that Alonso is quicker than Massa and that he needs the points, which Schumacher simply didn’t in 2002. Nevertheless, at only just over half way through the season, and with Massa clearly able to hold off Alonso for the race victory, the whole thing is decidedly murky. So you’re faster than him, Fernando? Well then, get into gear and pass him. Don’t go whining to the team to make him move over. Just as an aside, it’s against the rules. What price fixing a race? $100,000 you say? We’ll take four.

Then, to top it all off, came Ferrari’s insistence that it was purely Felipe’s decision. Come. Off. It. If you’re going to do it, don’t insult the intelligence of everyone watching. It’s not nice. Rob Smedley was presumably saying sorry for something in no way connected to making a not-terribly-well-coded radio message.

Grubby.

Badger’s best: Massa

Red Bull

• Qualifying: Vettel (1^st) Webber (4^th)
• Race: Vettel (3^rd) Webber (6^th)

Another race in which Red Bull managed to spoil their qualifying performance and come home lower than they started.

Vettel’s qualifying lap was brilliant, no doubt about it. However, there’s really no point in it if you then can’t sustain it. Then it becomes only a stat, a record to be cited in forthcoming seasons that no one will remember. Vettel said after the race that he got the maximum out of the car, but when Webber is finishing sixth and if he really wants to press home his advantage, he should have done better.

Webber, for his part, wasn’t really on form all weekend. Jumped by Hamilton and Button and then suffering from an oil consumption problem, he’ll just be glad Vettel could only manage third. A quieter weekend for the Red Bull drivers, but you get the feeling that their own personal battle isn’t finished. Expect more fireworks. Hopefully big ones.

Badger’s best: Vettel

McLaren

• Qualifying: Button (5^th) Hamilton (6^th)
• Race: Hamilton (4^th) Button (5^th)

When you don’t have the car, you don’t have the car.

A weekend in which the McLarens were never really anywhere near the ultimate pace and struggled to compete with the Ferraris and Red Bulls. Perhaps the upgrades on the car, perhaps the set up they’d gone for (surely no one needs that much of a straight-line speed advantage…), they’ll be looking for a big step in Hungary, lest their grip on the two titles loosens.

Button did well to out qualify Hamilton and was unlucky to be blocked by Vettel around the outside of turn one at the start of the race. After losing a few places and making one back almost immediately, he then ran a long first stint to jump Mark Webber and settled into a groove behind Lewis for a spot of formation flying.

Nothing too much of interest and nothing that tells us anything about the relationship between the two drivers. That’s your lot, folks.

Badger’s best: Hamilton

Renault

• Qualifying: Kubica (7^th) Petrov (13^th)
• Race: Kubica (7^th) Petrov (10^th)

Not bad for the Renault team, again finishing as the best of the rest.

A good scrap with Hamilton at the start led to Kubica losing a couple of places followed by holding off Schumacher. Realistically, barring retirements, seventh was the best he could have hoped for. Seeing as he achieved that, he’s done well. The question beginning to form in our minds is whether he could be going even faster if he had a good team mate to push him. Does it matter that much his team mate, even in a world of flying pigs and fairies, simply is never going to challenge him properly?

Speaking of whom, Petrov managed to score his first point in dry conditions. We’re pretty sure he didn’t enjoy being harangued by his engineer over the radio though. It almost sounded like he was directing the village idiot. Oh for the days of closed radio communications. He wasn’t helped by the fact he thought he was eleventh when he was, in fact, tenth. We suppose that’s a way to increase your happiness when you exit the car…

We still don’t think he’s doing enough to merit a seat next year, so he’s almost in the position of an American politician, having to raise enough money to even have a shot at being selected. It’s all about the roubles.

Badger’s best: Kubica

Victory salute... credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images for Red Bull

Mark Webber. In choosing the weekend’s Hot Rod, we usually like to go for someone you may not have appreciated during the race, who doesn’t drive for one of the top teams and has generally exceeded the capabilities of their car.

This is not one of those weekends.

We simply feel we have to give it to Mark Webber not only for his flawless drive from second place on the grid to victory, or his superb pace all weekend, but for his response to the team moving his new front wing over to his team mate.

Yes, he shouted about it and looked thoroughly miserable, but then he went out and blew the rest of the field away. Comprehensively. He showed just enough respect to Vettel through the first corner to be tolerable and, from then on, never looked back. Even when being chased hard by Hamilton during the opening stint of the race, he didn’t make any mistakes and continued to drive beautifully.

It was the best way to respond and showed the Red Bull management what a minefield they’ve stepped into. If they’d thought about it for more than it took to look into Vettel’s boyish face and give him the wing, they’d have come to the conclusion that each driver had a wing and, if one breaks, that’s tough luck and they get to use the only marginally worse old one.

As a side note, what about Vettel? We at Badger know what F1 drivers are like. Asked “do you want this shiny new piece of kit?”, they’re definitely going to say yes, even if it comes off the back of a truck from North Korea. Now, should Vettel have thought for a second and said, “hang on chaps, this isn’t right”? In an ideal world perhaps, but he cares only whether it’ll help him win the race and the world championship, as Webber does.

When the team management decide to move a piece of kit about, it’s their choice. Could he have fought it? Yes. Would it be unrealistic and, frankly, a touch odd to expect him to, yes.

Whatever happens, we’re in for one great Red Bull ride until the end of the season. Enjoy it.

Read the rest of ‘Hot Rod or Hot Dog’ for a report on each team, in order:

• Part One: The Top Dogs: Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes
• Part Two: Chasing Dogs: Sauber, Toro Rosso, Force India, and Renault
• Part Three: Dogs that need to learn new tricks: Ferrari, Lotus, Virgin, and Hispania

To be honest, he may as well have lined up like this... credit: Sutton Images/Autosport

Ferrari

• Qualifying: Alonso (3^rd) Massa (7^th)
• Race: Alonso (14^th) Massa (15^th)

Another dog of a weekend for the boys in red.

