Who are the worst drivers...so far?

We can blame the cars...but there are certainly drivers who just don't shine...or add any juice to the mix. Maybe they had something at one time but now they just aren't getting the job done.

My choices of those non-rookies who should be replaced sooner than later.

Ericsson
Magnussen
Stroll
Hulkenberg

And on the edge.

Alonzo
Vandoorne
Perez
Grosjean
Bottas

 

Leclerc was kind of disappointing in quali... He needs to step it up a little.

 

This guy has proven potential. Sauber is a mess. I agree he has to "step up" but it's tough with a new team and organization coming in so late.

Look at Alonso and Vandoome. 11th and 12th. You think Alonso believes he's just a little bit better than his teammate?

I would say one quali is not enough to really judge these drivers -- yet.

IMO, these teams are really lost in the wilderness and trying to scratch their heads today

Force India
Williams
Alfa Sauber
Toro Rosso

McLaren and Renault are probably where most thought they would be and Haas is punching above it's weight, most likely through help from Ferrari.

Could you put Hamilton in the Williams and get more out of the car? Sure. But it would still have a problem getting into Q2

 

I know he has potential, I'm really glad he's in the Alfa/Ferrari camp for that reason. This being his first ever F1 race weekend and the team adjusting I'll give him some credit, but he said it himself, he underestimated the track and lost a lot of time. Hope he can get it together for the race and not be dead last at least.

 

I still believe its more team than driver when you get to these bottom feeders.

 

LeClerc was pushing the car during free practices. His steering was twitchy. Once he and the engineers make a few adjustments in a couple of more races....he, along with the car, should show some signs of improvement.

 

at this point it's mostly the cars, hard to say Magnussen should be replaced if he's starting 5th tomorrow (thanks to Bottas crash and Ricciardo penalty), even starting 7th is probably as good as the Haas car is going to be.

 

No one has mentioned Kimi so far in this thread. I like him, but he's past his sell-by-date. But, I couldn't rank him in a "worst" list, for sure.

 

Ok... on Kimi

IMO, I think he skated through a couple of years. Now he's in the final phase. I think he wants to go out as a winner.

If you look at the interview yesterday, he seemed actually upset at the state of his car compared to Merc and didn't really want to talk much.

"Get me outta here!"

 

good pt. I'm going to hold off on Kimi till after the race. So far, Kimi has outqualified Seb.

 

So far . . .

 

I think if Kimi has a winning car (when compared to the Mercs) then he will shine. Otherwise, his Finnish menatlity, gets the best of him and he just drives unless he is pressured to produce for example if Seb has issues.

 

I agree with that but also at times, it seems like Kimi has other priorities.

It's a lot easier for someone to win the WDC with a teammate right behind him taking away points from other guys. Kimi seems unable to do that.

 

Kimi will never be confused with Chatty Kathy.

 

But last night there was a sense of frustration in his car -- and maybe the team -- that you could see. Something was grinding on him and it came out.

 

Bottas just dug himself into a psychological pit, let's see if he can recover.

 

At this point I wonder if Kubica is saying..."No thanks...I'll just watch from the pit wall."

 

either that or he's saying " Man, these kids suck."

 

Bit early on Leclerc. I don't rate Ericsson very highly but he's right there with him, less than a tenth away. Lets not forget that on occasion (rare I admit), Marcus has shown decent speed. The Sauber seems a turd to drive, it's all over the place, add into that this being the first time at Melbourne for him, challenging conditions...give it a few weekends.

 

What's funny is these SkySport guys do a proper French pronunciation of Leclerc but completely butcher the Polish with Kubica!

 

They asked him many years ago what he prefered....''kubiKA'' or ''KubitZA'' he said he didn't care.

 

It's Koo-beets-zah

 

Let's face it... Sauber has been on poverty row for years. They have lost a lot of good people who moved to other teams. It's going to take time to rebuild. Ferrari's (err..... Alfa's) help should reverse the trend.

Ferrari is doing it right with Leclerc. Let him get used to F1 instead of jumping into the pressure cooker of their F1 cars. Kimi is just warming his seat for him.

 

It's EYE-gore.

 

Williams and Toro Rosso drivers so far.