The factory shutters have been closed for two weeks, Formula 1 is on summer recess. It’s time for an interim report. Who stood out, who fell short? Sky Sports’ analyst and former F1 driver Anthony Davidson gives his verdict. Today, we discuss the surprises of the first half of the season.
The Surprises
Gabriel Bortoleto
“Honestly, I expected Gabriel to do well in his debut year, especially since he was the champion in Formula 2 last year. But did I expect him to do this well? No, I did not. When I heard that he would be Nico Hülkenberg’s teammate, a solid driver who always gets the most out of his car, I thought: this is going to be tough. But what do you see? Gabriel is often faster than Nico. In Budapest, he was half a second faster in qualifying… I reviewed the footage of Nico’s qualifying laps and saw no issues for him. That was, in my opinion, an outstanding performance by Gabriel. Yes, sometimes he is a bit rough during the race, like in Silverstone under those difficult conditions. But that’s somewhat expected from a newcomer and you can forgive him for that.”
Isack Hadjar
“Isack, along with Gabriel Bortoleto, has been the biggest surprise for me so far. I found him quite vulnerable in the Formula 2 last season and the years before, to be honest. He was loud, self-critical, and had those outbursts over the team radio. I had the impression that he was someone who often needed to be handheld. And then came the first race in Australia… It continued as I had expected (the Frenchman crashed in the formation lap): it could become embarrassing for Red Bull. I don’t know what Anthony Hamilton said to him, but after that, Isack completely turned things around. I am very impressed with him. It’s hard to choose the best rookie halfway through the season, yet I choose Isack. He is so consistent, it’s also impressive how he regularly gets the Racing Bull into Q3. He has scored many World Championship points, was already close to Yuki Tsunoda when he went to Red Bull, and now usually beats Liam. Very impressive for a newcomer. What I also find special is that his mother is his manager. A very interesting dynamic. The team around him has helped Isack mature.”
Oscar Piastri
“The turnaround in race performance is the biggest surprise for me this season with Oscar Piastri. He always had qualifying speed, he regularly beat Lando Norris last year. But it was always the race speed that bothered him. Take China last year when Oscar finished 42.5 sec behind Lando in the race without anything wrong with his car or so. This year he has found that race speed. I expected Oscar to take the next step this year, just not such a big one. I knew Oscar could challenge Lando, but not that he would lead the championship halfway through. Furthermore, I have always been impressed by his mentality. Oscar is relaxed, very pragmatic, honest, and cool. He’s hard to read, I think he would be a great poker player, haha. You never know what cards he has up his sleeve. That he is mentally at such a high level and stays there, is special. He never shouts over the team radio, is always calm. Oscar is very aware of how the media works. And that is a sign of his intelligence.”