Alonso, after qualifying very well, got off the line so slowly (a problem with the clutch apparently, not his fault…) that he was passed by any number of cars. Then, after passing Kubica while off the track, he was instructed to let Kubica back through, but Kubica was in the process of retiring from the race. He was then given a drive-through penalty instead which coincided with a safety car, equalling a very unhappy Spaniard. In this instance, we at Badger feel sorry for him. It feels wrong. Let’s never speak of this again.

A puncture at the beginning of the race ruined Massa’s efforts and he also spent the afternoon trailing round towards the back. They just can’t quite get it together can they?

Badger thought for the day: If Alonso didn’t clearly want an inferior driver alongside him, would Massa have signed a two year contract recently?

Badger’s best: Alonso

Lotus

• Qualifying: Kovalainen (18^th) Trulli (21^st)
• Race: Trulli (16^th) Kovalainen (17^th)

Fastest of the new teams yet again, the Lotus team will certainly be looking to make inroads next season, especially if a rumoured engine deal with Renault comes off.

Trulli endured a nightmare before qualifying, with his car spending most of the time in the garage being tended to by loving mechanics. We’ll leave it to the man himself to explain what happened: “my pace felt very good, especially when you consider that I didn’t have a chance to work on any set up changes, and I had to get used to the new section of the track in qualifying and during the first part of the race, so I think we all did a pretty good job!” We at Badger agree Jarno.

Kovalainen bemoaned that he wasn’t able to push flat out again because of the traffic (we assume he means people passing him, although we’re not sure, he could mean Glock), although fastest of the new team in qualifying isn’t to be sniffed at.

Badger’s best: Trulli

Virgin

• Qualifying: Glock (19^th) di Grassi (22^nd)
• Race: Glock (18^th) di Grassi (ret)

Another race, another retirement and more disappointment.

Glock did a fairly good job in the race to mix it with the Lotuses, but di Grassi continues to disappoint. If we’d had to bet on a driver being kicked out of the new teams, we’d have gone with him rather than Senna, but then what do we know? Quite.

Not really much more to say; di Grassi thinks the car’s improving, which is nice we suppose.

Badger’s best: Glock (but really the mechanics)

HRT

• Qualifying: Chandhok (23^rd) Yamamoto (24^th)
• Race: Chandhok (19^th) Yamamoto (20^th)

We don’t really know what’s going on here. Senna’s out, but then he’s back for the next race? Is it cash flow problems? Has he said something? What’s going on?

Anyway, his replacement, Yamamoto, he of a not terribly notable F1 career thus far, stepped into the breach and was, as expected, slow. Both he and Chandhok trailed round at the back, Chandhok was slightly faster, and there’s nothing much more to say.

Badger’s best: Chandhok

Read Part One here and check out Part Two as well.  Our Driver of the day to follow to follow shortly…

Let us know what you think of this innovative and sparkling new method…

Super at Silverstone... credit: Red Bull, Malcolm Griffiths/Getty Images

Red Bull

• Qualifying: Vettel (1^st) Webber (2^nd)
• Race: Webber (1^st) Vettel (7^th)

The racing had to take a back seat this weekend, as Red Bull’s two drivers and the team managed to cause a huge scene by being, quite frankly, idiots.

Dominant in qualifying and the race, the real story of the weekend was the Tale of Two Front Wings. Practice 3 saw Vettel’s front wing decide it didn’t really fancy being stuck to the front of his car (after all, that’s what all the other front wings were doing…how dull) and partly fall off.

Now, seeing as this was one of only two new front wings Red Bull had available and the only other one was on Webber’s car, some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to move the wing from Webber to Vettel. Cue deep and profound anger from Webber and a lot of pointless self-justification from Red Bull. If there were two front wings prior to the weekend and one broke, then having to choose between the drivers would be difficult enough. However, to take the wing off one driver’s car and move it over to the others is ridiculous.

All of that just made Webber’s burst off the line, past Vettel, into the lead and waltz to victory more satisfying. The fact Vettel then got a puncture and had his race ruined was a not too unpleasant side effect. Is Vettel as bad as Red Bull? Did he actively encourage the switch? We’re not sure – let us know what you think below.

Badger’s best: Webber

McLaren

• Qualifying: Hamilton (4^th) Button (14^th)
• Race: Hamilton (2^nd) Button (4^th)

Not the perfect home GP for the McLaren team, but what’re you supposed to do when another team are simply so much faster?

Hamilton had the upper hand on Button all weekend, something that’s no longer a growing trend, but rather is a fully grown fact. Over the last few races Hamilton has looked, and been, faster than the current World Champion.

Another problem for Button, although a nice one to have we concede, is that he’s got very good at salvaging races expertly, which tends to paper over the rather large qualifying cracks. Another poor performance meant that he was always facing a hard task in the race, but it was one he performed, as ever, with aplomb. Is it that he can’t set up the car as well or as quickly as Hamilton, or simply that he’s being outraced? Answers on a postcard…

Well done to Hamilton for staying with Webber for as long as possible and for being the divine instrument responsible for puncturing Vettel’s tyre, but until McLaren find a bit more pace on a Saturday he’s going to find it hard to win without more Red Bull mistakes.

Badger’s best: Hamilton

Mercedes

• Qualifying: Rosberg (5^th) Schumacher (10^th)
• Race: Rosberg (3^rd) Schumacher (9^th)

The worm has turned. Rosberg is back on top, merely cementing that fact over the course of the race. Schumacher, by contrast, still looks off the pace both in terms of raw speed and race craft.

