Five of the best riders on the Hinchcliff scale

Canadian James Hinchcliffe, an IndyCar veteran with six American Series wins to his name, is teaming up with the official Formula 1 website this year to comment on World Championship events in his own way. During the summer break, he named the top five drivers who impressed him the most in the first half of the season.

Yuki Tsunoda

Tsunoda’s work this year is, if you look closely, very impressive. In the first four races he was 11th twice and 10th twice, after which everyone decided that the AlphaTauri had a pretty fast car.

The advantage over Nick de Vries, his partner, was attributed to the Dutchman’s inexperience, but there were suggestions that he would soon add and start claiming points as well.

But De Vries was unable to do that and moreover it became clear that the AT04 was not as good as it initially seemed. But this only underlined how strong the Japanese was in the races where he finished in the top ten or close.

Then we heard the shocking news that Daniel Ricciardo had replaced de Vries. For any rider this is a very serious test of mental toughness, and while in Hungary it looked like the Australian could easily handle his new partner, Yuki recovered well at Spa and finished tenth.

When a driver overcomes this kind of pressure and performs with such confidence, it is a sign that Tsunoda’s third season in Formula 1 can end well.

Nico Hulkenberg

When Haas was faced with a difficult choice at the end of last year – either to give Mick Schumacher another year to improve the results, or to invite Niko Hülkenberg, although he had not raced for a long time – you would be forgiven for thinking then that the American team accepted a wrong decision.

It is very difficult to estimate the rider’s motivation and ability after such a long break. Although Kevin Magnussen performed very well, missing a year, and Fernando Alonso, returning to Formula 1 after two years, went as fast as before. It seems that Hülkenberg has proven that a three-year break is no problem.

Niko went straight through to the final of the qualification and for the stage in Miami he was ahead of his partner on both Saturday and Sunday. By the summer break the score of their qualifying matches was 9 – 3 in favor of Hülkenberg and he is 7 points ahead of his partner in the individual standings. This difference could have been much bigger if the outcome of the Australian Grand Prix had been a bit different.

The way Nico has re-acclimatized to Formula 1 is really impressive and if Haas could improve the car’s race pace he could very well earn regular points.

Fernando Alonso

Team Aston Martin was 7th in the Constructors’ Championship last year, but in the opening races of this season they became Red Bull Racing’s main rival. It is likely that Alonso’s run of podium finishes and the speed he showed gave hope to a few riders that they too could be competing for high results when they swapped the fifth decade.

The Spaniard has lost no speed or ability to work tirelessly, and it is clear that it was incredible racing ability that helped him win two titles and 32 Formula 1 victories.

Although his team’s competitiveness has now declined somewhat, Alonso himself hasn’t gotten any worse and it’s a real pleasure to watch him work on track.

Oscar Pistri

When a driver moves from F2 to Formula 1, he has very serious problems to solve, and in the past we have seen that not everyone coped. But experienced Mark Webber, his manager, helps Oscar Piastri overcome these difficulties.

Besides, he didn’t have the best car at the beginning of the year. But Oscar kept his composure and made almost no mistakes, not trying to somehow make up for the MCL60’s lack of speed at the expense of his own efforts. He tried to understand how to work in Formula 1, while remaining in the shadow of Lando Norris, the rising star of the championship, which did not upset the young Australian at all.

When the team introduced innovations in Hungary that made it possible to increase the speed of the car, Piastri immediately added and the whole weekend was almost on Norris’ level – he was even able to climb the podium, but the virtual safety car mode was introduced at an inconvenient time for him.

On the next stage at Spa, McLaren again had a competitive car and this time he was already pushing his partner. Although Piastri has only recently achieved high results, the signs of his potential were already visible from the podium in Bahrain. It will be interesting to see him in the second half of the season.

Max Verstappen

Everything has already been said about Verstappen, there is little to add. It looks like he will maintain his overwhelming superiority in the remaining races of the year. He has a phenomenally fast car, there’s no doubt about that, but he himself always, under all circumstances, shows real champion qualities.

Sergio Perez is also a good guy, but his situation can be compared to what Nico Rosberg understood when he was Lewis Hamilton’s partner, or when Mark Webber was in the same team with Sebastian Vettel, and Rubens Barrichello with Michael Schumacher. Only sometimes a driver who is distinguished by incredible skill appears, and all his rivals have to accept their fate – they can only fight for second place.

This year Max has already broken some records and there is no doubt that he will continue to do so in the future.