Formula 1: Drivers Who Should Worry About Next Year's Seats
Its mid season in the Formula 1 paddocks and it’s that time of the year when drivers and teams start looking towards their prospects for the future.
Although potential moves for the season have only just started to surface, most of the news come from drivers signing on to stay another year at the teams they are currently racing for. But in the back of their minds, most drivers know what they’re prospects are for the future. Having seen the action so far this season, let’s take a look at some of the drivers that should be worried about their time at Formula 1.
Brunno Senna is already looking like he might be on his way out. He did not take part in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend. The team says that the reason for the switch was just to give the teams test driver Sakon Yamamoto a chance. But this is something that is not really very common in Formula 1 unless the driver has an injury.
There was some talk of contractual issues that the team might be having with the Brazilian but simply put, the rookie is yet to impress this season. In terms of qualifying he might have the edge over his teammate but Karun Chandhok, but when it comes to race day the Indian has the lead. Senna has had six retirements out of the nine starts that he has made so far and a highest finish of sixteenth. Although he might be carrying a very famous sir name, it might not help secure his future for next year.
Vitaly Petrov made history this year when he became the first Russian driver to take part in Formula 1. The only down side was that he got partnered with one of the best drivers on the grid. Robert Kubica is in the same vein of form at the moment that was being shown by Fernando Alonso during his second stint at Renault. The Russian has so far only finished one race in the points. His tally of six points holds no merit to his teammate who now has eighty three points to his name.
What’s worse is that he has actually moved backwards from his qualifying position in three out of the last four races. Expect him to be finding a seat elsewhere next season if not sometime during the middle of the season as Renault have been known to change drivers mid-season if they have to.
Vitantonio Liuzzi is now in his fifth attempt at Formula 1 and this time it seems like he has a car that has a lot of potential. In terms of points he’s managed twelve so far from ten races but it seems his teammate, Adrian Sutil, has his number. Having scored almost triple the points, Sutil is finding himself in a team that was probably the biggest improvement of last year.
Force India have been relentless under the leadership of Vijay Mallya and with another Indian driver on the grid, it might be Luizzi whose head will be on the chopping board. He has half the season to make his mark with a car that will respond very nicely to a determined driver.
The last name on the list is someone who no one would ever have expected to still be here at the end of 2007. In simple words, Michael Schumacher might not have it in him to survive another season in Formula 1. After having dominated the sport for the first half of the decade, the comeback oldie seems to have been humbled by his teammate.
Nico Rosberg now sits sixth in the Driver’s Championship with 90 points. Schumacher has only scored 36. Rosberg has only finished out of the points in two races so far and has three third place finishes to his name. Schumacher has only scored two points in his last three races and has four finishes outside the points. What’s more, he has only out-qualified his teammate twice in the season so far.
With the European leg of the season in full flow, these drivers need to start making a mark in the sport as well in the eyes of their current and future employers. Otherwise, it will be a very dismal end to the year for them.
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