A podium finish for Rosberg (albeit helped by Vettel’s puncture and Alonso’s poor getaway) has to be counted as a great result, especially in terms of how fast their car actually looks. There wasn’t really that much to report for Nico from the race or qualifying – he’s done well, simple as that.

We don’t really want to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary going over old ground, but Schumacher’s looking off the pace. The manner in which he reacted to Jake Humphrey’s question during their “drive-in” interview on the BBC coverage suggested that, not only is he sick of the questions about his performance and future, but that he’s also acquiring quite a defensive posture on it all. Given that a racing seat with a) big manufacturer backing and b) Ross Brawn in charge is at stake, he must be feeling the pressure. Seeing him mugged towards the end for a couple of positions just wasn’t right – it’s like watching your Dad dance like he did thirty years ago.

Badger’s best: Rosberg

Williams

• Qualifying: Barrichello (8^th) Hulkenberg (13^th)
• Race: Barrichello (5^th) Hulkenberg (10^th)

Barrichello’s on a roll. Not only is he beating his young team mate handsomely, he’s also managed a fourth and a fifth place in two consecutive races. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The team really seem to have improved the car massively. From being on the outskirts of the top 10 on a good day, they’ve managed to force themselves upwards into the “take advantage of any of the big three/four teams making a mistake” slot. Let’s just hope they can keep the pace of development up, as to see a Williams on the podium would be a Job Well Done.

Hulkenberg, if we’re honest, continues to disappoint. Perhaps it was the hype, perhaps it’s the fact Willi Weber is his agent but, whatever it was, he’s not living up to it. We imagine he’ll stay at the team next season as he’s not yet proven himself good enough to progress to a top team and Williams kept a similarly young Rosberg around for a while when he wasn’t exactly convincing.

Badger’s best: Barrichello

Parts two, three and Driver of the Day to follow…

And yes, that microphone is laughably fake. Credit TAG Heuer.com

Since the switch to McLaren just over 6 months ago, a team which more resembles a corporate powerhouse than a racing outfit, Button has been thrown into a sea of corporate events, interviews, adverts, sponsorship and, well, you get the picture. It was thanks to TAG Heuer, McLaren corporate partners, that I ended up putting the questions to Jenson at their swanky boutique shop in London’s Westfield.

Jenson arrived perfectly on time, which was fortunate given that TAG Heuer, the luxury watch-makers, was organising the event. Despite having been on McLaren’s state-of-the-art simulator for 10 hours that day Jenson was chatty and relaxed, and even managed to blag himself some TAG freebies before he left.

To watch the full video of the interview CLICK HERE, but read on for a few snippets of the interview…

Credit: TAG Heuer.com

Jenson started off by revealing a surprising fact about himself. “I get more nervous about interviews than the racing” said Jenson. He also insisted that he wouldn’t change anything about his past, including his many frustrating years driving supremely uncompetitive cars. “If I didn’t have those difficult times then maybe I wouldn’t have won the world championship last year”.

They haven’t been allowed to take one home yet, but McLaren team-mates Jenson and Lewis have been able to test drive the hotly anticipated McLaren road-car which, if you were wondering, is what Ron Dennis has been keeping himself busy with since passing over the reigns of the F1 team to Martin Whitmarsh. “It was good fun … they didn’t let us go out on the circuit together, which you can understand, but it’s a good car … the balance is good, it just needed tweaking. The handling is great, I’ve never driven a road car quite like it.” After seeing one up-close at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, I can testify that it does indeed look mighty impressive, despite the garish metallic orange they’ve chosen as its defining colour.

Jenson was candid about his thoughts during the difficult period between Honda pulling out of F1, the eventual buy-out of the team by team principal Ross Brawn, and the fairytale ending with a double world championship last year. ” That was a time in my career when I thought wow I’ve won one race, it’s great and all, but there’s so much more I want to achieve, so that was a very difficult time in my career and in my life to know that my hobby and my passion might come to an end. So all I could do really was push hard, and to help out as much as I could to make sure the team continued in 2009, and it happened, and that’s how I became world champion.”

Are there any downsides to being an F1 driver? I certainly can’t think of any, and funnily enough Jenson agreed, “as a package there isn’t a downside, because it’s something I love doing and something I’ve loved from a very early age”. Jealous doesn’t even begin to describe it.

And don’t forget, check out the FULL video by clicking here!

Before putting the T127 through its paces Fairuz took some time out to speak to Badger yesterday. Read on to hear about his F1 debut on home soil, why he’s no fan of the test ban, and dabbling with Heikki Kovalainen in some classic Lotus F1 cars…

© Lotus Racing

First up, you’re in the car for first practice at Silverstone this weekend- how are you feeling about it?

It’s a great opportunity to be back in the car. The last time I drove it was in Sepang, and since then both the car and the team have progressed a lot- so it’ll be better this time! Also, Silverstone is special for me. I’m looking forward to driving the new track layout and I only live 50 metres from the circuit, so it’s like my second home. I’m really looking forward to it.

But the session is about the team and development work. Of course, it’d be great to do some quick lap times, but at the end of the day I have to work for the team. We’ve got a few things to test.

What upgrades do you have for this weekend?

We’ve got changes to the bodywork and also some new aero parts. We’re looking to gain up to half a second, and if we can achieve that it’d be great. I think Silverstone is going to be our final upgrade- we’re going to concentrate on the 2011 car after that. So I’ll be doing a programme to evaluate the aero, and hopefully we’ll have enough time to maximise everything, as time’s very tight to try everything. But it’ll be great to see how the comparisson goes.

You mentioned the new section of track at Silverstone- what do you make of it from what you’ve seen?

I think it looks fantastic. There’s a combination of slow-speed, medium-speed and really high-speed corners, and I think it’s going to create more opportunities for overtaking- there’s definitely a lot of corners where you can overtake, so I think it’s going to be interesting to watch. For us, the most difficult part is that we don’t know what the tyre wear is going to be like, and we’ll only find that out tomorrow. It’s probably going to be a bit like Valencia, but we don’t know yet.

© Lotus Racing

You did first practice in Malaysia earlier in the season- tell us a bit about that experience

Yeah, it was great to be there in an F1 car. I enjoyed racing in front of my home crowd in A1GP in the past, but to do it in an F1 car is something that I’ve always wanted to do and something I’ve always aimed for in my career. The session in Malaysia was the first time I officially drove in F1, so I was very happy, and it was an honour to drive in front of the home crowd. I hope I can do it as a race driver some day.

What’s it been like, as a racing driver, having to watch from the pit wall?

It’s been frustrating, but at the end of the day I’ve got to be professional about it- you need to start somewhere in F1. Heikki started as a test driver, but of course in those days there was no test ban, so it helped drivers like him get a seat. Now it’s a bit more difficult. They’re talking about maybe lifting the ban for next year, so we have to wait and see.

But from me, I just need to be prepared and work hard to stay in shape, physically and mentally. I just need to be positive and professional, because you never know. I need to be ready for my chance when it comes.

In Heikki and Jarno you’ve got two very experienced teammates with a lot of F1 milage- has it helped you to work with these guys, in terms of learning the ropes?

To be honest, experience is one thing, but I’ve got my own style of approaching things and I bring new things as well. To me, how I approach it is ‘don’t make mistakes’. You need to have a proper programme, don’t try to push too hard, because you’ve got to complete the mission that the team has set you.

Of course, tomorrow is my opportunity and everyone is saying ‘you need a lap time’, but to me it’s a job. It’s about allowing the team to evaluate things and gather data so I just need to do what I’ve been told. Of course, I’d love to nail a time, and if I’m given an opportunity on new tyres then I’ll do it.

© Lotus Racing

What’s it like working for a team with as much Formula One history as Lotus?

Lotus are like Ferrari- they’re one of the teams to beat- so for me to open my career with them is fantastic. It feels like being with a top team. Of course, this is a modern Lotus, but the spirit is the same as the old one. We’ve got the blessing of Clive Chapman, and it’s very important to have the family’s support.

I think the team has done a fantastic job this year. For a new team to come in and get stronger and stronger and get closer to the midfield is fantastic, and so far we’ve finished a lot of races, which is very important for us.

What’s the reaction to Lotus been like back home in Malaysia, because it’s essentially a Malaysian team?

It’s been good. I think they’ll properly understand it after a few years. They want a Malaysian to drive, so hopefully I can get my shot. Of course, Lotus is a Malaysian team, but every country wants to see their hero in the car. That’s the most important thing.

So you were at the Classic Team Lotus Festival at Snetterton a few weeks back- how did that go?

It was a fantastic weekend! To be able to drive the modern F1 car and classic F1 car on the same weekend was great, and I didn’t think the crowd was going to be that big. It definitely helped that the current Lotus team, with Heikki and Jarno, were there. So yeah, it was a really good experience for me and I’m looking forward to being back their again next year.

I had an opportunity to try the Lotus Type 72, the one that Emerson Fitipaldi won the championship in, and Heikki drove the Type 78. The car was unbelievable, and we had some fun! We did a bit of racing in the classic cars, which was really good fun for us and the crowd. Most of the day the classic cars were just doing demo laps, going round slowly, but me and Heikki were really nailing it, so that was good fun for the crowd!

Fauzy and Kovalainen do battle in a pair of classic Lotus F1 cars. © Classic Team Lotus

Finally, a question it’s always good to ask test drivers: do you feel more testing time is needed to allow guys like yourself, di Resta and other testers to get F1 experience and ultimately get a race drive?

Well, I don’t think the test ban makes a difference to the cars, because the teams will just spend a lot of money doing in-house research, so it’ll end up almost the same. But if they lifted the ban and restricted the development you’d create more competitive racing and it’ll provide better testing chances for the drivers.

So I think it’s very important for them to lift the ban, especially to help young drivers like myself. If they could create a session just for rookie drivers, like they used to do in A1GP, that’d be great. Maybe practice 1 could just be for rookie drivers. It would help them for sure, and if anything happens to the main driver the rookie is prepared- he knows what he’s going to face during the weekend. If you don’t do any testing or any Friday sessions and suddenly you’re in a race seat and you have to just jump in and qualify, I think that’s a bit unprofessional, and it can be dangerous as well.

Vettel eyes up victory... credit: Red Bull

Red Bull

• Qualifying: Vettel (1^st) Webber (2^nd)
• Race: Vettel (1^st) Webber (ret)

Another weekend for Red Bull where their performance in qualifying didn’t really translate into the race. Vettel drove well to win from pole, although it certainly won’t do anything to assuage the doubters who claim he’s nothing but a rich man’s Ralf Schumacher. Going fast with no-one to pass isn’t really racing.

Webber, on the other hand, had a far more eventful race; if we were him, we’d ask for our money back. After being passed by Hamilton off the line and then finding himself reduced to ninth place, he managed to come up rather too fast behind Heikki Kovalainen on the second lap and have a spectacular accident. If he was a figure skater, it’d have been a 9.5 at least. A back flip, a roll and a smash into the tyre barrier all made for a rather more exciting afternoon than Valencia usually allows.

The last couple of races have seen the Red Bull pendulum swing back in favour of Vettel, who manages to seem really nice when he’s winning and like a sulky teenager when he’s not. Hard to warm to.

Badger’s best: Vettel

McLaren

• Qualifying: Hamilton (3^rd) Button (7^th)
• Race: Hamilton (2^nd) Button (3^rd)

Hamilton never likes to make things easy for himself does he? After a very impressive third place in qualifying, he set about the race in earnest, passing Webber off the line and having a go at Vettel later in the lap. After Webber had performed his pretty decent attempt at a triple salko, Hamilton managed to pass the safety car as it was coming out of the pits, holding up Alonso in the process, and incurring himself a drive-through penalty. Thankfully from his point of view he managed to get in and get out again without losing a place, which was as much a testament to his speed as it was to Kobayashi’s ability to hold up those behind him, which then left a run to the finish.

Button, on the other hand, wasn’t happy with his qualifying performance and wouldn’t have been happy to be stuck behind Kobayashi for a long, long time during the race. All in all though, a move from seventh to third place during the race, especially at Valencia, has to be counted as a good result. He’ll still be worried by the fact he’s struggling to best Hamilton for raw pace, having to rely on intelligent racing earlier in the season to beat his young compatriot. He’ll be hoping the big update for Silverstone in a couple of weeks favours his driving style.

Badger’s best: Hamilton

Williams

• Qualifying: Hulkenberg (8^th) Barrichello (9^th)
• Race: Barrichello (4^th) Hulkenberg (ret)

It’s a long time since Williams have appeared this far up a Hot Rod or Hot Dog… piece and, by “a long time”, we of course mean “never”. In an absolutely cracking weekend for the team, both drivers qualified in the top ten and both were looking on for good finishes until Hulkenberg retired a few laps from the end.

There’s still life in the old dog yet. Barrichello in particular will have been delighted by his race performance. After a long period of underachievement this season, whatever Williams did to the car before this race really worked. Obviously it helps to be at a track where you have to be significantly faster to overtake, but Barrichello drove well throughout the weekend.

Hulkenberg, by contrast, endured a very disappointing Sunday. Not because he was slow; in fact, far from it. The frustration comes because he was quick but didn’t manage to convert it into points, a fact amply demonstrated by his attack on the nearest tyre barrier after exhaust problems forced him out of the race. He really needs to push on after beating his team mate in qualifying, but we at Badger love his matter of fact post-race quotes: “When the safety car came in I couldn’t keep Alonso behind me, but after that it was quite a processional race up until something caught fire on my car. That obviously ended it for me.” Simple.

Badger’s best: Barrichello

Renault

• Qualifying: Kubica (6^th) Petrov (10^th)
• Race: Kubica (5^th) Petrov (14^th)

There’s really no need to substitute the first paragraph of the Renault section after Canada:

“Another Renault weekend, another Kubica whitewash. This one wasn’t even particularly close. Does anyone else think Petrov’s getting an easy ride? Just because your team keep saying they’re desperately happy with the way you’re performing, doesn’t mean you should escape all suitable scrutiny. To be honest, bar the odd good performance, Petrov’s been pretty rank in a good car.”

Kubica will have viewed the race as an opportunity lost. According to him, he was the first man into the pits, but the third man out. Ah. If the team had been a bit sharper, they could have had a decent shot at a podium, but as it was they were left with a still-not-that-disappointing fifth place.

Petrov needs to move away from “I’m a rookie, it’s good for me to finish the race”. No Vitaly, we need a bit more now. This is Formula One, not the mid-Urals cup.

Badger’s best: Kubica

Force India

• Qualifying: Sutil (13^th) Liuzzi (14^th)
• Race: Sutil (6^th) Liuzzi (16^th)

After last week’s improved performance, Liuzzi didn’t have anything even approaching a tolerable weekend. Fourteenth in qualifying and then having to stack behind your team mate in the safety car inspired pit stops doesn’t make for a stellar afternoon. It just goes to show that on narrow tracks with limited overtaking opportunities, your work on a Saturday afternoon is arguably more important than any other part of the weekend.

Sutil, on the other hand, managed really to make the most of Webber’s accident. Amongst the drivers who were able to dive into the pits immediately after the crash, he passed a number of drivers who hadn’t been so lucky, followed by a successful move on Buemi in the Toro Rosso. One of the best results (and races) of the season for Adrian; just what he needed after Liuzzi’s improved showing in Canada.

Badger’s best: Sutil

Sauber

• Qualifying: de la Rosa (16^th) Kobayashi (18^th)
• Race: Kobayashi (7^th) de la Rosa (12^th)

Much improved is simply the only way to describe the Sauber performance on Sunday. After being pretty poor on Saturday, the team really managed to make the race work for them on Sunday, exceeding all expectations with a completely different strategy from everyone else.

Probably best start with the main man, Kobayashi. After another abysmal qualifying performance, the decision to start the race on hard tyres allowed everything to flow from it. While all about them were pitting, Kobayashi stayed out and managed to make his way up to third, where he stayed for the majority of the race, maintaining a very decent pace. After pitting six laps from the end, he managed to overtake both Alonso and Buemi to finish seventh. As he said afterwards, “Of course it was a risk to overtake Alonso and Buemi. If it hadn’t worked out and I had crashed I would have been in trouble.” Never was a truer word spoken.

A solid performance from de la Rosa to finish in tenth place, something he was clearly delighted with afterwards. It must have been like shooting a puppy to tell him he’d been one of nine drivers penalised for going too fast while the safety car was out and that he’d been demoted to twelfth. Poor Pedro.

Badger’s best: Kobayashi

Ferrari

• Qualifying: Alonso (4^th) Massa (5^th)
• Race: Alonso (8^th) Massa (11^th)

Alonso would have come into this weekend feeling full of hope and promise. Update to the car? Tick. A Grand Prix in Spain? Tick. Renewed hope in the Championship battle? Tick.

Instead, he left Valencia feeling very frustrated and with only four points to assuage his anger. Essentially, it all stemmed from Hamilton slowing down when the safety car came out, just passing it and leaving Alonso sat behind it, thereby wrecking his race. Alonso then proceeded to get ridiculously angry, demanding the team get onto Charlie Whiting to complain, which they duly did. Now, while we at Badger can well understand his legitimate grievance, as well as the fact Hamilton wasn’t really given any meaningful punishment, but to act all holier than thou is something we find a bit much. It’s not as if you’d try anything like that, is it Fernando? Also, being passed by Kobayashi probably won’t make for a fun two weeks off either. Ha.

It was another weekend for Massa in which he was beaten by Alonso and went backwards during the race. He’s looking the least likely out of the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari drivers to mount a realistic title challenge. Never mind though, he’s got a new contract after all.

Badger’s best: Alonso

Toro Rosso

• Qualifying: Buemi (11^th) Alguersuari (17^th)
• Race: Buemi (9^th) Alguersuari (13^th)

Another weekend in which Buemi was the better driver throughout. Even in one of his two home races, Jaime just couldn’t quite make it work for him.

Now, we in the Sett like Buemi. We like him even more when he comes out after a race and says that he could have finished sixth had he not made two mistakes. Honesty. Good on him. That said, it doesn’t look good when you’re passed into the last corner. Good on the honesty, less good on the concentration. Never mind though; one out of two ain’t bad.

Alguersuari complained afterwards of not having any feeling in the car, and hoping that it’ll come back further into the season. Not what you want to happen as a driver and certainly not what you want to hear as a team. It would be a shame to let the season slip away after such a promising start.

Badger’s best: Buemi

Mercedes

• Qualifying: Rosberg (12^th) Schumacher (15^th)
• Race: Rosberg (10^th) Schumacher (15^th)

Another team where we get to quote previous column entries to try, vainly, to make ourselves look smart. After Canada we said “Mercedes [are] underperform[ing] and are definitely slipping back into the eager clutches of Renault and Force India.” That’s right, we’re sages of the highest order. Or we just know when a team isn’t doing very well. Probably the latter.

Their worst qualifying of the season set the stage for an underwhelming race, Schumacher being held at the pit exit and Rosberg having to manage his “critical” brakes. Just what you want on a circuit with very high speeds and limited run off areas. Although both drivers struggled, one struggled more than the other, with Rosberg looking far less uncomfortable than his more experienced and decorated team mate. To be honest, we can’t be bothered to rehash the same old, tired arguments about Schumacher. He’s back, he’s not doing very well, but we think it’s more the car than him. Simple.

Badger’s best: Rosberg

Lotus

• Qualifying: Trulli (19^th) Kovalainen (20^th)
• Race: Trulli (21^st) Kovalainen (ret)

Not a bad weekend for the Lotus team, at least in terms of their raw pace. More than a second faster than the Virgins, they just need to gain the next second to get up to the midfield pack. Impressive.

Never has the word “(ret)” hidden so much. Kovalainen was having what he thought was a duel with Mark Webber down the back straight, braked, and the Red Bull flew right over the top of him. Madness. Apart from that, he hadn’t had a great weekend after being out qualified by Trulli, albeit only by a couple of tenths.

Trulli was happy with the pace of his car, but was again hamstrung by reliability issues. He sustained some damage in a first corner scrap and then had a gearbox problem. Both times the Lotus mechanics were able to fix the car, leaving Trulli very grateful, but also massively off the pace.

Badger’s best: Trulli

Virgin

• Qualifying: di Grassi (21^st) Glock (22^nd)
• Race: di Grassi (17^th) Glock (19^th)

Well, I say. A weekend in which di Grassi bested Glock in qualifying and the race is remarkable. After complaining last time out that he didn’t look terribly good, Lucas obviously had a bit of a read and decided to do something about it.

Glock had a bit of a mare, destroying two sets of tyres and crashing into people but, given his run of form up to this point, he’ll be confident of beating his younger team mate at Silverstone.

Badger’s best: di Grassi

HRT

• Qualifying: Chandhok (23^rd) Senna (24^th)
• Race: Chandhok (18^th) Senna (20^th)

A good weekend for Karun Chandhok, besting Senna in both qualifying and the race. That said, Senna finished his first race in three and had a scrap with Glock in the first part of the race in which his front wing was damaged, so he didn’t do badly at all.

We at Badger think we can see slow but gradual improvement from the Hispania team – they certainly seem to be much closer to the Virgins for instance – and they’ll be delighted to have got two cars to the chequered flag in their home race.

Badger’s best: Chandhok

Driver of the weekend

Kobayashi. The young Japanese driver answered his critics in the best style today, by mixing it up at the sharp end of the grid. Yes he’s crashy and wild, but he’s quick when given the chance and genuinely seems to have no fear. If he can manage to finish more races and get himself a decent car, he’s definitely one to watch for the future. He’ll come with money as well, so we don’t see him going anywhere soon. Here’s to a fantastic drive Kamui, you’re this weekend’s Hot Rod. Enjoy it.

Moody... credit: Sauber

*For the purposes of this article, qualifying positions will be calculated as if Mark Webber had started in second place and had not been demoted to seventh.

credit: McLaren

McLaren

• Qualifying: Hamilton (1^st) Button (5^th)
• Race: Hamilton (1^st) Button (2^nd)

Another barnstorming weekend for Hamilton and yet another 1-2 for the McLaren team, who are really making hay while the sun shines. Fizzy energy drink teams take note.

After Button’s early season form (out thinking rather than out driving Hamilton), he really needs a weekend where he outpaces as well as outraces the boy wonder. Jenson’s qualifying performances could really use some work as well, if he’s taking notes. That said, we’re not unremittingly negative down here in the Sett, and think Button did a really good job to get up to second and was the quickest man on track in parts of the race.

Now, let’s turn to the man who’s taking the fight to the Red Bulls, a certain Mr. Hamilton. All of his stupid facial accoutrements aside, he drove brilliantly throughout the weekend, putting together a hat trick of first place finishes across Practice 3, Qualifying and the Race.  Although it looked like he may have been hamstrung by strategy early in the race, the decision to start with the soft tyres really paid off as the race progressed. I know people don’t like it when everyone, especially in Britain, goes mental for Hamilton but the simple fact is that he’s a great racer and very, very fast. A bit annoying though, granted. Alright, very annoying. On a complete side note, where did Nicole get that child from?!

Badger’s best: Hamilton

Ferrari

• Qualifying: Alonso (4^th) Massa (7^th)
• Race: Alonso (3^rd) Massa (15^th)

A much better weekend for the Ferrari team, although that goes without saying. Things couldn’t really have been much worse than their performance last time out in Turkey. We’re going to get tired of saying this again and again, but Massa was well beaten by Alonso. Maybe we should just start saying that if he isn’t? Would that work better?

Massa described his race as “horrible”, which seems a pretty fair description to us. After his opening turn tussle with Liuzzi and subsequent bump, his race really fell apart, stuck with the Force Indias for the majority of the afternoon. Given that, when in clean air, he was able to turn the boards purple, he would have been a lot further up given a fair wind. We at Badger don’t think he would have been stuck in traffic for so long had he been Hamilton or Alonso. Incisiveness Felipe, incisiveness is the key.

Alonso, fresh from qualifying twelfth in Turkey, looked like he was driving a totally different car. Indeed, after the race, the Spaniard was bemoaning the fact that he was unlucky with traffic and talking as if he could have won. What on earth did Ferrari do in the two week gap?! While this weekend was important, what really matters to Alonso’s championship challenge is the success, or otherwise, of the upgrade package due in Valencia. At least they’re looking upward again.

Badger’s best: Alonso

Red Bull

• Qualifying: Webber (2^nd) Vettel (3^rd)
• Race: Vettel (4^th) Webber (5^th)

Given their performances in qualifying, only beaten by Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren, both Vettel and Webber will have been disappointed to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

There’s a theme developing, isn’t there? Webber has started to take the fight to Vettel on a consistent and, one would assume, entirely unwelcome basis. Faster in qualifying again, the Australian was demoted thanks to a gearbox change (can one of our knowledgeable readers explain why some car changes are punished and some aren’t?), starting in seventh. His race was ruined by tyre choices, having to run unfavourable compounds at difficult times of the race.

Vettel was, according to the rather cryptic radio messages from Christian Horner, “managing an issue” – does not being fast enough count? Well done to him for rightfully putting the team in their place when they told him he had a problem and that he should save fuel, as well as pass the cars in front. There’s optimism and then there’s that.

Overall, this weekend did nothing to assuage doubts that Webber has Vettel worried – is the boy wonder as good as everyone thought?

Badger’s best: Vettel

Mercedes

• Qualifying: Rosberg (10^th) Schumacher (13^th)
• Race: Rosberg (6^th) Schumacher (11^th)

He never had to put up with this nonsense at Ferrari did he? Another weekend in which Mercedes underperformed and are definitely slipping back into the eager clutches of the Renault and Force India teams. Is Ross Brawn trying to pull another rabbit out of the hat for next year’s car?

The worst qualifying of the season for the team set the stage for an underwhelming race. The sight of Schumacher going backwards in face of the onrushing Force Indias will have been one to set Mercedes hearts a flutter. Even if he was only in that position due to a puncture sustained earlier in the race, will things get worse before they get better?

On the team mate front, it was a welcome return to primacy for Rosberg, although if he couldn’t beat Schumacher this weekend, when could he? Badger thinks there needs to be some more edge in all these battles, but particularly this one. Come on guys, start havin’ a go at each other. Let’s get thoroughly undignified.

Badger’s best: Rosberg

Renault

• Qualifying: Kubica (8^th) Petrov (14^th)
• Race: Kubica (7^th) Petrov (17^th)

Another Renault weekend, another Kubica whitewash. This one wasn’t even particularly close. Does anyone else think Petrov’s getting an easy ride? Just because your team keep saying they’re desperately happy with the way you’re performing, doesn’t mean you should escape all suitable scrutiny. To be honest, bar the odd good performance, Petrov’s been pretty rank in a good car.

The main point of note for Kubica this weekend was the quite frankly ridiculous move he pulled going into the pit lane. While duelling with Sutil along the back straight he dodged round the wrong side to make an entry to the pit lane. Not cool.  Why he wasn’t sanctioned for that we’ll never know. Still, it shows he’s got some of that Schumacheresque determination to win, which we suppose can only be a good thing for his long-term World Championship winning ambitions.

Badger’s best: Kubica

Toro Rosso

• Qualifying: Buemi (15^th) Alguersuari (16^th)
• Race: Buemi (8^th) Alguersuari (12^th)

Badger likes Buemi for two reasons this weekend. One: his childlike joy at having what he described as a “normal” race for a change and two, his very patronising chat about Michael Schumacher. Specifically, when he said “I enjoyed some fights, including passing Schumacher which was difficult because, even though we were on the same tyres, with his being older than mine, he is a real fighter.” Describing Schumacher as a “real fighter” seems to us in the Sett as the equivalent to patting his head gently with an ever understanding, ever patient smile. Well done Seb.

Alguersuari was out qualified and out raced by his team mate and, judging from his post race comments, is looking forward to Valencia. That’s right, looking forward to it. Mental. Not much else to say about him really. He’s had a good enough season not to have worry about being beaten by Buemi in one race, so not a problem…yet.

Badger’s best: Buemi

Force India

• Qualifying: Liuzzi (6^th) Sutil (9^th)
• Race: Liuzzi (9^th) Sutil (10^th)

As our American cousins would say, a “shut out” for Liuzzi over the weekend. A simply fantastic performance in qualifying followed by an incident packed race.

Bumping with Massa on the opening lap certainly didn’t help. Not only that, they couldn’t stop hitting one another. I mean, there’s having an accident and then there’s having a number of small ones until you end up facing the wrong way. Given all of this and the fact that he had to pit to change the front wing and, therefore, the strategy a ninth place finish is very creditable. One swallow doesn’t make a summer though, so he’ll really have to step things up to make himself unsackable.

Sutil endured problems as well, suffering a puncture after clashing with Kubica. Well done to him for passing a stricken Schumacher to get the last point. This was very much Liuzzi’s weekend though.

Badger’s best: Liuzzi

Williams

• Qualifying: Barrichello (11^th) Hulkenberg (12^th)
• Race: Hulkenberg (13^th) Barrichello (14^th)

Problems, problems and more problems for the Williams team this weekend.

Well done to Hulkenberg for beating Barrichello, a feat he’s managed all too infrequently this weekend. That said, that may well have been achieved by virtue of having fewer problems than is elder team mate.

Hulkenberg only had his front wing changed and a drive through penalty, whereas Rubens had to contend with having a problem on the grid, being hit by Alguersuari (a “2g” impact apparently), and then suffering brake problems. Just what you want at a street circuit.  It’s our perception here at the Sett that Williams just keep going backwards during the race. Who’s planning the strategies? Have a word, that’s all we’re saying.

Badger’s best: Hulkenberg

Lotus

• Qualifying: Kovalainen (19^th) Trulli (20^th)
• Race: Kovalainen (16^th) Trulli (ret)

A great weekend for Lotus and especially Heikki Kovalainen, who managed to finish in front of Petrov’s Renault. Trulli, by contrast, had some sort of issue with his brakes and decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Probably wise.

The best of the new teams yet again and aiming squarely upwards, Lotus are a team you feel are going places. Kovalainen especially seems like he’s having a lot of fun haring round at the back and, if he stays with the team next season may have a chance at getting a lot further up the grid. He really seems to have the better of Trulli as well but, because they don’t get that much TV coverage, it can be hard to penetrate. Can any of our readers help us out?

Badger’s best: Kovalainen

Sauber

• Qualifying: de la Rosa (17^th) Kobayashi (18^th)
• Race: de la Rosa (ret) Kobayashi (ret)

Qualifying: de la Rosa bad, Kobayashi worse.

Race: de la Rosa blew up and Kobayashi crashed into the “wall of champions”. Not, in this instance, we suggest, particularly well named.

Words fail us.

Badger’s best: de la Rosa

HRT

• Qualifying: Senna (22^nd) Chandhok (24^th)
• Race: Chandhok (18^th) Senna (ret)

This weekend didn’t really tell us too much about the respective drivers and their positions within the team – Chandhok had hardly any running in qualifying and Senna retired early in the race. That said, the team do seem like they’re making progress, although it’s going to be next year, if they’re still around, before they can make any real progress.

If Badger were a betting woodland creature, it’d probably bet that Senna was just shading it so far. Tight.

Badger’s best: Senna

Virgin

• Qualifying: Glock (21^st) di Grassi (23^rd)
• Race: di Grassi (19^th) Glock (ret)

Glock described his race as “crazy”. A shunt with the lesser Senna and five pit stops will do that to a man.

Also, is it just us or is di Grassi not really cutting it thus far? He’s been getting out qualified by at least one HRT in recent races, which surely doesn’t bode well. At all. That said, he did ok in Canada before a hydraulic failure left him limping round towards the back. When will these Virgins stop being made from starlight and nebula dust?

Badger’s best: Glock

Driver of the weekend

Liuzzi. Never ones to be conventional, we at Badger think this could well have been his coming out weekend. Sixth place in qualifying and a strong performance in the race to claw his way back from a disastrous start; all this makes the square jawed Italian our “hot rod” for the weekend. Enjoy it, son, you’ve earned it.

credit: Force India

Long-term future sorted, it's now full focus on the title for Mark. © Red Bull/Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images

After a slow start to the season questions were being asked about Webber’s future, but two quite stunning drives in Spain and then Monaco have seen him shoot to the top of the drivers championship. A collision with Vettel last time out in Turkey seemed to show rising tensions in the Red Bull camp, but with this announcement it appears that all parties are happy to move forward together.

“It was an easy decision to remain with Red Bull Racing,” said Webber. “I have a fantastic relationship with the whole team and the factory at Milton Keynes feels like home. It’s been incredible to be part of the team as it’s moved forward from a mid-field competitor to one that is challenging for the Championship. I hope we experience more success together in the future and achieve our ultimate goal of winning the World Championship.”

With Webber fighting for the title it makes sense to sort his future out now- he doesn’t need employment on his mind when he’s trying to become world champion. It also seems likely that all of the top teams will remain unchanged for next year, so leaving Red Bull may have meant abandoning any hopes of victories just to remain in the sport.

But after last weekend’s controversies, and the less than balanced view that came from some of the Red Bull hierarchy, questions will still be asked over whether Webber has made the right decision. Are the team 100% behind him, or is young Vettel the man they really want to win the title? Badger wants to know what YOU think about Webber’s new deal.

Further reading… Are Red Bull Losing Their Fizz?